Misery Loves Company: Two Guys Watch Baseball

Game 14 - Red Sox
Belli Wakes Up

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 2
Record: 9-5

My ability to impart reverse-positive mojo on Red Sox players is beginning to verge on the absurd. Just yesterday I impugned backup catcher Doug Mirabelli, and he responded last night by ripping two homeruns and a single to account for nearly all of the Red Sox' offense. To be sure, his big hits were against left-hander Ted Lilly, and not against right-handed pitching - which was my primary beef with him - but the fact remains that yet another Sox player has made me eat my words. To which I say, Curt Schilling is looking a little pudgy and I'd be surprised if he gets through the 6th inning tonight. (Let's take this anti-mojo for a spin, shall we?)

This was another bloodless, professional win, made more impressive by the fact that the Sox' bit players picked up the slack when the big hitters slumbered. Tim Wakefield (who I also mildly slagged a few days ago) went 6 2/3 innings with only 2 runs to get the win, and Alan Embree and Keith Foulke closed the game out with 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief.

Schilling takes the hill for the Sox tonight, looking to close out a three-game sweep of the Jays (who haven't won at home yet this season - Ooof) in advance of this weekend's series in the Bronx. I repeat my caution from last Thursday - the Sox need to keep their heads in this game and not get distracted by this weekend's festivities. They got ambushed by the O's last week in a similar situation.

In other, likely more important news, the Angry Men opened their 2004 softball campaign with a scintillating two-game sweep of the Squirrelly Zippers. I'll let my colleague comment in more detail, as his two-out single plated the winning run in the second game of the series, capping a 4-run comeback in the bottom of the last inning. Of course, my one-out sacrifice fly brought home the tying run, taking most of the pressure off of Whit's shoulders. Just doing my job.