Try To Remember.

(Source: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America)

 I thought that that was well done overall. I've never denied my love of Manny Ramirez but it was nice to see him make amends. Johnny Damon, on the other hand, when a man can go from seemingly charming by beating arrhythmically on a drum set to completely infuriating by saying, "I feel like if Boston would have resigned me after 2005, we probably would have had a couple more championships." as if he had no agency in the situation whatsoever, I may have to admit that I never really got over him. But most of all, I'm glad that Curt felt well enough to get out there.

One!

 (Source: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images North America)

Evey little step you take. Every little step.

But The World Goes 'Round.

Kicks in the shins, eh boyos? Ah, well. It's just going to be one of those years this year, isn't it?

Much like last year's team, they needed everything to go right for them to be any good. But unlike last year's team, nothing seems to have gone right for them this year. Clay has been terrible. And Felix was worse. The bullpen has been not inspiring.

Will was supposed to not suck but Mr. Easilydistracted was beyond useless. One wouldn't think that going from Will to Brock Holt was an upgrade but look how that turned out. Xander has been kind of okay at short. I love the man but Dustin has been mediocre. Naples was the only one hitting for awhile but then he busted his finger. Pierzynski isn't much of a catcher but at least he's hit a little bit. Maybe David Ross needs to be conked on the head again.

And then there's David. David is wonderful and maybe he's slowed down a bit but what do you expect? The back may be broad but it's not broad enough to hoist twenty-four guys on there and drag them through September without getting tired.

As for the outfield, it's a real shame that Daniel lost his pixie dust and that Shane's hamstring turned into spaghetti. If the pair of them are available then you can use Gomes and Sizemore properly. And then you can feel good about running Jackie out there everyday without worrying about whether he's forgotten what a baseball bat looks like--he is a joy to watch. 

But what are you going to do? Hope for a miracle, I suppose.

Nothing to Hit but the Heights.

Granted, Mama Rose probably isn't someone you should emulate in real life but when you need a swift kick in the pants, there's no one better than Ethel Merman. That lucky star is due, baby.

Every Day A Little Death.

Oh, piglets.

When this game started and they loaded the bases before making an out, I said, out loud, Holy Cannoli! and then they scored five runs and I was feeling pretty good. And then I was thinking that having Jackie Bradley Jr. in centerfield was really unfair--I thought, from the way he went after that ball off Escobar's bat that it was gone but then he caught it easy peasy. And then the rest of the game happened. And went on and on and on and on. And then it was over. Sigh.

Stiff Upper Lip.

Well, pigeons, what can one say at a time like this?

Maybe you'll bottom out and then go on a winning streak and all will be forgiven. Maybe you really are this bad, it doesn't seem likely but the evidence seems to point to this conclusion. Maybe something will break in your favor or maybe you'll find a little pile of last season's fairy dust in the corner. Nothing left to do but keep muddling through.

Once a Day Don't You Want to Throw the Towel In?

Welp. That was terrible.

 I don't know maybe they really are just a mediocre team, or at least they will be as long as they continue running Will ou there. (And yes, I know he tied the game today but he's not very good over at third and he's not hitting.) If he had some value, a la Jackie, there might be something to gain from continuing to play him but he just sucks.    Really if anyone besides David decided to show up for this series, that would have been great

And maybe it would be better if I gave Clay the Felix treatment, where you just expect to lose every game he starts, so that if by some miracle, he doesn't suck, well bully for you.

Anyway. You gotta hang on til tomorrow, though the sun might not actually come out tomorrow. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

One. Two. Cha-Cha-Cha.

"Optimist: Someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha." --Robert Brault

I'm feeling pretty positive right now. Yes, they were butted up against .500 and lost. Again.

But I'll be honest, they lost two fewer games than I thought that they were going to lose this weekend. So yay! for lowered expectations. A win today would have been gravy but you know, you can't win them all and two out of three ain't bad, etc.