September 9, 2008

G144: Rays 5, Red Sox 4

Rays    - 002 100 002 - 5 12  1
Red Sox - 100 100 020 - 4 6 1
Jason Bay's two-run home run to left in the eighth gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead and it looked like Boston would move into first place in the East once Jonathan Papelbon disposed of the Rays in the ninth.

But leadoff hitter (and pinch-hitter) Dan Johnson cranked a 3-2 pitch over the Red Sox bullpen in right-center for a game-tying home run. Then, with one out, Fernando Perez doubled high off the Monster and Dioner Navarro doubled into the left field corner to give Tampa Bay a 5-4 lead. (Where's Bot's splitter?)

In the home half of the ninth, Troy Percival walked Mark Kotsay. Jason Varitek tried in vain to bunt, and was then frozen on a nasty 1-2 curveball for the first out. Percival fell behind David Ortiz 3-1 -- was he pitching around him? -- before Flo flew out to right field. Terry Francona then sent Jacoby Ellsbury in to pinch-run for Kotsay at first. Why didn't Tito do this as soon as Kotsay walked? With no outs or two outs, Ellsbury was the potential tying run -- and giving him an opportunity to run with Varitek and Ortiz at the plate would have been wise.

With Coco Crisp at the plate and two outs, Lyndon did run -- stealing second easily and going to third when Navarro's throw short-hopped into center field. Alas, Crisp ended the game by popping out to second base.

The Twins beat the Royals 7-2 to move 6 GB the Red Sox in the wild card. The Blue Jays swept a day-night doubleheader from the White Sox 3-1 and 8-2.

With Toronto 7 GB Boston in the wild card race with 18 games to play, the Canadian sports media will insist that the Jays, with seven games remaining against the Red Sox, have a decent shot at the post-season. It's sad to see such rampant delusion go untreated -- in a country with universal health care, no less.

***

Scott Kazmir (2.99, 144 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.88, 157 ERA+)

The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 13 games and a win tonight could put them into first place for the first time since the All-Star Game. The three-day break was the only time Boston has been atop the AL East since June 28.

Coco Crisp has had six consecutive multi-hit games, during which time he has batted .682 (15-for-22), with a .720 OBP. In his last 13 starts, Crisp is hitting .531 (26-for-49).

At the same time, Jacoby Ellsbury continues to slump -- .232/.305/.305 since August 10, and a .327 OBP and .690 OPS for the season. Lyndon's OPS+ this season (79) is roughly the same as Jason Varitek's (78) and Julio Lugo's (80).

In his two starts against Boston this season (May 4 and July 2), Kazmir has pitched a total of nine innings: 13 hits, seven walks and eight runs.

***
Blue Jays/White Sox at 2
Blue Jays/White Sox at 8
Royals/Twins at 8
Yankees/Angels at 10
East
Rays 85 57 --- Magic #
Red Sox 85 58 0.5 20
Blue Jays 76 66 9.0 12
Yankees 76 68 10.0 10
Orioles 64 78 21.0 E

Wild Card
Red Sox 85 58 --- Magic #
Twins 78 65 7.0 13
Blue Jays 76 66 8.5 12
Yankees 76 68 9.5 10

475 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   401 – 475 of 475
allan said...

FUCKING STATUE, FUCK YOU CAPT DOLITTLE

Jere said...

that ball's off the plate--but we'll take a non-DP

laura k said...

here we go.

the event.

tim said...

Better than a DP though I guess.

A Conformer said...

Way to give them 2 gift strikes, Tito.

Benjamin said...

Tek with the golden shitfuck.

Rob said...

Overshift.

Rob said...

Percival's pitching around him.

tim said...

its def event time.

and if they walk him, Tito better put someone half-fucking-decent up

Jere said...

3 n f'n 0

Amy said...

Not giving him anything to hit.

tim said...

This better end up in the pen.

Rob said...

Green light. DO IT.

Rob said...

Looked like a changeup for 3-0.

Rob said...

Damn! Off-balance.

Benjamin said...

Awwwwwwww.

Amy said...

UCH.

Rob said...

Ellsbury PR

laura k said...

even tho i knew it wasn't, my heart truped me anyway

allan said...

hottest hitter on the team up -- hooked on funix

Jere said...

goddamn motherfucking new camera angle!!! every fly ball has looked like a home run tonight!!!!

nixon33 said...

ugh...

tim said...

Truped by NESN camera. Not Orsillo though.

NOW Ellsbury comes out to pinch run. WTF?

Coco - enshrine yourself!

Rob said...

Can we have another superman triple, ococ?

laura k said...

ok funix, make nix apologize!!!

A Conformer said...

Well, that was... uneventful.

Amy said...

Me, too, Laura. And apparently everyone at Fenway.

Rob said...

TWO BAGS!!!! HAHAHAHA.

tim said...

WORD!!!!!!!!!!

Joe Grav said...

squeeze?

Benjamin said...

Let's do this.

laura k said...

yeah lyndon!

Amy said...

LBJ on 3d...wish we had Ortiz up NOW with that flyball.

Jere said...

oh my!!!! wild fucking pitch now please. or a gd single, let's effin do it!!!

nixon33 said...

WILD PITCH PLEASE!!!!!!!

tim said...

Walk-off inside the parker would be beautiful!

Rob said...

This is crazy now!

Amy said...

OK, my heart's a pounding.

Rob said...

Coco hit that one up! Not up!

allan said...

maybe a NAVARROBALLA?

Jere said...

NESN had count wrong. it's 1-2? okay, yes. it is 1-2

Rob said...

COCK.

Benjamin said...

Fuck.

tim said...

fucking shit fuciucas;ldk

Amy said...

SHIT

I am hating Papelbon right now.

laura k said...

bah

i guess we'll have to wait a little longer

Rob said...

The water is clean. WTF was Coco doing popping that shit up?

Jere said...

gd it

allan said...

shit

gave a good scare tho

we get 2 of 3 tomorrow

nixon33 said...

ok. ellsbury should have pinch run for kaotsay RIGHT AWAY AS I STATED.
THEN HAVE THAT WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT TEK SIT AND CORA BUNTS HIM OVER.

THEN PAPI SAC FLY.


ugh

tim said...

This is fucking deflating. From euphoria to depression.

First game won in this season series by the away team.

Oh well - enjoy it, bitches. Because you won't have it for long.

0.5 again tomorrow.

nixon33 said...

BTW FUCK YOU COCO< I KNEW YOU WOULDNT COME THRU

Rob said...

Tonight's not a tough loss. It sucked that the Red Sox were leading into the 9th inning, but if the Red Sox lose TOMORROW, that will be tough.

Jere said...

papi would've been walked with first base open.

Rob said...

Well, it was tough, but not crushing.

A Conformer said...

That bunt attempt by Tek was horrible managing. If you're gonna bunt, why not pinch hit with someone who knows how to?

Oh, well... we'll get them tomorrow.

Rob said...

Certainly will have to look at that Tek AB. Not to mention Papelbon's bad 9th. All of his pitches were up.

allan said...

sweep was next to impossible.

we have beckett tomorrow to take 2 of 3.

Rob said...

The conservative Tito was managing tonight.

nixon33 said...

papi would've been walked with first base open.
THEN YOU PINCH HIT DREW ( OR ANYONE!) FOR TEK
and see what happens.

tim said...

And I had the fucking box on the lottery ticket slip checked off for "Tie" for this game (within 1 run)...this is what I get for not going with first instinct.

And Milwaukee has tied it. And Mets won by two.

This is going to be fucking interesting.

laura k said...

good night all. i'm out tomw night, so i hope to hear good news when i call in on my way home.

A Conformer said...

Well, it was tough, but not crushing.

Well said. Pretty damn tough, though.

tim said...

nix...coco was next after papi...papi was after tek K'd...

but yeah, anyone would have been better than Tek - 0 bunts in 3 fucking years.

allan said...

ellsbury should have pinch run for kaotsay RIGHT AWAY AS I STATED.

Yep. Was Tito afraid of burning him? If they don't score, the game is over anyway.

Give him a chance to run right way -- or call a glorious hit and run with the expert tek. oy.

beckett better have the red ass tomorrow.

tim said...

Jays rolling! 10 in a row, with an 8-2 win in the nightcap

nixon33 said...

whatever, this is a tough loss.
jesus.

nixon33 said...

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST EVERYBODY!

WHO GIVES A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS AFTERWORDS WITH PAPI AND WALKS AND THE OTHER BULLSHIT!

YOU NEED TO PUT ELLSBURY IN THERE TO STEAL OR HIT AND RUN LIKE ALLAN SAID.

IT CHANGES EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT! THERES A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS YOU CAN DO.
IF YOU HAVE THAT GUY OFF THE BENCH, FUCKING USE HIM.

SoSock said...

I'm up for the 2 of 3.
Do hate to see us lose a lead with Paps on the mound. We really need him to be the Bot now.
El lugar segundo para hoy.
Back the grind :(

nixon33 said...

ok beckett.
win tomorrow.

Rob said...

but yeah, anyone would have been better than Tek - 0 bunts in 3 fucking years.

I love how Castig mentioned Tek was a very good bunter. And then said he didn't have a sacrifice bunt yet this season.

tim said...

I baseball-referenced it during the sad AB. 19 sac bunts in his 11 year career, and 2 in the past 5 seasons. 2!!! That's 0.4 per year!

I was wrong in the original comment. He did have one in 2006. Whoop de fucking doo.

tim said...

Fuck. Just noticed that TB has the extra 0.5 game in hand.

nixon33 said...

HAD TO SHARE THIS!
From SoSH RE: Orsillo signing new contract:

"This is great news for everyone who loves to be read to for three hours, can't see the statistics that are onscreen, can't remember what happened two pitches ago, can't see who 'waits on deck' every single time NESN cuts to the on-deck circle, is dying to know where Sidney Ponson currently resides even though the bases are loaded, doesn't care about hit-and-run counts, has never asked a baseball related question in order to start a discussion or simply learn something, can't identify a single pitch, thinks pitch counts are more important than the score, stresses arbitrary syllables when speaking in a counterproductive attempt to sound interesting, thinks every high pitch is an attempt to 'elevate', has zero opinions that are not parroted from the person next to them, and generally doesn't know anything that he isn't reading directly from the Media Guide, scorecard, or monitor. "


HAHAHAHAHAHA

Rob said...

Rays, Jays, more Rays, more Jays Arachnids, and Chokers.

Who would have thought at the beginning of 2008 the most important games in September would have been against the Rays and Jays?

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