For sanity’s sake we have decided to not pay attention to the Sox’ record, and only think about each individual series and, more stringently, each individual game. We are going to compartmentalize, big time. This should benefit both our own psyche and this site, whose readership has certainly tired of the morose missives we send forth all too often. So the Sox, at least as far as we are concerned, go for a 1-0 record tonight at the Fens. And they’ll do this again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. And at some point we’ll look up and the Sox will be something like 7-10, or maybe even better!
Tonight’s compartment offers space for the Tampa Bay Rays (née Devil Rays). Young pitching star Jeremy Hellickson takes the mound for the Rays against the Sox’ Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Chat about all the action here.
45 replies on “One, Two, Three, or Four at a Time: Rays-Sox Gamer I”
Damon knocks the first pitch out. Boos. But are they for Daisuke?!
Matsuzaka looked good except for when he didn’t.
Runs, fellas.
Dilemma: watch mediocre NESN broadcast over Apple TV or HD ESPN broadcast with bozos in the booth.
NESN winning at the moment…
Jeez, I leave the for one second and there are two outs.
Green light for Adrian?
Walk to AG. Come on, Youk.
Youk lucky there, walks.
Papi misses a cookie on the first pitch. Will the LoB parade continue?
And the answer is yes. Ortiz with a poor swing on a very hittable pitch, grounds out.
Ortiz looks bad to me so far, despite the two dingers. Almost as helpless as last year.
Zobrist with an almost accidental double, squirted down the LF line on a really odd swing.
Well, only an inning plus into the game and already it feels like an uphill battle. When will the Sox jump out to a lead of any size early? Ever? Or is it going to be deficit after deficit?
Count runs full to Upton after 1-2, Daisuke nibbling but not really challenging BJ.
And the walk to Upton. Just poor pitching there.
Though the DP is in order now, perhaps.
Blech, Daisuke is all over the place. I guess he feels bad for the sputtering Tampa offense.
Now a line shot for a single on a fat fastball. Bases loaded and nobody out. Terrible pitch sequence, just terrible.
Is this the single game analog for the year? Fall behind early so there are a lot of innings left to catch up?
Wakefield may be starting soon.
Two run double.
This is pathetic. Way to go, Matsuzaka. What a god-awful way to crash after last night.
Posting now stopping. Need to eat. And glue my remote control back together.
Now 5-0. Still nobody out.
Eat the contract, Theo. Eat it.
7-0. Still nobody out.
TIto doesn’t even have time to get someone warm to get Matsuzaka out of the game quickly.
Personally I think he should just leave Matsuzaka out there until his arm falls off, 120 pitches. Don’t bother with the pen until you have to. Screw him, let him just rot out there.
And another hit. Still nobody out.
Unreal, how much warm up does Wakefield need. Pull Dice K and then escort him out of the stadium, never to return.
This looks like BP. Fastball down the middle after fastball down the middle.
Roll in from my daughter’s soccer practice to this crap – Dice has got to go, I’d rather see Wakefield as the 5th starter than see him pitch anymore for the Sox.
The boos for Damon were nothing compared to what Daisuke is going to hear.
Matsuzaka lucky that liner hit him in the glove and not on the arm. The Sox? Not so lucky it him in the glove and not the arm.
Sad, but if the Sox score a single run in EVERY inning their bullpen will have to keep the Rays off the board for the rest of the game in order to win.
Hellickson nicely down in the zone, and his change looks good.
If I am Francona I am just seething at Matsuzaka.
Sox go lamely, as per usual. God, what an awful start to the season this has been. I think I have seen 12 innings of good baseball all year.
I love watching Wakefield “jog” out onto the field. I’m 44 and it wouldn’t be too hard for me (or many) to look more athletic than he.
Well, one run back (why do we keep watching?!).
Point of concern, purely speculative: is Youk actually healthy? He looks terrible, no good contact at all for what seems like the entire year. Tons of swings and misses and looking really lost. Is it possible he is not healed and is either favoring the wrist or just too tentative to really attack the pitches? He’s a shell of his former self so far.
Saltalamacchia not looking too hot either. Doing nothing at the plate, and of course the staff doesn’t exactly look comfy either.
Bad luck for Jacoby, he rips one on a line right at Upton. BABIP BS.
What would work here is a suprise dinger from Scutaro. Cut the lead to four with five still to play. That’s doable.
Hellickson has thrown 74 pitches so far, through four. So maybe another inning and change for him? There’s still time if Marco can rip one for extra bases here.
And now Scutaro lines one but Zobrist makes a nice play. That was an inning filled with bad luck, Hellickson deserved worse there for sure. F*ck.
A squibber by Upton gets Scutaro tied up, and it’s an error on Marco. Do these guys realize the games count? Or is it still Spring Training for them?
9-2 now. The heck with updating nobody on this crapfest of a game.
G’night.
My condolences sf. I have the game on (because 1. wife out; 2. girls asleep; 3. mindless work to do on my computer; 4. no Yankee game to watch) and it is indeed pretty ugly.
Sorry but I had to share the stat just noted on the ESPN broadcast which I find almost impossible to comprehend: David Ortiz is the only player in the majors to have at least one triple in each of the past 12 years. Ortiz?!?! I would have doubted he had 12 triples in his entire career.
Anyway, I’m outta here as I know no sox fan wants a Yanks fan commenting on the thread for such a game, but had to share that stat first…
“…Saltalamacchia not looking too hot either….”
tek may get his job back, especially after last nite…at the least he will be josh’s personal catcher…can’t say i’m sorry about dice k…he is the sox “kei” to distress…
OK, one more comment, because it is pointing out something sfs would appreciate: You gotta give it up for the Fenway fans. Most stadiums, when the home team is losing by nine in the 8th inning, would be pretty empty. Fenway appears to be pretty packed and the crowd is fairly rowdy…and they are rewarded by an Ellsbury HR.
There is nowhere to go in Boston after 930, IH. Fenway is as good a place as the alternative.
(I kid…)
I finagled the TV away from my wife to watch this game, but ultimately turned it off midway through the 2nd inning when it was 7-0. Ugh.