BoSox...

Male 24 years old CHARLTON, MA

It really is unfortunate that we didn't come out on the winning side of that game last night.   Beckett pitched incredibly well.  Probably the best game he's pitched so far this season.  When we're down in a game I always say that it takes just one poorly placed pitch to turn a game around.  That's not really what happened with Beckett last night.   He lasted seven innings, gave up nine hits, one run, walked one and struck out six.  On six occasions where he's given up two runs or fewer, he's either walked away with a win or a no decision.   Beckett managed to get himself in a small jam with Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez  hitting back-to-back singles in the third with one out to put runners at the corners.  Jason Giambi knocked in the first and only run of the game with a check-swing, RBI single that beat the overshift.  It wouldn't be Beckett at all that gets us the loss either.  It's something that we've had to struggle with all season and that would be run support.  Our seemingly inability to capitalize off having runners in scoring position.  Leaving runners stranded and slicing at too many bad pitches.

Even though last night was HUGE for Boston as a whole with the return of Papi and all, offensively we weren't able to put much out there.  Papi went 1-4 last night producing just a single in the fourth.  His first at-bat was a strikeout following a much-deserved extended standing ovation.  I was really pumped to see Papi returning to the lineup.  I couldn't wait to see the crowd on their feet and turning Fenway inside-out with cheering.  Even though we didn't walk away with the win, it was still an exciting night filled with drama.  Joba pulled his typical antics with Youk throwing a pitch up and in almost hitting Youk for the second time this season.  We all know what happened last season when he pulled a stunt like that.  Tito actually even said that he's not sure that Joba intends to do that.  Are you kidding me?  It ONLY happens when Youk is at the plate.  He has control then just randomly "loses" it?  The umpire would step in front of Youk and issue a warning to each of them before Youk even had a chance to make a stand.  Youk would end up striking out that at-bat which did upset me.  I wish he had hit a line-drive right at Joba's fat head.  That or watch him charge the mound and draw the first punch like Coco did then lay into the jackass.  I guess that makes Youk a better man than me.  Anyway, Papi's bat speed was great last night.  He looked focused.  Joba just managed to pitch a great game, as much as I hate to admit it.

As for the rest of our offense, we managed to show a threat in the eighth.  Jed Lowrie led off with a single then Coco would follow reaching on an infield single.  The Yanks would pull Farnsworth and pitch Rivera who would end up ending our threat.  Jacoby struck out then Peds hit one back to the box leaving two guys stranded.  The ninth would roll around and Lowell would strike out on a terrible call (trend last night?).  I've never seen Mike that pissed off before actually.  He threw his helmet and then had to be restrained by Tito.  Mikey isn't one to argue but he also wasn't the only one to receive a bad call last night.  We saw several of those. 

Now I suppose I will talk about Manny for a little bit.  I'm not going to take anything away from the man.  He's one of the best hitters to ever play the game.  He started out this season with a bang.  He was showing us Triple Crown stuff.  He was playing outstanding defense and just flat out having fun with the game.  I will even go so far as to say that I saw one of the best LF we've had in awhile at the beginning of the season.  Which now leads me to this next question.  What is it with Manny and the second half of the season every year?  This season has been the worst yet.  Turning a single into a triple with a horrific defensive display then showing zero signs of injury until just a couple of hours before the game last night.  Not just any game, the game where the best 3-4 combo in the majors were going to be reunited.   Manny had a meeting with the heart of the Sox front office and the training staff during batting practice yesterday.  He would end up leaving to go have an MRI done on both knees and that test would come out negative.   Manny also said that it's been bothering him for four or five days now and he just hadn't said anything about it until that point.  I don't really have an opinion on this quite yet.  I'm not going to say, "He's playing his typical game." because I don't know that for a fact.  If he says it's bothering him, I have to believe that until he says otherwise.  I just hope he returns soon is all.  We've waited for long enough for Papi's return and now we have to wait even longer to see our great 3-4 combo return. 

Tonight one of our many consistent pitchers will be taking the hill.  My favorite pitcher.  And that man is Tim Wakefield.  He's pitched into the seventh inning in nine of his past 10 starts. But Wakefield is still stuck with a 6-7 overall mark, and he's 1-2 with a 2.96 ERA over four starts in July. And while he's not one to complain, Wake is feeling the frustrations of his well-pitched games gone wrong.  He'll be going up against Andy Pettitte who has equally shown an ability to pitch strong outings so far this season.  The last time Wake faced the Yankees he took a no-decision, giving up four hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings.  If Wake needs the help, we have an improved Okajima sitting in the pen for him.  Hideki Okajima has not allowed an earned run in his past nine appearances over 7 1/3 innings.  Something we've been waiting to see since the season started is an improvement from our bullpen.  It has come at the best time possible here in the second half of the season.  So let's show Wake our support and hope for the best from Manny.

GO SOX!