Well, the Sox aren't very good away from the Fens. Tonight, though, they can actually win a series on the road if they beat the Twins. That would be nice. Though we're a little disheartened that the moniker "potential stopper" now refers to anyone who pitches the day after Jon Lester. Tonight that role is bestowed upon Daisuke Matsuzaka, who takes the hill.
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According to Accuscore predictions, the Twinkies are favored 60-40. sigh.
That would completely destroy the Sox’ team ERA, rbf.
Did you guys see that Orioles comeback today? Two blown saves for the Jays.
Jays are garbage…
Jacoby’s hit-streak ends tonight. Calling it now.
Go go gadget REVERSE JINX
Nice…
It’s worked for you lately Krueg ;-)
Sure has! Teixeira 2 run bomb…2-0 good guys.
Geez, it’s not even funny anymore.
HAH, Punto air-mails the throw to first. Pedroia to 2nd.
Pedroia steals third base. Kid has balls.
Just lurking until the YF gamer goes up…not trying to mess with your mojo!
Godzilla is f-cking awful…just pathetic.
Peace out Ath…YF gamer is up.
Great at-bat from Drew, even if it ends with a K.
Dice-K’s velocity is hovering around 90. Is he suffering from Wang disease?
That was his big problem before he went on the DL Andrew; he was topping out at 88. He needs to be around 93 on his fastball to make the rest of his pitches effective.
He hit 91 there, oh man we’re flying now!
Daisuke bounced ball four about 5 feet in front of the plate, advancing the runner to third.
Great, the first two pitches I see are a 46 foot something or other, and a fastball 2 feet off the plate. This is going to end well.
24 pitches, a walk, and two strikeouts. Typical Daisuke inning.
We’re on pace for a 5 1/2-hour game. Ugh.
It’s always going to be adventure with Dice-K, isn’t it? It’s just never an easy inning.
this game on ESPN?
WTP.
Crap. Not even.
How sad is it that Jason Kubel is a better DH than Papi?
And a 9-pitch inning for Slowey.
I’m underwhelmed.
Can Ortiz hit 10th? This is becoming an untenable problem, or will be soon. Ortiz is basically dead weight on the team if he can’t hit, an albatross. Seems like they are going to have to find a way to DL him soon.
I’ve been saying he should be DLed for weeks, SF. There’s a lot of other line-ups the Sox could run out there that would give them a significantly better chance of winning.
No, SF. It is now untenable.
Yeah, mashing some AAA pitching would set Ortiz right. I’m all for it.
Daisuke strikes out Tolbert on three fastballs, climbing the ladder there.
That Ortiz at-bat was really emblematic – Slowey BLEW him away on 89mph straight fastballs.
Ok, good work from Dice there.
Another baserunner, another strikeout, another inning. Daisuke being Daisuke.
I thought Dice-K was going to walk Punto there for sure. Glad to be wrong.
22 games for Ells!
The streak lives!
Ducks.
All right. You’re Theo. What do you do about Papi?
DL him with the mystery malady and hope a week of rehab in P’tucket can fix him?
Do you make a trade? For whom, and what do you offer in return?
I start with the DL, when Kotsay is ready to come off the DL. And then I start exploring trade options in case that doesn’t work.
Petey with a single. Let’s do something here, Nancy.
More ducks. Nothing but ducks.
15 day DL, maybe make it 60 if he can’t hit in McCoy. Deal with him down the road.
Sacks juiced for Youks.
Who’s your DH?
Well, whatever happens, at least they got one in.
Bay cooling off considerably, and the Sox don’t do a whole lot there. 1-0.
We get one after loading the bases with one out.
Time to watch Mythbusters.
Anyone?
Probably some combo of Baldelli, Lowell, and Carter.
Better than a .195 Papi
Yeah, I agree. With the pieces that the Sox have, they could go for awhile with the DH rotating among a few folks and it could work nicely. I do wonder if Carter would get enough ABs, though.
So much for that lead.
Kottaras double clutches, then throws the ball into center field. Sigh.
0-2 count to Morneau hit almost for a homer.
Morneau bashes an absolutely terrible pitch from Dice on 1-2, lucky it was only a double.
Why do our starters SUCK ASS SO MUCH?
So much for that tie.
This team is excruciating in a way that is hard to describe. It really feels like a miracle that their record is what it is.
Another near wild pitch. This is like spring training for Dice-K.
So much for that one run deficit.
This team is painful. I choose to do something else with the remaining hour or so of being awake. I have a far more entertaining book to finish. Good night.
Daisuke: 5 strikeouts, 7 baserunners through 3 innings. Sounds about right.
Goddamnit, Ortiz 5 feet from a homer.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Another wild pitch. Seems like Span has been on 2nd base every goddamn inning.
Wild pitch #4 for Daisuke. Stop throwing 57 feet please.
FOUR goddamned wild pitches.
The Twins lineup is insane. OPS:
Span: .818
Mauer: 1.385
Morneau: 1.097
Kubel: .915
Cuddyer: .878
Harris: .659
Young: .577
Tolbert: .543
Punto: .509
The first five are fearsome, and then it drops off like crazy. No in-between players.
Welcome back SF, sorry you haven’t missed much.
Yook, Bay, Ortiz.
At least Dice-k’s ERA has dropped below 8.
There was a time when I would get excited about that line-up….
Jason Bay, 3-2.
BAY-beeee!!!
Mr. Bay, I apologize.
WTP
Pitches 3, 4 and 5 of this at-bat are the first balls Papi has taken tonight.
WTP twice.
wtp?
Ball 4 is strike 3.
Warning-track power.
It’s not mine.
Ath’s, I think.
Cle 8, TB 6, bot 3.
MDC replaces Dice-K.
Heh, yep IBM.
Span on for the fourth time. Now we have Mauer/Morneau to battle.
GIDP please.
Morneau down on three pitches, great job there Manny.
Wild pitch, now they’re going to IBB Kubel. I guess that’s a good move.
Masterson in? What? Delcarmen only pitched two outs.
HBP.
Fuck.
Masterson gets ahead of Cuddyer 1-2, then ends up hitting him. Goddamnit.
6 WP’s tonight, plus a HBP.
Jesus.
And now Joe C tells us that the 6 WP ties a modern ML record, last done by the Angels in 1991.
Gomez out at home, 4-2.
It’s a wonder that we’re only down 4-2.
The Twins have 12 hits, 5 walks and a HBP: altogether 18 baserunners. It’s amazing that they’ve only scored 4.
This game has been absolutely painful.
Youk walks. Let’s get something started guys.
Ridiculous.
Nathan is 11-for-11 all-time in save opps against the Red Sox.
Looks like it’s over.