Patriots 19, Texans 17

I know we said we weren’t doing game blogs…but in a game that had a 10 run lead blown, a 4 run blow save and a rookie knuckle ball pitcher that gave up 8 runs and didn’t get the loss… it is hard to pin down what the most messed up part of the night was.

Papi hit two 3 run homers in the first inning. Read that again and remember that the Sox had to COME BACK and win this game. Now pick up the pieces of your brain. Thank God for Youk (also 2 HR) and his go ahead bomb. These two goliaths combined for 11 of the total RBI and should be feasting on Texas long horn continuously as the week progresses. Too bad the pitching didn’t follow suit.

Zink might have been overwhelmed by the Texas offense, the bright lights of the big leagues or the fact that he was spotted a 10 run lead… but he fell apart quick. That’s only trumped by the awful outing by Aardsma and Delcarman. These two looked like late scratches from the Western Mozambique Olympic softball team rather than major league pitchers. Not what you want to see when October rolls around.

But if you really want to highlight who I felt bad for, it was a tie between:

Kevin Cash who was the only starter without a hit.
Feldman who’s ERA absorbed the 10 run barrage.
And
Any poor sucker dumb enough to bet the under.

What a wild one. Let’s hope next time the Sox don’t play down to the level of the team they are trouncing. It’s just embarrassing.

Paul Byrd and the Survival of the Fittest

Does Bobby Kielty know something we don't? Last August, he signs a deal with the Sox and ends up a hero in the World Series. This year, after obtaining his release from the Paw Sox in July, he resurfaces a month later by signing a deal with the AL Central-leading Twins.

Word just came out that the Indians dumped Paul Byrd on the Sox for cash or a player to be named. Byrd's 37 and having a subpar year, but as ESPN points out, he's won his last four appearances - with an average Game Score of 62.5 (which is excellent) no less - and he's got a solid 4.06 ERA in Fenway over 31 innings. In other words, I like where this idea: cheap acquisition who might do some good in the back of the rotation.

Next question: Does the Byrd acquisition mean Buchholz is finished in the majors for the season, or that the Sox think Wakefield has more shoulder damage than they've let on? I don't think so; I think this trade is part of a larger strategy. With Wakefield's injury and Clay's spate of ineffectiveness, Boston has two open rotation slots in the middle of a playoff run. Wakefield is out for two starts, but Buchholz has the opportunity to redeem himself, Byrd has the opportunity to establish himself, Colon has the chance to return to form, and one of the many minor league callups (be it Zink, Pauley, Bowden, or Hansack) has the chance to step up and make a mark in a fluid situation. It's more of a survival of the fittest type of pitching arrangement that gives Boston some options in a time of weakness, the opportunity for retreads to put up solid numbers for a future a contract hunt, and for the Sox to show off younger talents to up their trade value rather than a definitive changing of the pitching guard.