Yesterday’s rainout puts Josh Beckett on the hill a few hours later then planned, but that’s about all it did. Thanks to the off-day on Monday the rotation remains set for New York. Pedroia’s still out with that bruised elbow, but since Chicago juggled its rotation a bit, Cora gets a slightly more favorable matchup against RHP Jon Garland. Garland had a nice first half, going 6-6 with a 3.92 ERA…but he’s been awful since the break, going 2-3 with a 7.34 ERA and .344 BAA. Those numbers are inflated by a 1.1 inning, 9-run game in the Bronx, but he hasn’t exactly been lights out against anyone else, either.
A word on Jon Lester, who was demoted to Portland yesterday…the move came for a couple of reasons. First, the White Sox are supposedly a little better against lefties, so Tavarez isn’t a significantly worse option. Second, Lester kind of deserved a demotion, and Portland’s schedule matched up well. And third, Javier Lopez comes in to give Boston another tough lefty out of the bullpen for the New York series. Unless he gets hammered with the Sea Dogs, Lester will probably be right back up for his next start.
The Sox also signed Royce Clayton to a minor-league deal. Hooray!
Red Sox
Julio Lugo, SS
Coco Crisp, CF
David Oritz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Eric Hinske, 1B
Alex Cora, 2B
Josh Beckett P
White Sox
Jerry Owens, CF
Josh Fields, 3B
Jim Thome, DH
Paul Konerko, 1B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Jermaine Dye, RF
Darin Erstad, LF
Juan Uribe, SS
Danny Richard, 2B
Jon Garland, P
Weather is cloudy currently, but storms are DEFINITELY going to happen today. I hope Beckett can get his game in, so he can pitch in game #2 of the Yankee series. Schilling can be moved back a day since there’s an off-day, but Beckett NEEDS to pitch today.
I think the idea should be to score runs quickly and then go down in order so that the game hits five innings fast…
When is this darn thing supposed to start? I thought it was 1 pm Central time…. Or is it one of these 1:17 kind of things?
Can’t say I’m terribly excited about Varitek-Hinske-Cora at the bottom of the lineup. I guess Youk is being given a day to sort himself out?
Paul,
I saw the Texas Rangers do that once when I lived in Arlington… Bobby Valentine was the manager at the time, and in the 4th and 5th inning (with the Rangers up 5-1) he made them all bunt while stepping on home plate, which is an automatic out. Much quicker than striking out on purpose.
1:05 central time, 2:05 eastern, RBF. Hopefully any minute now.
Holy crap, Lugo starts things off REALLY quickly with a single. Quick offense people!
Mother nature is a meanie lately.
Leadoff basehit of soem sort for Lugo. Gameday is all laggy AGAIN and I leave for work in ten minutes.
I’m stuck at work for another 2 hours… hopefully we’ll be up by a lot by then so I don’t miss anything good on the drive home.
Coco grounds into a double play. I was hoping to see him bunt, but nothin. Where’s the small-ball Tito?
Gol dern the double play.
Lugo had second stolen on the 2-1 pitch but retreated for some reason.
Should have gone…Crisp hits the 3-1 weakly to short for the easy DP.
Coco erases Lugo with a double play. This is gonna be a crappy day
And Papi follows by popping up a bad pitch down and in. Should have done more with that…
Awful start.
Blech. Waste of a leadoff hit. That suxks.
Also this lineup could, potentially, be about as bad as it’s been in…years. Lugo and Crisp don’t exactly set the world afire, and the bottom 3rd is a giant blackhole of suck. So there is, potentially, a run of five bad hitters in a row…separated only by Ortiz-Manny-Drew-Lowell.
So does my spelling, apparently.
Know who the best hitter on the White Sox is, average wise?
Erstad: .272. Perspective, now.
I think “suxks” very accurately sums it up.
I don’t understand why Tito didn’t give Coco the bunt signal. Lugo is so fast he’s guaranteed to get to 2nd, and Coco might beat it out to make it a single. At the least this puts Lugo in scoring position for both Ortiz AND Manny.
Tito doesnt bunt NEAR enough for my tastes. Tehn again I am a fan of small ball.
Hehe, that makes me feel better now, Devine. Thanks for that.
I’m scared of Thome, though. I forgot he was on this team.
Me too, Atheose. Scared of Thome.
Gameday has been Ball One on Thome FOREVER. Whats going on?
In general I dislike smallball, especially on a team that scores as much as the Red Sox. But in this case, with Coco and Lugo at the top of the lineup, we need to do it more often.
Dionysus–glad I’m not the only one with Gameday frozen. Anyone know if it’s raining?
Frozen here too.
Dont speak those awful awful words Atheose. No rain!
Just changed to Pierzynski on my screen….
Woah, it now says Pierzynski got a double. What happened to the Thome at-bat?
Pierzynski was wearing a Thome mask! That’s gotta be against the rules somehow.
Now Thome’s not in the lineup…has Konerko DHing…
Thome eaten by Tigers!
UGH! Im off to work. Ugly, ugly.
It’s not raining yet. They are saying it’ll get there in a couple of hours.
Beckett with control issues, walking Konerko and Erstad. Dye up now, the White Sox player with the most hot bat lately. Ugh.
Beckett walks the bases loaded…. Dye up.
RBF–you watching on TV?
Beckett walks a run in on 4 straight balls, two of which looks close according to gameday. What the hell?
CHRIST. 3-0 and the bases loaded.. what is WRONG with Josh?
Atheose – Listening on mlbRadio.com. And ready to throw up about Beckett.
Walks in a run. Yuck.
maybe its really windy?
Gameday shows Beckett getting squeezed REALLY badly, the first two balls being RIGHT along the bottom of the strikezone.
Full count with the bases loaded to a .225 hitter, and he watches strike 3. Thank goodness.
Ooooooookay. It could have been worse. Beckett throws a billion pitches and gives up one.
9 pitches for Garland after 1 inning, 34 for Beckett. Hope he settles down now.
So that was about the exact opposite of what i requested. Instead of a quick game in which the Sox score early, we have the Sox going down quick while Beckett gives up a run in about the slowest way possible.
So many first-pitch outs for Manny in recent memory…
Heh, Gameday shows the ball being closer to the strike zone than the strike to Lowell. Maybe Beckett’s walks weren’t entirely his fault?
Blech.
Garland cetainly having no trouble with the strike zone though. Two Ks and a first-pitch groundout… This game is going to kill me.
Wow the 2nd inning is taking a while to start. What’s the deal with gameday?
Wow, it just teleported me from the bottom of the 1st to the bottom of the 2nd… didn’t get to see us bat. Though maybe that’s a good thing.
Silver lining: Drew saw 6 pitches, which is 5 more than he usually does.
Why isn’t WRKO working on mlb.com? Anyone else having this problem with the service?
Beckett sticking with his fastball this inning mostly, compared to last inning where he tried to get ahead of batters with 1st-pitch curves. Two down.
2-2 count to Jerry Owens. 14 pitches so far this inning, 13 of which were fastballs.
Took awhile. Beckett’s at almost 60 pitches after two.
Brad, I had trouble too, but it’s working now.
Finally loaded, and we’ve warped forward into time again. 2 out, Cora up.
Cora gets a 2-out hit! Come Lugo/Coco, let’s get something going for our boy Beckett.
LUGO SINGLES, SCORING CORA!
Whoever mentioned that this game would have 5-straight easy outs in the lineup should be smacked.
Lugo singles to drive one in! 1-1
Got it back! Thanks, Cora and Lugo, for that delightful return from the bathroom.
Lugo doing a good job of distracting Garland… 2-0 count to Coco.
Boooooooooo. Can’t blame him for trying.
ugh.
Bah, Lugo caught stealing.
At least this means Ortiz doesn’t have to lead-off next inning.
Well, got one back anyway. Lugo: Flipping Josh the bird ;-). Of course then he gets caught stealing, but still…
Beckett through the 3rd. Hasn’t had a clean inning as yet, but I won’t complain if he can keep the runs off the board.
Coco makes things painful by hitting a lead-off single, which would have been nice had Lugo not been caught stealing.
Glass-half full, though. Papi up with a man on base, 0 outs.
Manny prepares to GIDP here after the Ortiz flyout.
Apparently not, though I still only see “In play, no out”
Devine, think happy thoughts!
“In play: no out recorded”
WOOHOO!
Lowell, this year’s “Mr Clutch” at bat with a man on third. I’ll settle for a sac-fly.
Hey, if the reverse gooch works…
$10 says they pitch around him.
C’Mon Lowell. This isn’t Tampa. Let’s get him in here.
“In play, run(s)”. Sweetest words I ever saw. Single? Sac fly? Homer?
Lowell comes through! 2-1 Sox, men on 1st and 2nd. Time for Drew to show us he’s worth more than catfood.
OKAY
Single! Yay!
Bases loaded for Jason Varitek.
Holy jesus, Drew reaches!
The wheels are falling off, boys. Let’s put this game away NOW. ‘Tek up with the bases loaded.
I feel terrible about what’s getting ready to happen.
0-1
cbs gamecenter sure is pokey today
Think positive, Brad! ‘Tek is more likely to strike out than GIDP.
Holy crap! Tek *didn’t* swing at a high fastball for strike 3?
Full count to ‘Tek, making Garland work hard.
YES! Single. 4-1.
IN PLAY, RUNS! Varitek singles, plating 2 runs. This from a guy who was batting .219 in August. 4-1 Sox.
The captain redeems himself!
2 run single! Wahoo!
Tek with RBIs!!!
Ah, MOJO!!!
Hinske does it too!
The wheels are officially off of the Garland express. 5-1 Sox, runners at the corners. Still 1 out.
Wheels off. Hinske singles and it’s 5-1. Varitek at 3rd.
Runski!
Victory #16, how elusive you have been. This is one giant “We’re going to make sure you get the W Beckett, goddamnit!” from the offense.
Hope so, Atheose. Plenty of game to go. Beckett SHOULD get through 5, maybe 6.
//Runski!//
HEHEHEHEHEHE for some reason I find this the funniest play-on-words in the history of man.
Cora GIDP, but he scored a run earlier so it’s okay. 5-1 Sox, 65 pitches for Garland.
GIDP to end the inning. Let’s have a 1-2-3, Josh.
‘This is one giant “We’re going to make sure you get the W Beckett, goddamnit!” from the offense.’
Is this based on how the inning developed visually, from body language and such? I’m watching on Gameday, so it looked just like any other 4-run inning (which, of course, is always welcome coming from the Sox).
2 outs on 4 pitches from Beckett in the 4th.
er, Red Sox, I mean. Needs to be said when we’re playing Chicago.
Gameday hates this ump’s strike zone. All over the place. Wonder how it is in real life.
FenSheaParkway,
I’m on gameday too, it just seemed like a typical pick-up-the-pitcher rally. First-pitch singles, everyone contributing.
11 pitches, 3 outs, no baserunners. Way to be, Beckett.
Devine, you’re right… this ump is squeezing the hell out of Beckett, according to gameday. Damn you Andy Gonzalez for making Beckett pitch more than 2 pitches to you!
He lines out on pitch #7. Great 1-2-3 inning from Beckett. 83 pitches after 4.
Devine –
I’m just recently getting to experience Gameday Advanced and I’m kind of addicted already. It’s more info than I’m capable of digesting, but stuff like what you just pointed out is awesome. It makes watching internet Baseball fascinating, as opposed to merely informational. I never knew how much the ball slows down on its way to the plate before!
FSP, you’re talking about the specific details on the pitches, right? Speed and break and PFX?
By the way, what’s PFX stand for?
7-pitch inning for Garland.
Atheose – The pitch info, absolutely. It’s crazy.
MLB.com describes pitch f/x (pfx) as:
“the measurement of the distance between the location of the actual pitch thrown over the plate, and the calculated location of a ball thrown by the pitcher in the same way, with no spin.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I give robots 15 years to take over the earth.
Why the hell is a kid named Jerry Owens, who is a career .254 hitter, going 2 for 3 against this year’s Cy Young? That’s BS.
Let’s see a double-play Beckett… use that 12-6 curveball like it’s meant to be used.
Right, then. Least the bases are cleared. (Home run: 5-3.)
Ahhh, thanks for the explanation FSP. I play MLB 2007 The Show on the PS2 (the only console game I play) and it shows you stuff like that when you’re a pitcher. Fun stuff.
Josh Fields, a .243 hitter, is fouling off pitches and making Beckett work.
FUCK–“In play, run(s)”
Please just be a double.
Shit.
Pierzynski flies out on the first pitch, 1 out. Come on Beckett, get through this inning.
Good news is that Timlin, Delcarmen, Okajima and Papelbon are all well-rested. No Gagne tonight.
Paul Konerko helps Beckett out, popping up to H-dawg. 2 down.
at least beckett is eligible for the win now. hell be out for the 6th i hope.
Beckett hits 100 pitches on the last pitch of the 5th. Qualifies for win if he leaves. Will they try for one more inning from him?
PS Yeah, FSP and Atheose, the new Gameday this year is great. I wonder how accurate it is on balls and strikes, though. Never took the time to compare.
I’ve compared it before, and it’s pretty innacurate still. At least in my oppinion.
HAHAHA, “H-dawg”. That’s great, Atheose.
They must still be fine-tuning it, for sure. I was just looking at the HR Josh gave up. It’s break values were all the biggest of the at-bat, so it was a curveball, right? Except that the pitch’s path on the map in the center seems to suggest it was the straightest pitch of the at-bat. Which is it?
I take it all back. Gameday is clearly the latest Bud Selig blunder. haha.
Manny K’s but makes Garland work for it. Lowell immediate shows everyone he has balls the size of basketballs, and singles for the 2nd time this game.
Don’t you mean ‘ball the size of one basketball’?
Julio Lugo: batting .354 in August with 13 RBI’s.
Drew has 5 RBI’s in August.
FSP, I don’t follow you.
I’m heading home, work is over. I’ll be back on in an hour. Until then, would someone give Gagne a rubik’s cube or something so he stays busy in the pen? We don’t want him warming up.
Sorry, that was a probably poor-taste joke about the Lowell Connector’s membership in the John Kruk – Lance Armstrong club for men. That might have been more of a Deadspin-style comment.
“FSP, I don’t follow you.”
testicular cancer- one nut
I say such things with nothing but love and respect in my heart.
We could all only hope to have two nuts the size of Lowell’s one.
i bet Lowell’s nut has a mustache
Come on Lopez! Let’s get the hell out of this and turn it over to the Holy Trinity.
Nice!
I peak into the RS game thread for 5 seconds and SFs are are opining about the number, size, and appearance of a player’s testicles. At least you kept me from procrastinating my work any longer…
Nice to see Javier back on the team and recording a key out there.
IHYF – Baseball is great for indulging in such diversions. Geez, sometimes I wonder if Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen EVER talk about the actual game.
my gameday just froze, so i swung by here to see what was going on… the unitesticular remarks made me laugh, and that goes against everything i know in my heart to be right. i feel unclean. thanks. thanks a lot.
heh. at least i’m not alone.
I’m a little disappointed to learn that, in giving up 3 runs, Josh threw 111 and is now out of the game, whereas Garland gave up 5 runs in 92 pitches and is still in the game.
I like having the lead, but something about that seems wrong.
It’s not entirely opining, some of it is defintely fact. And as for the bit that is opining… well, at least we’re not comparing them to planets anymore.
Jackie: so the mustache on his testicle is a fact? Does it tickle when you kiss it?
OK OK OK, I just threw the flag on myself – that was uncalled for. And you thought you felt dirty YFB. Blechh – I’m going to go rinse my mouth out with soap.
In the meantime, what’s happening in the game?
Oki in the 7th… Does that mean Gagne in the 8th?
actually, it is more of a goatee, but now we’re splitting hairs…
Okajima is throwing a boatload of pitches to AJ Pierslkdjsaski.
Thanks, I was eating lunch. Was being the operative word.
Hey, I said not *entirely* opining (and also posted before I saw the moustache comment).
Okajima getting it done in the 7th; meanwhile I’m getting concerned about Tito’s plan for the 8th.
(With this being a double-header, I assume we’ll see most of the Sox pen today unless Curt goes deep into the game. This one being close, I hope Francoma uses the best he’s got… But I’m not sure who that would be for the 8th. Kind of missing Donnelly here.)
Two-out walk to Konerko, Erstad at the plate. Ohhh, don’t let that bite back…
Pierzinski (like K-Rod) is a guy I might dislike as much as even my most disliked RS, but I guess I am rooting for him today…
YFB, remind me never to invite you over for dinner.
P.S. I don’t get why Lopez wasn’t used for more than one out. I know, I know, matchups, but the guy has a 2.70 ERA and the Sox could have used him as a bridge to the 8th…
We need to get two out of Okie, use Gagne to close, save Paps for the second game.
This is getting ugly. Come on OKIE!!
2.84 ERA actually, my bad, but the point remains the same.
Ugh, Erstad singles, 1st and 2nd, go-ahead run standing at the plate in the person of Jermaine Dye (to use a little broadcast-speak).
IH-YF, i get that all the time.
sorry, tom sf.
… but i’m just sayin’…
Oki’s at 23 pitches and struggling, so I doubt you’re going to get two innings out of him.
NICE!
Phew, three out.
Suspense is killing me ’til we see T.F’s choice for the 8th inning. If it’s not Gagne here, then he’ll almost certainly close the nightcap, so pick your poison.
This one being close, I’d rather see just about anyone else.
Hudson –
The LOOGY phenomenon confuses me too. It’s almost like the better a LHP is, the MORE specialized he ends up being. As if the manager thinks he’s good only because he gets to face other lefties… It definitely seems like a poor allocation of resources.
Garland back with 102 pitches. Let’s hope he’s spent.
Timlin warming.
Looks like Timlin in the 8th.
Walk to Papi. Insurance, please, Manny.
Garland out.
Why, if I’m signed in with TypeKey, do I still have to type in the verification nonsense 4 out of 5 times? Annoying.
Jesus, the Cell is EMPTY.
What’s with the New Age music in the Chicago Park?
And what is “the Cell”?
I was so glad to hear Ortiz stopping at second. I figured he’d get waved home…
It seems every time I see Manny bat this year, he either fouls off, takes a strike, or swings and misses at the first pitch, getting behind in the count.
But he singles, 1st and 2nd, no outs. Boston… MUST… score.
hudson, i recall that pudge rodriguez once cited yanni as being his favorite musician.
so sad, and yet completely true.
(my apologies to any yanni fan club members here.)
I, sir, am outraged!
– Yanni Fan Club Member
game day and WRKO have different counts. Was it 3-2 or 3-1?
jeez… i’m not making any friends today.
Walk to Lowell, bags loaded, no outs.
The Blizzard of Oz is bringing in Logan, who has been killer of late — 0.82 ERA according to NESN in the past 13 games.
Pudge, Master of the Pan Flute?
Well something big by Drew here would make me feel a heck of a lot better about seeing Eric the Dread work the bottom of the inning.
Oh, wait, that’s Zamfir. My bad. I try not to know such things.
Eric the Dread, hehe.
BK PHing for JD.
Kielty is giving me a stomach ache
coincidentally, yanni is a well known mustache sporter from way back.
just tossing that out there.
Don’t go to the dark place again yfb…
The best part about Kielty’s sac fly there? Jason Varitek can’t GIDP.
Tying it all back together, YFiB.
Yanni’s hair-do is better suited for hockey or inside linebacker though.
Believe it or not, I feel better with Hinske up there than Tek. Sad to say…
Kielty flies out, Papi tags, everyone advances. That was more than good enough, getting a run home and eliminating the DP possibility.
Except they IBB Tek to put the DP back into play. Fine, I’d rather not see Tek swinging and missing at high fastballs here…
Now Youks batting for Hinske (good move) and SnOzzie is going to the pen for the fourth time this inning. Good, let him burn some more arms before tonight.
tell that to randy johnson, fensheaparkway.
(also fond of a ‘stache, for the record.)
YOOOOOOOOOUKS!
7-3 on the single, bringing Manny home. Still loaded up, one out.
Looks like Beckett did not have the greatest day.
Groudner to 3rd erases MLow at home, loaded up for Lugo with two gone.
More runs, please.
youkilis is due to pull out of the slump he’s in. those kind of hits do a lot to get things turned around.
If Timlin throws a scoreless inning I think that we should send Gagne out there. Save Paps for the night game with Schilling pitching.
Lugo ends it. Timlin in.
Beckett didn’t have the best day, but he didn’t let it get out of hand.
I completely agree, this is a situation in which I wouldn’t mind seeing Gagne… with the caveat that someone else needs to start warming the second he allows a baserunner.
Hey hey, there’s the Mike Timlin I like to see… Seems like old times. 1-2-3 8th.
Paps up despite the 4-run lead.
Maybe the Sox will tack on some runs and make it easier for TFra to save Paps for tonight.
Hudson – really? Whyyyyyyyyy?!? I do not understand Tito’s bullpen management here. Especially because our lead can only get bigger in the top of the 9th…
God, it’s Mike Myers.
I may be completely off base here, but it seems like Papelbon generally comes into every game he warms up for, regardless of how many runs the Sox score in the intervening half inning.
He gets Crisp, walks Papi on 4, here’s Manny.
(Wasn’t Myers supposed to be an expert at getting Ortiz out?)
Now he walks Manny. Of 11 pitches, Myers has thrown 3 strikes so far.
Tito please do not waste Paps in this game. Put gagne in and keep MDC/Snyder and Paps for tongiht.
Lowell! Double brings Papi home, 8-3.
Frankona can’t possibly waste Papelbon here.
Moustachticle coming through with an extra RBI. Now I’ll be even more pissed when Papelbon comes in…. it’s borderline immoral to use your best relief pitcher to close the first game of a DH with a FIVE RUN LEAD.
There’s no way Papelbon is coming in, right? I mean, there is another game today…
Lowell now 3-4 today with 2 RBI, hitting .318 for the season. Beckett close to win number 16. Guess that trade with the Marlins will not look so bad at the end of this season.
Go, Bobby Kielty! Two sac flies. In a different situation, we’d be cursing him for flying out. Lucky him, he gets two RBI on zero at bats.
you have to save papelbon in the off chance that the (other) sox get close tonight.
Tek is just going off today…now with 4 RBIs.
Tek 2 run shot!
Okay, NOW he absolutely must sit Paps.
I’m feeling much better about Tek today.
Is it possible that the Red Sox have finally picked something off the trash heap half way through the year that helps them the way guys like Aaron Small and others have for NY?
I’m hoping so.
Holy cow, Jason with a dinger. 4 RBI today!
Man, I was at lunch watching the start of this game today – Beckett couldn’t land a single breaking ball in the zone in the first inning and Garland looked really good. Looks like that all changed pretty fast. RS fortunate to have a large enough cushion to be able to save arms for tonight – especially after Beckett’s early departure.
Myers getting slapped around like a rag doll.
PBE – I don’t think it ever did. We did get Lowell too.
So essentially, this year anyhow, we’ve gotten our RBI leader, and the guy who’s carried this team at times, and the leading Cy Young candidate for Hanley Ramirez and… crap, I can’t remember who else!
Wow, so Mike Myers sucks.
Walk, walk, double, sac fly, homer, double.
Youk raising his average today!
Also starting to feel kinda bad for Mike Myers.
I am starting to think that we run Timlin back out there. He only threw 15 pitches.
Sanchez’..ha.
I’m still hoping for Gagne. Give him a chance to get a clean inning, AND prevent him from being used in a close situation this evening. :)
I echo Rob’s sentiments. Put Timlin in where he can’t possibly mess up bad enough for it to hurt this team.
Heck, at 11-3, I’m almost wishing we still had Pineiro to give some work to!
(Okay, not really)
Timlin it is.
That’s a good decision. Why waste Gagne now when the Sox might have a game tonight where Schilling is knocked out early or that goes extra innings or who knows what…
According to gameDay, Timlin hitting 93 with his fastball. That’s either a fast gun, or Timlin is really on today.
Awesome, Timlin.
Why waste Gagne now when the Sox might have a game tonight where Schilling is knocked out early or that goes extra innings or who knows what…
It’s true, but I’ve seen no indication that Tito’s interested in using Gagne for mop-up, and I’m still not sure I want to see Gagne in a situation where we’re not up or down by three.
Meh, while I would be nervous, I’m also of the opinion that there’s no way he repeats those meltdowns from here on out. He’s just too good a pitcher.
Beckett earns MLB-best 16th win; Red Sox roll
that was on CNNSI now even before the games over
Does Timlin get the save? When he came on, it was 5-3.
it was 7-3 when he came in.
Oops, you’re right, TJ. My bad. Had the Sox been the home team, it would have been 5-3. :-P. That’s my defense, anyway.
Oh yeah, there’s no question I’m being irrationally pessimistic about him. I guess I’m just nervous that there’s some physical explanation for the meltdowns – his month by month ERA breakdown is on a worrisome trend, back to July – and I’d like to see him prove that the meltdowns were a fluke in a low-leverage situation.
But mostly those previous comments were tongue-in-cheek. :)
Paul –
C’mon this is Baseball we’re talking about here. You get a save when you enter a game that’s 14-3, not 7-3. How much less confusing do you want it to be? ;)
No gamer for the 2nd game?