Monday, July 14, 2008

Beach Blondes

Games 95 through 97 – Red Sox

Orioles 7, Red Sox 3
Red Sox 12, Orioles 1
Red Sox 2, Orioles 1
Record: 57-40


I figured the Sox would cut into the Rays’ AL East lead in due time, but I sure didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. The Sox’ 5-1 homestand and the Rays’ untimely 7-game losing streak combined to put the good guys in first place at the All-Star break for the 4th straight season. And Phil Gramm thinks we’re in a mental recession. Pshaw – I’m pleased as punch.

Quite a few noteworthy happenings in the weekend prior to the break, not the least of which is Papi’s return to the field. Of course, that return will be happening in Pawtucket and Portland in the short term, but he’s projected back in the Sox’ lineup on July 25, just in time for yet another Sox/Yankees series.

Julio Lugo’s quadriceps injury resolved for the near term the question of how to handle his increasingly egregious lack of competence in the field and at the plate (and, for good measure, on the basepaths, just to pile on). Jed Lowrie, SoSH’s current darling, will play short until Lugo returns (and Good Lord willing, Lowrie’ll Lou Gehrig Lugo’s Wally Pipp).

Clay Buchholz returned to the bigs on Friday night, and while he looked awful in the first inning (looking as nervous as a teenager taking the sheriff’s daughter to prom, and admitting as much later), he settled in to pitch effectively for the next 5. He took the loss, but his return is a promising portent.

Despite combining for only 3 runs yesterday, the Sox and Orioles put 30 runners on base in the game (14 hits, 14 walks, and 1 hit batsman each), making for a far too nerve-wracking affair. Or, as I like to call it, just another Daisuke Matsuzaka start. The wracking of the nerves continued unabated right to the final out, as the O’s plated their only run on a 2-strike, 2-out 9th-inning single by Aubrey Huff, and left the tying run on 3rd as Melvin Mora’s spinning liner found its way into Dustin Pedroia’s sure glove. The only levity came courtesy of Sean Casey, who was gunned at second after hitting the ball off the wall in the 7th after nearly suffering the same fate in the 4th. Quoth the ever-sardonic Terry Francona, “"God, is he slow." Added the mirthful Papi, “We're going to have our first base coach get a rope, so when he goes by first base, he can pull [Casey] back."

Three days off, the Sox are in first, and Whitney and I are poised to jet (car, actually) our way to the Outer Banks for our annual exercise in liver-pickling and glory day reliving. Summertime, and the living’s easy.

1 comment:

hou said...

The wracking of the nerves continued unabated right to the final out, as the O’s plated their only run on a 2-strike, 2-out 9th-inning single by Aubrey Huff.
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