The Sad Times of Javier Lopez

Think you've had a crappy week at work? Compare your tough times with Javier Lopez:

• On Tuesday, he became the (unwarranted, to my mind) focus of attention for the muffed catch that scored a run, ended a game, and snapped an eleven-game win streak.
  
  
• On Wednesday, after enduring a full day of ire from fans (to be honest, I doubt he has time to read blogs, but it works too well for this scenario I'm constructing to ignore) he had to come back into pitch for an inning because - with the exception of an old man and a kid playing more roles than Tommy Flanagan - our vaunted starting rotation is about as effective as trying to start a fire in a downpour.
  
  
• Last night, he pitched for a third day in a row. The last time he did so, and for this long (two innings total), was July 4 through 6, 2008, where he ended the streak with two hits, a run, and a blown save over 2/3rds of a inning. This time was even worse: four hits, a walk, and five runs over 2/3rds of an inning to his credit before his manager pulls him...but he's not destined for showers. Instead, he switches places with wonderkind Jonathan Van Every in right field, becoming the first Red Sox pitcher to play the field since nineteen-frickin-eighty, when yours truly was naught but a glimmer in his parents' eyes, the Gerbil finished his tenure in Boston, and the Sox went 83 and 77 for a fifth place finish.

Francona went out of his way to tell the press that a.) he was trying to keep Lopez from getting hurt on the mound and b.) not looking to embarass him by replacing him with a guy who hadn't pitched since high school while c.) preserving the rest (read: more important) pieces of the bullpen for action today, but I would not want to be in Lopez's shoes today.

And that’s the Ballgame

So I return to blogging (as the season ends) with the wondrous report that the Yankees limp back home, losers of the last game of the season thanks to the bases loaded extra inning single by rising star (nah) Jonathan Van Every. The walkoff was an exciting end for an arduous regular season… but I fear that is the ONLY good news this evening.

Latest reports from the Boston Herald (so grain of salt warnings are in place) state that Josh “I own the Postseason” Beckett will be unavailable in the ALDS due to an oblique strain. Like beating the Angels wasn’t already going to be hard enough, now the Sox don’t even have the big gun himself to roll out Wednesday night.

So the 2008 Postseason will start without Lowell (potentially for the whole thing), J.D Drew (maybe for pinch hitting), Lugo (thankfully for the whole thing) and now possibly Beckett. This situation sucks so hard I swear it was accidentally created by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

But HEY…the bright side is the right side. The playoffs are finally here (unless you are in the AL Central) and we might even see the musical posts make a comeback. Everyone likes music… unless it’s the Sound of Silence coming from the Red Sox World Series chances…

Crap in a hat…

UPDATE: Francona spoke about Beckett tonight and it looks like he will pitch game 3 against the Angels if he is well enough... hold on to your butts.