Perplexion

Games 78 & 79 - Red Sox

Red Sox 5, Indians 2
Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 1 (in progress)

All-Star balloting closed yesterday, and most pollsters seem to think that the Sox will land 4 of the 9 offensive starters (Damon, Varitek, Ramirez, and Ortiz) and a pitcher (Clement). And each of those guys will deserve their spots, which has me - admittedly a bit of an idiot - scratching my head when I look at the Sox performance to date.

On the one hand, they've got a 2 1/2 game lead on 2nd-place Baltimore in the AL East, and lead the Yankees by 6 games. They've won 13 of 16, even after losing 2 of 3 to the Indians (although Sox part-owner Ted Lilly has them in check through 5 tonight).

At the same time, it took a 13-3 streak to get time into the division lead, and they're still only sporting the AL's 3rd-best record. I can't shake the feeling that they're underachieving. And for the record, I do realize that I sound like a whiny, spoiled little bitch, so those of you that are shouting at your monitors can kindly take your meds and simmer down. You forget that I have to unlearn 30+ years of ingrained doomsaying; all I'm asking is for a bit of latitude. And another starting pitcher and a closer. And the head of Alfredo Garcia. And this paddleball game. And my dog, shithead.

I'm interested in Whit's take on Pedro's All-Star stance. New York's new favorite diva is telling the world that he doesn't care about going Detroit - appreciate the honor and all, but I'd rather go chill under the shade of a banana tree in the D.R. The Baseball Poets will probably excoriate him, but if I'm a Metro backer, I think I'm in Pedro's camp on this one. He's got nothing to prove, he could use the rest, and I'd rather have him ready to throw hammers at the Braves than cockfight with Manny, Ortiz, and A-Rod. Discuss.

SoSHer extraordinaire Shaun Kelly, author of the Win it For thread (relax, I'm not going there again) is back at it with a really cool memoir of his time as a young stringer for the AP in 1978. As scared as he says he was, it must have taken cast-iron balls to carry out his adventure. Enjoy.

Blue Jays now up 5-1 with the bases loaded and 2 out in the 6th. Clement stands to take the loss. I'm talking to you, benefactor of all that is reverse mojo. Reed Johnson's grand slam against Mike Myers says hi, fuckface.