Gagne steers sinking Sox directly into the rocks

Toronto 4, Sox 3
WP: Burnett (9-7)
LP: Gagne (3-2)
SV: Downs (1)
HRs: BOS-Lugo (7)

If only Gagme would go back to comedy, the Nation would be a lot better off

SUMMARY
Another appearance, another meltdown for the artist formerly known as Eric Gagme as the portly, washed-up reliever came on in the 8th and turned a 2-1 Sox lead into a 4-2 deficit by loading the bases and then allowing a walk and a double, effectively putting a torch to Jon Lester's masterful outing, and hopefully his career in a Boston uniform.

#1 STUNNER Gagme 1IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 0Ks, BS, L
This clown has gotten so bad that he is now officially a valuable weapon for the opposing team. Congrats on getting him out of the pen tonight, Toronto. Well played!

PAN'S FAUN Gagme
With the hysteria over Pan's Labyrinth having died down (probably due to the fact that it wasn't nearly as good--or scary--as it was hyped to be), it's time to re-name this ignominious category: the loser of the night will hereby be rewarded with the Gagme.

Hey, he's earned that honor.

RECAP
1978.

1986.

2003.

2006.

2007?

As every Sox fan knows, word association for that list would go "Bucky Bleepin Dent"; "Billy Buckner"; "Grady's Braincramp"/"Aaron Bleepin Boone"; "The Boston Massacre II"; and now "Gagnegate"

The embattled reliever continued his uncanny and unnerving streak of allowing runs to cross the plate at an alarming rate when he gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in the eighth inning tonight, turning what looked like a possible season-saving win (aren't they all right now?) into another soul-crushing loss.

In what now has to be one of the worst trades in Boston history, Gagme has allowed 14 earned runs in 14 innings of work and singlehandedly lost four games since arriving from the Rangers on July 31st for promising young pitcher Kasson Gabbard and talented outfielder David Murphy.

It doesn't take a math major to calculate that had Gagme not blown those wins the Sox would own a 6 1/2 game lead in the East with 10 games left to play, and the Nation would be breathing a lot easier today instead of coping with that all-too-familiar pang of dread that is linked to yet another season of promise going down the drain.

The WWL was kind enough to point out via a terrific little video montage that the Sox have lost their last three games on Jeter's 8th-inning homer off Schilling, three longballs from long-in-the-tooth Jays slugger Frank Thomas, and yet another late-inning meltdown from their key mid-season trade acquisition.

Way to roll into the postseason guys.

The worst part about this loss was the fact that lefty Jon Lester (6.2, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 5K) pitched a whale of the game after a shaky start put him and his team in an early hole, taking a 2-1 lead into the 7th inning before he gave way to Manny Delcarmen with two outs and no one on, his 5th victory of the season apparently well in hand.

Perhaps if the Boston offense hadn't continued to be as stagnant as Cuba Gooding's career the Sox and Lester wouldn't have had to sweat out the end of the game and could have enjoyed a satisfying win. But Jays starter A.J. Burnett, who has been on fire since coming off the DL at the end of August, bent but didn't break by holding the Sox to two runs through six innings despite scattering 8 hits and 3 walks in that time.

Burnett (8.2IP, 9H, 3ER, 3BB, 11K) was bailed out by a couple of double play balls off the bats of youngsters Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5) and Brandon Moss, and by the 11 Ks he recorded, including Ellsbury and Big Papi three times each.

Lester survived a rough first inning when he allowed a pair of walks and and a pair of hits, the big blow and RBI double to deep right by Alex Rios. But he, was bailed out by a nice play by Lowell and Tek to nail Rios at home on a grounder by Aaron Hill, and despite the fact that they had five baserunners in the inning, the Jays managed just one run.

Sounds like the Sox offense.

Speaking of which, it was held off the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game by Burnett despite having at least one batter on base in each of those frames. After Ellsbury led off the game with a single to left he moved to third with one out on a stolen base, his 7th in 7 attempts, and subsequent throwing error by Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun.

But Burnett got Papi to strike out and then retired Lowell on a fly ball, and yet another Boston baserunner was left stranded 90 feet from home plate.

Singles by J.D. Drew and Tek were wasted in the second when Hinske struck out and Moss grounded into a double play, and in the third a leadoff single by Lugo was quickly erased when Ellsbury GIDP'd to sqelch that potential rally.

Ah, young guys. They may giveth excitement, but the ability to stay out of the inning-killing double play they taketh away.

Boston finally got on the board in the fourth when Lowell reached on an infield single with one out, Drew walked, and after Hinske struck out again, Captain Tek laced his first big hit in weeks into the leftfield corner to score Lowell and tie the game at one apiece.

The Sox would grab the lead in the next inning thanks to a two out single by Dustin Pedroia and a double to deep center by Papi, but after Lowell was intentionally walked Drew obliged the Jays by striking out swinging, and still another possible big inning was shot in the ass.

Lester and Burnett both held serve for the next couple of innings, and after Hector Luna drew a one-out walk from lester in the seventh, Tito allowed the young lefty to get one more out before bringing in Manny D. to face Wells with the game on the line.

Delcarmen did his job, getting Wells to fly out to Ellsbury in center, and after Burnett set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th, it was Gagme's turn to redeem himself to his team and the Nation.

Mission NOT accomplished.

Truth is the mission should have been aborted long before it got to the hideously ugly point that it did, and the debate about why Tito left this guy in there to absorb yet another career-killing loss will rage for weeks and possibly a lot longer if the Sox end up blowing this thing.

From the minute they showed two the Seth Rogen/Sasha Baron Cohen look-a-like trot out of the pen with a look that screamed "why do I feel like I'm about to shit myself right now?", I sensed disaster in the air. As a matter of fact, when my son sat down on the couch a few minutes later and asked what was going on, I replied "the Sox are about to lose this game, Gagne just came in", only half-sarcastically.

Sure I said it, but after so many awful outings, a brief stint to rest his "tired arm", and a couple of decent appearances in garbage time recently, I didn't really believe I would witness a repeat of one of those unforgettable horror-shows.

Unfortunately that's exactly what happened, and just to add to the torture effect, the roly-poly reliever got two quick outs in the inning before he ran everyone through the wringer.

What a dick.

After those two quick outs the game spiraled into a surreal, movie-like collapse of epic proportions. Seemingly from out of nowhere Gagme couldn't find the plate, walking Frank Thomas on four pitches (in all fairness a couple of those were pretty close), then after Aaron Hill singled to left on one pitch, Gagme walked Matt Stairs on six pitches to load the bases, and that familiar queasy feeling began to take hold in the pit of the Nation's stomach.

Gagme quickly went to 3-0 on Zaun, and despite numerous mound meetings with Tek, proceeded to walk him two pitches later to force in the tying run, and now the feeling of dread carried that special "all-time choke job" tinges that we are all so familiar with.

Curiously, instead of pulling the train wreck for a warmed-up Papelbon, Tito allowed the carnage to continue, and when pinch hitter Russ Adams sliced a drive through the glove of Drew for a two-run double, it was like watching the finale of a horror-porn flick.

The fact that Zaun was thrown out at the plate to end the inning, or that Lugo added a "thanks, anyway" homer in the ninth to deny Burnett the complete game and make it just another one-run loss for Boston, means little to the frantic Nation worldwide.

Even though losing the division would still result in yet another Wild Card birth for the team that won the series via that route in '04, this is full-fledged panic time, folks.

But it's not like we haven't been here before.

Read More......

Bullpen meltdown costs Sox shot at DH sweep

Angels 7, Sox 5
WP: F. Rodriguez (5-2)
LP: Gagne (3-1)
HRs: LAA-Matthews (16)

SUMMARY
For six innings the Sox looked dead in the water, held scoreless by Earvin Santana, until a late comeback gave the team hope. But Manny Delcarmen surrendered two runs in the 8th, and after Boston bounced back with four in the bottom of the inning, Eric Gagne coughed up three in the 9th for another demoralizing loss.

#1 STUNNER Santana 6.1IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 5K
The struggling starter was called up before the game for his first start in a month, carried an ERA over 6.00 into the contest, then shut down the Boston offense for six plus innings.

PAN's FAUN Gagne 1IP, 3H, 3ER, 33P, BS, L
MotherfuckingcocksuckingCanadianbaconlovingSethRogenlookingwashedupdouchebag can go back to fucking Texas, California, Canada or anywhere they want his sorry, goateed, flabby, floppyhaired, goggle-eyed ass!

Nation, we must unite in producing a curse that will prevent this man from ever taking the mound in a Boston uni again!

SUMMARY
What the fuck just happened?

In the blink of an eye a potential banner day in Beantown was washed away in a flood of fortuitous base hits and faulty pitches, and before anyone could even register what they had witnessed, the Sox split a doubleheader that just minutes earlier it looked like it was destined to sweep.

That's what happens when the so-called best bullpen in baseball suddenly goes all Amy Winehouse, wasting another solid start by Josh Beckett and turning a feel-good come-from-behind win into the kind of loss that sparks fights with spouses and causes beer intake to rise dramatically throughout the Nation.

Label it alcoholic spousal abuse, brought to you by Eric Effin Gagne.

For the third time in a week and seemingly the umpteenth time since he first donned the Boston uniform three weeks ago, Gagne imploded on the mound and coughed up a Boston lead, blowing a save for the second time since Sunday and erasing what could have been one of Boston's biggest wins of the season.

All while Jonathan Papelbon sat in the pen and watched.

Look, I know Tito wants to be careful with the closer, and he did throw 22 pitches in the opener, but would his arm really had fallen off if he came in to close this one out?

After all, it's not every day this club comes back in a big way in the later innings against a quality club like the Angles, let alone with the chance to hang a doubleheader sweep on the second best team in baseball.

The ironic part about the whole thing is that for most of the evening it looked as if Boston was going to go down without a fight, barely able to scratch out a hit let alone score a run off suddenly stingy spot starter Santana.

The former Angel ace had been battered so badly this season that he was put on the AAA shuttle back in July after a dismantling at the hands of the Devil Rays, and was only brought back today to fill in due to the double dip.

The 24-year-old did more than fill in as he held Boston hitless for 4 1/3 innings while his mates built a 2-0 lead thanks to some key hits and ghastly fielding by Julio Lugo.

Beckett (7IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 8K) worked out of a two on, two out jam fueled by Lugo's bobble of an Orlando Cabrera grounder in the first inning, but Anaheim touched him for a run in the third when Cabrera singled and Vlad Guerrero, who was a beast in this game, doubled deep into the left field corner for a 1-0 LA lead.

After misplaying another ball that was fortunately scored as the first ML base hit for rookie catcher Ryan Budde, Lugo's third miscue of the game would come back to bite Boston & Beckett in the sixth.

Guerrero (3-5, 2R, 2 2B, 3B, 3BI) hit a routine grounder to lead off the inning that Lugo bobbled & butchered for his 6th error in his last 13 games, and after Garret Anderson singled him over to third and Gary Matthroids struck out, Sox killer Maicer Izturis dumped a single into right that scored Vlad with the unearned run, and Boston trailed 2-0 after six.

Meanwhile Santana was pitching like his namesake, Johan; Boston's first hit of the night was a bloop single by J.D. Drew in the 5th, and even though Lugo tried to atone for his gaffes with a solid double to the triangle in the 6th, Santana retired Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia to escape the frame unscathed.

But things would finally change in the 7th as Boston scored a run on a single by Papi, a double by Drew (2-4) and after Justin Speier replaced Santana, an RBI groundout by Mike Lowell that cut the deficit to a manageable 2-1.

Then came Bullpen Meltdown #1.

Manny Delcarmen got the call to replace Beckett in the 8th and immediately turned the close game into what seemed like an impossible dream.

His line looked like this: Guerrero triple on 1st pitch, Anderson sac fly 2 pitches later, Matthroids 2-run homer three pitches later.

Six pitches, three runs, and that 2-1 lead was now 4-1 with Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez waiting in the pen.

Time to pack it in?

C'mon, it's the fucking Sox.

In the bottom of the 8th Boston staged one of those 2004-esque comebacks, an aspect of their game that had been sorely lacking so far this season but one that has started to reappear lately.

And just like '04, Big Papi was right in the middle of the action.

Reliever Scot Shields retired Eric Hinske to start the inning, then proceeded to walk Lugo and Ellsbury and allow a solid single to Pedroia to load the bases.

As Coco came in to run for Pedroia, Rodriguez entered the game for the Halos in hopes of recording the rare 5-out save.

No tonight, K-Rod.

With Ortiz standing at the plate Rodriguez uncorked a wild pitch that (barely) scored Lugo from third and advanced the other runners up a base, and on the next pitch Papi (2-4, 2R, 2BI) scorched a double to the left centerfield gap that brought Ellsbury & Crisp home to tie the game, and suddenly the park was rocking like it was 2004 again.

One pitch later Manny laced a shot down the third base line that rattled around the corner long enough to score Papi with the go-ahead run, and at this point everyone watching thought, shit, it is 2004 again.

Alas Drew grounded out and Lowell flied out to end the rally, but the damage was done, and all Boston had to do was record three quick outs and the sweet double header sweep was all theirs.

Except instead of the menacing glare and 97 mph heater of Papelbon on the mound, the Angels saw the roly-poly 92 mph Cheez Whiz of closer-turned-clown Gagne staring at them from behind befuddled, bespectacled eyes.

Exact excerpt from my notes: Gagne's on for the save. Oh shit.

Things started off badly when pinch hitter Reggie Willits took Gagne to 13 pitches before finally flying out, and I couldn't help but think if he needed that many tosses to retire Reggie freaking Willits, we're in trouble.

Things got worse as Gagne followed that adventure by walking pinch hitter Casey Kotchman on five pitches, and then the proverbial wheels fell off, and the worst part about it was it was like witnessing a car crash in horrible, super-slow motion.

Chone Figgins singled to right, sending pinch runner Manny Aybar to third, and O.C. needed just two pitches to rip a single to left that scored Aybar to tie the game; by the time Vlad crushed a 2-run double two pitches later , the boos were cascading down so hard on Gagne you'd have sworn they were yelling "Yooooooooouuuukkk".

Interestingly enough the next two big plays would involve Youk, who replaced Hinske to start the 9th: he speared a liner by Anderson for an inning-ending double play, then was tossed, along with Tito, for arguing a strike three call on a ball he foul tipped in the bottom of the inning.

So an afternoon that began with so much joy came to a bitter conclusion, but at least we know that the next time Gagne takes the mound we can just turn off set and go about our lives, secure in the knowledge that this man will probably never have a quality outing in a Boston uniform.

Unless they're playing the D-Rays.

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"Best" bully blows another as Gagne continues to gag

Baltimore 6, Sox 3
WP: Bradford (1-4)
LP: Snyder (2-3)
HRs: BAL-Millar (11), Tejada (11)

SUMMARY
Boston ended its 10 day road trip on a major down note when Eric Gagne gave up a 2-run homer to Miguel Tejada to tie the game in the 8th, then Kevin Millar hit a 3-run jack off Kyle Snyder in the bottom of the 10th to win it for Baltimore.

And the Sox lead in the East now sits at a slim 4 games...

#1 STUNNER Millar 3-5, 2R, 3RBI
The original idiot did a number on his former mates, notching two of the five hits Curt Schilling allowed and then pummelling a Snyder fastball for the game-winning homer.

PAN's FAUN Gagne 2/3IP, 1H, 1ER, 1K, 1HR
The supposed bullpen savoir has been a bullpen sinker as the former Ranger closer has been absolutely horrid in his brief stint with the Sox; he's now allowed 10 hits and 7 earned runs in 4 innings with Boston for a 15.75 ERA.

Worse than his performance, however, is the fact that his stunning awfulness is rubbing off on the rest of the bullpen.

RECAP
Raise your hand if you're starting to get that sickening, 2006 feeling again, Red Sox fans.

If you're hand's not raised right now you're either lyin' or denyin', cause all of a sudden a season that had World Series written all over it is looking more and more like last year, when the Sox broke out to a promising start only to collapse like Lindsay Lohan after one too many 8-balls.

Boston's AL East lead was sliced to a minuscule 4 games thanks to the Stanks' sweep of the Tribe this weekend, all that separates them from a Boston Massacre redux is the fact that they might already be out of first place by the time the two rivals hook up again in two weeks in the Bronx.

Which begs the question, would it be better to give up the division lead this week and go into that series trailing the Stanks, or do we really want to undergo the soul-crushing humiliation of letting our arch enemies ruin our season once again?

Discuss.

I know, I know, I can hear all you eternal optimists out there saying "hey, we've still got a four game lead, we're playing the D-Rays next, and the Stanks embark on a tough road trip themselves this week, so don't give up hope yet."

What I say to that is most of you glass-half-full people are under the age of 30 and are judging the chances of the Sox success on the mere fact that they came back to stun the Stanks in the 2004 playoffs, not the numerous heartbreaking collapses the team has undergone over the last, oh, seven decades before that.

To break it down scientifically, the score stands History 1,487, Sox 1.

Look I'm definitely not ready to throw in the towel and I realize that this band of talented veterans and confident youngsters isn't about to pack it in either, but when things start happening to a team like what happened on this trip, it's hard to ignore the familiar, ominous signs of a season on the brink.

Blown saves, terrible baserunning, awful errors, mental gaffes and lack of timely hits were all staples of the sliding Sox on this roadie, and all of those factors came into play in the finale today.
The worst part about it is that for the third straight game Boston got a great effort from its starter, yet they lost 2 of the 3 contests.

Curt Schilling, in his second start since coming off the DL, held the Baltimore lineup in check, surrendering just 5 hits and 1 unearned run over 6 innings while hitting 90+ regularly on the gun, although for the first time in his storied career he didn't allow a walk or a strikeout.

The only blemish on his linescore came when Millar hit a 1-out single in the 2nd, then went to third on a Buckner-esque error by Julio Lugo and came home on a groundout by Melvin Mora for the game's first run.

The error, which should have been an inning-ending double play, was Lugo's 14th of the season and 3rd on this trip, although he made numerous other mental miscues in the field.

The Sox bounced right back with two runs in the 3rd, but much like seemingly every other game this season the team had a zillion chances to blow the game wide open early but couldn't capitalize.

After getting one runner on in the 1st and two on in the 2nd against struggling Baltimore starter Steve Trachsel (6.1IP, 10H, 3ER, 3BB, 1K) Boston finally broke through in the third, but once again the damage could have been worse.

Kevin Youkilis (1-3, R, 2BB) began the rally when he drew a one-out walk, then went to third on a double off the right field wall by Big Papi, who came within a few feet of a home run if not for his ailing shoulders.

Manny followed with a liner to the right center field gap that scored both runners to give Boston a 2-1 Boston lead, and it looked a big inning was at hand.

Then another untimely edition of Manny Being Manny reared its ugly head, and that was all she wrote.

With J.D. Drew at the plate Baltimore catcher Paul Bako mishandled a Trachsel pitch that squirted a few feet away from him. For some reason only beknownst to Manny, the loopy right fielder broke for third and was thrown out by a country mile, a play that stung that much more when Drew promptly laced a single to right that would have scored Ramirez anyway.

Boston added to its lead when Tek and Lugo doubled in the 4th, but from then on it was same shit, different inning for the Boston offense.

6th inning: Lowell & Tek singled, Hinske grounded into a double play
7th inning: Youk singled, Ortiz walked, Manny grounded into a double play

By the time the 8th inning rolled around both starters were on the bench and it was up to Boston's bullpen to nurse that slender 3-1 lead instead of the 6 or 7 run bulge it should have been had the team been able to get one friggin big hit in any of those innings.

I think you know what happened from there.

Okajima, who seems to have acquired some of Gagne's bad mojo by sitting near him in the pen, walked Corey Patterson to open the 8th, and after Markakis moved him to second with a grounder, Tito did something that made every Sox heart skip a beat:

he summoned Gagne from the pen.

Seven pitches later Tejada launched a blast into the left field seats, and just like that Schill's yeoman effort, much like Dice-K's on Friday night, was gone in the blink of an eye, much to the chagrin of the thousands of Nation members who had invaded Camden for the series.

To make a long and depressing story a little shorter, Boston wasted baserunners in the 9th & 10th, and after Kyle Snyder got the call for the 10th and allowed a leadoff single to Patterson, we all knew the game was about to end, it was just a matter of how.

Markakais singled Patterson over to third and one out later Millar sent a Snyder fastball into the seats for the game winner, and at just that moment if you listened real closely you could hear the sound of millions of tv sets clicking over to the PGA Championship as well as loud exclamations of "FUCK!" coming from every RSN househould across the land.

And so the Sox will limp back to Fenway after a humiliating 4-5 road trip in which its East lead was cut in half and its aura of invincibility was shattered like an egg.

Hey, at least we got the D-Rays next, right?

Maybe they can take two of three from them.

As long as Gagne stays nailed to the fucking bench.

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Birds beat up baseball's best bullpen

Baltimore 6, Sox 5
WP: Hoey (1-0)
LP: Okajima (3-1)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
A beautiful pitcher's duel ended in a wild way as Boston scored five runs in the 8th to take a 5-1 lead, but Baltimore bounced back with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning against Eric Gag-me, then scratched the winning run off Hideki Okajima in the bottom of the 9th to stun the Sox.

#1 STUNNER Brian Roberts 2-4, 2B, R
The pesky second sacker has been a thorn in Boston's side this season, none more so than when he led off the 9th with a double and came around to score the winning run on a sac fly

PAN's FAUN Gagne 1/3IP, 3H, 4ER, BB
To say the trade for the former Cy Young winner has been a disaster would be an understatement. Not only is the bullpen NOT better with him as the setup man, it has become decidedly worse, screwing with Oki's psyche and altering what had been the perfect 1-2 late inning punch.

RECAP
You know what they say, payback's a bitch.

Nearly 3 months to the day after the Sox laid one of the most embarrassing losses in Baltimore history, known as the Mother's Day Miracle, on the Orioles, the Birds returned the favor with a stunning late comeback that snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat.

The fact that they accomplished the feat against the best bullpen in baseball made the loss sting that much more.

While I was at Raymond James Stadium witnessing a brief cameo by Tommy B. and very few recognizable Patriots in a 13-10 preseason loss to the Bucs, the Sox were engaged in an expected pitchers duel for eight innings before an Arena Football-esque scoring binge broke out in the final two frames.

The Pats could have used some of that firepower.

After I got home and shed my sweat-soaked Brady jersey, I plopped down on the couch and fired up the DVR and for seven innings I was treated to exactly what I had expected would take place with two of the AL's best hurlers on the mound.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (7IP, 4H, 1ER, 4BB, 7K) gave up one run in the first inning after Corey Patterson walked, stole second, then came around to score on a single by Miguel Tejada.

That would be the only blemish on the rocking rookie righthander, who has allowed just 5 earned runs with 28 strikeouts in his last 27.1 innings for a scintillating 1.65 ERA over that period.

Although Dice would get into a few jams over the course of his outing, including 2 men on situations in the 2nd & 5th innings, he had control of his pitches and was able to work his way out of any jam he created.

Meanwhile Baltimore starter Eric Bedard, who has been the AL's hottest hurler while ripping off an 8-0 streak since early June, held onto that 1-run lead like it was a historic home run ball, allowing just 3 baserunners in the first seven innings, and using a pair of double plays to escape any potential damage.

Then came the 8th inning.

Bedard (7.2IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) began the frame by fanning Kevin Youkilis but followed with a walk to Mike Lowell, and the wheels proceeded to fall off from there.

Captain Tek singled sharply to left to get runners at first and second with one out, but when Coco's grounder to short forced Lowell at third for the second out, it looked as if Bedard and the Birds would escape the inning unscathed.

Not quite.

Whiffy Mo Painful, who earlier this week expressed his desire to be traded, hit a slow rolling single to left center that scored Tek with the tying run and chased Bedard from the game.

On came ex-Sox Chad Bradford, and Julio Lugo (2-5, R, BI) promptly greeted him with a sac bunt that eluded all the Baltimore infielders and scored Coco with the go-ahead run, much to the delight of the mass of RSN that had packed Camden Yards.

After Dustin Pedroia reached on an infield single to load the bases, Bradford was relieved by Jamie Walker, and Big Papi jumped on Walker's first offering an lined a single past the shift in right to score two more runs, and suddenly Boston enjoyed a 4-1 lead in a game that looked like 1 or 2 runs would be enough to win.

So when Manny stroked a single to left two pitches later to score Pedroia with Boston's 5th run, and the Boston bullpen troika of Gagne-Oki-Paps chomping at the bit to get into the game, it looked like this one was all but over.

Not so fast, Sox fans.

Reliever Jim Hoey (who?!) came in to retire Youk on a fly to center, and then Boston trotted out struggling setup man Gagne for the bottom of the frame.

That's when things really got ugly, and I'm not just talking about the Seth Rogen lookalike's mug.

Patterson (1-2, 2R) got the rally started with a double to deep right on Gagne's second pitch, then came around to score on a single by Nick Markakis to slice the lead to 5-2. No biggie, right?

Wrong.

After walking Tejada and inducing idiot Millar to tap back to the mound, former D-ray Audrey Huff roped a double to the wall in right to plate two more runs, and after Okajima relieved Gagne, Melvin Mora lined a single to left to score pinch runner Brandon Fahey, and just like that the game was tied.

Wow.

As if that turn of events wasn't bad enough, what happened in the next inning was enough for the visiting chowderheads to spit out their crab cakes in disgust.

Boston managed to get two men on in the top of the 9th against Hoey but failed to get one home, and then in the bottom of the inning the end came as quickly as a mid summer thunderstorm.

Brian Roberts, who has torched Boston to the tune of a .316 average (12-38) with 6 doubles, a homer and 7 runs scored this season, drilled a ground rule double to deep center to lead off the frame, then was sacrificed over to third one pitch later by Patterson.

On Oki's very next pitch Markakis lofted a ball to shallow center, and with Coco Crisp possessing the arm of a 12-year-old girl, every Boston fan in the building knew the game was over right there.

Sure enough Roberts scampered home with the winning run, touching off a celebration that had a certain "in your face" quality to it, and the Birds had given the Bosox a taste of their own comeback medicine and sent the thousands of Nation members home with a disgusting feeling in their guts.

Maybe it was from the crab cakes.

Now the Sox will have to shake off the loss and get ready for today's nationally televised game on FOX at 4:00, and luckily for us we have AL co-winds leader Josh Beckett on the hill against rookie callup Garrett Olson.

Which should spell a Boston win.

As long as Beckett pitches a complete game.

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Happy B-Day, Tim: Wake joins AL wins leaders

Sox 7, Baltimore 3
WP: Wakefield (13-9)
LP: R. Bell (3-2)
HRs: BOS-Hinske (5), Mirabelli (4)

SUMMARY
In a game that featured to a number of wacky plays Tim Wakefield earned his 13th victory on his 41st birthday, Doug Mirabelli nearly blew the game then won it, and Eric Gange made his Sox debut as Boston took 2-of-3 from the Birds.

#1 STUNNER Belli 3-3, 2R, 2BI, BB, HR
His base running gaffe nearly doomed the Sox in the sixth, but the veteran catcher made up for it with an RBI single in the seventh that gave him his first 3-hit game in nearly three years.

PAN's FAUN Rob Bell 2/3IP, 4H, 4ER, BB
What do you expect from a former Devil Ray castoff with a career ERA of 5.61? The 30-year-old righty was plain awful in the 7th, turning a tie game into a Red Sox rout.

RECAP
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Timmy, happy birthday to you."

I'm sure that's the tune that Tim Wakefield's teammates serenaded him with in the locker room following this game, along with the mandatory beer shower of course.

On the day the knuckleballer turned a robust 41 years old the 15-year vet showed the rest of the league that he's still got what it takes to be a top pitcher in the major leagues, and he's got the record to prove it.

By tossing seven solid innings and lasting just long enough to benefit from another Sox uprising, Wake (7IP, 6H, 3ER, BB, 5K) joined teammate Josh Beckett as well as four other hurlers atop the AL leader board in wins, one behind ML leader Carlos Zambrano's 14.

Not bad for a guy who broke into the league when fellow starter John Lester was 8 years old.

But for a while it looked as if Wake would not join the 13-win club, and he had no one to blame but himself for the missed opportunity.

Well himself and his personal caddy, Doug Mirabelli.

After blowing a bases loaded situation in the second, the Sox jumped out to a lead in the third courtesy of a couple of strange plays by left fielder Jay Payton.

The disgruntled former Sox sub misplayed a high fly from David Ortiz (1-5, R) that landed on the warning track in front of the Monster for a sun-aided double, and three pitches later Manny lined a Jeremy Guthrie offering directly over Payton's head for a sharp single that scored Papi and put the Sox on the board first for the first time in the series.

Boston then put on a nice little power display in the 4th, and the wattage came from two unlikely sources.

Eric Hinske, starting in place of J.D. Drew who was still dealing with his son's illness, launched a 2-0 pitch from Guthrie (5.1IP, 9H, 3ER, 4BB, 3K) over the bullpens and into the bleachers for a quick 2-0 lead, then on the very next pitch Belli blasted a bomb into the first row of the Monster seats to give his buddy Wake a comfy 3-0 advantage.

But faster than you can say "where's my Geritol?" Wake blew the early b-day present, surrendering a three-spot to the Os in the 5th on a triple, a sac fly, two singles and a double and all of a sudden the game was back to square one.

Showing his age, I guess you could say.

Boston wasted a leadoff single by Manny (2-5, BI) in the bottom of the inning when Lowell grounded into a double play, then they really screwed the pooch when Belli had a major brain fart in the last half of the sixth.

The catcher culminated a 7-pitch at bat with a solid single to center to lead off the frame, then advanced to second on a sac bunt by Alex Cora. After Pedroia (2-3, 2BI, 2BB) walked on four pitches, Youk lofted a lazy fly ball to right that tricked Nick Markakis, who dropped the popup for an error that loaded the bases with one out.

Guthrie was replaced by Jamie Walker, and when he allowed a DEEP drive to center field by Big Papi, it looked like the Sox would regain the lead and hand the game over to its awesome bully.

Except Belli messed up the timing of his tag, and by the time he went back and re-touched third, the Orioles had enough time to get the ball in to infield and Doug was gunned down by a good 10 feet for a head-scratching inning ending double play.

Needless to say Papi wasn't happy, and neither was anyone watching the game who had no idea how a guy could get thrown out on a ball that traveled nearly 400 feet.

Luckily for Mirabelli, Wake and all of RSN, he would get a chance to redeem himself in the next inning.

Enter Rob Bell.

Bell got Manny to ground out to begin the 7th, then Lowell (1-4) followed with a single off the Wall, and after Coco forced Mike at second base and stole second, Bell walked Hinske to set up a double play with crappy feet coming to the plate.

After his horrendous miscue the inning before, Belli wasn't about to blow his best buddy's birthday, and he took the first pitch he saw from Bell and dropped it into center to score Coco and atone for his blunder and put the Sox back on top, 4-3.

Cora and Pedroia tacked on RBI hits after that, and all that was left was for the newest member of the Sox pen to make his Red Sox debut.

Hideki Okajima pitched a 1-2-DP 8th, and then it was time for one of the best closers in the history of the game to take the mound for the first time in a Boston uni.

After fanning Millar & Tejada to start the 9th, things didn't exactly follow the Disney script for Gagne when Lowell lost a wind-blown popup by Audrey Huff for a double and Payton followed with an RBI single to right, but he shrugged it off and retired Jay Gibbons on a lazy fly to left, and the birthday boy got his present, hand delivered by his batterymate.

The rate he's going, we might see Wake pitching when he's 50.

NOTES

• Doug's day: this was Mirabelli's first three hit game since Aug. 25th, 2004
• Decision '07: Wake extended his incredible streak to 22 consecutive games with a decision
• Drew didn't make it for the start of the game, but he did pinch run for Hinske in the seventh and stayed in the game
• The Sox celebrated the career of legendary second baseman Bobby Doer before the game
• Markakis' error was his first this season and first in 148 games dating back to last Aug 15th
• The sun wreaked havoc on numerous plays in the outfield, but didn't affect Coco, who made a spectacular leaping catch against the wall to rob Gibbons of extra bases in the 7th
• Cora started in place of Lugo sporting a freshly shaved dome
• Big Hit Hinske strikes again: of Hinske's 24 hits this season, 14 have been for extra bases-- 6 doubles, 3 triples and 5 homers
• 7th heaven: Boston scored four runs in the seventh for the second consecutive game

QUOTES

"To go back and tag and try to come home like that was the second mistake and it's embarrassing."--Mirabelli

"It was awesome. I was a little nervous. But the adrenaline kicked in and the fans really got me going."--Gagne. Welcome to Beantown.

RECORD: 66-42
AL EAST: Up 8 on NYY
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri @ SEA, 10EST

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Welcome to Beantown, Big Ticket!

It's good to be a Bostonian when you get to see a 7' future Hall of Fame basketball player toss out the first pitch to a burly Boston baseball demigod on a picture-perfect midsummer night at Fenway.

Ah, good times, good times.

Oh yeah, and this sight was pretty sweet, too.

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Sox Drawer: Gagne, Garnett arrivals reinvigorate Boston

By bringing two legendary players to Boston, coupled with the impending Patriots debut of Randy Moss, the Hub is once again the center of the sports universe

Sights like this, plus the arrival of Eric Gagne, have made Boston the center of attention once again (AP/ESPN photo)

Ah it's times like these I almost wish I didn't leave the gridlocked & grimy confines of the World's Greatest City for the wide open, sunny spaces of fabulous South Florida.

As I type this there is enough rain falling outside to film "Evan Almighty II".

But really, I have to envy all my family and friends who still live in the city that never sleeps, sports-wise, for I can only imagine how giddy the locals are over this latest round of Beantown glory.

Sure, none of the three teams (unless the Bs trade for Sidney Crosby the team is dead to us) have actually won anything yet, but the prospect of a trio of titles in town within the next year is enough to turn the frown of a grizzled, weather-beaten Maine-iac upside down.

With the Celtics trade for Kevin Garnett and the Sox deadline deal that brought Eric Gagne to town coupled with the Pats off season signing of Moss, the three major teams have all brought marquee name players to clubs already rich in talent (well, in the Cs case not exactly rich, but...) which not only virtually assured each squad of a run at its respective championship but succeeded in focusing the national sports spotlight on a city with a trio of teams and owners who are not afraid to make a big deal.

Are you listening, New York, Chicago and Detroit?

Or, as Curt Schilling's buddy Dan Shaugnessy put it in his gloating Globe article today

"We are the town with Manny Ramírez, Tom Brady, Kevin Garnett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Randy Moss, Ray Allen, Curt Schilling, Bill Belichick, Paul Pierce, David Ortiz, Adalius Thomas, Jonathan Papelbon, Tedy Bruschi, Josh Beckett, Rodney Harrison, Jason Varitek, Richard Seymour, and Eric Gagne. We have reasonable expectations of a World Series, a Super Bowl, and the NBA Finals. There never has been a better time to be a sports fan in Boston."

I'll just have to settle for being a Boston sports fan.

Oh look, the sun is starting to come out.

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