Dodging Bullets...and a Moose

This visual matchup here would be the Mariners Moose versus Coco Crisp. Crisp was nearly leveled yesterday in front of the Sox dugout by this antlered would-be killer, as if yesterday's game needed any more excitement. Had this been pre-broken "Curse of the Bambino" Crisp would be out for 8 weeks after being run over by a stuffed moose.

After Friday night’s choke job, I was sure that the Sox were either going to be swept or lose the series to the Seattle Mariners. Boston has a history of suckage at Safeco Field and I didn’t really expect too much out of them. So, Saturday and Sunday’s wins were a little surprising especially with yesterday’s contest finishing up as a 9-2 victory in the Sox favor.

Yesterday’s game was a little bizarre. Manny celebrating a little too much for his 489^th home run of his career and of course, Crisp almost getting splattered by the mascot for the Mariners who was speeding around the field on an ATV. What the fuck was that all about? Coco took it in stride, almost got hit by a pitch later in the game and went on to have a good day hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Out of all the players to be used in the leadoff spot, Crisp seems to be the guy, at least in my opinion. With RF JD Drew playing once every series it seems (or less) and SS Julio Lugo having a streaky season at the plate, Crisp may seem like a lock to play the duration hitting lead in the lineup.

Josh Beckett had another solid outing picking up his 14^th win on the year. Beckett pitched into the 7^th inning giving up only one run, only walked two and struck out nine. Francona is also doing a good job of keeping his young ace in good condition for the home stretch limiting him to less than 120 pitches per start. It’s also important to not that having the bullpen that the Sox do for Francona to turn to doesn’t hurt either. I’m not one for babying pitchers and being a pitch count hawk because at this point in the season you should be able to take the cap off your guys and let them win. However, with the damage being done by the time the 7^th inning rolled around there was really no point to keeping Beckett in the game.

Reliever Eric Gagne ran into a few problems in Saturday night’s game and made things a little too interesting before getting out of his own self-created jam. He took a 4-2 lead into the 8^th and almost blew said lead after the Mariners scored on a Kenji Johjima single to deep left field bringing in Ben Broussard. Gagne got out of the jam by getting Yuniesky Betancourt to ground out to him and make the inning ending out at 1^st. Yikes, hopefully he can create a little less drama on the field and make the transition from starter to closer a little smoother. Closer Jonathan Papelbon came in to collect his 25^th save of the year.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz won’t have their normal output on RBI’s this season, however they have started to pick up the pace slightly and are at 72 and 68 RBI’s respectively. Both are hovering around .300 which is an improvement for Manny when held up against his slow start this season. Hopefully they peak at the right time through August and on into September.

Curt Schilling (6-4, 4.20 ERA) will make his first start since mid June in Atlanta tonight as the Sox travel down the Pacific Coastline to face off against the AL West leading Los Angeles Angels. Schilling returns to a rotation that has a pair of 13-game winners and a 14-game winner in Beckett, so if Schil can stay healthy the Sox may be fielding one of the best starting rotations in the Major Leagues. The Sox will try to keep the momentum rolling against the Halo’s as they put Jered Weaver (7-5, 4.00 ERA) on the mound tonight.

President of Red Sox Nation

Obviously, I just wanted an excuse to post this picture.

I've basically got two guys I'm planning I'm voting for, and being a paying member of Red Sox Nation (so I'm guaranteed a crack at Green Monster tickets when I go to Boston next summer) I feel like I need to make an educated vote. As of right now, these two guys are my two early front runners. Jerry Remy comes in at a close third, but as Bill Simmons writes, I would be concerned about him getting cancer and dying like, gee I don't know, five minutes from posting this. So, here are Peter Gammon's and Simmons' official campaign platform speeches. The only thing holding Gammons back at the moment is #9. Yikes, no thanks.

First, the Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon 7-4 to take the series after Tim Wakefield pitched seven innings giving up three runs. Eric Gagne was thwarted for a scoreless effort in his Red Sox debut by Aubrey Huff in the ninth. Gagne pitched in a non-save situation, but did get Jay Gibbons to fly out to end the game.

Gammons
If elected, I make 10 promises:
1. That I will get Luis Tiant, Jim Rice, Smokey Joe Wood and Janet Marie Smith into the Hall of Fame. Tip O'Neill made me promise I would fight for Smokey Joe to my deathbed.
2. That the Red Sox will provide every youngster in New England a video of Dwight Evans playing right field, so they can learn how to play that position correctly.
3. That all politicians have to pay their way into the park.
4. That, like Lyndon Johnson in 1960, Jerry Remy will be asked to be my running mate. After all, I was the first guy in Boston to discover him, at Somerset High School. And The Rev. Thomas Kennedy will be my Secretary of State, for the good of world peace, and rigging deals to get the best international players into the Red Sox farm system.
5. That the farthest west rest area on the Massachusetts Turnpike will be renamed "Wasdin Place."
6. That MIT will be renamed Matsuzaka Institute of Technology.
7. That we will built a seating section so that 1000 kids a game can get in--via a lottery--for $5 a head.
8. That if we can have cities and towns named after Red Sox like Wiilamstown, Lynn, Everett, Montgomery, Lee, the town of Westin will be renamed "Ortizton."
9. That Pearl Jam will play Fenway.
10. That every Opening Day, every school in New England will play Ken Coleman's call of Carl Yastrzemski's catch off Tom Tresh preseving Bill Rohr's no-hitter against the Yankees in 1967.

Bill Simmons
I'm running for President of Red Sox Nation for ten reasons. First, I've always wanted to be the President of something; at this point, I don't really care what it is. Second, I think I can get free tickets out of this. Third, I heard Mike O'Malley might run, and as much as I enjoy his work, we can't let him be President after he already subjected us to seven years of "Yes, Dear." Fourth, I'm the guy who once wrote a column called "Why Roger Clemens is the Anti-Christ," you have to vote me just for that. Fifth, unlike with that chainsmoker Jerry Remy, you'd never have to worry about my health during my tenure - and even if something does happen to me, you'll be in capable hands with my running mate, Rich Garces. Sixth, I dressed up as Fred Lynn for two straight Halloweens in '75 and '76- even as a kid, I was making great decisions. Seventh, I'm sure you have people in your life - in the office, in your dorm, in your family - who claim to be true Sox fans but couldn't pick Todd Benzinger or Dewey Evans out of a police lineup. I'm going to create a nationwide competency test to weed out these bandwagon jerks. Eighth, I spent the last four years in California learning about political leadership from the great Arnold Schwarzenegger - with that kind of training, I'm going to be unstoppable. Ninth, I have not one, not two but THREE friends named Sully. That has to count for something. And tenth, I'm going to use my presidential powers to get more free stuff for kids - free Red Sox Nation memberships, free tickets, free stuff from the Pro Shop and everything else. Vote for Simmons or you're basically admitting that you don't care about kids.

On Solid Ground?

This picture is dedicated to my friend over at TwinsTown. Once again, it’s not like I’m a C’s fan or anything, it’s just cool to see KG in a Sox jersey.

After last night’s performance, Boston is in the midst of still finding which identity they are going to carry (or not) into the postseason. Julian Tavarez proved once again why I hate the idea of him starting. Ever. He was quoted before last night’s game as saying being prepared to start is “mental.” It seems Tavarez has three brain cells upstairs in la cabasa that are constantly fighting and are unable to string together a complete thought or pitch sequence. You know what? I used to think that his saving grace was that he was a good guy to keep the clubhouse loose, but his ability to fuck games up out of the gate are starting to outweigh that trait. With Schilling on his way back next Monday Tavarez hopefully has a one way ticket to the bullpen for the duration of the season.

At least the Sox have their lineup to lean on, even though it hasn’t been that dependable the last two outings. They were able to mount a four run comeback in the bottom of the seventh on the backs of the heart of the lineup. It’s nice to see the big bats come through when they are needed in the clutch and come together as a team rather than just relying on one or two people night in and night out.

All-Star reliever Hideki Okajima made things interesting giving up an eighth inning solo shot to Baltimore Orioles SS Miguel Tejada. Javier Lopez came in to collect the win after closer Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch a perfect ninth earning his 24^th save of the year.

Tim Wakefield is on the mound this afternoon for a rare mid-week day game at Fenway against Jeremy Guthrie in the rubber match with the O’s. If the Yankees keep playing the way they are, it’s going to be difficult to nurse their seven game lead in the AL East by playing .500 ball like the Sox have been doing since early June. Since going 36-16 in April and May, the Sox are 29-26 in the last two months. Like I’ve said to counter the Yankees production they have been playing some weak teams in Tampa Bay, Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox. They’ll have a tougher stretch in the second half of August playing top AL teams in Cleveland, Detroit, LA and Boston. So, we’ll see what they’re made of and if they are for real after playing those top teams in the AL by the end of this month.

Also, regarding last night’s events in Minneapolis, I’m happy to see that the Twins organization made the no brainer call to postpone today’s final game against the Kansas City Royals and the groundbreaking on their new stadium. It’s a tragedy that hits a little too close to home for me, as my uncle who works for Fox Sports Net North and aunt who works for the University of Minnesota took the bridge that collapsed yesterday to work everyday. In fact, my aunt traveled over it just minutes before it went down into the Mississippi River. I’m not the type of guy to say “keep the victims and their families in your prayers” however it’s sort of hard not to say that in a way when something unexpected like that happens. Me being me, I'd rather just make a joke about it and gain a little levity. But since this could have happened anywhere (including where I live) here’s to wishing the Minneapolis/Twin Cities community a speedy recovery.