Dan Haren: Still Homeless

It's not just the hair. He just LOOKS like he's been sleeping in an alley, doesn't he? I can't be the only one who thinks that. Despite looking like he needs a hot shower and a warm meal, Haren was all but dealing on Tuesday night. I was supposed to be at this game, but due to a family emergency, I had to miss it. It's probably for the best, because the boys don't seem to like when I come to visit this season. We needed to win this game, so I'm sort of glad I wasn't there to ruin it.

Lester made one mistake over the course of seven innings. One mislocated fastball to Mark Trumbo in the second inning that turned into a solo home run seemed to be the deciding moment in the game as the Sox failed to get runs... or hits off of Haren. It took until the third inning for Crawford to break up Haren's no-hitter, but he was stranded on second (after a stolen base). Scutaro singled in the fifth, but was left at first. The aces battled hard, both going seven innings, though Lester could have definitely gone longer if needed. His pitch count when he came out of the game was only 93. With a score of 3-1 when Jonny came out, I'm not sure why Tito felt this was a comfortable lead, knowing the arsonistic tendencies of our cowboys in the pen, but the gamble paid off. I mean, he still came out with a lead so he was in line for the win. This is what went down:

In the 6th, with one out, CRW doubles to right on a ball that hit off that part of the seats that juts onto the field. With two outs, Ernie broke one of my cardinal rules of pitching and swung at the first pitch. He's lucky that he ended up with a single to left, because I would have ripped out his hair if he hadn't. CRW came around to score on a play that was so much closer than anyone expected it to be. Has Jacoby slowed down, or have I forgotten that Wells has a good arm? Either way. Papi followed up with a single, putting Ernie on third. Lowrider drove him in with a single of his own. It was the first time in the game we had more than one hit in an inning, and we made it sting for Haren. I'm glad, because Jonny really deserved to win this one. I mean, the kid was just rolling. Despite six hits, he still racked up eleven strikeouts. Those K-Men were busy last night. I also noticed they have a new sign for A-Gon, obviously using the "I" from "Ortiz" as their hyphen. Made me sort of smile. Just sayin'. So Crawford singled in the 7th and came around on a high wall-ball double for Salty. Dan Haren was on the verge of being done.

As much as I love a pitcher's duel... and believe me, I do LOVE a pitcher's duel, the 8th is where it got interesting. Mostly because it stopped being a pitcher's duel and became a slugfest. Looking at the final score does not give you a good indication of how tight this game was. Bard came in and had a clean inning. How many games that Lester has started this year have featured Bard out of the pen? All of them? I'm pretty sure it's all of them. I digress. Bottom of the 8th, Haren's pitch count was already a little high, but Scioscia and his silly face ran him back out there. Two pitches in, Ernie belts a home run and suddenly, Haren is gone. It's fine, because Papi greets Takahashi with a home run of his own. Back to back! And suddenly, I feel that maybe Adrian... JUST maybe.... could fill in some of the gaps in my heart left by Manny. Too much to hope for? We'll see. Two batters later, with Lowrider on and Drew out, Scutaro hits his OWN home run to left center. The ball cleared the wall, but it looked like a fan reached over and grabbed it, so Scioscia and his silly face (yup, I'm aware I already said that) demanded a review. As anyone who's ever sat up on the Monster can tell you, it's incredibly hard to lean over that wall. Home run! Hooray! 7-1 Sox.

Pap made it interesting in the 9th, but what else is new? After giving up two runs, he buckled down and got some outs. 7-3 Sox is your ballgame, folks. I also want to point out, because I haven't said it in a while.... I love Eck and all his cheese. All of it. The high cheese, the nasty cheese, the dirty cheese, the cheese with hair... love it. Still, I hope Remy gets well soon. Next up Santana vs. Beckett. Let's keep this going, Joshua Patrick. Ok?

Doc Halladay: Showing Mercy For Once

Yeah, the Sox do try to bring their A game against Halladay for the most part. But the only time I can recall seeing such a short outing from him is when he had appendicitis a while back. Five innings? Wow. If he's healthy, he was just showing us a little bit of mercy. He knows we need the wins, and his team really won't benefit from them one way or another. Or he might have been tired. Been pitching an awful lot of complete games this year. But, because this is my blog, I'm going with the pity/mercy train of thought.*

*Please note, I don't actually believe this, but I'm allowed to come up with whatever silly conspiracy theories I want.

Dahmer was good yesterday. I'm not a big fan of his, but I guess I'll give credit where it's due. 1 run in 6 IP is a good way to stay in the rotation. However, knowing that I'll be in Chicago in a few weeks, I really don't want to run the risk that I end up seeing him. Though I don't want to have to see Dice-K either. It's a tricky situation. Lesser of two evils might be Dahmer.... and that is officially the most twisted sounding sentence I've ever written in this blog, especially if you don't follow along with my nicknames. People who read that must be thinking 'man, that Dice-K guy must have done something HORRIBLE if he's considered to be worse than Dahmer. To my recollection, Dahmer was a pretty bad dude." And my response to these people is 'yes, he did do something pretty bad. Have you seen the way he was pitching this year?!' and then we'll all laugh and move on with our lives.

Hi, Gonzo! I know you're not reading this, but I want to remind you that I'm ecstatic to have you back. The two hits last night didn't hurt either. I really appreciated the effort from the whole team. You know, I was having a pretty awful day yesterday, and I think a bad game may have sent me over the edge. Because I'm overly dramatic and quick to anger. Can't help it. So, I really really needed that win, and they got it.... not just for me, but for all of Red Sox Nation and.... yeah. You understand. It made me happy. It gave us a lead in the Wild Card race. What's not to like? Thing of it is, it didn't really help our standing in our division, but it didn't hurt us either! Next series, we face the Yankees. Lets try to put a little dent in that 7 game lead.

First, we face Brett Cecil with Jon Lester on the mound. The boys have been scoring no runs for Lester lately, making it hard for him to win. I'd like to see him get some support tonight. I know he has as much support from me as I can physically manage. So put on your Papi jerseys, take a sip from your Red Sox freezer-safe glass that you got from the Red Sox team store, turn on NESN at 7:10 and start cheering. We're in the home stretch. We need all the help we can get!

Oh, and get ready to welcome Remy back to the booth! I'm so happy he's well enough to return. Glad to know he'll be back where he belongs (at least part time) on Friday. Don't think that means I don't still adore Eck, because I do. Can we fit all three of them in the booth?

Youk: The New Revenge Bringer?

Wow. That game was one of those games that you have to really watch.... at least the first few innings. It's a horrible thing to say, for sure, but I love when players charge the mound as long as no one really gets hurt. I guess that's the wrestling fan in me. Youk has always seemed like kind of a hot head. I'm surprised this is only the first time he's been up there. I'm also BEYOND surprised, as I think Don pointed out last night, that Youk made it all the way to the pitcher. The first baseman was essentially like, two feet from where they ended up. Maybe he wanted to see a fight, too? Then again, if that scary mug were charging toward someone near me, looking hell-bent on revenge, I probably wouldn't intervene either. I also have to agree with Jim Ed - that was a weak helmet throw. I understand it's probably hard to throw your helmet menacingly while running, but I expected just a little bit more from him. I do hope that Youk isn't hurt, though. That would be bad... although with our over-abundance of 1st base types these days, we might be able to wing it.

So Junichi Tazawa, welcome to your average, every day start. You'll have guys who couldn't turn a double play if their families lives depended on it (which, luckily they don't, otherwise Munchkin and Captain Planet would be screwed). I'm sure you know already, Junichi, that this isn't going to happen here every day. Just every few days or so. Or once a year, really, and you were just lucky enough that it happened to coincide with your first start in the majors. I'll give the kid credit. He looked shaky in the first, and that wasn't helped at all by the two blown double plays in a row, but he survived and he came away with his first big league win to counteract that terrible first big league loss that he should have never been responsible for.

I didn't see Tito get tossed, as I was baking when it happened, but it must have been comical. Also, Rick Porcello probably shouldn't have thrown at two of our guys and expect to not get tossed. He may have only hit Youk, but he came dangerously close to giving VMart a ball-shaped bruise on his ribs. Eck was unsure at first about Porcello's intentions, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was trying to hit him. I'm glad that by the end of the broadcast, Eck came around and realized what we all were thinking. Come on, Tigers. You really think Tazawa was trying to hit your guys? He had pitched two innings and was probably a little nervous. His control wasn't there. Porcello's control was there, though, until his guy got hit. Weird.

And how about that Mike Lowell, the beautiful man that he is, coming into the game on his night off and hitting two home runs! TWO! He is the reason we won the game. Just think, if Youk didn't charge the mound, we may have lost this game.

Again, Paps tried to make it interesting in the 9th. I'm just glad that he didn't make it TOO interesting. And not for nothing, but Curtis Granderson, stop being the bane of my existence, ok? Enough it enough (and it's time for a change?)!

Commander on the mound tonight. I can't wait, and admit it, neither can you.

Me: Not Taking an All Star Break Like Those Lazy Players

Nope. No break for me. While the players are out cavorting and gallavanting and doing absolutely nothing of value, I am taking the break as an opportunity to update this here blog. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been a tad... bad with the whole updating process. Once technology has advanced to the point where my thoughts are transmitted directly into my blog, therefore saving me hours worth of typing, I will update my frequently. Then again, with the random thoughts in my head all the time, that might be a horrible idea. OK, so technology or no, I'm pretty much going to continue to be lazy as long as you promise to stay out of the brainmeats.

Despite the entire first paragraph, this post is not about me. It is about something I enjoy tremedously (not Cheez-Its either, although I am currently enjoying those tremendously). No, this post is about Josh. Because I don't know if you're aware of this, kind readers, but Josh? He kicked some serious butt the other day. Yes, two days ago. I am two days late with this post. 9 innings, folks. Nine gorgeously stupid innings. Less than 100 pitches!... 94 to be exact, and only three hits. He didn't walk a single batter, but that's not surprising given how low that pitch count was. I hope our other starters were paying attention. THAT is how you're supposed to pitch to bad teams. None of this 'putting it in the hands of the bullpen' crap. Be efficient. Throw strikes. Swear a little. Be Josh Beckett.

Watching Josh pitch during odd years is fun. I adore Jon, but Josh is my favorite to watch. He is just beyond awesome. I love angry Beckett, but arrogant, self-assured Beckett is pretty fun, too. When he knows he's got the stuff to get anyone out, and he does, it's a joy to watch. There's paint, and cheese, and the cheese has hair, and sometimes it's right down Broadway, and sometimes it's not, but you GOTTA HAVE IT! You gotta have those corners!... ok, sorry for that moment of Ecksclamations. I got carried away....

Sox fans in general are pretty lucky these days, and we've got very little to complain about. Our pitching depth is incredible. Our homegrown talent has been making it to All-Star games in their first few big league years. We've got a great ballpark. I don't care what anyone says, there is something magical about walking up the ramp and seeing the green monster out in left field. Every year, my first game of the season, it gives me goosebumps. I truly love that old park, flaws and all. I love this team, even if I do forget that sometimes.

Beckett may not be homegrown talent, but we had to give up some damn good home grown talent to get him, and I think it was worth it. I wouldn't reverse that trade. Sure, it'd be nice to have Hanley, but we got the (should-be) 2007 Cy Young winner and the 2007 World Series MVP out of the deal. With Mikey making his return on Friday, the Marlin-twins will be reunited again for another post-season run. Actually... Penny was a Marlin. We already have the Marlin-twins. With Mikey, it will be the Marlin-triplets. We'll be unstoppable in the post season! Where the hell is the smell of toast coming from?! We don't have a toaster up here... sorry, easily distracted.

I don't know if people have noticed, but CRW is up to 40 SB's. Assuming that he doesn't go through another month long stretch without swiping a bag, he is on pace to finish with 80. Ok, that's a lie, and completely 100% made up. I didn't feel like calculating out his projected pace, so we're just going to assume that it's 80. I am happy with that number, and we're keeping it. I just hope little Jacoby lives up to my expectations.

Into the All-Star break with a 3 game lead over the Yankees. Sweet. Though, don't be surprised when we get stuck facing Halladay. But... um... Halladay's not so tough. Right? ..... yeah.

I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon. I've got more to update.

Curtis Granderson: I No Longer Like You

Curtis... oh, Curtis, I knew it would be you. I didn't want it to be you. I didn't want it to be anyone, to be quite honest. I kept hearing Eck and DO prattle on about how you are no problem for Beckett, how he's owned you and how you are helpless against him. That's how I knew it was going to be you. I didn't say anything to anyone because I'm not about to jinx a guy going for a no-hitter. I kept my fear to myself until said fear was realized.

You didn't have to do it. You could have just let him get the no-hitter. It's as close as he's ever come, and if you didn't get that base hit, the game wouldn't have fallen apart the way it did. So, I no longer like you, Curtis. I used to sort of like you. I thought you were a good player. Perhaps not the best, but good. Now.... no more. I never want to see your face again.

Beckett was unbelievable last night. Dominant. Everything I want in a starting pitcher. But the game devolved pretty quickly after that base hit. Looking at the score, you would never guess that Beckett took his no-no into the 7th, would you? Craziness ensued in the final innings. Not that it wasn't wacky before then. Let's recap, shall we?

-The night starts off with JD Drew getting hit 200th career home run off of Gallaraga.

-Youkilis steals a base (hopefully preventing a double play) and ends up getting doubled off second, even though he was clearly back to the bag in time, during JayBay's AB.

-Gerald Laird tried to drop down a bunt in... I want to say the 5th inning, but it may have been the 6th. The bunt attempt drove Eck crazy.

-Eck started talking openly about the no-no going on. ECK! You should know better! We do NOT mention the phrases "no hits," "no-no," or "no-hitter" in the middle of a no-hitter. You jinxed it, man. So not cool. Didn't anyone ever tell you to, um, NOT do that? D.O., you were sitting right next to him. For two innings, he kept saying the above banned phrases, and you did nothing to stop him? That's completely unacceptable. You can say "he's putting up a lot of zeros" or "no baserunners have reached except for (list recipients of walks), who reached on a walk" or even "he's dominating tonight." We'll know what you meant, and you don't have to annoy the superstitious part of the fan base by jinxing it. I'm not always superstitious, but you never NEVER say the phrase in the middle of a no-hitter. Never do it again, Eck.

Then in the 8th, it unravelled. Why was Beckett back out there, some people have wondered. Do you know why he was out there? Because he had been pitching well, and Tito felt no need to unnecessarily use the bullpen. I completely support that decision. Beckett is a grown up. He doesn't need to be babied. When he's on, let him pitch. I defend Tito's decision to keep him in there. The eighth was ugly. It started with a double, and a HBP. Beckett plunked Laird. Could it be because of the attempted bunt? I don't know, I guess it could have been. Don't tell me it was unintentional. Beckett had pinpoint control all night.

Unfortunately, the eight also saw us commit three errors. The first was from Munchkin, who tried to flip to Captain Planet covering second, and ended up throwing the ball into left field. The first unearned run scored. Daniel Bard comes in to relieve Beckett. His first batter reaches on a fielding error by Captain Planet. That's now two errors in the inning that Green has played a role in. Asshat gets kicked in the ankle and has to come out of the game. Mark Kotsay, who had replaced JD Drew, moves from right to 1st, and Baldelli jumps out to right. The next batter reaches on a fielding error by Mikey Lowell, loading the bases. The second unearned run scores. And then that smarmy little jerk Granderson hits a triple, letting the third unearned Beckett run scores, and a couple of unearned Bard runs score. Hideous. Just to recap, that was three fielding errors in the span of four batters (there was a K after the first error). 2B, SS, and 3B basically ruined the inning for us.

Then in the ninth, and I'll admit that I didn't see why this happened because I was getting myself ready for bed, apparently my beloved Mikey gets kicked out of the game. Mikey? Seriously? I wish I had seen that, because Mikey NEVER gets kicked out of games. I can't recall a single other occasion when Mike was kicked out. He just doesn't have the temperment for it. Then Saito was getting squeezed by the ump. I saw five to six pitches that were strikes that were called balls. I bet it was because of the ruckus.

Either way, they held on to win. What should have been a spectacular no-hitter turned into your routine 10-5 victory. I was beyond impressed with Beckett. He's now on the verge, and hopefully only a start away, from getting that hideous ERA down below 4. I think he's at 4.09 right now. There's nothing I love watching more in all of baseball than Josh Beckett when he's got solid command of all of his pitches. He throws some of the prettiest curves you can imagine when he's going good. And oh, the paint. He knows how to paint. The sexiest thing in baseball is an 0-2, 95-96 mph fastball that paints the outside corner and freezes a batter. I didn't get that last night. The closest we got was Brandon Inge's 2nd inning AB. Beckett throws a 94 mph 4-seamer right on the outside corner, and Inge just stares at it. Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Now Wakefield, you no longer have the lowest ERA on the starting staff. Let's try to remedy that this afternoon against Dontrell Willis. I won't get to watch you, since I will be in class, but I promise that I'll be rooting for you while muddling through macro economics. Good luck, Tim!

Joshua Beckett: Surprisingly Not the One Bringing The Pain

Don't get me wrong, he brought a lot last night, but pain wasn't part of that. He brought a decent fastball. He brought a mostly cool and calm demeanor. He brought 5 K's, 108 pitches, and just enough for a win. He brought his ERA down below 7, which is what I'm most pleased about. It's at 6.75 right now. While that's not a GOOD ERA, it's better. I'll take better.

The one thing that Beckett did not bring was pain. It's not to say that the ten hits off of him weren't painful, because they very much were. He was sloppy, but managed to recover in time to prevent most damage. He didn't bring pain to the Yankees, and they deserved pain. There was nothing I wanted to see more than Beckett drilling Captain Intangibles square in the back with a 96 mph fastball. I wanted it so badly, but at the same time, I was happy it didn't happen. If he had hit Jeter, he would have been the one punished. The discipline committee, after all, is run by a Yankee. That's why Joba and his perfect control will not be penalized for sticking one between JayBay's shoulder blades.

"Weak." Eck grumbled after the HBP. I couldn't agree more, Eck. The guy gets twelve strikeouts, and is "painting" all night (as Eck would say), but suddenly the guy who's been hitting well comes to the plate and he loses his control? Bullshit. When the hell is someone going to do something about this fat, reckless asshole? Bad enough Drew got hit the night before. That might have been an accident. When Joba hit JayBay, that was no accident. He was happy about it. He walked off the mound pumping his stupid fists and getting all worked up. Guess what, asshole. You still lost. Nice job making yourself look like a bigger d-bag than I thought possible. I guess it runs in the family...?

Beckett's problems with the mound were 'not conducive to painting.' Seriously, I couldn't get enough of Eck last night. He was funny. He was refreshing after Buck Martinez and the random mish-mosh of personnel and reporters that were hanging around Tampa on Sunday. He's no Remy, that's for sure, but he was enjoyable. Please let Eck be the permanent Remy substitute when Remy needs time off. It would make me happy.

Hoping that CRW is ok, and hoping to see Youk back in a lineup soon. The guys just don't put the fear of God in opposing pitchers the way the Cincinnati Hillbilly does. JayBay is not an intimidating person (thank goodness that his bat does all the talking). Ortiz hasn't heated up yet. Can anyone really be unnerved by looking at Pedroia? Drew looks like he's always ready to take a nap. Tek doesn't intimidate anyone, even with the thighs of steel on his side. We need the guy who can literally scare the opposing pitcher into submission. That's Youk. Get well soon, Asshat.

My big problem from last night's game were the backwards K's. There were far too many of them, and a lot of them came with three pitches. I'm just going to take a few minutes and go over each one. Using GameDay to help my non-perfect memory, here is a rundown of the K's...

K 1) - Tek 2nd inning (looking)- Three straight called strikes. Not a single one of them was actually in the strike zone. Pitch 2 was close, but still outside.
K 2) - Captain Planet 2nd inning (looking) - Seven pitches. Strikes were called fairly.
K 3) - Papi 3rd inning (swinging) - Called strike 2 was outside. Other two strikes were swinging.
K 4) - JayBay 3rd inning (looking) - Four pitches. All three were in the zone.
K 5) - Drew 4th inning (looking) - Drew didn't move the bat off his shoulder at all. Three straight pitches were called strikes, though two were clearly out of the strike zone.
K 6) - Bailey 4th inning (looking) - After Drew took three straight pitches without moving, Bailey copied him and got the same results. All three pitches were in the strike zone.
K 7) - Captain Planet 4th inning (swinging) - Five pitches. No called strikes in this sequence. Green swung at pitches way out of the strike zone. Way out. Not even close. These pitches must have been up around his eyes.
K 8) - Vantastic 5th inning (looking) - 6 pitches. All three strikes were in the zone.
K 9) - Munchkin 5th inning (looking) - Eight pitches, just to take a strike three that was a very borderline pitch, belt high and inside.
K 10) - Mikey 5th inning (looking) - 5 pitches. All three strikes were in the strike zone.
K 11) - Drew 6th inning (looking) - 6 pitches. Another at bat where Drew didn't take the bat off his shoulder. 1st strike was borderline. 2nd strike was outside. 3rd strike was right on the outside corner. Apparently, Drew didn't feel compelled to do anything except wait for a walk here?
K 12) - Bailey 6th inning (swinging) - All within strike zone, except for the one he fouled off. At least he swung, I guess.
K 13) - Vantastic 8th inning (swinging) - Four pitches, three strikes. All strikes were over the outside part of the plate. Not even questionable.
K 14) - Mikey 9th inning (looking) - 6 pitches. Strike one was high and inside. The rest were actual strikes.

I account for the fact that umpires tend to be inconsistent, but we had four at bats where called strike 3 happened on the third pitch of the at-bat. In my eyes, that's no effort. If you see that the umps are calling strikes outside the zone, don't just stand there and wait for them to change their minds. Swing at anything close with two strikes. You've got far better odds of getting on base. This is basic stuff, isn't it? Our guys, some of them, were just not doing it yesterday. They weren't working counts, they weren't even moving the bat. Hopefully, our hitting coach was paying attention and, I don't know, does something about this? You can't do anything about where the umpire decides the strike zone is for the night, but you can do something about which pitches your guys swing on. A good rule of thumb is this... unless the pitcher isn't anywhere near the strike zone for the entire at bat, swing the bat at least once. Give me something in terms of effort. Lowell, Drew, Bailey, Green, and Van Every each had 2 K's. The only one without a K was CRW, but he was only in for three innings.

I've never been a baseball player, and I never will be, but there are a few things that I see over and over that just get on my nerves to no end. My three rules of what not to do are as follows:
1) Swinging at the first pitch.
2) Swinging at 2-0 or 3-0. Make the dude throw a strike! If need be, make them throw two.
3) Staring at strike 3.

There should never be a situation where a pitcher throws three strikes to major league hitters, and they don't move the bat once. We had it happen four times last night. It really bugged me. I know I'm not an expert, but I don't see anything useful in helping out the opposing pitcher.

Anyway, I'll stop dwelling now. Pavano vs. Fetus tonight. Here's hoping our little guy can bounce back from his first rough outing of the season!

Bullpen Band: Really off Key

Ugh. Let's face it, that just sucked. But it's ok, because hell, it's June and we're still in first.

Tito is an idiot. I am not one of those people who hates Francona. On the contrary, I rather like him as a manager, and I support his stupid decisions. There's just a warm spot in my heart that makes me unable to completely hate idiots (unless they are Yankee idiots). Also, he's not an idiot regarding everyone. He manages his position players very effectively. I just don't like what he does with the pitching staff. No, I'm not talking about how he spits tobacco juice at them when they walk into the clubhouse. I'm perfectly fine with that. Sometimes I question if Tito is watching the same game I am... my answer to this question is usually 'no, he's watching an episode of House right now.' That is the only logic that explains why he thinks his pitchers will get out of jams they've created themselves. Because that's what House does. Don't deny it.

I know I could not do any better with the pitching staff. If it were up to me, every night that Beckett was not pitching, he'd be in the damn bullpen to pitch relief. And his arm would fall off, oh, I'd say right about three weeks ago. Javier Lopez would never feel a mound under his feet again. Jon Lester would pitch ANY day he felt like it, and Dice-K would only be allowed to pitch on eight days rest. Timlin would only pitch in blowouts, and would be given the job of bullpen enforcer. I would equip him with a rifle and allow him to shoot anyone inflating a beach ball. You really think authorities would arrest him for that? Neither do I. Beachballs have no business at baseball games. So don't vote me in as manager, America. I wouldn't do that to the team I love.

Lucky for me, NOT being in a position to actually make a difference, I can complain all I want and feel completely justified in doing so, as long as I preface the complaining by assuring everyone that yes, I do love this team, and I believe in the manager, and Dennis Eckersley should never shave off the 'stache.

This is my reasoning for the bullpen woes (I'm going to completely ignore the fact that it was 97 degrees with somewhere around 100% humidity during game time yesterday)... they're not practicing enough. No, not practicing baseball! I'm sure they do that plenty. They aren't practicing the band enough! I almost never see it any more.... come to think of it, I don't even remember the last time I saw the bullpen band play. Is it Aardsma's fault? He joined the 'pen and suddenly the music stops? I don't know. What I do know is if you don't practice, you're going to fail in the recital. 7th inning was the recital for Okajima-san, and let's just say he was nowhere near the sharp notes (this is my attempt at pretending I know something about music, so I apologize).

They'll be ok. A few late-night band practices and they'll be right back to normal. They will win games again, just like they've done so many times before.

The Commander, however... I'm just not so lenient with him. When Commander Kickass is on the mound, I expect hellfire and brimstone. I do not expect 70 pitches in 3 innings, and I find that completely unacceptable, as I'm sure Mr. Beckett does. From what I understand, he holds himself to very high standards, so it's only fair that I'm able to hold him to the same standards. Put aside the fact, for the moment, that Beckett is my favorite pitcher in all of baseball right now(Don't tell Pedro Martinez that though. It'll make him sad.) , and has been for quite some time now. I expect him to at least pitch marginally better against the Orioles than Flyswatter pitched against the Royals, and I got no such results. That's the problem with expecting the best... you're almost always disappointed. He's on this team to bring badassery to a new level, not to give up doubles to Ducky. Bad outing. Poorly pitched game all around. Maybe if he would stop sleeping on the job....

But I still adore Beckett, and I still love Okajima despite his many failings this season. And yeah, Tito, I still like you, too. Let's just not make a habit out of this whole losing at home thing, ok? Thanks.