Nasty Boys

Game 58 - Red Sox

Red Sox 7, Yankees 0

Record: 34-24

As the erstwhile Ebby Calvin continues to surge, it's only fitting that we use the words of the great Annie Savoy to describe the work of Josh Beckett and the Boston bullpen last night. "Oh, my", indeed. (Where's my Strunk & White? How the hell do you properly punctuate that quotation?)

Beckett gave up a single infield hit and struck out 8 in 6 innings before giving way to Manny Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez, and Daniel Bard. The relievers combined to allow 1 more hit on the way to dealing the Yanks their first shutout of the season.

That makes 7 consecutive 'quality starts' for Beckett, and as useless as the stat is, his particular take on it has been downright nasty. In his last 5 outings, the Sox' top gun has allowed 3 earned runs and 14 hits in 35 2/3 innings, fanning 35 and walking 12 in the same span. While math isn't my strong suit, I'm pretty sure that's a 0.75 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. Those are Greinkian numbers.

Papi seems to be a topic of some interest today at MLC, with Metboy offering a Roy Hobbs-style resurgence theory just below this text. I'm your huckleberry, Whit. The big fellow gave Beckett all the backing he needed last night, launching his first real back to the future, honest-to-God, did-you-see-that blast of the season. From your keyboard to...whereever they greenlight feel-good stories, Whit.

Wang/Wake this evening in the Fens, which is either a bad porn title, rejected Viagra tag line, or an Irish lament of libido long gone. Me, I hope it's a reprise of the Yankee hurler's season to date.