Mark Loretta?

You know that friendly wave I sent in your general direction a few days ago? I take it back.

Trotman to DL.

Poor Trot. He gets another shot at the major leagues earlier this month with the Mets to give aide to an ailing outfield. He hasn't been batting very well but he told the Globe yesterday that he was going to come around. Now, it turns out that he's headed to the DL with a strained groin. So let's hope for a speedy recovery for Trot and that they don't give up on him in the meantime.

Pitch Man.

I am a sucker for all things Papelbon. I can understand how he would annoy the crap out of fans for other teams but I love the idiot dearly. This season he'd been doing his damnedest to sell Dunkin' Donuts' products and the latest promotion he's lent his likeness to is called Bases Loaded.

Basically, you enter the code from your cold Dunkin' Donuts' drink and watch the character take a couple of hacks against computer Jonathan Papelbon (you could also swing against Joba Chamberlain but given my affinity for Paps, why would I do that?)

The game is highly amusing if only for the little videos that go along with it. There's the ridiculously stiff reading of the introduction material and the wonderfully hammy presser after he strikes you out or you get a hit (the getting a hit one is better than the striking you out one.) Also, for someone who could just ask his wife for acting advice Papelbon is far out shown in the acting department by Chamberlain.

Anyway, if the idea of iced coffee gives you the willies or, like me, you haven't stepped into a Dunkin's in years the code to enter for free is: 33FYVD3JHR99. You can enter it up to three times per day.

Next Up: the Houston Astros.

Making his first major league start since 2006 on Friday is Runelvys Hernandez. He throws a kind-of-flat low nineties fastball, a sinker, a decent curveball, a slider, and a good change-up. Hernandez used to be pretty good (in 2003) but then he hurt his elbow, didn't bother to get it fixed, and lost what he had. Last year he played for the AAA Yankees, AAA Pittsburg, and Pawtucket (he made seven starts with three losses) clubs. He's got a 6-3 record in fifteen starts this year for AAA Houston. He's got a K/9 rate of just under 7 and a BB/9 rate of 2.46. In the past he's exhibited an unflappable presence on the mound and excellent command. Lefties have had good success against him.

Scheduled to pitch Saturday's game is Brandon Backe. He's an aggressive pitcher who throws a mid-nineties fastball, a sinker, a slider, a change-up against lefties, and a curve ball as his out pitch. He's an excellent defensive pitcher and a pretty good batter. He gives up home runs (there's only been one game this season when he hasn't given up a home run) and he walks guys. Most of his home runs have been to righties but lefties have an easier time hitting him in general.

Making the start on Sunday is Brian Moehler. Moehler had been working as a reliever but was promoted to the starting rotation. He throws a fastball, a cut fastball, curve ball, and a change-up. He doesn't walk a lot of batters and he doesn't give up a lot of home runs. He doesn't strike out many batters, though. Lefties have a significantly easier time getting hits off him.

Their big first baseman, Lance Berkman, is their biggest bat. Besides him Miguel Tejada, Darin Erstad, and Carlos Lee are good bats. Tejada continues to be extremely difficult to strike out. Their biggest threat to steal a base, with twenty-nine so far this season, is Michael Bourn. Not a huge power threat but a wave for Mark Loretta.

Sayonara Milwaukee!

Last week the Milwaukee Brewers designated Julian Tavarez for assignment with the idea of sending him to triple A to get some work in. He rejected the idea and has since become a free agent.

Haren v. Beckett (Game 79)

Well, Beckett pitched well anyway. He went eight innings, throwing one hundred and thirteen pitches. He allowed two runs on five hits and ended up walking two; however, he struck out eight. For the most part, he was cruising along. He gave up a double in the first inning, a double in the second inning, a single in the fifth but all of them were for naught (on the part of the Diamondbacks.) He ran into trouble in the seventh inning when he gave up a lead off walk. He got a strike out but then gave up a base hit and an RBI double. The next batter grounded out to first but another run scored. He walked the next batter but then got a fly out to end the inning. And that was all the offense the Diamondbacks would need.

Aardsma came out to finish off the game and struggled some. He gave up a hit to the first batter and walked the second. The third batter hit a sacrifice bunt (handled very nicely by Varitek and Pedroia) and they intentionally walked the next batter (after Aardsma seemed to have lost the strike zone) to load the bases. He then came back to get two swinging strike outs (and was very excited about it.)

The offense couldn't do much of anything against Dan Haren. Varitek hit a double in the third inning and Ellsbury drew a walk. In the seventh inning, Manny was hit by a pitch and Lowell singled. They finally did score a run off the reliever, Tony Pena *tilde implied*, in the eighth. With one out, Lugo walked, Ellsbury singled, and Pedroia singled to load the bases. Drew hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Lugo but that was all they would get.

Poor Brandon Moss, though. Youkilis had to be pulled from the game before fifth inning when he took a practice ground ball from Lowell in the face and gave him quite a shiner (Paul Lessard seems slightly amused by the injury in the photo.) With Casey suspended for fighting, Moss was their only choice to play first. The man is an outfielder by trade and down at Pawtucket this season he played only thirty-two games (thirty-seven in his professional career) at the position. Somehow, learning to play first well in such a close game doesn't seem ideal.

Next Up: the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are leading the NL West with a record of 39-36 and are coming off a 3-5 lose to the Minnesota Twins.

Tomorrow's pitcher is scheduled to be Dan Haren. Haren throws a mid-nineties fastball, a very good splitter, a change up, and a slider. If the splitter is working, he'll get a lot of swings and misses on that pitch. He throws strikes and rarely walks anyone. He does give up a fair number of hits, though. Given what he has the ability to do, his pitch count can get higher than it should be. He walks more lefties (which really isn't all that many) but righties have a slightly easier time hitting him (eighty percent of his home runs have been to righties.) Last year (as an A), Haren played one game against Boston. He allowed two earned runs (both home runs) on four hits in 7.2 innings. He struck out nine and walked one.

The scheduled pitcher for Tuesday is Doug Davis. Davis is currently in recovery from thyroid cancer. He has a good curveball, a good cutter, and a low-eighties fastball. Control can be an issue for him and when he doesn't have it, he starts walking people. He doesn't give up many home runs but he will dole out the hits. He also gets quite a few strike outs. It's too bad they're playing at Fenway because he is a dreadful hitter. He has a difficult time getting lefties out. He keeps his cool and is confident, even when things are going awry.

Wednesday's pitcher is Randy Johnson. Johnson's fastball now sits in the mid-nineties range. He stills throws the extremely effective low-nineties slider, a split-fingered fastball, and a sinkerball. Lefties still struggle against Johnson but righties have gotten his number a little better. He does play better away than he does at Chase Field.

The Diamondbacks are pretty hard-hitting line up. Their biggest power threats are probably Conor Jackson (1B), Mark Reynolds (3B), and Stephen Drew (SS). Mark Reynolds strikes out a lot, though (like Ryan Howard levels of impatience.) Orlando Hudson (2B), Justin Upton (RF)-BJ's brother- and Chris Snyder (C) are also good hitters.

Defensively, their second baseman and thirdbaseman are prone to errors. Justin Upton has struggled defensively so far this season as well but the man has a rocket of an arm. JD's brother has been a slightly above average shortstop this year and their firstbaseman is also slightly above average.

Pineiro v. Lester (Game 78)

That was fun (in an exasperating, ulcer-inducing sort of way.) The game had it all: some good defense, lots of squandered opportunities, good pitching, and a tiny bit of offense. But man-oh-man, those Duncan brothers-that had to be a rough house to grow up in.

Once again Jon Lester pitched well. It wasn't his best start but it was good enough. He threw one hundred and one pitches over seven and one-third of an inning. He only walked one batter and struck out three. He allowed two runs on nine hits but was generally cruising along until he got into the sixth inning. In the sixth inning, he gave up two doubles in a row-both of whom would come around to score (the second runner after he stole third and an RBI single.) He generally stayed ahead of guys-he only ran the count full once (three other times he fell behind the batter 3-1; one resulted in a walk, one in a fly out, and one in a double.) They needed Lester to get deep into the game and he did that for them; unfortunately, it help them out all that much.

The first reliever out of the 'pen was Manny Delcarmen. Delcarmen did a fine job-he got two strike outs (one looking and one swinging) on fifteen pitches to end the eighth inning.

Papelbon came out to finish off the game. He seemed to be cruising along; he got the first batter to strike out on three pitches and he stuck out Yadier Molina (which almost never happens) on four pitches. Then he walked the Shelley Duncan's brother on four pitches (which was odd.) Then he gave up a fly ball to center which resulted in a double and allowed the tying run to score. There was some disagreement on the efficacy of Coco's defense on the play from the talking heads--Remy was of the had-Coco-gotten-a-better-read-on-the-ball-and-headed-in-the-right-direction-he-would-have-caught-it school of thought, whereas Eck seemed to believe that it wasn't likely he wouldn't have gotten to the ball either way. Paps got out of the inning by inducing a ground out to third.

As we headed into the tenth inning, Okajima took the mound. If I was to be completely honest, I would admit that it was a move that (although necessary-given the state of the bullpen) didn't inspire confidence in me as a viewer. It turned out alright, though. He gave up a single to the first batter but then got a fly out. He walked the third batter but then got a pop out. He got the last out on a strike out. If Okajima pitching the tenth inning made me nervous, then his pitching the eleventh inning had me running from the room and listening from the kitchen. But again, it was alright. He gave up a single to the first batter but then got a fly out. He gave up a single to the third batter but then got a fly out. He gave up a single to the fifth batter to load the bases and got the hook in favor of Hansen.

Hansen got Okajima out of his jam by striking out the last batter of the eleventh on three pitches. Hansen's slider was working really well tonight and as a result, he pitched really well. He came back out for the twelfth inning and got two swinging strike outs and a ground out. He got the first batter of the thirteenth to pop out to first, as well.

Javier Lopez came on in relief of Hansen. It wasn't the best outing for Lopez but it was enough to get him the win. He gave up a double the first batter (Duncan) and a single to right to the second batter. The Cards' third base coach decided to send Duncan home on the single and a good throw by JD Drew had him out at home plate (after he'd bowled over Varitek) for the second out. Lopez got out of the inning with a fly out to center.

Offensively, the Sox were unable to get anything done until the seventh inning. Youkilis was responsible for the first run after he hit a home run to the monster seats.

Coco lead off the eighth inning with a triple on a botched play by the Cards' centerfielder. He then came around to score (and tie the game) on a sacrifice fly by Lugo. Ellsbury grounded out for the second out of the inning. Pedroia followed him with a single and a stolen base. Drew drew a walk, Manny took a walk (that was practically intentional) to load the bases, and then Lowell drew a walk to knock in the go-ahead run. Youkilis struck out to end the inning.

There were lots of innings and lots of hits before the Sox would score again (including three lead-off doubles and a bases-loaded-one-out situation in the eleventh.) When they finally scored again it was the thirteenth inning. Lowell hit a very hard single off the wall and Youkilis followed him up with a home run to end the game.

Dude is Scary Looking.

See, this is how I imagine Kevin Youkilis eats: Too lazy to heat up his food, he shovels baked beans straight from the can into his mouth; too cheap, he smuggles canned baked beans to the ballpark to eat while watching a game; and all the while clutching his precious beans possessively and giving you a death stare that says: Don't even think about getting close to me.

Big Things.

So, real life interrupts my baseball habit for a couple of days and all sorts of stuff goes down.

1. Schill's done. As disappointing as the news is, I guess I just didn't expect him to make it back in the end. I'm more sorry for Curt than anything. He's seems like the type of person who wouldn't take well to being told that he couldn't do something. For him to have worked so hard since February (blindly trusting that people who knew more than him, knew what they were talking about) only to have nothing come of it, must be disheartening. I suspect that he would blame himself-if only he'd worked a little bit harder or been just a little bit better as a pitcher over the years, the therapy would have worked. Although, the idea that Schill thinks he can just shut up and disappear is pretty amusing.

2. Manni-Jonni. Normally, you miss a Friday night game to go to a wedding rehearsal and nothing too fascinating happens, especially on a rainy Friday night. Of course it happens that when I miss the game, the awesome-ness of Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen lip-synching to Milli-Vanilli's Blame it on the Rain is unveiled. How fabulous is it that Papelbon was overshadowed by Manny Del? Clearly, Manny Del was a bigger fan of Milli-Vanilli than Papelbon was. Paps was just kind of dancing around but Manny Del? Manny Del incorporated some genuinely authentic Milli-Vanilli dance moves in there; they just needed a body slam and (I think) the runningman to make it perfect.

3. They wear spiffy green jerseys. Lugo hits a home run. David Aardsma strikes out the side. We'll just ignore all that went wrong in that game.

4. They end up dropping two games to the Cardinals on a poor performance by Daisuke Matsuzaka. Timlin had gone on the DL for knee tendonitis earlier in the day but his replacement, Chris Smith, proved to quite useful. And again, Aardsma struck out the side.

Next Up: the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tomorrow's pitcher for the Cards will be Kyle Lohse. Lohse has a low-nineties fastball and an excellent curveball. The curve is very effective against righties. Overall, lefties have an easier time against him. He doesn't give up many home runs and he doesn't walk many batters. He does get distracted by baserunners when there are runners. He doesn't often go beyond the sixth inning and he seems to tire and become less effective the longer he goes in a game: he's much more hittable the second or third time through the order.

Saturday's pitcher is scheduled to be Mitchell Boggs. Boggs throws a four-seam fastball, a sinking fastball, a slider, and is working on a changeup. He's aggressive and likes to pitch to contact. He can get swings-and-misses, though. He's made two major league starts; and like any baby pitcher, he's going to have to refine his command. He doesn't actually walk too many batters but he does give up an un-nerving number of hits.

Joel Pineiro returns to Fenway on Sunday. Pineiro throws a fastball with a lot of movement, a good changeup, and an excellent swooping curveball. Lefties have a better time hitting him. He doesn't walk many batters but he has given up a decent number of hits. He also doesn't got a lot of strike outs.

With Albert Pujols out of the lineup, their biggest hitter is Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick is a swinging-for-the-fences type, he leads the team in home runs and doubles but he also leads in strike outs. Their primary catcher, Yadier Molina (brother of Yankees catcher Jose Molina), is an interesting guy-he doesn't hit for power but he very, very rarely strikes out. Their shortstop, Cesar Isturis, is the brother of the Angels' shortstop, Macier Isturis. And the guy they've called up to fill in for Pujols, Chris Duncan, is the brother of Shelly Duncan of the Yankees. What they lack in offense, they make up for in defense. They don't make many errors and they turn a lot of double plays.

Masterson v. Kendrick (Game 75)

Masterson struggled against the overly lefty Phillie line up. He ended up walking only two batters but he repeatedly fell behind in the count and had to throw a considerable number of pitches to get through the fifth inning (ninety-two in all, fifty-three for strikes.) The offense did give him a hefty early-lead to work with and he did only allow two runs on four hits. The defense also got him out of a situation in the second inning-the Phillies had two on and one out, with the game tying run at the plate; after repeatedly bunting the ball foul, Kendrick bunted one into the air-Casey caught it and threw to second to turn a nifty little double play.

Javier Lopez took over in the sixth inning. He had a 1-2-3 inning that consisted of three groundouts-one to short, one to second, and one to first.

Craig Hansen took over when the Phillies pinch hit in the seventh inning. He did not have an easy time of it. He gave up a single to the first batter (a more accurate throw by Lugo might have resulted in an out) and allowed the runner to steal second. He walked the second batter of the inning. Then they each moved up a base on a wild pitch. Then, having not yet gotten a batter out, Hansen gave up a single that allowed the two base runners to score.

At that point, he got the hook in favor of Manny Del. Delcarmen did an excellent job. He came into a tough situation. The lead had been cut to seven-four, there was a runner on first, and there were still no outs. The first thing Manny Del did was to make the situation even tougher. He walked the first batter-which brought the tying run to the plate and pushed him right into the meatiest part of the Phillies lineup. He got the first batter to pop out to second. Then he got Utley to fly out to left and Howard to strike out swinging-no damage done. Delcarmen came back out for the eighth inning. He had a 1-2-3 inning, consisting of two fly outs and a strike out.

Papelbon finished the game off in style . He got his twenty-first save of the season with a questionable strike out, a spectacular catch on a pop up by Varitek, and a fly out to left.

The offense got out to a hot start for Masterson. Ellsbury started off the first inning by getting a single to right. Pedroia followed him with another single to right. JD Drew followed him with a three-run home run to right. Lowell followed him a home run to left.

They scored again in the third inning. With one out, JD Drew got a double. Lowell was hit by a pitch. Casey lined out but Varitek walked to load the bases. Then Brandon Moss came out (as a replacement for Coco who did something to his hand) and got a single to center and brought in two more runs. They reloaded the bases when Lugo drew a walk but I'll forgive the men-left-on-base as Masterson was the next batter and, bless him, the boy looks completely lost at the plate even with the hearty swings he was taking.

The last run the Sox put on the board occurred in the fourth inning. With one out, Pedroia doubled to left and then JD Drew got a single to bring him home.

Lester v. Moyer (Game 74)

Coco home runs, Sean Casey stealing bases, Jon Lester (almost) not walking anyone, interleague play turns the world upside-down.

Jon Lester pitched beautifully tonight. He threw seven shut-out innings and silenced the Phillies' biggest bats. He threw ninety-nine pitches, sixty-eight of them for strikes. He gave up six hits but none of them were for extra bases. He walked only one batter and made it all the way to the sixth inning before he did that. Not to get too far ahead of myself but the Jon Lester who pitched tonight seems so different from the Jon Lester who started the year. That Jon Lester worked at a glacial pace, fell behind batters (he was the original man John Farrell sent in search of first-pitch strikes) and ended up walking too many, to be effective without anything but the best offense. Not this Jon Lester, though. I'm really starting to like this Jon Lester. And what's more-he's not half bad with a bat.

After Lester came out, the bullpen worked the way it was supposed to work. Okajima came out to pitch the eighth inning and was sufficient. He struck out the first batter he faced. He gave up a double to deep left (and a groan went up around New England) but it turned out to be harmless. The next batter flied out to right. He struck out Utley to end the inning.

Papelbon finished off the game in the ninth. He picked up his twentieth save of the season by striking out the side with fourteen pitches.

Coco proved to be all the offense the Sox would need tonight. Varitek had drawn a walk to start the second inning but was forced out at second when Casey grounded into a fielder's choice. With Casey standing at first, Coco took the first pitch he saw in the game and planted it in the seats beyond left field to put the Sox on the board.

They didn't score again until the sixth inning. With one out, Coco blooped one into left. He stole second. He stole third. He came around to score when Lugo doubled to deep left center.

Not to belabor a point too much (especially after a win) but they've returned to their earlier in the season road-woe: leaving men on base. They left ten men on base during the game and only monopolized on two out of nine scoring opportunities. They did play pretty good small ball, though. Lugo, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Casey and Coco (2) had stolen bases. They also played some pretty defense turning two double plays: one Lowell to Pedroia to Casey and the other Lowell to Casey.

Next Up: the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies are looking really good this year so it should be an interesting series of games.

The pitcher scheduled for tomorrow is Cole Hamels. Hamels throws a lively low-nineties fastball, a fabulous change-up, and a good curveball. He's a strike out pitcher, so he is susceptible to giving up home runs but he has done a pretty decent job of keeping them in the park this year. He gets a lot of strike outs (a season high of thirteen in his last start) and he doesn't walk many batters. Although injuries have been an issue for him in the past, he's a sturdy guy who will go deep into a game (he's thrown two complete games so far this year.) He's good but if he has a weakness it's right-handed batters. Lefties and righties hit him about evenly (which is not particularly well) but most of his walks have been to righties, most of the hits he's given up have been to righties, most of the home runs he's given up have been to righties, but most of his strikeouts have also come off righties.

Going on Tuesday is Jamie Moyer. Moyer is a crafty old guy, a Curt Schilling type. He gets people out with pinpoint location, late-breaking movement, and just having been around so long that he knows how to completely fool batters. He's not a big strike out guy and he's not a big walk guy. He does give up a fair number of hits. Righties do have an easier time against him.

Wednesday afternoon's pitcher is Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick can be wild at times but he has a lot of confidence and it shows on the mound. He throws a low-nineties sinking fastball, a change-up, and a slider. He doesn't strike many people out, he doesn't give up too many home runs, but he does get a lot of ground ball outs. He gives up a lot of hits and teams score runs against him. He struggles against lefties but righties hit him pretty well, as well. He was also the victim of the being traded to Japan prank that was all over the internet earlier this year.

It may be a function of playing most of their games at Philadelphia but the Phillies lineup is nothing to sneeze at-with the likes of Chase Utley and Pat Burrell out there how could it be? Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, and Ryan Howard aren't easy batters either. Even their backup catcher (Coste) has good numbers. They do strike out quite a bit, though.

Their major threat for stealing a base is Shane Victorino (he's got fourteen this season having been caught three times.) They're also somewhat of an error prone team. Their starting first, second, and third baseman each have six errors so far this season.

Beckett v. Bailey (Game 72)

While certainly not as exciting, that was definitely a better way to win a ballgame-take the lead early and authoritatively, and don't give in.

Josh Beckett pitched really well in the game. He threw ninety-eight pitches over seven innings of shut-out ball. He walked two and allowed six hits but got six strike outs. In the first two innings he got himself into a two-on-two-out situation but got a strike out (in the first) and a pop out (in the second) to work his way out of there. After the first two innings, he had a pretty easy time of it. They went down 1-2-3 in the third. He allowed a two-out single in the fourth and in the fifth. He had a 1-2-3 sixth. He started off the seventh inning by allowing two base hits before getting a fly out to left and a double play.

David Aardsma came in for the eighth inning and did a decent job. He walked the first batter of the inning; which is never a good thing but it turned out to be harmless. He got the next batter to pop out, the third batter to fly out, and the last batter to ground out.

Mike Timlin came out to finish off the game and pitched really well. Timeeh got the first two batters to strike out looking on eight pitches. He then got the last batter of the game to ground out to the shortstop.

The offense was the real story of the game, though. In the first inning, Ellsbury got a base hit on an 0-2 count. He stole second. He stole third. He broke the record for most stolen bases in a season by a Red Sox rookie (and the season isn't even half over.) Then he came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Pedroia.

In the second inning, Varitek drew a one-out walk. Then Coco hit a two-run home run to right.

In the third inning, Ellsbury was again swinging on a 0-2 count. This time, however, he deposited the ball in the seats behind right field. Pedroia flied out to left for the first out. JD Drew hit a home run to right to make the score five to nothing. Lowell walked, Youkilis struck out, and Varitek grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Sadly, they didn't score any runs in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, however, they were able to bury the Reds a little deeper. It wasn't a terribly auspisicious beginning but Pedroia started it off by grounding out to the shortstop. Drew followed it up by drawing a walk. Lowell followed that up by getting a base hit. Youkilis followed that up by getting a base hit to left; Drew scooted around to score another run and Lowell moved to third when Adam Dunn dropped the ball. Still with only one out, Varitek walked to load the bases for Coco. Coco got a single to left and both Lowell and Youkilis scored. Lugo flied out to the warning track in center and Beckett grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

There was still more scoring to be done in the sixth. After Ellsbury grounded out, Pedroia hit a home run to left to make the score nine to nothing; which is where it stayed for the rest of the game.

Lugo did have another throwing error (in the first inning), which according to Remy came from trying to rush a throw to first to turn a double play when he didn't have to rush. No excuses but let's hope that he's not getting himself into another funk, especially if they should prove to be costly errors.

Wakefield v. Volquez (Game 71)

My fingernails are significantly shorter now than they were at the beginning of the game.

Tim Wakefield continues on his streak of pitching really well-it's too bad the W-L record doesn't reflect it. Over the course of seven innings, he really stymied the Reds hitters. With eighty-nine pitches, he gave up just four hits (two of them solo home runs), walked only two and struck out six. He played some heads up defense and except for his batting, there really wasn't too much more you could have asked of him. When he left the game, he had a four to two lead.

Okajima came out of the bullpen first and wasn't having much luck today. He gave up a first pitch, broken bat single to the first batter he faced. He did get the second batter to strike out swinging but walked the next batter with four pitches. At that point, Francona pulled him in favor of Delcarmen.

Manny Del didn't pitch particularly well either but he did have more luck. He also gave up a single to the first batter he faced-on which the Reds scored another run. Luckily for him, he got Junior to ground into an inning ending double play.

Now with a score of four to three, Papelbon came out to finish the game off. He got the first batter to ground out to second for one. He got the second batter to ground out to second for two. Then, on a two-two count, he gave up the game tying home run. He then proceeded to walk the next batter. He finally got himself out of there by getting the last batter to strike out swinging. But we were headed for extra innings.

The top of the tenth inning went well for the Sox and when Hansen came out to pitch the bottom of the inning he had a two run lead to work with. The first batter grounded out to short for the first out. The second batter struck out swinging for two. The third batter got a base hit, moved over to second on fielder's indifference, and then over to third. After all of that, Junior finally drew a walk. With runners on first and third, and the winning run at the plate (Brandon Phillips), a seemingly rattled (but maybe not) Craig Hansen served up a ball-low and away-to start things off. The second pitch was right over the plate but low in the strike zone-Phillips got a good piece of it and lofted it to the waiting Drew. Game over. And Craig Hansen was able to pick up his first career save.

While the Reds were able to score the majority of their runs via the long ball, the Red Sox scored a third of them on throwing errors/wild pitches, a third of them on RBI singles, and the last third of them with home runs.

Ellsbury started off the first inning by getting a base hit. He moved over to second on a wild pitch. He then stole third and when the throw from the catcher intended to stop him went awry, came home.

By the fourth inning, the Reds had tied the score at one. Pedroia opened the inning by lining out to third. Bad fielding by Adam Dunn turned a JD Drew double into a JD Drew triple. With JD standing at third, Lowell popped out to third for the second out. The first pitch to Youkilis was a strike looking and the second was low for a ball. The third pitch was low but it was also a wild pitch; it got away from the catcher, rolled to the backstop and JD hustled his way the last ninety feet to, once again, give the Sox a one-run lead. Youkilis eventually struck out to end the top half of the inning.

Having had enough of scoring runs with luck, the Sox then moved on to scoring runs with singles. The score hadn't changed as they headed to the sixth inning. Pedroia began to change that by beating out the throw on an infield single to short. Drew struck out for the first out. Lowell got a base hit and Pedroia moved to second. Youkilis singled to left center and Pedroia came around to score. Coco struck out and Cora grounded out to finish the inning.

The Reds had gotten the run back in the seventh but JD Drew was having none of it when he came up to start the eighth. He put a good swing on the first pitch he saw and sent it to nearly the same spot he sent the triple; better fielding by Adam Dunn kept this JD Drew double as a JD Drew double, though. Lowell ran the count full and then singled to center to bring JD around. Youkilis doubled; for some reason Demarlo Hale sent Lowell and he was out at home for the first out. Coco grounded out for the second out. They intentionally walked Cora (I know he was hitting the ball well today and Cash was up next, but it made me laugh) and Cash grounded into a fielder's choice and they took the force out at second to end the top of the inning.

With Papelbon having blown the save in the ninth, drastic action was called for. As the first batter of the tenth, Lowell struck out swinging. On a one and two count, Youkilis got the perfect pitch to hit and sent it out into the seats beyond right field to give the Sox the lead. I'll admit that although I didn't actually see Youk's home run (I was baking some bread and had to go retrieve it from the oven) seeing him all happy in the dugout after I had sprinted back warmed my frosty New England heart a little bit. Coco, meanwhile, (who, when he had been making contact with the ball, had been hitting it well all day) took the very first pitch he saw and, in true back-to-back fashion, sent it to nearly the same spot as Youkilis to give the Sox a two-run lead that would carry them through to the win.

Trotman to Queens!

After leaving Cleveland last season, Trot Nixon signed up with the AAA Diamondback club. There was little chance of him moving up to the majors (and it sucked) but he got to play baseball. Besides, it's a long distance from Arizona to Boston (just sayin'.) Yesterday, the Mets traded for him and he's supposed to show up for the Mets game in Texas today. So woot for Trot!

Next Up: the Cincinnati Reds.

*Posting delayed by minor computer tragedy. Forgive me.*

Tonight's starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds is Aaron Harang. Harang throws a fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a change-up. He's a very efficient pitcher who can go late into games because he throws strikes. He throws lots and lots of strikes; as a result, he doesn't walk many but he does give up a fair number of hits. He also has a really tough time getting right handers out.

Tomorrow's pitcher against Wakefield is Edinson Volquez. Given the offense's propensity for refusing to score runs for Wakefield against decent pitchers, the flip-flop with Masterson isn't likely to help him get the win against the likes of Volquez. Volquez is another strike thrower-this is not a team that daintily paints the corners hoping for a nibble. He does have more of a control problem than Harang leading to more walks but his K:9 ratio is an impressive 10.667. He also allows fewer hits and has only given up three home runs this year. He does it by setting up batters with a lively mid-nineties fastball and then tossing a change-up that comes in at twenty miles per hour less than the fastball-leading to a lot of swinging strike outs. Lefties are having an easier time against him but, of course, that's completely relative (lefties are hitting .214 against him, whereas righties are hitting at .147.)

Homer Bailey is Sunday's pitcher. We saw Bailey (or possibly only heard him on the radio) in spring training, at the end of which he was sent down to AAA. He was called up on June 5 and has made two starts since then-neither of which was particularly good. He throws a good mid-nineties fastball, a very good curveball, and a change-up. If he can keep the ball down in the strike zone, he has a bit more success. In his limited work this year, righties have had a much easier time against him.

Their best bats are all in the outfield. Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. seem to be the only real power they have (with Dunn far surpassing Junior in anything he's done this season); Jay Bruce has also been very impressive in the short time he's been up with the big club (he came up May 27 and has and OPS+ of 180.) Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and Edwin Encarnation also deserve some notice, as well.

Guthrie v. Lester (Game 69).

Jon Lester continues to impress. He went seven innings tonight and threw one hundred and one pitches. He pretty much plowed through the Oriole's lineup for the first five innings. He never faced more than four batters in those innings (well, except for when Millar fouled a pitch off his knee--My own wonky knee was extremely empathetic watching the replay. So, there's nothing but good thoughts for limited damage coming from this corner of the interweb--and had to leave the game, so it doesn't really count) and scattered only a handful of hits (two singles and a double) and a walk during that time.

He did run into a piece of trouble in the sixth inning. He gave up a double to the first batter but then got the next two out on a bunt bid gone wrong and a ground out to short. To the fourth batter of the inning he gave up a double that brought in a run. To the fifth batter of the inning he gave up a double that brought in a run. The next batter got a single but the last batter fouled out to first to get him out of there. In total, he gave up two runs on seven hits. His work in the seventh inning was much improved over the sixth. He struck out the first batter (his third of the night), the second batter grounded out, and the third batter popped out to short.

Manny Del pitched the eighth inning and did an excellent job. He struck out the first two batters-one swinging and one looking. The next batter reached on an error charged to Lugo but the last batter flied out to left. No damage done.

Mike Timlin pitched the ninth inning. He had a 1-2-3 inning and did a very good job of it. He got the first batter to ground out, the second to strike out (with three pitches), and the third to pop out to second. It was definitely good to see.

The Sox scored their first run in the second inning. With one out, Youkilis hit a single to center and moved to second on a ground out by Coco. He then came around to score on a single by Lugo.

The score didn't change again until the fifth inning. Ellsbury started things off with a single to right. After Pedoria flied out, Drew doubled to center. With runners on second and third, the Orioles (unlike Joe Girardi) decided to walk Manny to load the bases. Mike Lowell was having none of it, though. He took the second pitch he saw and deposited it in the monster seats for his tenth home run of the year, his eighth career grand slam, and his second grand slam of the season.

By the seventh inning, the Orioles had gotten themselves back in the game-they were only down by three. Manny started off the inning with a walk. Lowell struck out swinging but Youkilis hit a two-run home run to put the Orioles back in a five-run deficit.

In the eighth inning, JD Drew must have realized that a) he hadn't yet hit a home run in this game, and b) both Youkils and Lowell had been sitting on nine home runs and if he didn't hit another one soon they would pull ahead of him in totals. So with two outs and Pedroia on first after drawing a walk, Drew hit his tenth home run of the year to keep pace with Youkilis and Lowell, and to put the game even further out of reach of the Orioles.

Lugo did make another error tonight (number 13 for the season) but he played really well. Offensively: Besides the RBI single, he also had a double in the fifth. Defensively: He made some really nice plays tonight. He was moving around like he new exactly what he was doing; he fielded seven ground balls and a pop up cleanly. Also, it may just have been the frequency with which he was accumulating them earlier in the season but it seems like it's been awhile since there was an E4 on the board.

Olson v. Colon (Game 68)

Alright, El Barto! I've got to say that when I was trying to figure out pitching match-ups and which team was more likely to get the win through July (What can I say? I'm a plan-ahead type person.) I was, subconsciously, giving the win to Beckett and the loss to Bartolo every time they came up-until I realized it and felt bad that I was giving Colon so many losses-but I might have to rethink that strategy.

He went six innings tonight and threw only ninety-three pitches. He struck out seven, walked only one, gave up five hits but allowed only one run (on a home run), on the way to his one hundred and fiftieth career win. And he was a trooper-he took a line drive off the wrist of his pitching hand in the fourth inning but kept on pitching. It was a really nice rebound performance.

David Aardsma came out for the seventh inning and did pretty well. He was greatly aided by another really good catch by Drew and he did give up a double but his performance was book-ended with swinging strike outs. And as is always important to note when Aardsma pitches: no walks! (Although, he did twice go to a full count.)

Javier Lopez came out to pitch the eighth inning and faced three batters. He got the first one to strike out swinging. The second batter (a lefty) got a walk on five pitches. Luckily for him, the next batter grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Timlin came out for the ninth inning and didn't have it tonight. He gave up a double to the first batter and then gave up another to Millar to bring in another Orioles run (I guess that Millar's been getting too much heat from Baltimore to give his old buddy Timlin another break.) The next batter grounded out to second and the fourth batter of the inning lined out to first. The inning could have been over on the next play but Pedroia just couldn't handle it; the runner reached first on the error and Millar scored. The next batter singled and that was it for Timlin.

Papelbon was brought in for the last out of the ninth. With runners on first and second, the batter fouled off three pitches and took a low one for a ball before he grounded out to first to end the game.

Garrett Olson took an inning to settle down and the Sox took advantage of that. In the first inning, Ellsbury singled to start things off. Pedroia popped out for the first out. With Drew up to bat, Ellsbury took off for second after the third pitch but he must have mis-read the pitcher because the next thing thrown wasn't a pitch but a pick-off attempt. Luckily for Ellsbury, it got away from Millar and Ellsbury scooted over to third. With the pitcher's attention back on Drew, he swung and missed at a pitch before doubling to right and batting in Ellsbury. Manny grounded out to second for the second out and Drew moved over to third. Lowell was up next and drew a walk on four pitches-the last of which was in the dirt and rolled away from the catcher, allowing Drew to score. Youkilis got himself a walk. With Lowell on second and Youkilis on first, Varitek hit a home run to left to clear the bases and to put the Sox up 0-5. Coco lined out to end the inning.

They weren't able to do anything more to Olson until the sixth inning. Lowell opened things up with a home run to left. Youkilis would then double but was not be able to advance any further.

Both Varitek (in the third) and Lugo (in the fourth) grounded into double plays today but it's still an improvement over yesterday.

Citizen Papi.

Today, David Ortiz became a rank and file US citizen. Congratulations to him!

Cabrera v. Beckett (Game 67)

Blerg. Blerg, I say. Blerg for a crappy bullpen performance. Blerg for double plays.

That's not to say that Beckett pitched well tonight at all. He didn't. He threw one hundred and twelve pitches but only made it through only six innings. He did only walk one but he only got three strike outs. He gave up four runs on eight hits.

Okajima came out for the seventh inning and did an absolutely terrible job. He made it through only one third of an inning and only struck out the first batter he faced. He then walked a batter, gave up a double, and walked another batter to load the bases. He gave up a single that allowed two runs to score and tied the game.

They pulled him in favor of Delcarmen. Manny Del gave up a sacrifice fly to Millar that allowed the Orioles to take the lead before he got last batter of the inning to strike out swinging. He came back out for the eighth inning and got the first batter to ground out to first but then gave up a hit. Luckily for him, he got a fly out and a strike out to end the inning.

Hansen came out for the ninth inning and really struggled. He gave up a hit to the first batter, then got the next batter to ground into a fielder's choice-except when Cora flipped the ball to Pedroia he didn't aim well and everyone was safe. So with runners on first and third and still no outs, Hansen gave up another single to load the bases. Millar popped out to first for the first out. Then Payton grounded into a fielder's choice and Pedroia tried for the out at home but they couldn't make the play-one run in and the bases still loaded. The next batter singled to center-two more runs in. The misery was finally over when the last batter grounded into a double play.

Although they played some pretty defense early, the game was very sloppy offensively. Ellsbury started the game off with a single, Pedroia followed with a double, and Drew walked to load the bases. Manny then hit into a double play-on which Ellsbury would score. Lowell walked but Youkilis grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

In the second inning, Varitek singled and Coco walked. Then, Cora grounded into a double play and Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning.

In the third inning, Pedroia got a single and moved over to second on a wild pitch, Drew walked, and Manny got a single to load the bases. Lowell reached on a fielder's choice-in which they took the force out at second and Pedroia scored. Then, Youkilis grounded into a fielder's choice-in which they took the force out at second and Drew scored. Varitek struck out to end the inning.

In the fifth inning, Pedroia was hit by a pitch to start things off. Drew, continuing in his new role of big lefty on campus, followed him with a home run to right that gave the Sox the lead. And then Manny hit number 505 to left center. Lowell grounded out and both Youkilis and Varitek struck out to end the inning.

Coco started off the sixth inning with a single. Cora then grounded into another double play and Ellsbury grounded out to end that inning.

In the eighth inning, Lowell walked. Youkilis struck out. And Varitek grounded into yet another double play.

Not a well played game-I seem to recall them having the same issue with double plays the first time down in Camden Yards. There were a couple of good defensive plays, though. Youkilis made a nice grab on a line out to end the second inning. Coco made a leaping catch at the wall to end the fourth inning. Varitek had a very accurate throw to catch Markakis stealing in the fifth. And they managed to turn a double play in the sixth. I guess there's always tomorrow.

Aww! We Miss You Too, Kevin.

Kevin Millar in attendance at last night's Celtics game. That's all.

Call it Homerism.

It may be a deeply ingrained fault but I really find it hard to dislike any of the guys on this team, no matter what level of jerky-ness they achieve in their real life. They might be terrible people or terrible baseball players but I can't help but like them. Hell, I like Lugo-I'm very afraid of the jockey impersonating a shortstop but I still like him. (Incidentally, given the way Javier Lopez pitched, I'm almost sad that I missed Colon's start on Friday.) Big Dougie fan. And even my opinion of Jon Lester is coming around. I like all of them-except for Kevin Youkilis.

There's no reason for it; nothing I can point to and say: That. That is the reason I don't like Kevin Youkilis. Something un-identifiable about him just rubs me the wrong way. And it just is. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I dislike him or that I root against him. I just can't bring myself to feel anything but neutral about him.

I would think that normally, a corny tv spot would do it. It would help him clear the last hurdle and join the ranks of baseball players in my affections. But nope. The Bernie's ad did nothing for me. I don't know; maybe, it's because he's not half-bad in it.

A Commonality.

New kid on the block Casey Kelly has something in common with Terry Francona. Last October, Kelly was diagnosed with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection and had to undergo surgery to remove the infected tissue from his elbow. You'll recall that Francona was diagnosed with the less-squicky version of the disease after knee surgery in 2002 and is now working to promote good hygeine. So, should he decide to sign, they'll have something to chat about over their Rice Krispies!

Bedard v. Masterson (Game 66)

Yet another good start by Masterson; the kid continues to impress. He threw eighty-eight pitches over six innings. He gave up only three hits and allowed only one run. He did walk three but he struck out four. He was aided greatly by the impressive right-fielder they've uncovered. (Seriously, I'm starting to feel bad about the way I've made fun of him.) Masterson did seem to be having trouble throwing strikes but the only time it proved to be a problem for him was in the second inning. He walked the first two batters of that inning on nine pitches. Then the third batter got a hit to deep right that was miraculously snagged by Drew. With runners then on first and third, the fourth batter grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in the only run the Mariners would score. He gave up another hit before he got out of the inning with a ground out to third.

Craig Hansen pitched the seventh inning and did a nice job as well. He walked the first batter of the inning but the runner never advanced as he got the second batter to foul out to Varitek, the third batter to strike out, and the fourth batter to strike out.

Okajima came out for the eighth inning. Almost as quickly as he was out there, he was done-he needed only nine pitches to get his three outs. The first batter grounded out to short. The second batter flied out to center. And the third batter struck out swinging.

Papelbon finished off the game and picked up his eighteenth save of the season. The first batter flied out to center. The second batter grounded out to Papelbon-which was a nice little bit of fielding by Paps. And the last batter flied out to right.

The Sox were only able to get two hits off Eric Bedard but they did draw three walks (which turned out to be quite important.) With one out in the third inning, Coco got the first hit off Bedard-a single to right. After trying repeatedly to pick-off Coco, Bedard ended up issuing a walk to Moss. Lugo flied out to center for the second out and Coco moved over to third. Then after a nine-pitch at bat, Pedroia also drew a walk to load the bases. Then the man of the hour was up, on a one-two count Bedard came too far inside on Drew and hit him on the wrist to knock in a run and tie the game. Manny struck out swinging to end the inning.

They managed to wear Bedard out after five innings and the Mariners brought in their first reliever, Sean Green, for the sixth. Drew was the first batter to face Green. The first pitch he threw was a little bit outside for Drew's liking so, even though it was a strike, he watched it go by. The second pitch was closer to the center of the plate but a little bit too high, so he fouled it off. The third pitch was too far inside and was, in fact, a ball. The fourth pitch Green threw was, again, too high and Drew, again, fouled it off. The fifth pitch of the inning, though, that one was perfect. It was right down the middle off the plate and Drew cranked it to almost dead center field for the second Sox run of the night-and the win.

Batista v. Wakefield (Game 65)

Woot for run support for Wakefield! I'm sure he's appreciative.

The win makes 158 Red Sox wins for Wake. Like he has done in his last couple of outings, Wakefield pitched really well tonight. He threw one hundred and six pitches over seven innings. He gave up only five hits and allowed only two runs. He struck out six and walked two. He had five 1-2-3 innings and got a couple of Mariners to take absolutely ridiculous swings for strikes.

Hansen came out to pitch the eighth inning. He seemed to be having trouble throwing strikes; three out of the four batters he faced were served balls to start their at-bats. He gave up a hit to the first batter he faced (Ichiro) but he was out at second on a very nice play by Cora when the next batter grounded into a fielder's choice. The third batter popped out to second and the last batter grounded into a fielder's choice and they took the force out at second.

Papelbon came out to finish the game. When he's not pitching in a save situation and he doesn't have the adrenaline going, Papelbon occasionally runs into trouble. Today's problem occurred when the first batter he faced reached on a Youkilis error (his first error in 238 games.) The runner would later take second and come around to score when the second batter got a base hit. After that Papelbon got his act together and struck out the next two batters and got the last batter to fly out to right.

Since Ortiz has been out, JD Drew seems to have flourished. Batting in the third spot and with two outs in the first inning, he hit a triple. Manny followed him up with number 504 to left and put the Sox on the board first.

They would score again in the fourth inning. With one out and the score tied, Moss drew a walk. Cash would then fly out to center for the second out. But Cora then came back with a double that brought in Moss. Not to be outdone, Coco followed that up with a single that brought in Cora and put the Sox up by two.

Manny started off the fifth inning by drawing a walk. Casey got a base hit. Youkilis flied out for the first out. Moss drew a walk to load the bases. Then, Seattle brought in their knuckleballer. Cash popped out to second for the second out. A knuckleball got away from the Seattle catcher and everyone moved up a base-including Manny who came around to score. Cora popped out to end the inning.

In the sixth inning, Drew hit a home run to center.

They would score again in the eighth inning-to make the stomping official. Cora started things off with a single but Coco lined out to right for the first out. Lugo got a base hit and Cora moved to second. Drew got a single, which brought Cora around. Manny walked to load the bases and Ellsbury ran for him. Lowell hit another double and brought in two more runs (Lugo and Drew.) Youkilis followed that up with a double of his own, which brought in Lugo and Ellsbury-as-Manny. Moss popped out and Cash struck out to end the inning.

I've got to say that Lugo had a really nice game. It's good to see Lugo smile-I'd still be scared to death to meet him in real life but it's good to see him smile. He fielded five ground balls, including an inning ending double play in the seventh. They showed him coming off the field after the play and he must have said something to Wake like "Did you see that? Wasn't that great?" because Wakefield gave him this little eyebrow-raised nod that seemed to say "Yeah. Yeah. I did. I was right here." He also caught a line out and a pop-out. He had a hit, a sacrifice bunt, and a walk. So, good on Lugo.

So, Uh, When it Rains? It Pours.

So Coco started off the second inning of tonight's game by picking a fight with the Rays pitcher. After being hit by the second pitch he saw, Coco charged the mound. Watching Coco it seemed pretty clear that he probably spent some time in the gym with his dad (why you would throw a punch at someone who's father had been a boxer is beyond me. I suppose he might not have known.)

Shields threw a weirdo, over-the-top, lazy, probably pretty ineffective (had it landed) punch, which Coco bobbed-I'm going to guess that Shields doesn't have all that much experience throwing a punch, especially given the fact that he used his pitching hand. Coco answered with an ill-placed roundhouse that seemed to clip Shields' shoulder. The catcher (Navarro) tackled him and then a couple of extraneous Rays jumped on top (Crawford, Gomes, and Iwamura) and started pummeling him.

To hear Coco tell it, however, they were fighting like "little girls", scratching at him and pulling his hair. From his post-game interview, he seemed to find the whole thing very amusing; which leads me to believe that he's been in some real fights in his time. He's always struck me as more deserving of the "scrappy" descriptor than Pedroia, anyway. Every time he comes up to bat he looks like a five-year-old ruffian. If you take away his toys, he's going to come at you fists flying; even if you put your hand on his forehead to keep him back, he'll keep trying to land a punch.

In all likelihood, he's looking at a ten-game suspension. As much as I love Coco, it wouldn't have been too horrible. But then the fourth inning happened.

In the fourth inning, Ellsbury made a beautiful diving catch to get the first out. Unfortunately, in the process of doing so he seemed to roll his wrist over. They did x-rays to determine that nothing was broken. It was announced as a sprained wrist but all that means is that it hurts like a sonofabitch but nothing appeared to be structurally wrong with it. They intend to do more testing tomorrow to figure out what exactly is wrong.

And then the weirdest thing happened between the fourth and the fifth innings. In the dugout, Manny took a swipe at Youk. Youkilis seemed absolutely utterly, confused by the whole incident. No indication from anyone what it was about, with Francona only saying in his presser that it had been taken care of. Indeed, when Manny came out of the game in the seventh, he and Youkilis shared a fist-bump.

The last unpleasant moment of the evening came in the seventh inning. Manny was the first to bat in the Sox half of the inning and watched most of the pitches thrown at him sail by. After one of those pitches sailed by, he shook out his right leg and Francona came jogging over. They left him in the game until he had drawn a walk but perhaps his hamstring is worse than they've let on. Anyway, Cash ran for Manny and really looked adorably perplexed that he was being asked to DH.

Garza v. Masterson (Game 61)

Justin Masterson once again put in a nice performance. He threw ninety-one pitches over six innings (sixty-one of them for strikes.) He allowed four runs on six hits (including two home runs-one to the first batter of the game and a two-run shot to Pena *tilde implied* in the sixth inning.) He walked two batters and struck out five. The other Rays run came off a pair of doubles he let fly in the fourth inning. He remains a well-grounded, unruffled, polite, sweetheart of a kid.

Manny Del was the first out of the bullpen in relief of Masterson. He came out to pitch the seventh inning. He walked the first batter but then got a fly out, a strike out, and a ground out to end the inning without allowing the runner to advance to second.

Lopez came into the game for the eighth inning and had own of his not so good outings. He walked the first batter he saw. He gave up a base hit to the second. He was then replaced by Hansen.

Hansen came into a not easy situation. There were runners on first and second and no outs but the new Craig Hansen? He wasn't disturbed by the situation-though he might not have been paying too close attention based on how long it took Francona to get him out there. The first batter he faced reached on a fielder's choice when Youkilis took the out at second. With runners on first and third, the second batter Hansen faced struck out. The last batter grounded into a fielder's choice for the force out at second.

Papelbon came out for the ninth inning and made a much better go of it than he did the last time out. He struck out the first batter he faced. He got the second to ground out to second. And he got the last batter to strike out to pick up his seventeenth save of the year.

The first two Red Sox runs of the night came in the second inning. Manny started things off with a single to center. And then, Lowell hit a home run to left field to make the score 1-2.

In the top of the fourth inning the Rays would tie things up but JD Drew hit a home run to right in the bottom of the inning to give the Sox the lead again.

The Rays took a one-run lead in top of the sixth inning but the Sox would answer that as well. Youkilis was hit by a pitch to lead-off the inning and then Manny booked it down to first base after he hit into a potential double play. Luckily, the shortstop couldn't get a hold of the ball and by the time he threw to first base both Manny and Youkilis were safe. Lowell fouled out for the first out of the inning. Then, Drew drew a walk to load the bases. Varitek hit a single to center and batted Youkilis in. With the bases still loaded and still only one out, Coco--funny little story about Coco there--hit a double to deep left that brought in Manny and Drew. Then, with runners on second and third and still only one out, Lugo drew a walk to reload the bases. Ellsbury then hit a sacrifice fly center that Varitek came around to score on and then Pedroia struck out to end the inning.

Defensively, both JD Drew and Pedroia made some really nice plays in the game.

The Appeal of Sox Appeal?

I've got to say that there really isn't too much about the silly little thing that is appealing. Mostly, I'd just like to watch the ballgame please. Thanks. But the one thing, the one thing I find amusing about it is that Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo remind me of these two:

Next Up: the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays pitcher for tonight is Matt Garza. The last time we saw Garza was in April when he went up against Tim Wakefield. He allowed three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out only one. He throws a mid-nineties fastball, a hard slider, a curveball, and a changeup. He plays really well at Tropicana Field but not so well in a different park. Although he's started fewer games away than he has at home, he's allowed more hits, more runs, more home runs, and struck out far fewer (he does give away more walks at the Trop.) Opponents are batting .220 against him at home and .281 on the road. He also does not fair well with runners on.

Wednesday the Rays plan to field Edwin Jackson. Jackson is an aggressive pitcher who throws a high nineties fastball, a slider, and a changeup. Control continues to be a problem for him but if he's on, he can be very good. The first time the Sox saw him this year he was on. He went seven innings and gave up one run on five hits. He also walked three and struck out four. The second time they saw him, he was not on. He ended up going only four innings, giving up six runs on nine hits (including a home run.) He walked three and struck out four in that game, as well. He has a much more difficult time getting lefties out.

The last Rays pitcher of the series is James Shields. His best pitch is his change-up but he also has a low-ninties fastball and a solid curveball. The first time the Sox saw Shields this year he went nine innings and gave up only two hits. He did walk one but he struck out seven. When they saw him a few days later it was a different story. He went only 3 and two-thirds of an inning. He gave up seven runs on ten hits. He walked three batters and struck out three batters. Righties have a much easier time hitting him than lefties. He also has trouble when there are runners on.

Dioner Navarro, Eric Hinske, and BJ Upton continue to be their best hitters. As a team, they don't make many errors at all-Bartlett has a team-leading five at shortstop. BJ Upton is the most likely player to steal a base with seventeen on the season-he's also been caught six times. He also has the most walks, the most RBIs, and the highest number of doubles on the team.

I'm Not A Doctor but I Play One on the Internet.

The MRIs coming out of Mass General yesterday did not bring glad tidings to the Red Sox. David Ortiz was diagnosed with a slight tear of the extensor carpi ulnaris sheath--conveniently highlighted in pink above (letter J, if it's too faint)--of his left hand.

The tendon runs along the ulna from the elbow to the pinky-finger side of the wrist. It connects the upper arm to the wrist. It's lot in life is to unflex the wrist and to help the wrist move inward toward the body. For most of the length of the tendon, it's lined with muscle fiber but right before it dives into the carpals at the wrist, the muscle stops and is replaced by a sheath. The sheath is filled with fluid and it's purpose is to keep the tendon lubricated and safe from the bone. The sheath is what Papi tore. With the tendon exposed, movement becomes both difficult and painful.

The prescription is a couple weeks of immobility and a prayer that it will heal itself. If it doesn't, he's looking at surgery. But surgery is really a very rare course of action.

Wakefield v. Guthrie (Game 60)

What is it precisely that Tim Wakefield has to do to get a win? I'm sure he'd like to be reminded of what he has to do to get the batters to score runs for him, as well.

Wakefield went seven innings on one hundred and nine pitches. He walked more batters than he struck out (4-3) but he held the Orioles to two runs on five hits. It wasn't a perfect outing but it was good enough. He very likely could have had the win if the batters hadn't come down with another case of leavingrunnersonbaseitis.

Okajima came out for the eighth inning and just had a terrible time of it. He was having a great deal of trouble finding the strike zone-of the seven batters he faced, five of them saw first-pitch balls. He gave up three hits in a row to load the bases with no outs. Millar hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the tying run. The next batter got the second out by grounding into a fielder's choice to first-from the which they took the out at the plate. Okajima then reloaded the bases by walking the next batter. He then gave up a double that brought in three more Oriole runs. He was then pulled in favor of Lopez who who did a nice job of striking out the last batter on four pitches.

They had baserunners in every inning except the fifth but they only managed to move those runners across homeplate in the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth innings. In the sixth inning, Manny hit number 502 to right field for the first run. In the seventh inning, Cora drew a walk and then Cash hit a double to right that brought Cora in. And in the eighth inning, Youkilis walked, Manny hit a single and then they both moved up a base on a wild pitch. Then, Lowell got a basehit that brought in Youkilis for the last run they would score.

I suppose something good to take from the game would be that they made some good defensive plays. Coco made some very nice Coco-esque catches in center to give Wake a hand. And Cash had a very nice strike-him-out-throw-him-out play in the first inning to get out of a sticky situation.

Oh, well. It's not the end of the world.

The Legend of Manny Ramirez.

Like Cher (or Lou and Eddie), Manny needs only one name. He's not known by the name he wears on his jersey: he's not a Jeter or a Soriano, he's not a Beckett or a Sheffield. He doesn't go by a nickname: he's not an A-Rod or a K-Rod or a Big Papi. He's just Manny. Manny as Manny isn't just in the northeast, either-throughout baseball, a ballplayer being referred to as Manny is our Manny. (Ichiro does go by his given name but that's more probably due to a cultural misunderstanding and the fact that he wears it on his back-leading non-Japanese speaking Americans to believe that it's his family name.)

Names like Alex or Derek or Jason or Jorge don't carry any special significance. If you were to talk about Derek's poor defense or Alex striking out, it wouldn't be clear who you were talking about. (If you were to further expound on the topic and describe the ball that just got past the glove of the diving Derek-Which is really hard to say. Try it.-and rolled into the outfield or how Alex struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning, the game, and the ninth-inning rally, then it becomes a little more clear who you're talking about.)

But Manny? "Manny's headed back but he's not going to make it as the ball drops in for a basehit." That's our Manny. "Manny draws a walk with the bases loaded to walk in a run." That's our Manny. And to channel my inner Don Orsillo: "Manny hits one to deep left. High. Far. Gone!" That's our Manny. Any other Manuels in baseball just have to find something else to be called-Manny is taken.

Part of it, and maybe a large part of it, is due to his personality. His sometimes lackadaisical play in left field leads some to believe that he doesn't try. His appearance (the baggy uniform and the long dreads) leads some to declare that he doesn't respect the game-whatever that means. The fact that he doesn't usually flip out after he strikes out leads some to say that he doesn't care. None of it is true. Manny does work hard. Manny does care. And Manny (I cringe inwardly as I write this) may have a better grasp of reality than a lot of baseball fans.

Baseball is a game. Games are supposed to be fun. Ergo, he is going to do his damnedest to have a good time out there. And so, yeah, you get the sometimes air-headed defense, the demands to be traded, an hours long blooper reel, and a self-centered (though, seemingly, not self-involved) left-fielder who operates best on his own schedule and in his own little world. But you also get 501 career homeruns (not including the 24 he's hit in the post-season), 2 World Series Championships, a career batting average of .312, and a career OPS+ of 154. It's a trade-off and probably a pretty fair one at that. Say what you will about Manny Ramirez (and a lot has been said) but the man can be counted on to hit the ball well.

So congratulations to Manny on his achievement; onward and upward and all that. And may Manny never stop being Manny.

Colon v. Burres (Game 59)

Bartolo Colon continues to quietly roll along, although not quite as smoothly as he had been doing. He went over six innings today, throwing one hundred and three pitches. He allowed three runs on seven hits (one of the runners he allowed to reach before he departed later came around to score.) He struck out five hitters and walked two. The Orioles were hitting him hard, though-he gave up two doubles and a homerun. He was allowed to come back out for the seventh inning but he looked absolutely disgusted with himself after he hit the first batter and walked the second. They banged the gong at that point and he was done.

Lopez was brought in to finish off the inning. He seemed to be having trouble throwing strikes but got lucky when the first batter he faced grounded into a double play (Lugo to Pedroia to Youkilis) but the first runner moved over to third. Millar got a single and an RBI as the runner on third came around to score. He then gave up another single before getting the last batter to fly out.

Hansen pitched the eighth inning and did a really good job of it. He needed only eight pitches to get his three outs. He got Jay Payton to strike out on three pitches. The second batter struck out after four pitches and the last batter took a chance, swung at the first pitch and grounded out to second.

The last pitcher of the game was Manny Del. He got a fly out from the first batter, a ground out from the second batter, he gave up a single to the third batter, but got Millar to pop out to Varitek to end the game.

The Red Sox offense showed up to this game in a big way. The Orioles pitching didn't have a 1-2-3 inning until the sixth inning (they also had 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth.) Ellsbury started off the first inning by getting a single off the second pitch he saw (he was later caught stealing.) Youkilis also had a single in the inning but couldn't make anything of it because Manny flew out to center.

Lowell shot a double to right to open the second inning. Varitek got a basehit and moved Lowell over to third. Drew hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Lowell for the first Red Sox run. Bailey struck out for the second out (it very easily could have been a walk instead.) Lugo had a single but Ellsbury struck out to end the inning.

In the third inning, Pedroia and Youkilis both got singles to start things off. With Youkilis on first and Pedroia on third, Manny hit a double that brought in Pedroia for the second run. Lowell hit a sacrifice fly to move Manny to third and to bring in Youkilis for the third run. Varitek lined out but Drew hit a single that brought in Manny for the fourth run. Bailey walked but Lugo popped out to end the inning.

In the fourth inning, Ellsbury bunted his way onto first but was knocked out when Youkilis hit into a fielder's choice, after Pedroia flew out. Manny then hit number 501 to right to bring in runs five and six. Lowell got his own homerun for run seven.

The Sox didn't score again until the seventh inning. After Varitek grounded out, Drew hit a homerun to right to give the Sox eight runs. Coco ran for Bailey after he drew a walk. Lugo grounded out and Coco moved to second. Coco came around to score on a single by Ellsbury for the ninth run.