July 8, 2005

G84: Orioles 3, Red Sox 1 (6)

Just Trot being Trot?

Imagine the shitstorm if Trot Nixon was regarded as one of the "lazy" players on the Red Sox? Getting picked off second with the bases loaded in a 2-1 game with the rain falling hard and fast?

Jaw-droppingly stupid, head-banging-on-desk frustrating, and completely bone-headed for the gritty, grimy, gamer. Said Mr. Pine Tar: "I just got too far off the bag. ... I was trying to get that extra lead, that extra little jump. It probably lost the game for us."

Nixon does many of the same things Manny Ramirez has been (and continues to be) slammed for -- falling asleep on base, forgetting how many outs there are in the field and taking somewhat questionable routes on fly balls -- but he receives a fraction of the criticism in the Boston media. ... Nixon did have two of the Sox's three hits, including a double that nearly cleared the right field fence. It was after that double that he was picked off.

When I first saw the night's lineup, I assumed it was a gag. However, while there were various reasons for the players to get the night off, but I wish Francona had gone to that talent-heavy bench (Damon, Renteria, Ramirez, Varitek, Youkilis) in the top of the sixth. It was pretty clear that was going to be the last inning, so I wanted the Sox to play it like the ninth. Instead, we watched Olerud, Mirabelli, Stern and Bellhorn do nothing.

The differences in pitch counts between David Wells and Daniel Cabrera was striking:
Cabrera 10 25 28 17 26 = 106
Wells 8 8 13 6 14 14 = 63
The one run the Sox did score came in an inning with three walks and two wild pitches. And no hits.

But it seemed like the rain-shortened game was the least interesting part of the day. [Tito: "At the pace we're going, by Sunday we'll have 32 more [roster] moves."] ... More on that later.

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