Georgia Satellites

Game 71 - Red Sox

Red Sox 11, Braves 0
Record: 46-25

J.D. Drew led off last night's game with a homer, rounding the bases and reaching the dugout moments before I tuned in. I blame the kids and their need for "story time" and "basic bedtime hygiene". When I was a kid, we made up stories in our heads because we didn't have books. And we liked it.

I watched the rest of the game with my Mom and Dad, visiting for an evening on their way to Vermont. Coco Crisp's 3-run blast in the top of the first made the rest of the game relatively anti-climactic, which suited me and my work-frazzled nerves quite nicely. Crazy Julian Tavarez pitched 7 shutout innings (perhaps I should've bet Gheorghe: The Blog's TJ on Tavarez vs. Clemens instead of Wakefield) as the Sox posted back-to-back blankings of Whitney's nemeses, giving Whit about the only good baseball-related news he's had in June. Lotta ball left, my friend.

Tavarez walks a fine line between endearingly eccentric and annoyingly batshit insane. When he's pitching well, the animated cajoling of his teammates and odd prediliction for rolling the ball to first base on grounders back to the box make for bemused smiles and clap-your-hands didja-see-that silliness. When he's off his game, I'd like to punch him in the neck. As Charlotte Rae so wisely noted, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the reality of dealing with a decently talented whackjob.

Curt Schilling's headed to the DL for a few weeks, mostly to rest his shoulder - his MRI showed no damage. Sure is nice to be up 10 games and go through a few injuries as opposed to the alternatives. Jon Lester may get the call in Schill's spot in Seattle on Tuesday. Lester's from the Pacific Northwest, so there may be a run on Kleenex if he does make the start. He'd be in line for a start in Fenway next weekend, and the ovation will rival the one that Dave Roberts got when the Giants came to town. I'm quite sure the tv room in my grandparents' cottage is pretty dusty - better look into that when I get to the Cape.

Poor Julio Lugo can't catch a break. He was 0-for-4 when he came to the plate in the top of the 9th, the Sox comfortably up. With runners on first and second and nobody out, he dropped a humpbacked liner in front of Jeff Francouer in shallow right - the kind of oops basehit that a ballplayer needs to get some confidence. Except that Jason Varitek had to hold close to second, unsure whether Francouer would catch the ball. Francouer threw a pea to third to retire Tek on the force, and turn Lugo's single into a fielder's choice. When it rains, it pours for Lugo right now. Thank the everlovin' Lord that Tito moved J.D. Drew into the leadoff spot.

Speaking of my man J.D., ever since this humble blog began its quixotic campaign to win the hearts and minds of Sox fans to his cause, the humble biblethumper's gone 4-for-15 with 5R, 2HR and 2 2B - good for a 1.211 OPS. He left last night's game with tight hamstrings and the Sox up 7-0 in the second inning. Yeah he's fragile, but so are Faberge eggs, and I find them exquisite. (Oh, crap. Wrong blog.)

Sox to San Diego, me to Cape Cod, Whitney to somewhere far away from the Mets.