White Sox series: The Aftermath

A day later the magnitude of what Boston accomplished in Chicago still hasn't sunk in

I watched every game, though admittedly not every inning, of the series Boston played in Chicago this past weekend, and as I sit here 24 hours later I still find it hard to fathom what happened in the Windy City.

I'm 39 years old and have been a Red Sox fan since the fateful season of 1978, weaned on Bucky's blast, the Dewey-Rice-Armas years, the explosion of the Rocket Era right on through to the miraculous 2004 campaign, and in all that time, encompassing thousands of games watched on TV and in person, I have never seen this team so thoroughly dismantle another team like I witnessed this weekend.

Forget about the fact that the White Sox are probably the worst team in the majors right now--although you certainly can't ignore that fact when assessing the carnage--but when a traditionally high powered offensive ballclub accomplishes something that it had not done 57 years, well that's reason to celebrate, putridness of the opponent be damned.

They say baseball, more than any other sport, is a game of numbers. If that old adage is true, the numbers from this weekend paint a picture worth way more than 1000 words.

In case you forgot, lost track, or are like me and still in disbelief over what took place, let's take a quick look at some of the staggering stats the two pairs of Sox compiled in this series for the ages.

STATS: BOS/CHI
RUNS: 46/7
HITS: 52/23
AVG: .331/.178
HRS: 7/4
XBH: 18/4
ERA: 1.75/10.50
BP ERA: 1.58/16.20

I don't know about you but I haven't seen numbers this disparate since me and my buddies were outnumbered 35-7 in a brawl at ZooMass in 1987.

With those kind of massive statistics there had to be a few guys who had a week's (or month's) worth of numbers in one weekend, and here's a look at few of the standout players from the series.

-David Ortiz: 7-17, 7R, 7BI, 3HR, 2B (and that's with an 0-3 in GM1)
-Mike Lowell: 10-19, 6R, 7BI, 2 2B (RBI in every game, 4-6 in GM3)
-Bobby Kielty: 5-13, 4R, 8BI, 2B, HR (went 0-0 w/ 2BI GM1)
-Kevin Youkilis: 6-16, 2R, 6BI, 2 2B, HR (and that's with an 0-4 GM4)

That's just four guys who proved to be a demolition crew when it came to knocking down the Temple of Ozzie in Chitown, but it was a complete team effort that led to the Bosox exorcising the demons of that miserable 2005 ALDS, when Chicago swept the defending World Champions in embarrassing fashion en route to their own South Side series title.

Although not as embarrassing fashion as this was.

And so I got to witness another historic happening with my beloved team. The numbers don't lie, and they will be there for all to see for a long time to come:

-most runs scored by Boston in a four game series since 1949
-most runs scored by Boston in a four game span since 1950
-first team to score 10+ runs in four straight games since 1996
-first AL team to score 10+ runs in four straight games since 1922

In closing I just have to say that I am happy to have been witness to an ass-kicking of such epic proportions, a thoroughly enjoyable way to head into a series with the hated Stankees, secure in the knowledge that when this club is clicking on all cylinders there aren't many teams that can stop it.

Let's keep the good times rolling long enough to break another decade-long streak: the Stanks grip on the division title.

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Double digit delight: Sox set record with 4th straight rout

Boston 11, Chicago 1
WP: Tavarezx (7-9)
LP: Vazquez (11-7)
HRs: BOS-Drew (7), Ortiz (24), Kielty (1); CHI-Dye (25)

SUMMARY
In another stunning display of timely and merciless hitting, the Boston Red Sox did something that hadn't been accomplished by an American League team since 1922: score 10 or more runs in all four games of a series.

#1 STUNNER Boston offense 11R, 9H
Although no one had a monster game like in the first three contests, any time you get a squad that sets modern day records and does something that no team has done in over a decade, well they are all heroes for that.

PAN's FAUN Javy Vazquez 6IP, 6H, 7ER, 3BB, 10K
Much like teammate Mark Buehrle the day before, Vazquez was cruising in the early going, allowing just 3 baserunners through the first four innings. Then the Bosox hung a 4-spot up in the 5th, and from that point on it was goodbye Javy, hello record books.

RECAP
In honor of ESPN's Greatest Home Runs of All Time gimmick, I think I'll quote the late, great Jack Buck in describing the finale of this fantastic series with Chicago:

"I don't belive what I just saw."

For the fourth consecutive game the Red Sox treated the host White Sox more rudely than Leona Helmsley at a tax audit, shredding the horrid Chicago pitching staff for another 11 runs en route to a record-setting series in which Boston outscored Chicago 46-7, outhit the Chisox 52-23, and outclassed the sorry-ass South Siders in every facet of the game.

Coupled with New York losing 2-of-3 to Detroit so far in their series Boston's East lead has swelled back to 7 1/2 games as they head to the Bronx for a three game set beginning Tuesday.

Suffice it to say that life is good in the Nation right now.

Nothing like four straight games of dragging a team through the mud to pick up one's spirits, ey?

The ironic thing about the series is how much damage Boston did to Chicago late in games, a byproduct of an absolutely horrendous White Sox bullpen.

The Bosox scored 35 of their 46 runs in the 5th inning or later, and an incredible 21 of those runs came in the 7th, 8th & 9th innings, the equivalent of a boxer going for the knockout blow in the latter rounds of a prize fight.

Just like yesterday's game this one was a pitchers duel for the first four innings, the only blemish for each starter coming on solo homers in the second inning.

Julian Tavarez (6IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 7K), making his second spot start since returning to the pen, pitched his best game in over two months, allowing just two hits in six innings, his only mistake an opposite field home run by Jermaine Dye with one out in the 2nd inning that tied the game at one.

That shot offset a home run by J.D. Drew in the top of the inning, also an opposite field blast that was Drew's first longball in 51 games which was also, ironically, the last time Tavarez won a game, June 20th in Atlanta.

Other than that both starters were stingier than a wino with a bottle of Cristal as each hurler allowed a hit here or a walk there but never faced any serious scoring threats...

...until the 5th inning.

That fateful frame for Vazquez began with a strikeout of Jason Varitek but ended with Boston scoring four runs on four hits to effectively put the game out of reach.

Following the strikeout Bobby Kielty (2-4, 2R, 2BI), who has become a full-fledged Nation favorite this week, laid down a bunt that hugged the 3rd base line and shocked Vazquez so much he had no play on the slow roller.

Kinda reminiscent of Pedroia's innocuous infield hit that opened the floodgates in yesterday's game.

Coco Crisp then lined a single to right field, but when Julio Lugo forced Crisp out at second on a fielder's choice, it looked as if the rally was going to come to an end.

Not even close.

Lugo added his 28th stolen base of the season despite a couple of pickoff attempts by Vazquez, and then Pedroia (1-5, R, 2BI) laced a solid single to center that brought Kielty & Lugo home with the tie-breaking runs, and the rout was on with Ortiz coming up.

That's when One Pitch Papi launched the very next offering from Vazquez to nearly the identical spot he hit his second homer yesterday, over the wall in left center for a 2-run opposite-field shot that made the score 5-1 Sox and signaled the beginning of the end for Chicago's hopes of salvaging a game in this series.

Tavarez answered that output with his best inning of the day, striking out all three Chisox batters in the bottom of the inning on just 12 pitches, and before anyone knew what happened Boston was putting more runs on the board.

After Drew worked a leadoff walk to start the 6th, two outs later Kielty blasted a deep home run to right, his first as a member of the Sox and first since September 29th of last season when he was with the As.

7-1 now, and every Nation member was now on the edge of their seats hoping the Sox would do something most of us had never seen our team do before--hit the magic double-digit mark for the fourth straight game.

The chances of that happening looked slim for a bit as reliever Ryan Bukvich, who had been hammered in a couple games this series (then again, who hasn't in that pen?), tossed two shutout innings in the 7th & 8th to hold the scoring machine at bay and dampen the chances of us seeing history made.

But then came the 9th, an inning that has not featured a lot of Boston runs this season, until this series that is.

After the first two batters reached base on a single by Tek and an infield hit by Kielty, Ozzie removed Bukvich in favor of former Bosox Mike Myers, and it was like the plantes aligned and history was destined to be made.

A fielders chioce by Crisp forced Kielty at second, but Lugo followed with a sharp single to left to score Tek with run #8, and suddenly the Sox could smell the blood in the water.

Pedroia lined out to second for the second out of the inning, and then Papi lofted a high fly ball to left that Josh Fields camped under, then swerved, stabbed, and missed the ball as it fell harmlessly next to him for a two-run, two-base error, and Boston had the modern mark on, appropriately, another blunder by the South Siders.

Mike Lowell then added his obligatory RBI on a hard single to left, and when Drew popped out to end the inning, Boston had 11 runs on the board and had swept the reeling White Sox in an historic four-game fun fest.

And now Boston will enjoy a much-needed day off in the Big Apple as the Stanks battle the Tigers on Monday in Detroit, waiting patiently for a chance to unleash this new-found firepower on their hated archenemy.

Who's got the best offense between the two? Hard to say. But on the heels of this wild weekend in Chitown, I wouldn't bet against the boys from Benatown.

Bring on the Stanks!

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Bosox bludgeon Chisox for third game in a row

Boston 14, Chicago 2
WP: Wakefield (16-10)
LP: Buehrle (9-9)
HRs: CHI-Konerko (26)

SUMMARY
The Bosox offense continued to get healthy courtesy of the Chicago pitching staff, turning a scoreless game in the 6th into another laffer by piling up 14 runs in the final four frames to get Tim Wakefield his ML co-leading 16th victory.

#1 STUNNER Mike Lowell 4-6, 2R, 2BI
The votes are in and the polls are officially closed: this guy is the Red Sox MVP for 2007. His RBI single in the 6th started the avalanche of runs, and in the three games the veteran third baseman is 9-14 with 6 runs scored and 6 RBIs.

M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P...

PAN's FAUN Chicago bullpen 3IP, 9H, 10ER
After starter Mark Buehrle allowed 4 runs in the 6th Ozzie's sorry bunch of relievers came in and torched any hopes of a Chisox comeback. This pen--and this team as a whole--might just be the worst in baseball.

RECAP
I know Chicago is called the Windy City, but I never realized that nickname was derived from how badly the baseball team on the South Side blows.

For the third straight game the Red Sox batters pummelled the piss-poor White Sox pitching, ringing up 15 hits and nearly as many runs in Boston's 3rd consecutive rout of the hapless ChiSox, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

Believe it or not, this game was actually a pitchers duel for the first five innings, with each team notching just 1 hit apiece in a scoreless battle as starting pitchers Tim Wakefield and Mark Buehrle were plowing through the other lineup like Angelina Jolie plows through adoptions.

But after five scoreless innings featuring a combined 7 base runners (2 hits, 4 walks, 1 error), Boston erupted in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four times off a suddenly shell shocked Buehrle (6IP, 6H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K).

Little did we know that was only the beginning of the beatdown Boston was about to inflict on these Second City saps.

The sixth inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia legged out an infield single to short and then Buehrle got Coco Crisp to line one right back to the mound to rob him of a hit.

But then David "One Pitch" Ortiz sliced Buehrle's next offering the opposite way into the left center field gap, and although the speed-challenged Pedroia had to hold up at third, it soon wouldn't matter as Boston broke it open.

After something really strange happened.

Ozzie Guillen decided to walk Manny Ramirez (0-3, 2R) to load the bases and pitch to Mike Lowell.

I know, it makes sense to walk a Hall of Fame hitter with first base open and one out to set up the force at any base, but the way Lowell has been blistering the ball, coupled with the fact that he's got more RBIs than Ramirez does this year, made the decision seem a little bit odd, at least to me.

The professional hitter made the decision really look bad when he took a 1-2 pitch from Buehrle and slammed a single through the hole at shortstop for the first run of the game, a play that said "yes, I am the man when it comes to clutch RBIs on this team this year" and also opened the floodgates like a that first pee on a night out.

Kevin Youkilis and Bobby Kielty (3-5, 1R, 4RBI) followed Lowell's lead and hit nearly identical singles to the exact same spot, plating three more runs and by the time Buehrle recorded the final two outs of the inning he was done for the day, and the White Sox would be as well.

After Wake (7IP, 3H, 0ER, 3BB, 6K) pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6th, Boston added another run on three hits and a walk in the 7th off the immortal Boone Logan, and the score was up to 5-0.

But not for long.

Wake escaped his biggest jam of the day in the bottom of the 7th when he allowed his first hits since the first inning, a one-out double by Jermaine Dye (2-3) and a two-out single by Danny Richar, but struck out Andy Gonzalez to end the threat.

Then in the top of the 8th the Boston batters laid the wood to the pathetic Chicago pen, racking up 8 runs on four hits, five walks including two with the bases loaded, two hit batters and two wild pitches.

Reliever Ryan Bukvich (0IP, 2H, 5ER, BB) began the festivities by plunking both Alex Cora and Kevin Cash to open the inning, then surrendered a ringing double to left by Pedroia (2-5, 2R, 2BI) to plate Cora and send Cash to third.

Coco walked after a lengthy at bat, and the Papi (2-5, 2R, 2BI) waited till the 6th pitch from Buckvich before he lined a single to right to score Cash and Pedroia, and just like that the score was 8-0 with plenty more to come.

Mike MacDougal (2/3IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K) relieved Bukvich and continued to make it hard to believe he used to be an All Star closer when he promptly threw a wild pitch to move Ortiz to second, then after striking out Manny, uncorked another wild one that easily scored Coco from third.

On the next pitch Lowell grounded another single to left to score Papi with Boston's 10th run, and the Sox had just accomplished something no Boston team had done since 2000: score more than 10 runs in three consecutive games.

Not even against the Devil Rays.

MacDougal continued to meltdown as he walked Youk (2-5, 1R, 2BI), allowed an RBI double to deep left by Kielty, then after getting Cora to strike out, walked Cash, Pedroia and Crisp in succession, the last two with the bases loaded.

By the time pinch hitter J.D. Drew rained on the parade and struck out to end the onslaught, Boston led 13-0 and apparently had succeeded in hammering the fight out of the fiery Guillen and his team.

Kyle Snyder ruined the shutout bid when he gave up a two-run blast to Paul Konerko in the 8th after plunking A.J. Punchmeplease with a retaliatory pitch, but the Sox tacked on a "fuck you" run in the 9th on another RBI hit by Kielty.

After Javier Lopez got Jerry Owens to fly out to end the game, one of the most dominating two-day stretches in franchise history had come to a merciful conclusion.

So Tim Wakefield joined teammate Josh Beckett as the only two 16-game winners in the major leagues, continued his streak of recording a decision in every start this season, and continues to make us wonder if the 42-year-old made a pact with the devil, because he is pitching better now than he has in his entire career.

And Mike Lowell continues to amaze even the most hardened baseball fan, going from a "must take" piece in the Beckett deal due to his age, salary, and declining productivity to become the key cog on what looks like a surefire playoff team, leading the team in RBIs and leadership by example.

And the Boston offense has made the Chicago White Sox look like the worst team in major league baseball for three straight games, finding its missing mojo and finally taking advantage of every scoring opportunity that comes their way.

Ah, good times in the Nation indeed.

Holy shit, just writing that wore me out, so I'm just gonna say one more thing: let's do it again tomorrow, boys!

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Game preview: Boston @ Chicago GM3

Wakefield (15-10, 4.35) vs. Buehrle (9-8, 3.42)
US Cellular Field 355 FOX

The king of all decisions takes the mound for Boston today as Tim Wakefield tries to extend his streak of recording a decision in every start this season to a remarkable 26 games.

The red-hot Wake will carry an 8-2 record over his last 10 starts into this game as he hopes to improve on a subpar record against the Chisox (6-10, 5.43 ERA in 26 apps), a stark contrast to the team he owns & dominated in his last two starts, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

His mound opponent was almost a teammate of his. The Red Sox hotly pursued Chicago starter Mark Buehrle before the trading deadline, only to learn they would not acquire the fast-working lefty when he signed a 4-year, $56 million dollar extension with Chicago.

But ever since inking his new pact the once-hot commodity has slipped significantly, posting a 3-4 mark in 8 starts since the deal with his ERA ballooning from 3.03 to 3.42.

The normally stingy Buehrle has also allowed a ton of hits this season, allowing 81 knocks in his last 10 starts, including back-to-back 10 & 14-hit debacles in late July.

The Boston offense will also hope to keep the good times rolling after drubbing the Chicago staff to the tune of 21 runs and 28 hits in yesterday's twinbill. And the good news is that Big Papi has had success off Buehrle and the Chisox staff.

This season Ortiz is batting .429 (6-14) with two homers against the White Sox, and in his career Papi has hit Buehrle at a .375 clip (15-40) with a pair of homers and 7 ribbies.

But the key to the Boston offense this season has been the superb Mike Lowell, who raked in four more ribs yesterday to run his team-leading total to 90, good for 5th in the AL.

If anyone had said that Mike Lowell would have five more RBIs than Manny and seven more than Papi at this point in the season, they would have brushed you aside like a
ugly chick at a club entrance.

So after the long day & night yesterday the two Sox get to play in front of a national TV audience in the middle of the afternoon today, and if all goes well Boston will be able to show the doubting baseball world that their offense is fine, their pitching staff is better, and they're ready to roll into the Bronx on Tuesday with a full head of steam while scraping a crushed Chisox team off their windshield.

Let's hope Wake can keep the good times rolling.

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BoSox complete DH sweep with annihilation of Chisox

Boston 10, Chicago 1
WP: Schilling (8-5)
LP: Danks (6-12)
HRs: Papi, 2 (23), Youk (13); CHI-Uribe (14)

"Sure, kid. And have one for your 10th, too, in case I forget"

SUMMARY
Boston put a bow on a banner day in the Windy City as Curt Schilling turned in his best performance since returning from the DL and the offense exploded again, propelled by Papi's two homers, another pair of ribbies from Mike Lowell, and a mammoth homer by Kevin Youkilis that put this one out of reach.

#1 STUNNER Ortiz 4-5, 3R, 3BI, 2HRs
The big man is starting to resemble his clutch, 2004 self as he mashed a pair of home runs for just the third time this season and added a pair of shift-busting singles to prove that he's not just a one-dimensional hitter.

PAN's FAUN(s) J. Danks & G. Floyd 7IP, 9H, 9ER, 5BB, 3HRs
The first two Chicago pitchers were like bad & badder; first Danks allowed 5 earned runs in 3 1/3, then Gavin Floyd "relieved" him and gave up 4 earned in 3 2/3 to make sure the Pale Hose would have no shot at coming back in this one.

RECAP
Talk about a sweet end to a LONG day.

After suffering through rain delays, a postponement, threats of rain delays and postponements, and a four-hour marathon opening game in this series, Boston put to rest early any doubts as to the outcome of this one as they ripped the sorry ChiSox pitching staff en route to a dominating doubleheader sweep.

But unlike the opener, Boston received excellent starting pitching that made all the extra runs totally unnecessary.

Unnecessary, but fun as fucking hell!

Curt Schilling (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 3K) turned in his best performance since his 1-hit gem in late June, putting together six quality innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball, his only blemish coming on a 1-0 pitch to Juan Uribe with one out in the second that the beefy (ahem) shortstop tagged for a solo homer.

Other than that and a two-out double by Darren Erstad in the first inning, Schill was nearly untouchable, mixing his pitches nicely and exhibiting great control of the strike zone.

Following those two hits Curt allowed just one baserunner over the next four innings, ringing up 12 straight Chicago batters at one point before allowing a walk to Erstad with two outs in the 6th. He exited after getting the the next batter out having thrown an economical 98 pitches, a remarkable 69 for strikes.

But the story of this game has to be the offense, which after a measly 1-run showing in the finale in Tampa Bay, was bombarded with the questions of "why can't you guys get a big hit in the clutch?"

The Boston batters laid that question to rest-temporarily-today with an offensive output to rival the Texas Rangers.

After racking up 15 hits and 11 runs in the opener, Boston ripped another 13 base knocks to go along with the 10 runs in the nightcap, and the best part about it was the key to Red Sox postseason glory was back to his old self again.

Dustin Pedroia worked a leadoff walk to open the 4th, and then David Ortiz wasted no time in putting this long day behind him; one pitch after Pedroia trotted to first, Papi unloaded on a John Danks offering for a two-run shot to left field that quickly put Schill & the Sox ahead, 2-1.

But the Boston boys weren't done.

Manny Ramirez (1-3, 2R) followed that blast with a hard single to center, then Mike Lowell, the Sox RBI leader, added to his total with a long double to the left center field gap that scored Manny all the way from first and fueled the fire of a big inning.

Danks (3.1IP, 5H, 5R, 2BB, HR), who has lost his last six starts, managed to retire Youk on a pop out (better watch out, bat rack!), but then Bobby Kielty walked on five pitches and Coco Crisp followed with a booming double to left to drive Lowell in and push the lead to 4-1 Sox.

That shot wound up being the last pitch by Danks on the night, as short leash Ozzie Guillen yanked the guy who has allowed at least 5 earned runs in 4 of his last 5 starts, with 7 homers thrown in during that time.

Too bad his replacement fared no better.

Gavin Floyd, who sounds like a 1930's film star, came in and immediately surrendered a solid single to right by Kevin Cash to drive in Kielty, and the new BoSox backstop joined the fun with his first hit & RBI as a member of the club.

Floyd (3.2IP, 4H, 4ER, 3BB, 1K, 2HR) would escape further damage in that inning, but before he knew it the Boston batters were bashing him again in the 5th, and it started with another dose of Big Papi.

After the game Ortiz admitted he was eager to get home to the hotel after an extremely long day at the park, so he "was swinging at the first pitch every time."

Hey, whatever works, big fella.

Papi swung hard at the first pitch of the 5th from Floyd, and the ball travelled a long way, high and deep to left center field for a towering solo homer that put the Sox up 6-1 and paved the way for the onslaught to follow.

A rattled Floyd responded by walking Manny and Lowell (2-4, 2R, RBI), then Kevin Youkilis launched the first pitch he saw deep into the seats in left for a soul-crushing 3-run bomb that made the score 9-1 and emptied the remaining ChiSox fans from US Cell field faster than you can say "Cubbies all the way."

Things quieted down from there, with the Sox batters spent from running around the bases all day & night and Ozzie tired of changing pitchers as often as he swears, but Boston would put the finishing touches on the scoring binge in the 9th.

And whaddaya know, Papi was the one who started the rally again.

It took three pitches this time for Ortiz to bust an opposite-field single to left off someone named Matt Thornton, and then Eric Hinske, who replaced Manny in the field, roped a double to right to set up a 2nd & 3rd, no out situation.

Ozzie must have cussed, because he went to his pen for for former closer Mike MacDougal, but Mike Lowell treated the ex-All Star like he does everyone else, driving a stinging single up the middle to plate Boston's 10th run of the night on the third baseman's 90th ribbie of the season.

Even an appearance by Eric Gagne in the 9th couldn't get the Nation down tonight (after all, he couldn't blow this lead, could he?), and the embattled reliever got out of the game (after allowing a two-out single) by striking out Uribe to put a cap on this offensive affair.

And so a long day turned into a festive night, and the Sox have plenty of reasons to celebrate after bludgeoning the Chisox for nearly seven hours:

1. they will gain at least a game on New York, if not 1 1/2
2. Curt Schilling looks like he's returning to form just in time
3. the offense is clicking on all cylinders, especially with the real Big Papi back
4. they have until tomorrow afternoon before they have to do it all over again

That's it for now. Everyone take a breather, regroup, and we'll see if Wakefield can keep the momentum going tomorrow afternoon on FOX.

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Game Preview: BoSox @ ChiSox GM2 (today!)

Schilling (7-5, 4.25) vs. Danks (6-11, 5.30)
US Cellular Field 811EST

Wow, seems like I just got done wrapping up the last game.

Oh, that's because I did, literally just minutes ago, and here we are just about 20 minutes from starting Game 2 of this delayed double header in Chitown.

As the teams try and recover from that 4-hour, 24-hit, 14-run marathon of an opening game, us bloggers will try and remember what game we are writing about and what's on tap for the next game.

The one thing I'm sure of is that Curt Schilling will be trying to put the inconsistent ways that have plagued him since his return from the DL behind him when he takes the mound for his 4th post-injury start.

In the other three he has allowed 22 hits and 9 earned runs in 18 innings of work (4.50ERA), and although he has not walked a batter, he has apparently lost some velocity from his fastball, forcing him into some sticky situations.

At least his mound opponent has been equally erratic. John Danks has been shelled in his last 4 starts, allowing 27 hits and 18 runs over 19.1 innings, and surrendering 6 home runs during that stretch.

So the sox have a decnt shot at a sweep if the rains hold off and Schill holds up.

If not at least the Pats are on CBS tonight, so the PIP will be busy either way, and if Schill gets shelled, it'll be time to play "Name that patriot" as the scrubs compete for jobs late in that contest.

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Sloppy Beckett nets #16 as BoSox pound ChiSox

Boston 11, Chicago 3
WP: Beckett (16-5)
LP: Garland (8-10)
HRs: BOS-Varitek (11); CHI-Fields (16)

SUMMARY
After drenching storms pushed his start back by a day, Josh Beckett showed signs of rust but shook off a shaky start while his offense piled up runs against a horrid Chicago staff, helping Becks earn his ML-leading 16th victory of the season.

#1 STUNNER(s) Varitek & Lowell 5-7, 3R, 6RBI
The Captains of Clutch each contributed a couple of big knocks in this one.

In the 4th Lowell's RBI single gave Boston the lead at 2-1, then Tek followed with a 2-run double. In the 9th Lowell's RBI double broke the game open, 8-3, and Tek's 2-run homer iced the cake.

PAN's FAUN Mike Myers 1IP, 4H, 4ER, 2BB, 41P
The sidearming former Boston and Stankees reliever came on for the 9th and turned a somewhat manageable ChiSox deficit (7-3) into an absolute rout, highlighted by former batterymate Jason Varitek's 2-run missile.

RECAP
I guess it was worth the wait.

After an 18-hour delay and rampant uncertainty that this game would be played, Josh Beckett finally took the mound for his start against Chicago with his sights set on earning his 16th win of the season.

And despite having to navigate a rocky opening inning, in which the All Star allowed a run on a hit and three consecutive bases-on-balls, Boston's road warrior continued his dominance away from home this season, recording his 9th victory on the road and 16th overall on the year.

But the odds of Beckett becoming the first 16-game winner in the majors this season seemed long after this one (finally) started, as Josh struggled with his control while throwing an inordinate amount of breaking pitches early on.

In fact after retiring Jerry Owens on four pitches to start the 1st inning, Beckett went to three-ball counts on 5 of the next 6 batters, and the only one he didn't get behind was A.J. Punkzynski, who doubled to right on the second pitch he saw.

That's what a night & half a day of waiting around can do to a worl-class pitcher, though.

Following Punkzynski's two-bagger Beckett (5.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K) fell behind Paul Konerko 3-1 before walking him, fell behind Darrin Erstad 3-1 before walking him, and finally fell behind Jermaine Dye 3-0 before walking him on four pitches to force in the game's first run.

Luckily for him his teammates soon solved ChiSox starter Jon Garland (7IP, 9H, 6R, 5ER, BB, 5K), breaking through for a run in the 3rd before laying a 4-spot on the embattled former 18-game winner in the 4th.

Alex Cora jump-started the offense that had scored just one run in its last 13 innings when he roped a 2-out double into the right field corner, then cruised home when Julio Lugo singled sharply to center to tie the game at one.

In the 4th Coco Crisp and Manny Ramirez (2-4, 3R) sandwiched singles around a line out by David Ortiz, then Lowell drove a 2-0 pitch up the middle and through Garland's legs into centerfield to score Coco with the run that put the Sox ahead to stay, 2-1.

An error by second baseman Danny Richar (who?!) allowed J.D. Drew to reach, loading the bases, and after a lengthy battle, Varitek drove a ball high & deep to left that bounced off the wall for a 2-run single that made the score 4-1 Boston.

Eric Hinske, recovered from his calf cramp, followed with a bloop RBI single to left center on the next pitch, and suddenly the Sox could afford a spot of wildness from their ace.

Which was a good thing because after a 1-2-3 4th inning, Becks let Chicago right back in the game when Owens led off the 5th with a single to left and Josh Fields, who leads all ML rookies in homers, crushed a 1-2 pitch from Beckett into the seats for his 16th longball of the season to cut the score to 5-3.

Beckett would last until he gave up consecutive two-out singles to Richar and RF Andy Gonzalez (who?!) in the 6th, then recently recalled Javier Lefty Lopez came in and retired Owens on a fly ball to left, needing just 4 pitches to squelch the threat.

Welcome back, Javier.

So with the score close and the game getting late, Boston had to scratch some more runs off the Chicago staff to put this one out of reach.

And in the final two frames they would do just that.

The 8th & 9th innings was a horror show for the White Sox, the few Chisox fans in attendance, and especially the viewing audience.

Despite allowing just 2 hits and 2 runs in the 8th, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen felt inclined to use 4 pitchers in the inning even though his team is so far out of the race they're closer to the bottom of the league than the top of the playoff chase.

After Boston loaded the bases on a walk to Ortiz (0-3, 2R, 2BB), a single by Manny, and a walk to Lowell, pinch hitters Bobby Kielty (sac fly) and Kevin Youkilis (single) both drove in runs against a couple of stiffs named Boone Logan and Ehren Wasserman to provide the Sox with some breathing room at 7-3.

In the 9th that breathing room turned into a wide-open expanse as Boston tuned on their former reliever Mike Myers, getting seven consecutive batters to reach base before he could escape the inning.

By the time the dust settled the Sox had scored four more runs, on Lowell's deep double, another sac fly by Kielty, and Tek's 2-run scud to left that cleared the fence in about 2 seconds and also cleared the stands of any remaining White Sox fans.

Staked to an 11-3 lead Tito left Mike Timlin in for the 9th, and despite allowing a couple of two-out baserunners, he finally shut the door on what was a long-awaited, long-contested (nearly 4 hours) but ultimately satisfying win.

And guess what?

We get to do it all over again in just a couple of hours.

Some one get the Red Bulls!

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Oh shit

I don't live blog, but just so you know WGN finally got its act together and by the time they joined the game, Chicago had a runner on 2nd & two outs (I learned A.J. Punchmeplease laced a double to right), then Beckett proceeded to walk three straight batters, throwing an ungodly amount of breaking stuff that was not finding the plate.

Although he did fan Juan Uribe with the bases loaded on a 3-2 curve to minimize the damage, this is not exactly a great start to this weekend series.

Has anyone else thought about that start Beckett made here last July, when he allowed 6 runs and three longballs but still won the game as the BoSox outslugged the ChiSox, 9-6?

For some reason I have not been able to get that game out of my head.

Let's hope today isn't a repeat of that horror show.

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Game on (for now)

As of right now the plan is to start this game.

But just as the game was set to begin the rain began again, and WGN (damn baseball package!) experienced technical difficulties and I have not been able to see any of the action.

This series has been so fucked up already I'm afraid to see what's going to transpire in the actual games themselves.

The WGN announcer just came on and said they are experiencing tech. diffs in the truck, and I have missed the entire top of the first and into the bottom half.

This is fucking insanity!

What's worse, having a Friday afternoon game cancelled, or not being able to watch it due to a cable station's ineptitude?

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BoSox/ChiSox: lets...play...two?

GM1 210EST Beckett (15-5) vs. Garland(8-9)
GM2 810EST Schilling (8-6) vs. Danks (5-11)

The two teams are preparing as if they will play a day/night doubleheader today.

Mother Nature might say otherwise.

After a rash of brutal storms pounded the Chicago area last night, causing widespread power outages, property damage and dumping several inches of rain in many parts of the city, today's proposed doubleheader may be in jeopardy as well.

The forecast is calling for a 90% chance of more storms today, possibly not until later this evening, which might allow the teams to play at least this afternoon's contest but would put the nightcap in jeopardy.

Any further cancellations would cause a serious scheduling conflict due to the fact that tomorrow's game is locked in to the 3:55 start time to be broadcast nationally on FOX, so that rules out a twinbill tomorrow, and Sunday is the last game of the series before the Red Sox head to NYC and the White Sox travel to Texas.

Needless to say neither team wants to play a double header on getaway day.

That would leave the only mutual off day the teams have left this season-Sept 24th-to squeeze the game in. Once again needless to say neither team wants to use a valued late-season off day to make up what could be a meaningless game, especially for the Pale Hose.

Another aggravation that would come with another postponement is the disruption of the rotation.

As of now the Sox will keep its starters intact for this series, which sets up the Big Three of Beckett, Schill & Dice-K to throw in the Stankees series.

But if games get ppd'd, the rotation gets fucked up and we could end up with a nightmare like Tavarez starting at the Stadium in a game with huge playoff implications, a thought that sends chills up the spine of every Nation member.

So all we can do is look to the sky and pray for a parting of the precipitation so the Sox can play their second consecutive Friday doubleheader.

And pray that we don't have to see Julie on the mound in the Bronx.

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Sox/Sox game postponed

It's official: tonight's game between the Bosox & Chisox has been postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

According to the Globe's Amelie Benjamin and the Hawk on WGN (damn Extra Innings!), the rain stopped for a while around 9:30EST and the crew was clearing the tarp, the field was draining and the players were milling about the dugout.

But then another round of downpours began, and that combined with how long it would take to get the field ready relative to the already late hour made it a pretty easy decision to call the game off.

Still no word on how Tito will handle the staff, but don't be surprised if Beckett goes in GM1, Tavarez in the second game at 7:10 and then Schill & Wake over the weekend.

Oh well, looks like the potential late night just turned into an early one. Time to check out what's on HD Net.

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Bosox @ Chisox Game 1 Update

The game between the Red Sox & White Sox is being delayed by rain in the Windy City. The start time has been pushed back twice, with the latest reports stating that the officials will review the conditions & forecast at about 10PM EST and decide whether or not baseball will be played tonight.

All I know is this could seriously fuck with the Boston pitching situation. WGN reported that if the game is postponed, the teams would play a day/night double header tomorrow, since Boston does not return to Chicago this season and Saturday's game is on FOX.

It will be interesting to see what Tito does with the roatation if that is the case.

Will he just move everyone up a day? Or will he skip Schill tomorrow night and start Tavarez instead, an identical situation he faced last Friday in the DH with the Halos at Fenway?

Anyway, it's all speculation for now. In about an hour we should know more, but either way this makes for a messed up start to what should already be a tough enough series.

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Series Preview: Boston @ at White Sox

Red Sox (76-51) at White Sox (56-70)
4 Game Series at Celluar Field

Standings: BOS up 5 in AL East, CHI -14 GB in AL Central

Season Series: Bos leads, 3-1

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Thu 810 Beckett (15-5, 3.15) vs. Danks (6-11, 5.30)
GM2 Fri 810 Schilling (7-5, 4.25) vs. Garland (8-9, 4.84)
GM3 Sat 355 Wakefield (15-10, 4.35) vs. Buhrle (9-8, 3.42)
GM4 Sun 210 TBD vs. Vazquez (11-6, 3.66)

Keep an Eye On: Jermaine Dye .245/24/63--ever since the Chisox decided to hold onto the right fielder at the trade deadline rather than deal him to Boston, the slumping slugger has come out of his funk. Dye is batting .305 (22-72) since July 31st, with 5 homers, 5 doubles, 11 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 20 games.

Preview
The two pairs of baseball Sox go at each other in a series that always seems to be contentious & hardfought no matter the records.

In this case no matter that the Pale Hose are one of the biggest disappointments in the game, sharing the Central cellar with the Royals and possessing one of the worst records in the majors.

If you recall it was just two short years ago that Ozzie Guillen's hyped-up gang of overachievers rolled the Bosox in the ALDS en route to winning its first title since 1917, snapping a curse even longer than Boston's.

Now the club is mired in mediocrity, owners of an anemic offense (last in AL in runs & avg.) and pathetic pitching staff (ERA & BAA 2nd from last), but despite spinning its wheels in the cutthroat division, GM Kenny Williams decided to stand pat at the deadline, re-signing potential big free agent Mark Buhrle and attempting to do the same with Jermaine Dye.

So while the Chisox march in place this season the Bosox march to the division crown plows onward, with every series seeming like more & more of a grind and every member of the team, front office, and Nation just praying for the end of the season to get here already.

The teams hooked up a month ago at Fenway and after Chicago took the opener Boston ripped off three straight wins by a combined score of 21-10; that would be evidence of the pathetic pitching staff I mentioned.

After that beatdown they won 5 of 6 games, but since then it's been U-G-L-Y, with the club dropping 10 of its last 13 games including an abysmal 8-game skid.

The lone bright spot in this wretched season for Chicago has been the remarkable performance of close Bobby Jenks. The underrated righty ranks 2nd in the league in saves with 35 (on a team that has won just 56 games!), but it was his recent stretch of unhittableness (?) that brought him & his club national attention.

Jenks had retired a ML record-tying 41 consecutive batters going into Tuesday's contest against the Royals, but speedster Joey Gathright pushed a single through the infield to snap the streak, and Jenks had to settle for sharing the mark with Jim Barr.

Now the White Sox can just run out the string and start making travel plans for early
October. But you can bet there's nothing Ozzie would love more than to win this series against the best team in baseball, i.e. the better Sox.

The way the pitching match ups are looking this series could end in a tie, but Boston has the obvious advantage in Game 1, with the best pitcher in the game going up against the mess that is John Danks, who with a 4-game losing streak and 27 hits including 6 home runs allowed in his last 20 innings, would be confused with Bobby Jenks in name only.

The other three games could go either way, and I'll break them down as the series continues.

One interesting note: Boston sent pitcher Jon Lester back to AA Portland, so he will not be starting the fourth game as previously planned. Julian Tavarez will get the call in that contest. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez was recalled to help with the struggling bullpen, and the Globe reports that Lester will miss one start and be brought back up on Sept. 2nd.

Other notes: The Sox signed veteran SS Royce Clayton to a minor league contract. Clayton played with Toronto this season, but fell out of favor with the organization, batting .254 in 69 games. With Dustin Pedroia out of tonight's game after getting plunked on the elbow last night, this move has postseason infield insurance written all over it.

Let's hope Josh Beckett goes out there tonight and shows this piddling team who's the boss, and not fall victim to another horror show like last night.

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Sox hang on for thrilling win over Chicago

Boston 8, Chicago 5
WP: Wakefield (11-9)
LP: Garland (7-7)
SV: Papelbon (22)
HRs: BOS-Manny (15), Lowell (15)

SUMMARY
After jumping out to an 8-1 lead on the strength of two 3-run homers, the Sox had to hang on for dear life as Chicago trimmed the lead to three, then loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth before Jonathan Papelbon slammed the door shut.

#1 STUNNER: Manny 2-2, 2R, 3BB, 4RBI, HR
This is the version of MannyBeingManny that all Sox fans know, love and have been waiting all season for.

Manny hit his third homer in the last week and drove in his 12th, 13th, 14th & 15th runs of the month, and it was his three-run bomb in the first inning that set the tone for the day.

PAN's FAUN John Garland 4.2IP, 6H, 6ER, 5BB, 3K, 2HR
The back-to-back 18-game winner and 2005 postseason hero for Chicago looks like a shell of his former self.

When he did get the ball over the plate the Sox batters hammered him like chopped meat, and when he couldn't find the strike zone he just walked 'em, including two batters before each Boston home run.

RECAP
Whhhheeeeeewwwwww!

That's what the entire Nation exclaimed after Paul Konerko's ninth inning grounder was flipped from Mike Lowell to Alex Cora on to Youk at first to complete an around-the-horn double play that gave Boston its first series win in two and a half weeks.

Despite blasting a pair of three run homers and amassing 10 hits and eight walks, the Sox still had to sweat out the win thanks to some (rare) sloppy relief work by Manny Delcarmen and a pesky bunch of Chicago hitters who refused to go down quietly.

But now that all the sweating is over with, the Sox can look back and take many positives out of this contest and the series in general as they head off for a seven-game roadie to Cleveland and then down here to the greater Tampa Bay area.

Which reminds me, I've got third base box seats for next Sunday's game at the Trop (as of now Dice is scheduled to throw, but shhhh, I don't want to jinx it.)

Anyway, the most obvious thing atop the list of positives is the fact that the previously ineffective Sox offense got its groove back against the putrid ChiSox staff; Boston rang up 31 runs in four games and topped all that scoring off today with a staple of a bygone BoSox era: the three run homer.

(Quick history lesson for any bandwagon jumpers/non-Sox fan readers)

See kids, used to be back in the day the Boston offense was predicated around that very powerful but sporadic weapon, as was much of the offense in the AL during the early years of the DH. And Boston, forever without any speedy base stealers or prototypical leadoff men, used to hope guys like Remy, Marty Barrett, Jody Reed and Spike Owen would get on base and then wait for the guys like Rice, Armas, Dewey, Brunansky or Big Mo to launch a moon shot and drive them in.

It was a quick, easy and above all lazy way to grab a three-run lead.

But now, with players the size of Youk toting +.400 OBPs and the Coco Crisps of the world able to steal or crank one out, obviously those days are gone.

Sure at times this Boston team can still bash with the best of them, but with the team ranking a modest 8th in the AL in longballs and the threeleader on the squad, Big Papi, totalling a pedestrian (by AL standars) 16 taters on the season, it's safe to say that the days of getting two men on base and praying for a home run are, pardon the expression, long gone at Fenway.

Well, at least they were until today.

Boston reprised that fan favorite at the old ballyard this afternoon, with former White Sox ace Jon Garland the unfortunate victim of the retro craze, and it kicked off in the very first inning.

Julio Lugo, who reached base three more times and extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an eighth inning single, walked to lead off the inning. After Alex Cora grounded into a fielder's choice to force Lugo at second, Kevin Youkilis worked a walk to set up Manny's theatrics.

It didn't take long for Ramirez to produce them, either, as he took a 1-1 offering from Garland and deposited it into the Boston bullpen for a lightning-quick 3-0 Boston lead.

Ah, just like the old days of 1984.

Things stayed pretty quiet for a while from there, as Tim Wakefield (6.1IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K) held the ChiSox scoreless for the first four innings, allowing just a pair of walks and a single, before Chicago scratched out a single run in the fifth on doubles by Jermaine Dye and the impressive Josh Fields.

But the Sox batters responded to that small uprising with another Earl Weaver special, but this time it was the team leader in RBIs, Mike Lowell, playing the part of Chief Long Stick with Manny & J.D. Drew playing the parts of Johnny Tablesetters.

Garland started the fifth by retiring Cora and Youk on just six pitches, but suddenly he lost his control again and walked Ramirez & Drew on his next eleven throws. Lowell was only to happy to accept Garland's generosity, and on the third pitch of the at bat Mike lined a tracer into the Monster seats that gave the Sox a seemingly insurmountable 6-1 lead.

So when the Sox tacked on a couple more runs in the sixth on a sac fly by Youk and a solid single to center by Manny that pushed the lead to 8-1, combined with the way Wake was tossing the knuckler, it looked like the game was all but over.

As Coach Corso would say, not so fast my friends.

The ChiSox exhibited the fire and fight exemplified by their manager, Ozzie Guillen, when they scratched and clawed their way back into the game thanks to a three-run seventh.

Wake wasted no time in letting them back in the game when A.J. Pierzynski singled, Dye doubled, Rob Mackowiak hit a sac fly and that pesky Fields (2-3, 2R, RBI) drilled an RBI single on the first eight pitches of the inning the to cut the lead to 8-3.

That brought Tito out to yank Wake, and as he left the field to a huge ovation, lights-out reliever Manny Delcarmen made his way in from the pen.

Almost as soon as Remy announced that Delcarmen hadn't allowed any of his 11 inherited runners to score on the season, he gave up a single and a walk that loaded the bases and then surrendered an RBI single to the immortal Alex Cintron that ended the impressive streak and cut Boston's lead to 8-4.

As if that weren't bad enough, Delcarmen walked Jim Thome on five pitches with the bases loaded to push Chicago's fifth run across the plate, and after Okajima came on and retired Pierzynski to end the rally, what had been a seven-run cushion was now down to three with two innings to go.

Uh-oh.

A golden scoring opportunity went by the wayside in the bottom of the inning when Lugo singled, went to second on a wild pitch and third on an error and then Manny was intentionally walked, but Fields made his third great snag at third base in the series on a hot shot down the line by Drew, and the lead remained at three runs.

But Papelbon was coming in for the ninth, so many of the Faithful filed out of the park to beat the traffic since thoughts of the White Sox coming back from three runs down against the All Star closer were out of the question.

Ah, not so fast my fleeing Fenway friends.

Paps, who has pitched just three times in the last 10 days, got into trouble immediately when he allowed a single to Uribe (3-4, R), a single to Jerry Owens and a walk to Cintron to load the bases with no outs.

Gulp.

With the tying run on base and Jim Thome at the plate, those fans who were filing out most likely stopped at a monitor on the concourse or at the Cask to witness what could have been a monumental collapse by Boston and its ace reliever.

Instead Paps remembered who he was and what team he was pitching to and promptly blew Thome away on four pitches flavored with 96-mph gas. He then got Konerko to tap out to Lowell, who went around the horn for the double play to retire the side and the Sox had swiped the win before it was swallowed by the jaws of defeat.

So it's off to C-Town with the 7 1/2 game lead intact (the Stanks bludgeoned the Rays 21-4) and with Jon Lester's debut tomorrow and then Boston's first trip to St. Pete, a.k.a. Boston South, next weekend, this is shaping up to be a big week for the Sox.

Who knows, maybe they'll even hit a few more three-run jacks.

NOTES:

• Papi got the day off to rest his injured shoulder, as expected. There is no structural damage and Ortiz said he should be able to play soon; as predicted, Manny was the DH again but Big Hit Hinske played left
• Coco still crispy: no matter where he hits in the lineup nowadays, Coco just hits. He grabbed three more knocks today, all singles to center, and now has hit safely in six straight games (10-24, .417) and has raised his average from .221 to .277 since June 13th
• Lugo (1-3, R, 2BB) also remained hot, extending his streak to 12 games (21-46, .457), but he has cooled off (2-8) since his re-insertion to the leadoff spot yesterday
• Cora got the start for Pedroia and went 0-5 to drop his aveaghe to .267; remember when everyone wanted him to start over Dusty? Me neither.
• Not only did Manny D allow his first inherited runner of the season to score, he also allowed his first runs since June 26th in Seattle, a span of 10 appearances; hey, he's only human
• Oki pitched his second straight scoreless inning after allowing his first homer since Opening Day on Friday night
• Wake became the first pitcher to have a decision in each of his first 20 starts since Houston's Shane Reynolds in 2001 and the first AL pitcher to accomplish the odd feat since Bret Saberhagen did it with the Royals way back in 1987.

QUOTES:

"That was agonizing, but it's a heck of a lot better than losing."--Tito

RECORD: 59-39
AL EAST: Up 7.5 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-3
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Mon @ CLE 705

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Game Preview: Chicago @ Boston GM4

Garland (7-6, 3.88) vs. Wakefield (10-9, 4.69)
Fenway Park 205

The Sox need a win today.

I know that might be a crazy thing to say about a team coming off two consecutive blowout wins and owners of a 7 1/2 game division lead, but those of us who closely follow this team know that statement is true.

Lose today and those blowouts are mere memories.

Lose today, and the BoSox simply split this series with the putrid Pale Hose instead of winning it. Boston hasn't won a series since the D-Rays came to Fenway on the Fourth of July. Yikes.

Lose today and the Stanks, who are playing those same D-Rays and therefore virtually guaranteed a win, could sliced the Sox lead to a mere 6 1/2 games, the closest any team has been to Boston since Baltimore trailed them by six games on May 11th.

You see, this game does mean a lot, even to a team that is 19 games over .500.

Another reason the Sox need a victory is for the confidence of the man on the mound. Tim Wakefield, who curiously has had a decision in every start this season, is coming off a three start stretch in which he has allowed 25 hits and 14 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings (6.75 ERA.)

And forget the fact that he's 2-1 in those starts; one win was against the Rays and the other came against the Jays, and Boston scored seven runs in each. But the loss came last week against the lowly Royals, when Tim surrendered six runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 9-3 Boston loss.

David Ortiz (shoulder) will be out of the lineup today as his banged up shoulder heals a bit more, but after Wily Mo Pena's horrid day yesterday expect to see Eric Hinske in the lineup as well as Wake's personal caddy, Doug Mirabelli.

Whomever takes the field today for Boston better be hell-bent on grabbing another victory over Ozzie Guillen's struggling ChiSox team.

Because a loss today could set off a whole string of unfortunate events.

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BoSox walk all over Chicago in second straight rout

Boston 11, Chicago 2
WP: Gabbard (4-0)
LP: Danks (6-7)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
For the second straight game the Boston batters tooled on the piss-poor Chicago pitching staff, blowing open a 4-1 game with a 7-run seventh inning that included three bases loaded walks.

Coco Crisp had his second big offensive game in a row and young Kason Gabbard won his fourth game with his second straight stellar outing. Ah, good times.

#1 STUNNER Coco 3-4, 1R, 5RBI
One day after his three-run triple broke open the ballgame Crisp provided not one, not two but three big run-producing hits today. The slim center fielder has now racked up 8 ribbies in his last two games and 16 in the month of July.

PAN's FAUN Wily Mo Pena 0-2, GIDP, E
Starting in place of Manny in left field (who was DHing in place of Papi) and dropped to 9th in the order, Pena's awful error led to Chicago's first run, then he grounded into a double play one pitch after Coco's single in the second. Ay.

RECAP
I think I'll have to miss games more often.

Although the wife & I didn't make it to the beach as planned due to those pesky Florida summer thunderstorms, we did go to the movies instead (saw "Knocked Up"-friggin hilarious) then went to dinner, so I didn't get to watch today's game until after we got home.

Ah, nothing like delayed gratification.

For the second straight game the Real Sox busted out the whooping stick on the ChiSox and slapped another double-digit scoring barrage on the beleaguered Chicago staff.

And the best funny thing about it is that despite scoring 11 runs, they didn't hit a home run and were without the services of slugging DH David Ortiz.

Big Papi injured his shoulder sliding into second base in last night's 10-3 pasting of the Pale Hose, necessitating an MRI on his damaged wing and at least a day or two out of the lineup, meaning Manny had to slide into his DH spot with Wily Mo Pena starting in left.

Although that configuration would quickly come back to bite Boston when Pena muffed a sinking flyball from Paul Konerko in the second inning that was ruled a two-base error, which was followed by a legitimate two-bagger by Josh Fields that plated the first run of the game, it turned out Pena's non-production at the plate and incompetence in the field would not hurt Boston today.

It turned out to be Boston doing all the hurting from the second inning on.

The Sox would grab the lead right back in the bottom of the frame when Chicago starter John Danks (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) handed out free passes to Youk & Mike Lowell and then a single by Jason Varitek to load the bases with one out.

In need of a big hit to keep the momentum of last night going and to prevent the team from falling into another "failed to deliver" funk, Coco Crisp, one of the club's hottest hitters, especially RBI-wise, delivered just that, lacing a Danks offering over the shortstop's head for a two run single that gave the Sox the lead and set the tone for the day.

This would not be a game of missed opportunities.

While the suddenly scintillating Kason Gabbard (7IP, 3H, 1R, 1BB, 1K) held the Chicago lineup in check using his assortment of speeds (slow & slower) to induce a slew of groundball outs, Boston batters set about getting the hard-working lefty a little bit more of a lead to work with.

The Sox would tack on two more runs in the sixth when J.D. Drew (1-3, 2R, 2BI, 2B, 2BB) followed singles by Pedroia and Youk with a line drive double to right that scored Manny, and after an intentional walk to Lowell and a fielder's choice by Tek, Coco lined a single to left that scored Drew but the inning ended when Lowell was called out at the plate.

Although for the second straight day replay showed Boston was robbed on a call when reverse angles showed Lowell's foot cross the plate before Toby hall put a phantom tag on his back.

Oh well. The best was still yet to come.

With Danks out of the game in the seventh and Ozzie Guillen forced to go to his anemic bullpen, Boston wasted no time in turning this somewhat close game into a blowout.

The inning started innocently enough when Big Hit Hinske, pinch-hitting for Wily Mo (thank you Tito), lined a single to right field off reliever Ehren Wasserman, who made his major league debut in last night's loss.

Wasserman appeared to escape any harm, though, when he struck out both Julio Lugo (1-5, 3K) and Dustin Pedroia (2-5), but little did we know the fireworks were just beginning.

Well, I guess you technically can't classify a shitload of bases on balls, a single and a triple as "fireworks", but you know what I mean.

After Hinske stole second while Lugo was whiffing (let's assume that was a busted hit & run), Guillen decided to have Wasserman walk Manny and pitch to Youk with two on and two out.

Talk about opening the floodgates.

Wasserman unintentionally walked Youk, then was replaced by--get this--Boone Logan (where the fuck are they getting these guys? isn't that a porn name? no wonder their bully sucks!), who proceeded to walk Drew on four pitches, scoring Hinske with the Sox fifth run of the day.

Wait, it gets better.

Ozzie pulled another name out of his hat and trotted Dewon Day out of the bunker to take one for the team, and Day honorably followed in his teammates footsteps by issuing free passes to both Lowell (0-2, 2R, BI, 3BB) and Cap'n Tek, the latter after an epic 12-pitch at bat, and just like that the score was 7-1 and the rout was on.

But wait, it gets even better.

Four pitches later Crisp ripped a single straight up the middle to score both Drew and Lowell, and when Ozzie left day in to face the tenth hitter of the inning, Hinske responded to that act of kindness with a ringing triple to deep right that plated Tek with Boston's 11th and final run, and suddenly a three game losing streak has turned into a two game winning streak in which Boston has scored 21 runs, rang up 21 hits and walked an amazing 12 times.

See what happens when I start missing games.

Good news, guys: the wife & I rescheduled our beach plans for tomorrow, so let the beatings continue!

NOTES

• Eagle eyes: of the nine walks issued today by Chicago pitchers, the passes were only distributed to five players--Manny & Tek (1 each), Youk & Drew (2 each) and Lowell (3 freebies)
• Coco's crispy: in addition to his hits, which gave him a modest five game hitting streak (7-20, .350), Coco also continued his Gold Glove campaign in center when he made yet another awesome basket catch of a Jose Uribe drive to end the second
• Lugo on top: for the first time in weeks the hot-hitting Julio Lugo was put back in the leadoff spot, and although he responded with a mediocre game, he extended his hitting streak to 11 games and is hitting a superb .465 (20-43) during that time
• Gabbard has now won three straight decisions since his debacle in Seattle, and this week alone he has won two games, allowing just six hits and one run in 16 innings with 2 walks and 9 Ks; can you say "hot commodity"?
• Joel Piniero got in his requisite one inning/one run allowed appearance when he pitched the ninth and gave up a run on a couple of hits, including a double. Old reliable, isn't he...
• Javier Lopez pitched around a couple of hits to toss a scoreless eighth

QUOTES

"Defensively, he's the best center fielder in baseball and offensively he makes things happen."--Pedroia on Coco

"He pitched better than Beckett"--Ozzie call 'em like he sees 'em Guillen on Gabbard

"When you don't get hits and the bullpen did what it did the last two nights, you're going to get what we did the last two nights. A loss."--Guillen

"Wily Mo will never win a Gold Glove"--FOX's Thom Brennaman after Pena's gaffe

RECORD: 58-39
AL EAST: Up 7.5 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sun vs. CHI 205

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Boston crushes Chicago--and I missed it.

BoSox 10, ChiSox 3

Why is it that every time I have to miss a game it turns out to be a memorable Sox victory?

May 13th, Mother's Day--couldn't get away from the holiday festivities to catch the game (it turns out wives are funny about that shit), and it didn't look like a big deal when I heard the Sox were losing 5-0 to Baltimore late in the game.

Good, I half thought, I'm not missing anything great.

Uh, not so fast. The Sox would end up scoring six runs in a miraculous ninth inning to pull off one of the most stirring comebacks of the season and probably in Sox history.

I'm not sure, though, cause I missed it.

Sat, June 16th--while I'm in NYC for my sisiter's wedding, having a grand old time and falling in love with the city I've despised for all these years, the Sox and Giants play a classic in Fenway.

Daisuke Matsuzaka fanned eight batters in seven innings, Manny hit a homer run in the fourth that accounted for the only run of the game, and Hideki Okijima struck out Barry Bonds with the game on the line in the eighth, to the delight of the Faithful and RSN.

Except me, who missed the game (didn't even DVR it--idiot!!)

Fri, July 20th--as I lounged on a 66-ft yacht in the Gulf of Mexico, honoring the life of my late, great friend Chicago Bob Allen, who passed away from a brain tumour one year ago to the day, Boston got busy putting an end to a miserable 3-8 slide that had sliced its cushy 12-game division lead to a mere seven games in two weeks.

With ML wins co-leader Josh Beckett on the mound, Boston exploded for 10 runs including a three-run triple by Coco Crisp and a grand slam from Julio Lugo to crush the Pale Hose, 10-3.

From what I understand it could have been worse. The friggin umps apparently robbed J.D. Drew of a three-run homer in the first, ruling it a double instead, and Manny got thrown out at the plate on the odd play, which brought furious protests from Tito.

Didn't matter as Beckett shook off a three-run bomb by Jim Thome to record 10 strikeouts and his mates would go on to score more than enough runs to compensate for his mistake.

So in one fell swoop the Sox exorcised the demons of a three-game skid, overcame its maddening inability to get a big hit with runners in scoring position, and got Josh Beckett his ML-leading 13th victory on a raucous night at the Fens.

Too bad I didn't get to see it.

But at least this time I recorded it!

Oh, and I can't watch today's nationally televised FOX game because this is the last weekend my son is away and the wife and I are going to spend some time at Mad Beach getting plastered and baked. From the sun, that is.

So it looks like it should be another awesome Sox win today.

I'd better clear some space on the DVR.

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And the beatings go on: Sox drop 3rd straight

Chicago 4, Boston 2
WP: Vazquez (7-5)
LP: Matsuzaka (11-7)
SV: Jenks (26)
HRs: CHI-Konerko (21)

This non-call on Pierzynski was one of the many things that didn't go right for Boston

SUMMARY
Boston continues its descent into a bona-fide pennant race with another dispiriting loss after a drenching two-hour rain delay.

Nothing like waiting till nearly one in the morning to discover how bad your team sucks.

#1 STUNNER A.J. Pierzynski 3-4, 3RBI
Everyone's favorite punching bag was the one doing all the hitting tonight, tallying half of Chicago's hits and driving in its first three runs on RBI singles in the first and sixth innings.

PAN'S FAUN Dice-K 5IP, 2H, 3ER, 6BB, 6K
If that isn't one of the stranger lines you'll see then I don't know what is.

After another start dotted with both poor and excellent stretches, I am beginning to realize that Matsuzaka's sudden sporadic troubles are unavoidable and quietly mystifying, much like the man himself.

RECAP
It's time.

Time to start snapping at the spouse, barking at the kids, ignoring the neighbors and ridiculing the co-workers.

Time to start waking up miserable in the morning (or afternoon) because you're going to bed miserable every night.

Time to trot out old good luck rituals and the favorite hats, to start building shrines and revving up the high-pitched whines.

Because there ain't no two ways about it now: our beloved Sox are in a bad way.

After a two hour rain delay pushed the start of this one back to 9:02 PM EST, the Faithful who waited it out (nearly all of them, of course) were treated to 3 1/2 hours of Chinese water torture, beginning with a 50-pitch first inning and and ending with another (rain-drenched) loss.

In between Daisuke Matsuzaka alternated slices of un hittable brilliance (14 of 15 batters retired at one point) with stretches of maddening mediocrity (three consecutive walks followed by a 2-run single in the sixth), and after his 20th start in a Boston uniform I don't believe any of us in the Nation know what to expect from him on any given start.

In other words he's turning into Julian Tavarez.

I knew they shouldn't have let those two "talk" so much in the dugout at the beginning of the year.

The warning signs showed up in the very first inning that Dice might not be right, possible due to the lengthy delay. But would a guy who once threw 250 pitches in a 17-inning game and who tosses 100-150 pitches in between starts really be bothered by something as trivial as a rain delay?

Whether you want to blame the weather or not, Matsuzaka was shaky in the first. After retiring the first two batters, including countryman Tad Iguchi on a three-pitch whiff, Dice experienced that mysterious loss of control that has plagued many of his starts.

He walked Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, then surrendered a drooping single to right to A.J. Pierzynski, and Thome scurried home with the first run of the night. The damage was minimized when Jermaine Dye grounded into a double play, but Matsuzaka needed 32 pitches and nearly 20 minutes to get through the frame.

Uh-oh.

The Sox took the lead with a couple of runs in the second, but they had to be two of the most unimpressive runs scored in recent memory, a fact compounded by bad Boston base running that prematurely ended the inning and prevented what could have been an even bigger uprising.

Professional Hitter Mike Lowell (2-4, R) sparked the rally with a leadoff single off of Javier Vazquez (6IP, 9H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K.) Jason Varitek followed with a sky high shot to shallow left that dropped in front of Rob Mackowiak to set up a prime scoring opp.

Then nearly got it when Wily Mo Pena scorched a shot down the third base line that seemed headed for the left field corner but was snagged by Joe Crede's replacement Josh Fields; only the hustle of Pena, who beat it out for a fielder's choice, prevented the double play.

Two pitches later the scalding Julio Lugo (1-4, R, BI) hit a hard hopper to deep short that he also beat out at first, and Lowell came home and tied the score at one.

Amazingly, Coco Crisp would then also hit a ball to deep short that he beat out at first, and the odd inning was alive and kicking for Dustin Pedroia.

The second sacker, who followed his three-hit performance last night with another tonight, took Vazquez' second offering and lined a single to right that scored Lugo, and suddenly the Sox had a 2-1 lead.

Told you it was unimpressive.

But what happened next was downright depressive, though.

As Pedroia rounded first on the hit he assumed Dye's throw would go all the way to the plate. But an alert Paul Konerko cut the throw off and trapped Pedroia between first and second.

Pedroia seemed to have done a good job at stalling to let Coco make a break for home, but Crisp hesitated in his attempt, and by the time he did go the Sox had him nailed, with Pierzynski applying the tag to his feet as he dove in vain back to the third base bag.

Tough to get excited about a inning like that, huh?

Still the (good) Sox had the lead, and Dice had settled in after the first, so we should have been feeling pretty good about ourselves, right?

Then why wasn't I?

While Dice was busy setting down 13 of 14 batters from the second to the sixth inning, Boston continued its recent miserable run of failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities. It's become so routine now that talking about it sounds like a skipping CD. But it's unavoidable now.

In the third Manny (2-4) hit a one out single to center, but was left standing at first. In the fourth Lugo singled to left with two outs, reached second on a passed ball and then Coco drew a walk, but Pedroia struck out swinging to end the threat.

Then in the sixth the ugly inning that has been prevalent in so many of Matsuzaka's starts reared its ugly head again.

After four innings of no-hit, one-walk dominance, suddenly the Japanese righty couldn't find the plate. He walked Iguchi, Thome and Konerko on just 15 pitches to start the inning, then faced a do-or-die battle with Pierzynski with the game on the line.

After getting A.J. to chase a couple of bad pitches, Dice-K had a 2-2 count and looked poised for a big strikeout. His next pitch, a taut fastball, looked to catch the outside corner for strike three.

But home plate ump Tim McClelland didn't think so, and a visibly disappointed Matsuzaka and vocally displeased crowd had to watch Pierzynski bat with the count full.

Anyone who's ever lived through a sports team's losing streak could see what was coming next, and A.J. the asshole did not disappoint.

Pierzynski thumped a ball hard into the infield dirt that skipped under Youk's glove and brought home the tying and go-ahead run, and the way the Sox have been playing, everyone watching knew the game was over right there.

Oh Boston would blow another prime scoring chance when Pedroia and Papi singled with one out, but a spectacular catch of a Manny drive at the bullpen wall in the triangle by Jerry Owens (who?!) and a strikeout of Youk squelched yet another Sox scoring opp.

It didn't even matter that Hideki Okajima came in and gave up his first run in 17 innings on a homer by Konerko in the ninth. By that time many of the diehards had left, disappointed by another lackluster effort by a team that can't seem to buy a win.

Any way we can play the D-Rays every night?

At least the Jays came back to beat the Stanks.

NOTES

• Perdoia's second consecutive three-hit night raised his average from .311 to .321
• Lugo's hit extended his streak to nine games (16-34, .471); Lowell reached eight straight games with his two knocks
• Okajima had gone 17 innings spanning 15 appearances without allowing a run; it was his first longball surrendered since Opening Day against KCs John Buck
• The win was Vazquez' 4th straight; he had been 1-3 at Fenway
• On top of Field's snag and Owen's catch, Jermaine Dye made four or five excellent catches in right. He robbed Manny of extra bases in the first, took a potential Pesky shot away from Tek in the sixth, and twice robbed Ortiz of possible hits
• Manny Delcarmen relived Matsuzaka in the sixth and allowed one hit but held the score; Snyder pitched the ninth, allowing a hit and a walk
• Boston had 11 hits and left nine men on base; every starter had a hit except recently slumping Youk (0-4) and always slumping Wily Mo (0-3)

RECORD: 56-39
AL EAST: Up 7 gms on NYY
STREAK: L-3
LAST10: 3-7
UP NEXT: Fri vs. Chi 705

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