Unlucky 13: Paps blows game in extra innings

Detroit 3, Sox 2 (13)
WP: Grilli LP: Papelbon
HRs: BOS- Ortiz (14)

At first I was upset with myself when I forgot to set the DVR before I went out for dinner & drinks with the wife after spending a few hours at the beach today, causing me to miss most of the game.

Hey, our son is away, I can't spend every night watching baseball.

Then when I got home and turned on the tube and saw it was 2-2 in the 8th I was really pissed, realizing I probably missed out on a great game (Murphy's Law, of course.)

But after witnessing the Sox blow five scoring chances from the 8th to the 12th innings, and then seeing the Tigers, who had also squandered some terrific scoring opportunities, pull out a gut-punch win against Boston's All Star closer in the bottom of the 13th, well then I was just sorry that I caught any of the game at all.

From what I gathered Papi (2-2, R, 2BI, 4BB) had a big game, blasting a two-run homer in the first (perhaps that day off did him some good) for the only damage done to Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 9K) in his seven solid innings.

I also see that Kason Gabbard (6.1IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K) had a good outing as well, matching Bonderman by allowing a 2-run double to Craig Monroe in the fifth for his only blemish. He's now put two decent starts together since that debacle in Seattle.

After the starters departed nine relievers on both sides combined to throw all zeroes on the board, at times having to escape tight, tense situations: Detroit had the bases loaded in the 10th but All Star Okajima worked out of it, and Boston had two on in the 10th, one in the 11th, and the bases loaded in the 12th but could not get a run home.

Ugh!

But when Tito was forced to go to Papelbon in the 13th, it looked as if Boston would at least get one more shot at the win.

Except Paps had one of those rare bad outings, which was obvious from the get-go when he plunked Gary Steroidfield with his first pitch of the inning.

Sure enough, after he got MLB leading hitter Maggs Ordonez to fly out and Carlos Guillen to whiff, Ivan Rodriguez sliced an opposite field drive that just eluded Coco's diving try (hey, the guy can't catch everything!), and Sheff, who had stolen second, jogged home with the winning run.

And just like that, one night after getting trounced to break a four-game winning streak the Sox suffered a soul-crushing, one-run, extra inning loss and now own a two-game losing skid.

See, that's why I'm glad I missed (most of) it.

Just one more game left to play before the break, and thankfully the Sox will have Dice-K on the hill, so maybe they can stop this mini-skid and head into the hiatus on a positive note.

Oh one other small, coincidental consolation: the Stanks lost in 13 innings today too, 2-1 at home to the Angels.

So we got that going for us.

RECORD: 53-33
AL EAST: Up 11 on TOR, NYY
STREAK: L-2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sun @ DET, 1:05

Go Dice!

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Tigers slam Sox back to reality

Detroit 9, Sox 2
WP: Miller (4-2)
LP: Tavarez (5-7)
HRs: BOS-Mirabelli (3); DET- Granderson (12), Thames (9)

SUMMARY
Boston got a taste of its own medicine tonight as the Tigers used a big inning and a game-breaking grand slam (stop me if this sounds familiar) to halt the Sox four game winning streak.

Just one night after Boston racked up 21 hits and 15 runs, rookie lefty Andrew Miller shut the Sox offense down, and Julian Tavarez got lit up like a Montecristo en route to his third straight defeat.

#1 STUNNER Marcus Thames 1-3, GS, 5RBI
Not only did the giant left fielder break the game open with his 5th inning grand slam, but two of his other fly outs were long enough to be gone in most major league ballparks.

All told I'd say he hit roughly a thousand feet worth of outs tonight, and if it weren't for Coco he would have had 10-12 total bases on the evening. Not a bad game.

PAN's FAUN Tavarez 4.2IP, 10H, 8ER, BB, 4K, 2HRs
I already renamed this category in honor of Julie's otherworldly, goat-like tendencies, and now I might have switch the name again, to Tavarez' Twisted

RECAP
Just when you think it safe to believe that the Sox had put the rough patch of poor pitching and spotty hitting behind them, along comes a game like this to act like a slap in the face from a co-worker who didn't appreciate your happiness hugs.

One night after dismantling the Devil Rays, Boston got its lunch handed to them in the form of a D-Town beatdown as the Tigers scored eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined, fueled by a monster granny from Marcus Thames, and coasted to an easy victory from there.

And unfortunately for Boston the flammable material known as Julian Tavarez who hastened his ouster from the pen last season due to his knack for blowing games wide open has reared his ugly head again, and who knows if 'dependable 5th starter Julie' will ever make an appearance again.

Tavarez has seemed to implode both psychically and mentally over his last few starts, displaying more tics than Rain Man on crack and suffering from a sudden inability to make it past the fifth inning without having at least one horrendous episode where the other team circles the bases like video game characters.

Tonight Julie was generous; he spread the carnage over two innings. Detroit sent seven men to the plate in the fourth and had four hits and scored three runs, then topped that by batting eight times in the fifth, with five of those men coming around to score as Detroit blew the game wide open and took an 8-2 lead.

At least none of them got two hits in an inning.

Ironically the Sox struck first on a glorious Detroit summer evening in front of a packed house, but the way Boston had to fight to score that run should have given an inkling as to what kind of night it would be.

Wily Mo (playing left field in place of Manny, who was DHing) hit a drive to right center that dropped in front of Curtis Granderson and the talented center fielder mistakenly allowed the ball to get past him; as it skidded all the way to the wall, Wily Mo raced around the bases for a leadoff triple.

Sweet. Whiffy Mo finally got a big hit!

But what would follow next wasn't so sweet (for Boston fans), and in the blink of an eye Granderson would have his revenge for his minor fielding miscue.

New addition Jeff Bailey, called up today to play first base and making his big league debut, lofted a ball high to center that Granderson camped under; perhaps with the blunder in mind, third base coach DeMarlo Hale sent Wily Mo to the plate.

Granderson's throw was right on the money, and so was Mike Rabelo's tag and Wily was a dead duck, and just like that a man on third and no outs turned into no one on, no one home and two outs, and it was time for that queasy feeling to start taking root in the stomachs of RSN.

The agita was temporally erased when Lugo followed the play with a walk, then stole second and came around to score on Coco's clutch RBI single to give the Sox a 1-0 lead, but the advantage would be short lived and it would not return.

That's because Tavarez, who had been pitching pretty decently up to that point, came unglued in the bottom of the fourth.

The whole mess started when Gary Steroidfield hit a hard grounder to third and Lowell tossed it into the stands for a single and an error, and Detroit had a man in scoring position just three pitches into the inning.

Magglio Ordonez, the leading hitter in the majors, then muscled a Tavarez pitch into shallow center that scored Sheff with the tying run, but after Carlos Guillen hit a sharp single to center (very busy position tonight), Coco made a pair of back-to-back spectacular catches that appeared to save the game.

Sean Casey tested Crisp first as he launched a Tavarez fastball into the cavernous centerfield region that Coco easily tracked down and hauled in, making the awesome look merely routine, but it was his grab of Thames' moonshot that followed that had to impress even the most jaded Coco watcher.

Thames, who's built like Wily Mo but is more flexible, drove a deep shot that was curling away from Crisp and appeared would score both runners with ease. But the Amazing Coco charged in on his cloud of magic dust and snagged the ball just before the wall for as dazzling a sacrifice fly as you'll ever see, and Detroit had to settle for three runs and a 3-1 lead.

Just like Granderson, Thames would get his revenge, though.

Miller (7IP, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 6K) retired Boston on 11 pitches in the top of the fourth, and Detroit immediately got started on removing Tavarez from the game in the bottom of the frame.

Immediately, as in Granderson (3-5, BI) hit Julie's first pitch of the inning deep into the seats in right for a momentum-building homer, and suddenly the guy who nearly allowed a run to score for Boston earlier had taken one away from them and added one for his own team.

I should've named him the player of the game I guess.

Wait a minute, I know why I didn't. After Tavarez loaded the bases on a single, HBP and walk (was Tito just fucking with everyone by leaving him in there to roast or what?), Thames stepped to the plate and made sure that the next pitch he hit would not be hauled in by any circus-like catch.

Thames destroyed Julie's fifth pitch for a demoralizing grand slam, and much like the night before the Sox knew what it felt like to have a game torn wide open by a back-breaking granny.

Except last night's version of the experience was way more fun, I thought.

Tavarez would leave after that having allowed a season high 8 earned runs, and although Boston did muster a couple of meek scoring chances off Miller, including back-to-back walks to Drew & Pena in the sixth and the promise of walk and ground rule double by Lowell in the eigth, but each opportunity was quickly snuffed out.

By the time Doug Mirabelli hit a leadoff homer in the 9th it was time to start thinking about tomorrow's game, especially like which lineup will Tito employ, and who will be the first man to come out of the pen when Gabbard gets in trouble?

NOTES

• Hit & miss: for all his awesome offensive exploits, Lowell's declining defense remains a mystery. The Gold Glover committed his 13th error on the season, and to put that into perspective, his career high is 14 errors for an entire season. Baffling.
• Defensive gems: along with Coco's catches and Granderson's dart, Wily Mo made a nice running catch of an Inge rocket in the fourth; Pedroia snagged a hot liner that saved a run in the fifth; Polanco snared a hot shot by Lugo in the seventh; and Coco made a circling, over the shoulder catch of another Thames scud in the seventh. He's starting to resemble a circus freak out there!
• Flip side: a sign of how things went for Boston--a pop up by Polanco dropped in between three Sox fielders for a cheesy bloop double in the bottom of the 8th. Check please!
• No Papi: Ortiz was told he would have the night off on the plane ride to Detroit last night, according to the Globe
• Hello, Jeff: Bailey is an incredible story, having struggled through 11 minor league seasons and a position change (from catcher to 1B/DH) due to a shoulder injury that led to a sudden inability to throw the ball from the plate to the mound; he follows PawSox teammate Jacoby Ellsbury as the only position players to make their MLB debuts for the Sox this season
• Boston managed just five hits, one each by Coco, Lowell, Manny, Belli and Lowell; Pedroia (0-4) had a nine-game hitting streak snapped
• As I predicted (pat pat) don't think about Youk taking the field in this series, and expect Papi to get another game off as well

QUOTES

"We were down 4-1, and we didn't want to go to the pen in the fifth, so we walked Casey to try to get Julian against Thames. That worked out about as badly as it could have."--Francona, clearing up my question as to why the fuck he left Tavarez in there

"This was my worst outing."-- Tavarez. My question: How can you tell?

"He's got a tremendous arm with good stuff. As he progresses and learns command, he's going to be a special kid."--Francona on Miller

RECORD: 53-32
AL EAST: Up 11 on TOR, NYY
STREAK: L-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sat @ Det 7:05

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Series Preview: Sox @ Detroit

Boston Red Sox (52-31) @ Detroit Tigers (48-34)
3-game series Comerica Park

Season Series: Boston leads 3-1

Keep an eye on: Magglio Ordonez-- the Tigers All Star right fielder is having an MVP caliber season, leading the majors in hitting (.370) while placing in the top five in RBIs (70-4th), runs (68-5th), OBP (.446-2nd to Bonds) and SLG% (.613, 2nd to ARod).

PREVIEW
Two of the best teams in the American League, who together have a combined 11 players participating in Tuesday's All Star Game, square off for a three gamer in beautiful Comerica Park to close out the mythical first half of the 2007 season.

After Hideki Okajima was elected by the fans yesterday the Sox took the lead from the Tigers with six players invited, but Detroit still has reason to be proud with their five guys, which include Gary Sheffield, Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Pudge(less) Rodriguez and Justin Verlander.

Okajima beat out Tiger starter Jeremy Bonderman, among others, for the Final Fan Vote contest.

The Sox come to D-Town riding high, having swept the Devil Rays and taken 2 of 4 from Texas to enlarge their division lead to a mammoth 12 games over the Jays and Stanks.

Detroit had been as hot as Jessica Biel in catapulting over Cleveland and into the top spot in the AL Central, but a recent cold stretch (lost 5 of 7) brought them back to Earth.

But just when it looked like they might be fading after losing a series opener to the Tribe on Tuesday, the Tigers pounced back by mauling the Indians by a combined score of 18-7 in the last two games and they now sit one game out of the division lead.

It should be a classic pre-all star break series, especially with all the star players adorning both benches. Don't expect an semi-injured players to see much action (this means you, Youk & Papi), and don't look for many over-aggressive base running or diving plays.

Both teams just want to make it into the break as healthy as possible and get as much rest as possible before the pennant races ramp up for real next week.

Well, except for the 11 players making the cross-country trip to the City By the Bay.

NOTES:
According to the Globe, Papi will sit out tonight and due to Youk's ailing quad, Boston called up PawSox first baseman Jeff Bailey to make his major league debut and play first base tonight; Goodbye, Jacoby down, hello Jeff...Tigers reserve infielder Neifi Perez was suspended this afternoon by MLB for failing a drug test. The light-hitting (.179) journeyman tested positive for a banned stimulant and will serve a mandatory 25-game suspension, effective immediately

GAME PREVIEW
GM1 FRI 7P Tavarez (5-6, 4.29) vs. Miller (3-2, 3.81)
The Sox never know what to expect when Julian Gump takes the mound, but for all his quirks and faults he has done a decent job as the team's fifth starter.

After winning four straight decisions Julie has dropped his last two, allowing 13 hits six walks and four earned runs in 10 innings during that time.

Tavarez will be opposed by young Tigers lefty Andrew Miller, a big 22-year-old who has only made five starts in his career, all this season, and who's coming off a bad loss in which he allowed six hits and five runs in five innings of an 8-5 loss to the Twins.

Let's hope the kid is intimidated by the blazing Boston batters.

But then again Julie could always melt down like Paris Hilton after a night in the clink.
MY PICK: Tigers find a way

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Sox Notes: Ellsbury gone; Youk, Papi ailing; Oki All Star

Sox ship speedy outfielder Ellsbury back to AAA
It was a move that shouldn't have come as a surprise surprise--the Sox are set in the outfield and need to carry an extra arm, not a fifth fielder--but the news of Jacoby Ellsbury's sudden demotion still saddened all corners of the Nation.

In his brief cameo with the parent club the 23-year-old Native American went 6-16 with a double, three runs and RBI a stolen base and one memorable trip around the bases when he scored from second on a wild pitch against the Rangers on Monday.

But instead of mourning the departure of the energetic, young, heady, exciting, and did I mention lightning quick? kid, let's stop and ponder the thought of him owning the centerfield expanse at Fenway for decades to come, a superior talent in the mold of a Rocco Baldelli at the plate and Coco in the field who will have come through the Sox system, not some mercenary who skips from team to team for the highest dollar (ahem Judas Demon.)

When Ellsbury is paired with current PawSox and future Bosox teammates David Murphy and Brandon Moss, and the Sox will have a solid combination of speedy & powerful outfielders for many years to come.

Plus Jacoby ensured himself of a September callup with his excellent showing in his brief six game stint.

Still, it's sad to see all that speed exit the building.

Youk misses 2nd straight game, while Papi's power is kaput
Kevin Youkilis missed his second consecutive game last night and third in the last four with what is being described as a left quad strain, and although he has said he can pinch hit and Francona has not ruled him out for the Tigers series, don't be surprised if the ultra-cautious Sox let him rest the nagging injury through the break, which would give him nearly a full week off without having to risk a trip to the DL.

David Ortiz, meanwhile, has been nursing bad hamstrings for a couple of weeks, and from the way he was limping around the bases in the Rays series and the fact that his double yesterday was his first extra base hit in 12 games and he hasn't homered in his last 14 contests, it doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure out that Big Papi is hurting, probably more than he is letting on.

No word, or even a mention, of him sitting out the Midsummer Classic, though. Think of him as the anti-Manny in that regard.

Okajima named as fan's pick to be the Sox 6th All Star in 2007
Not that this should come as a surprise since a Boston player has won this vote in three of the last six elections, but Hideki Okajima, Boston's fortunate free agent Far East find, beat out four other competitors and will join the other five Sox All Stars in San Francisco Tuesday night.

In a fast & furious finish Oki edged out Minnesota's Pat Listash, LA of Anaheim's Kelvim Escobar, Toronto's Roy Halladay and Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers with 4.4 million votes cast for the superlative rookie.

The real surprise is that of the two Japanese pitchers Boston brought over here to shore up the staff for '07, not even Okajima's parents would have thought it would be him in the All Star game and not his higher profile and higher paid countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

But that's what a microscopic ERA, surfer's mentality, head-turning (literally) delivery and a few million frantic voters can do for a guy.

In the NL Padres pitcher Chris Young (remember him?) won with a record setting 4.6 million votes, besting then Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra's 2006 record of 4.5 million. Judas Demon (2002) and Cap'n Tek (2003) were previous final vote winners for Boston.

So Oki will take his fiber-optic thin 0.88 ERA and his Nicole Ritchie-esque 0.78 WHIP along with his 37 Ks in 41 innings and whipsaw head motion to AT&T Park, a.k.a the House that Barry Built, and if the fans are lucky they might get to see what Boston fans witnessed a few weeks ago: Okajima fanning Bonds again.

Congrats, Oki, and let's hope one of the other pitchers drops out and Dice gets added to the roster, also.

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Series Recap: Tampa Bay vs. Sox

Game	SCORE	WP	LP
GM1	BOS 4-1	Dice-K	Kazmir
GM2	BOS 7-5	Wake	Jackson
GM3	BOS 15-4	Beckett	Howell

STAT	TB	BOS
WINS	0	3
HITS	25	37
RUNS	10	26
HRs	2	3
AVG	.194	.363
ERA	9.38	3.33

Batter's Composite Box

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Coco	4-12, 2R, 2-2B, GS, 2BB, 6RBI	ripping the ball, + great 'D'
Pedroia	4-13, 2R, 2B, 2BB, 2K, 2BI	settled in nicely to 2-spot
Papi	4-12, 5R, 2B, BB, 2K, 0BI	hammys must be real bad...
Manny	4-10, 5R, 2-2B, 3BB, 2K, 2BI	...but what's his excuse?
Drew	4-8, 2R, 2-2B, 3K, RBI	avg. up to .265
Lowell	8-13, 6R, BB, 2K, 2HRs, 7RBI	fountain of youth ?
Tek	3-5, 2R, 2BB, 1K, 3RBI	avg. steadily climbing (.277)
Lugo	3-10, BB, K, SB, 2CS, 4RBI	as many hits this series as in last 3 wks
Youk	1-3, 2R, 2BB, K	played 1 gm (bad quad)
Hinske	0-5, 4BB, 4K	all-or-nothing
Belli	1-4, 3RBI, 3BB, 2K	snapped a 1-15 skid; BL walk
Cora	1-4, 2B, R, RBI	down to .281
Wily Mo	0-6, 4K	Whiffy Mo Pena
Ellsbury	1-4, 2B, R, RBI	impressive kid

Pitcher's Composite Box

PITCHER	SERIES STATS/COMMENT
Dice-K	8IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 9K; win #10 in GM1
Wake	6.1IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, HR; win # 8 in GM2
Beckett	6IP, 9H, 3ER, 1BB, 9K; win #12 in GM3
Paps	2IP, 1H, 1R, 0BB, 3K, HR; save #20 in GM1
Manny D	1,1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 3K; he's been huge lately
Snyder	1IP, 1H, 1R, 2BB, 1K; not a good job in GM2
Timlin	2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K; nice work in GM3
Lopez	1/3IP, 2H, 1R, 1K; all'd 3 runs to score in GM2

RECAP:
It's always fun doing the composites for these series--it's like keeping track of stats from a video game or something (not that I've ever done that, well, at least not since the days of ColecoVision.)

The ailing Boston batters got dose of just what the doctor ordered--a visit from the recently decent and now utterly pathetic D-Rays, and like a potent antivenin, the Sox suddenly started slamming the ball all around the yard, cranking the pathetic 2-run/game average it brought into the series over the past eight games up to a more Bosox-like 8.6RPG.

Now that's what I call a miracle cure.

The series, as most often happens when these two clubs hook up, featured plenty of offensive fireworks including a total of 62 hits, 36 runs and a week's worth of clutch hits and multi-run innings, a nice change of pace from the 2-1 paint-drying nail biters RSN had been saddled with for the last month or so.

Yesterday's mashathon featured a number of eye-popping moments, including J.D. Drew tying a major league record with two hits in the first inning, Mike Lowell ringing up a career high five-hit, five-RBI night, and Coco Crisp crushing a first inning grand slam and then reeling in yet another gorgeous basket catch in the eigth.

My adopted hometown Tampa Bay was swept in its third consecutive series and has been anemic at the plate (outscored 70-30 in the current 11-game losing streak) and horrendous on the mound.

Thankfully my real hometown Sox are headed in the exact opposite direction, winners of four straight and five of its last seven and showing no signs of relinquishing the huge division lead it has enjoyed for most of this fantastic first half.

As for the Rays, well the Sox will be down here in three weeks for the first time this season, and by the time I'm in the standsat the Trop for Game 3 cheering on the Sox with the rest of RSN South, Boston could be 30 games up on Tampa Bay because the Rays still may not have won a game by then.

Seriously, thanks for coming guys!

Next up: Detroit

Sweep the Tigers and then on to the break!

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Sox annihilate Rays for sweet series sweep

Sox 15, Tampa Bay 4

WP: Beckett (12-2)

LP: Howell (1-3)

HRs: BOS-Crisp (5), Lowell (14)

Coco Cola: See that little white speck bouncing off the Coke bottles way up there? That's Coco's granny exiting the ball park

RECAP
The Sox delivered what we've all been waiting for these last few weeks--a good old fashioned ass-kicking!

Boston slugged 21 hits in the game and scored 13 runs in the first three innings, enabling Josh Beckett to cruise to his 12th victory en route to handing Tampa Bay its 11th consecutive defeat.

#1 STUNNER(s): Coco & Lowell 7-11, 4R, 2HRs, 10RBI
Don't rub your eyes, those numbers are correct. The Sox All Star third baseman (5-6, R, 5RBI)and speedy centerfielder combined to knock in 10 of Boston's 15 runs, with Coco's grand slam highlighting a six-run first, while Lowell's three-run bomb blew the game open, 9-0, in the second.

Oh, and Coco had yet another incredible over-the-shoulder basket catch (yawn!)

PAN's FAUN: J.P. Howell 2/3IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 1K, 1HR
The Rays rookie lefty couldn't get out of the first inning in his first career start at Fenway Park, getting lit up like a carton full of M80's as 8 of the 10 batters Howell faced reached base, although Coco didn't stay there for long by the time his granny cleared the Monster.

BTW, his ERA for this outing would be 80.96.

RECAP
"That's the way, uh-huh uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh uh-huh..."

Pardon me as I break into crappy disco lyric, but that's what happens when our favorite team busts out of a two-week offensive funk by administering its largest and most thoroughly dominant beating of the season.

Words are tough to describe what took place on this overcast and cool night at the old ballyard, so let me throw some numbers out there to help put this rectal reaming into proper perspective:

• Boston smacked a season-high 21 base hits; of the 12 players to get an official at bat in the game, nine registered at least one hit
• Of those nine players, 8 guys had at least two hits, Papi had three hits, and Lowell had a career-high five knocks (4 singles & a homer)
• Six players knocked in at least one run, Lugo drove in two, while Coco and Lowell had five each; all the RBIs came from the lower half of the lineup
• Jacoby Ellsbury replaced Manny in the fifth and wound up with two hits in two at bats
• The Sox led 6-0 after one, 9-0 after two, and 13-2 after three innings
• The 15 runs were a season high as well, besting a 14-3 shellacking of Seattle way back on April 10, also started by Beckett
• Rays starter J.P. Howell's ERA rose from 5.19 to 6.62, an increase of 1.43
• Coco batted four times with the bases loaded; the results were homer, walk, GIDP, K
• Two runs scored on bases loaded walks FOR Boston, a nice change of pace there

Okay, I'm all numbered out now (my brain starts to hurt when I put too many numbers together), but the stats are a quick way to get the full effect of what the Sox did to the hapless Rays this evening, namely unleash weeks of pent-up offensive frustration on one of the sorriest pitching staffs in the majors.

The game was a mismatch on paper from the beginning, with All Star starter (I think it's safe to say that now) Josh Beckett taking the mound for Boston against third year hurler J.P Howell, a veteran of exactly 30 career starts with a 5-10 lifetime record.

And wouldn't you know this was one of those times where the game, although it wasn't played on paper, it played out just like it would have had it been played on....

...ah what the fuck, let me just try to describe what took place, cause God knows that's gonna take me long enough.

After Beckett struck out the side in the top of the first the Sox hitters got right to work on supplying Becks with his usual 8+ runs of support per game that he has enjoyed for most of the season.

J.D. Drew (2-4, R) got the party started with a grounder up the middle that stayed in the infield but still resulted in a base hit. Dustin Pedroia (2-5, R) followed with a solid single to left center, and then Papi hit the hardest ball of them all, but it was knocked down by Carlos Pena at first and bounced to 2B Ty Wiggington who got Pedroia out at second base.

With runners at the corners and one out Manny lined a single to left to score Drew with the first ruin of the game, but like a woman on a night out drinking, once the seal was broken the Sox kept the flow going and going and going.

Mike Lowell greeted Howell with the first of his five hits, a solid single to centerfield to load the bases, and after Varitek walked to force in run #2, Coco stepped up with the sacks packed and the game in the balance.

If the Sox failed to push more runs across here, Howell would feel a sense of relief at stemming the tide and escaping with a manageable deficit. But if Coco could deliver a big base hit, the rout would be on, and the way the Rays have been playing the game could conceivably have been over in the first inning.

From what happened next, I'd say Coco got his mission accomplished.

Crisp launched Howell's second pitch into the Mannysphere over the Green Monster and up into the unsightly arrangement of ginaourmous plastic Coke bottles adorning the light tower, high above the Monster seats and the field of play.

It was the kind of moonshot normally associated with Manny, Lowell or Wily Mo, but not the diminutive, slender center fielder.

Someone check his urine!

Howell composed himself long enough to strike out Eric Hinske (0-2, 3BBs), but then Lugo followed with a walk and Drew dropped his second hit of the inning into right field and that was all she wrote for poor young J.P.

Signs you've had a bad outing: a team gets a grand slam, a bases loaded walk, and one dude gets two hits off you in 2/3 of a freakin inning!

Brian Stokes came on and got Pedroia out to end the carnage, but Boston would do some damage to Stokes' ERA before the next inning was finished.

Ortiz (3-5, 4R) led off the second with a double to the opposite field and Manny was walked after turning a 3-0 count to a 3-2 affair. I figure Lowell must've made an "I can top that" bet with Crisp in the dugout, because he catapulted the second pitch he saw from Stokes up & over the Monster and completely out of the park, and before you can say "D-Rays suck" the Sox were up 9-0 with no outs in the second inning.

Say it again? Sure.

Up 9-0 with no outs in the second inning.

Oh but it would get better. After Beckett showed he's human by allowing the Rays to get a couple of runs in the top of the third, Boston made sure he got those runs right back when they hung a four-spot on Tampa bay's next victim, errr hurler, Jon Switzer.

Pedroia flied out to start the third but things quickly went sideways when Papi singled, Manny doubled and Lowell notched his third hit of the evening, a hard single to right that scored Ortiz with the 10th Sox run and turned the game into an unofficial rout.

Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, they weren't through yet.

Captain Tek kept the inning going when he reached on an infield single to the pitcher (when it rains it pours), and then Coco drew the bases-loaded freebie on five pitches for his 5th ribbie of the night--in the third inning.

After Hinske fouled out (damn him!), Julio Lugo continued to get healthy off his old teammates when he drilled a two-run single into center that pushed the score to 13-2 and officially rendered the rest of the game Garbage Time.

Beckett ended up throwing a solid but not spectacular six innings (6IP, 9H, 3ER, 1BB, 9K), good enough on this night and hopefully good enough to get the All Star start. The hardest he may have been hit all night was when Rays catcher Dionner Navarro ran into him behind first base in the sixth inning.

Beckett appeared to come away from the collision okay, but Navarro had to leave the game, and certainly looked dazed and confused as he was helped off.

Appropriate since his team looked the same way on the field all night.

Oh speaking of the all Star game, the Sox found out before the game that Hideki Okajima won the Monster Fan Vote and was elected as a reserve, the sixth Sox player to be placed on the team.

When it rains it pours, right D-Rays?

NOTES

• The Rays did muster 11 hits against three Boston pitchers (Snyder & Timlin followed Beckett), the first time they've had double digit hits in ten days.
• Rays Rookie Delmon Young had three hits and an RBI and may have been robbed of his 10th outfield assist when Tek was called safe on a questionable call at home on the final run of the third
• Thanks, for nothing: the only Sox not to get a hit: Hinske and replacements Mirabelli (0-0, 2BB, RBI), Cora (0-1) and Wily Mo (0-2)
• Ellsbury's two hits raised his average to .375 (6-16) and he continues to make it difficult to send him back when the time comes
• The Sox have scored 97 runs for Beckett in his 16 starts, best in baseball
• Youk got the night off again to rest his ailing quad
• Broom Masters: The Rays were swept in its third consecutive series
• Despite all the hits and runs Boston only had five extra base hits, or one less that the night before when they won 7-5. They did manage eight walks as well.

QUOTES

"There's some other guys as deserving as I am. I'll be happy if he chooses me." -- Beckett. Translated: they'd better fucking pick me, what the fuck more do you want me to do out here, shoot flames out of my ass?!

"These guys never cease to amaze me with the way they swing the bats."--Beckett on his teammates. True that, Josh.

"After the grand slam, I thought we were still in it. But after that, it was over."--Howell

"That speaks a lot for our team. For me or anybody to come up with the bases loaded four times is pretty amazing."--Coco

RECORD: 53-31
AL EAST: Up 12 on NYY, TOR
STREAK: W-4
LAST 10: 5-5

UP NEXT: Fri @ DET, 7:05

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Game preview: Tampa Bay @ Sox GM3

J.P. Howell (1-2, 5.19) vs. Josh Beckett (11-2, 3.38)
Fenway Park 7:05

The Sox will go for the sweep tonight against the reeling D-Rays, losers of 10 in a row and showing absolutely no signs of coming out of that tailspin in this series.

Don't expect much improvement tonight, either, as the Rays will have to face a motivated and mentally strong Josh Beckett, who is coming off a rough outing against Texas where he allowed 10 hits and five runs in five innings of an 11-2 Rangers win.

At stake tonight will be more than just win #12, which would tie him with the Indian's C.C. Sabathia for the ML lead, but a victory will very likely put Beckett in the starter's role in the All Star game on Tuesday, a pitcher's dream come true and an exciting offshoot of his spectacular first half.

Opposing Beckett will be the young lefty J.P. Howell, who has shown flashes of brilliance since his callup over a month ago, but has also been plagued by bouts of wildness on occasion as well.

But what do you expect, he is a rookie.

Although he has struck out 34 batters in his last six starts, he has also allowed 20 earned runs over 35.2 innings during that time, so it's either all or nothing for this kid.

All signs point towards a Sox sweep and an All Star start for Beckett.

As long as nothing really fucked up happens, like the Rays suddenly figure out how to stop this slide into the abyss they are currently undergoing.

Go Sox!
Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!

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Sox send Rays to 10th straight loss

Sox 7, Tampa Bay 5
WP: Wakefield (9-8)
LP: Jackson (1-9)
SV: Papelbon (20)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (13); TB-Casanova (4)

Nothing beats the pomp & pagentry of a July 4th baseball game--it's the freaking American way! (Globe/AP photo)

SUMMARY
The Boston bats really exploded today as the Sox slammed six extra base hits and ran out to a six-run lead before the Rays made it a game late.

After Wake tired in the 7th and Lopez allowed three runs to score, Jonathan Papelbon came on in the 9th to close the door on save No. 20 and put a wrap on Boston's third consecutive victory.

#1 STUNNER J.D. Drew 2-4, R, RBI, 2-2Bs
Not only did Drew have a nice game at the dish, but his awesome stop of a Carl Crawford shot down the rightfield line in the third held CC to a single and prevented the speedy All Star from taking two or three extra bases when the game was still tied at one apiece.

PAN'S FAUN Edwin Jackson 5IP, 9H, 7ER, 1BB, 5K, HR
Despite the linescore it's not like Jackson pitched that poorly, but when a guy's 1-9 and his ERA is over 7.00, I don't think the manager should say things like (from)"what I saw today...you could project this young man to be a member of a championship starting rotation."

In what, the Mexican league?!

RECAP
Nothing like a series against the struggling Devil Rays to cure what ails a slumping team, now is there?

For the second consecutive game Boston bats got healthy on Tampa Bay pitching, and if not for a late-game swoon by Wakefield and Lopez, this game could have been a lot uglier than the final score indicates.

That's because for six+ innings the Sox were coasting, building on a first inning lead by posting back-to-back three-run spots in the fourth & fifth, while Wakefield's knuckler was dancing and dazzling most of the dumbfounded Rays hitters.

The Sox hung a run on the board not long after the pregame flyover and Independence Day festivities subsided when Coco led off the first with a triple deep in the rightfield corner and Cora squeezed him home with a "bunt" to the pitcher.

Unfortunately that lead didn't last long, as fourth string catcher Raul I am not your Casanova pumped a two-out, two-strike homer into the Monster seats off wake to tie the game and give the Rays hope that they might break their wretched 9-game losing streak today.

That feeling went away shortly thereafter.

Jackson actually settled down and threw two straight 1-2-3 innings in the second & third, but by the fourth he was back to being the pitcher who has been a frustrating mystery since arriving in Tampa as part of the Dany Baez/Lance Carter trade in 2006.

The Sox wrapped singles by Papi (1-3, R) & Lowell around strikouts from Drew and Hinske, and with the bottom of the order due up it looked as if Jackson would escape the frame without any damage done.

Wrong.

Instant fan favorite Jacoby Ellsbury, taking Manny's place in left today, worked the count to 2-2 before driving a double to center that scored Ortiz with the go-ahead run and set up runners at second & third for Doug Mirabelli, he of the .174 average coming in. Uh oh.

But these are the D-Rays, with the pitching staff that makes sub-Mendoza hitters look like the second coming of George Brett, and wouldn't you know Dougie Boy laced his first hit in more that two weeks, a single to deep right that scored Lowell and Ellsbury with ease to make it 4-1 Boston and gave Wake a bit more breathing room to work with.

Didn't really matter that Lugo (0-3) flied out to end the inning.

What did matter was that Boston put up another three runs in the fifth, because little did we know at the time, as it turns out two of those three would be very integral to this victory.

Cora (1-3, R, BI) started the winning rally when he stroked a one-out double to right, and after Papi flied out, Cora took third on a wild pitch by Jackson, then waltzed home on an opposite field double off the Monster by Drew. That ran the score to 5-1 and had Jackson on the verge of being run from the game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon should've had reliever Jason Hammel make a premature entrance from the bullpen right then, because two pitches later All Star Mike Lowell (2-4, 2R, 2BI) ripped a two-run Monster shot to make the score a rout, 7-1, and after escaping the inning with no more damage done, Jackson would get the rest of the day off.

Too bad because he missed a heck of a comeback by his teammates. By the seventh Wake was tiring (he is 40 for crying out loud), and when he gave up singles to Ty Wigginton, Casanova, and Aki Iwamura (1-5, R) in the inning it was time for Wakefield to join Jackson in the showers.

Not like that, sick fucks.

Javier Lopez (.1IP, 2H, R, K) came on to relieve Wake and stop the bleeding, but all he ended up doing was slicing the wound wide open.

Crawford (3-5, R, 2BI) ripped a 2-0 pitch from Javier for a two-run double to cut the lead to 7-3, and after Brendan Harris whiffed, old friend (and new Sox killer) Carlos Pena scorched a single to center that scored Iwamura and Crawford and turned what was a laffer into a tight, two-run contest.

Oh boy.

That's when Tito went to his new bullpen weapon, the rapidly emerging Manny Delcarmen, and all the local kid did was fan pinch hitter Jonny Gomes on four pitches, catching the slugger looking at a gorgeous inside cutter for called strike three.

Delcarmen would go on to strike out two more rays in the 8th, and then it was time for All Star closer Papelbon to come in and do his thing.

Which for Paps would include retiring the Rays in order on nine pitches, including fanning Iwamura swinging to open the inning and Harris looking at a sizzling high fastball to end the game.

And just like that Boston is on a mini-winning streak and should enjoy a sizable lead heading into the break, while the Rays have lost 10 in a row for the first time in two years.

Oh yeah, and they face All Star (starter?) Josh Beckett tomorrow.

Thanks for coming, guys.

QUOTES

"Obviously, our offense made it a whole lot easier to pitch."--Wake. Ah, yup.

"He is getting some pretty big outs in pretty big situations. ... I look forward to seeing some more exciting stuff out of him in the second half."--Tito on Delcarmen.

"I just didn't put people away when I had to."--Jackson, a.k.a. Captain Understatement

RECORD: 52-31
AL EAST: Up 11.5 on TOR
STREAK: W-3
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu vs. TB 7:05

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Back to life, back to reality...Sox win again

Sox 4, Tampa Bay 1
WP: Matsuzaka (10-5)
LP: Kazmir (5-5)
HRs: TB-Pena (19)

SUMMARY
Nothing like a visit by the D-rays to get everyone in the nation to start feeling warm & fuzzy again.

Daisuke Matsuzaka continued his streak of quality starts, and he got all the run support he would need from--of all people-- slumping Julio Lugo, who did in his former mates with a clutch 2-run single in the second.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 8IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 9K
The rookie has reached 10 victories midway through his first MLB season, and he has now fanned at least 8 batters in six consecutive starts.

PAN's FAUN Wily Mo 0-4, 4Ks
Dude has now struck out in a staggering 40% of his at bats this season (44Ks, 111ABs); just call him Wily Mo Windmill.

RECAP
I know in my preview I went on and on about how these two teams always play rough & tumble, crazy, highlight-reel games against each other, so wouldn't you know in this first meeting of 2007 between them it was just a straight-up domination by a hot pitcher over a struggling team.

Ho hum.

The reeling Rays, losers of nine straight games, came into Fenway not having played any games against its testiest division rival for the first time ever this late in the season, but Boston may be catching the once-respectable Rays at just the right time.

After getting swept at home by the White Sox despite striking out at least 10 batters in all four games, the Rays went to Cleveland and got poleaxed by the Tribe, losing four more by a combined score of 23-11 to fall a season-low 16 games under .500.

Despite these clouds of negative energy trailing the team from city to city, Tampa Bay did have reason to be optimistic tonight--starter Scott Kazmir has fared well in his brief career vs. the Sox, and last season the Rays won 9 of 19 games against Boston, including an 11-0 pasting at Fenway last Sept. 27th in Josh Beckett's final start of the season.

Ah, too bad this is 2007.

The Sox got to Kazmir (6IPp, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 6K) right away, throwing a three-spot on the board in the second inning while only registering one hit. That's cause Kaz is the King of Walks, and the ML leader added to his total when he issued free passes to Manny, Youk and Lowell to start the frame.

Tek followed with an RBI groundout that put the first run on the board, but after Wily Mo whiffed for the first of his four times on the night, all hope of adding on to the lead looked lost when Lugo stepped to the plate, dragging his 0-33 streak behind him.

But there's something about the power of playing against your ex-teammates that gets the old adrenaline flowing like no other regular season game, and wouldn't you know even a man in the depths of a god awful, season-long slump isn't immune to that kind of karma.

Lugo took the first pitch he saw from Kazmir and lined it into center for a slump-busting base hit, but not only did he finally get off the schneid, his hit drove in two key runs for a pitcher who had only been averaging two runs of support a game for the past month.

The crowd was still buzzing and cheering when Coco flied out to end the frame, because the faithful had finally witnessed someone from their team do to another like many ex-Sox had done to them.

The score would remain 3-0 for a few innings as Kaz settled down and Matsuzaka was plowing through the Rays with the ease and precision of a Ginsu.

How dominating was he? No Rays batter reached second base until the sixth inning and only two did so in the game against him; only one batter reached third; and Tampa Bay got the leadoff batter on base in just one inning, and he was erased on a double play one pitch later.

At one point, from the beginning of the third through the top of the sixth, Dice set down 9 of 10 Rays hitters, five by way of strikeout.

And when the 11th batter, fellow Japan league vet Akinori Iwamura, the Rays talented third baseman, reached second base on single and an error by Pedroia, Matsuzaka got Carl Crawford to line out to first and then deftly snagged Brendan Harris' wicked liner back to the box as he walked off the mound like the cat who caught the canary.

Boston would put an unearned run on the board in the sixth when Youk singled, Lowell followed with a single and Iwamura threw wide of first allowing both runners to advance, then Tek hit a sac fly to right to score Youk with the sox final run of the night.

Uncharacteristically, the horrid Rays pen held the fort after Kazmir exited following the sixth, while it was Boston's normally unflappable closer who came in and blew the shutout for the Sox.

After Dice escaped a mini-jam in the eighth, getting Iwamura to strike out with Jonny Gomes on third, Jonathan Papelbon took over in the 9th just to get some action; with all the losses and deficits Boston has had lately, Paps has only pitched three times in the last nine days.

Perhaps that explained why Carlos Pena, a member of the Sox briefly last season, curled a 2-0 offering from Papelbon deep into the rightfield seats for his 19th homer of the season that disappointed the crowd who were longing to see another shutout.

Alas they had to settle for the win, and with two in a row under their belts and a couple of favorable pitching matchups on tap for the next two games, it looks like the boys could be headed into the break with a healthy division lead and a team that should be 100% healthy soon after the break.

Now that's a scary thought for the rest of the league.

NOTES

• No more Lugo-fer: not only did Lugo notch his first hit since June 14th in the second, he also leadoff the seventh with a single but was cut down trying to steal for the second time in a row (we all remember the first time) after 20 straight successful attempts
• Coco comeback: Crisp returned the the lineup and his center field position after sitting out four games to rest his bruised thumb and went 1-3 with a double; he also assumed his leadoff spot, with Lugo dropping back to 9th
• Manny & Papi combined to go 0-7 with a run, a walk and three Ks; Ramirez fanned twice, once looking to end the seventh with two men on base
• Iwamura was 1-3 with a double against his former JL adversary, where he was 2-8 against Dice-K in his brief career
• Youk also returned after his quad strain kept him on the bench for a couple of games; he went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored
• Pena's homer gave him as many as he had in the last two season combined (18 in 2005, 1 in 2006)
• There was some comic relief in the sixth when Kazmir was briefly injured covering first base and reliever Jason Hammel, who had been warming up, thought he had been called in; upon realizing his services were not yet needed, Hammel high-tailed it back to the pen, much to the delight of the bleacher creatures behind the bully; even Hammel couldn't suppress a smile at his own expense on that odd play

QUOTES

"I don't think that it's complete, but I do feel like I'm getting back to a good spot." --Dice-K; I'd have to say that 'good spot' is damn near great

"You can't not think about things like that. They've been very supportive, especially Manny."--Lugo on "The Slump" (note another player saying what a great teammate Manny is, often the unheralded aspect of MBM)

"Take away the second inning and it'd be a whole different ballgame."--Kazmir; yeah, and take away that iceberg and the Titanic is a floating museum off the coast of Dubai

RECORD: 51-31
AL EAST: Up 11 on TOR
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Wed vs TB 1:05

Happy July 4th!

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Series Preview: Tampa Bay @ Sox

Tampa Bay D-Rays (33-48)
AL EAST: 17GB
STREAK: L-8 LAST 10: 2-8
AVG.: .261 (9th) ERA: 5.62 (14th)
HRs: 95 (4th) RUNS: 381 (10th)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Kazmir (5-4, 4.26) vs. Matsuzaka (9-5, 3.80)
Kaz, the Rays great starting hope, has yet to pan out as a true front of the rotation ace, as his ML-leading walk total (105) and 27-24 career record attest to. He does, however, pitch well against the Sox, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.60 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 65.2 innings of work.
Dice-K had a terrific June, although his record (2-2) doesn't reflect it. That's because despite a minuscule 1.59 ERA in five starts, Boston averaged 2 runs per game for him, down from the 8 1/2 per game he got for the first two months of the season.

As long as Boston scores some runs for him, Dice should win this battle of young pitchers heading in opposite directions.
MY PICK: Sox

GM2 Jackson (1-8, 6.88) vs. Wakefield (8-8, 4.31)
Ediwn Jackson has 1-8 record and ERA approaching seven, and has allowed 90 hits, 61 runs and 40 walks in 69.1 innings this season.
MY PICK: Ha ha ha ha ha!!! (Sox)

GM3 Howell (1-2, 5.19) vs. Beckett (11-2, 3.38)
Howell has shown flashes of brilliance since his early June callup (8IP, 1R, 7K vs. KC; 9Ks vs. FLA) but he has also interspersed those outings with bouts of wildness (6ER in 5 inns. in that Marlins game.)

Beckett needs this win to get the All Star start.
MY PICK: Becks will not be denied

Key Players:

• LF Carl Crawford: .285/43R/8-3B/49BI/20SB--as you can tell from the stats, C.C. is the most talented player on the Rays, hence its only All Star representative; he is what they call a five-tool player, and many teams will inquire about him come trading deadline
• RF Delmon Young: .271/9/44--Dmitri's little brother is coming into his own in his first full season; on top of power and speed, he's got a cannon for an arm, as evidenced by his 9 assists this season, 3rd in the AL
• 3B Aki Iwmura: .293/33R/12BI--the Japanese vet was leading the AL in hitting when he went on the DL in early May; a slick fielder, Aki was a Japanese league opponent of tonight's starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka
• DH/OF Jonny Gomes: .246/6/17--not a huge stats guy but a real spark-plug player; if something's going on offensively, Jonny is usually involved. Since being called up from AAA in mid-June, Gomes has ripped 5 homers and had 11 RBIs while batting .322 in 16 games

Old Sox:

• 1B/DH Carlos Pena: .282/18/46--although the Mass native's stay with the Sox last season was brief (18g, 33ABs), he parlayed that stint into a gig with the Rays, and following a tepid April start, he's gone on to hit .302 with 14 homers and 33 RBI since
• P Casey Fossum: 5-7, 7.40--the former promising fifth starter for the Sox from 2001-2003 has had an up & down career since departing Boston in 2004; a starter for most of his career, frequent injuries, an erratic arm and a 37-51 career record dictated a move to the pen. Results haven't been much better

Preview:
Talk about scheduling quirks.

Tonight the Sox finally get to play division rival Tampa Bay for the first time after half of the season has already been completed.

Seriously, how fucked up is that?

Adding to the insanity is the fact that these two squads still have to play the full schedule, meaning 18 games between each division opponent, so out of the next 81 games for Boston, 18 will be played against the Rays, or an astounding 22%.

Earth to Bud Selig: scrap the friggin unbalanced or balanced schedule shit.

Anyway, these two East coast neighbors are connected by more than just a long interstate and millions of transplants (like me) who migrate from Beantown down here to RSN South.

In only a brief 10 seasons of playing each other, the Sox and Rays have already had a cantankerous & storied history together, from bean balls to no-hitters, and from name calling to all-out brawling.

Despite the noticeable advantage in payroll, talent, and victories Boston holds over Tampa Bay, it seems like whenever these two get together there is plenty of excitement, animosity, and just plain fun baseball to be seen.

I'll never forget attending that game at the Trop when Pedro hit Gerald Williams to start the game, touching off a bench clearing melee, only to see Petey settle down and throw a near no-no until former Sox backstop John Flaherty broke it up in the 9th.

Or how 'bout when Nomar hit two grand slams (three homer total) and had 8 ribbies in a 22-4 shellacking of the Rays in the first game of a double header at Fenway in July of 2002?

Or the time D-Lowe no hit the D-Rays in the 4th game of the season in 2002.

Funny how all the memories seem to be of Boston wins.

But the Rays usually play the Sox tough, and a slim 10-9 Sox advantage in games last season can attest to that. Think of it as the little brothers of the AL East trying to overcome the big brother, who just happens to be the BMOC as well.

The games might not be artistic masterpieces all the time, but they are usually exciting and you can almost assuredly count on some wild, wacky things happening this series.

Like maybe even Julio Lugo breaking his hitless streak while facing against his old mates.

Go Sox!

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