Flaccid with Rage
New Schilling tried to rear his cont(r)act-inducing head, but the A’s would have none of it. 3-8 was nipping corners and hitting 88 like he was 36 again, but the Piazzas and Langerhans’ refused. It was a parade of K’s until Dan Johnson connected on a first pitch get-me-over fastball for a bomb in the fourth. Its hard to fault New Schill, he’s pitching to contact, remember?
J.D. Drew got the night off with flu-like symptoms, and our boy Eric “Chuggles” Hinkse got the nod in right. Why not Wily Mo Pena? I’m glad you asked. Chuggles had 12 at bats against Joe Blanton, while Wily Mo has yet to face him. You’re probably saying “what about the defense??” Well, there were two routine balls in play to right, both handled ably by Hinske. Chuggles added a clutch double, so I fear I may be in the minority, but I want more Wily Mo.
Nick Swisher hasn’t played since he strained his hammy April 24th, but is still listed as day-to-day. Root for that thigh to tighten up again before tonight’s game; it’s a different lineup without him.
The results of the bottom of the first were just how they drew it up. The methods were more…small market? Three runs on a sac fly, two infield hits, 2 stolen bases, a bloop single and fielder’s choice; these are your $143 million Red Sox. MVPYoukilis demonstrated his versatility again: he manned the five-hole with aplomb, swiped a base and picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
The second was a typical New Schilling inning. He embarrassed Piazza and Dan Johnson, then induced some contact on Bobby Crosby, who induced a single off the wall. Travis Buck began his string of dominance with a single to center. Kendall worked the count full as NewSchill was having some trouble from the New Stretch, but got him the Old Way on the outside corner. Random Capitalization, its a tool I just invented.
Yet another mlb.tv bonus: snippets of the in booth conversation between innings. I can see this being very popular, as long as the broadcasters don’t find out. No f-bombs yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Blanton had control issues all night. His 12-6 curve is disgusting, but rarely a strike. His changeup must look huge to lefties; he leaves it in the middle of the plate with regularity. There were several to Ortiz that looked crushable. The Jolly One argued vociferously with Charlie Relaford on two pitches in the bottom of the third, but it was Papi that was blushing after the replays confirmed their relative fatness. It was a tough night for Relaford; he was the brunt of Eric Chavez’s anger in the top of the fifth, then had to toss Bob Geren between innings. If you’re ever managing a professional baseball team, make sure you get tossed when all the cameras are on and the fans are watching the game, it’s far more dramatic.
If baseball were more like the stock market, Theo would be crazy not to sell high on Lowell. We’re looking at a arbitrage situation here. He’s going well when he fouls off that outside pitch he can just reach. In his first two at-bats he stayed alive after barely getting a piece. We’ll see how many of those he misses in August, but right now Lowell is swinging a hot stick. Holy sh*t he had a steal last night! Get BillBavasi on the horn!
Kudos to the NESN truck for the top of the fifth. Their slow-motion zoom on the ball boy’s reaction after the interference ground rule double was hilarious. That is the look of a kid who just lost his (our) dream job; and yes, he was gone by the next inning. Sometimes, it’s okay to cry.
It was all going beautifully until the ninth. Coco belly-flopped into a diving catch in the seventh; what it lacked in grace it made up for in punctuality because New Schill was beginning to labor at 100 pitches. Moreso, Wily Mo Pena can’t even sniff that ball in the air; it probably skips by him for a triple. Okajima continued his case for set-up ace with a 1-2-3 eighth, but as it turns out, He is not invincible. That’s right, the Papelboner failed to perform. Travis effing Buck and his hippy haircut took the southern buzz-cut stylings of Sir Paps out on a flat fastball, launching a two run blast to the right field corner. I bet it was all that hummus. Paps lacked a little life, he looked like he was coming from the side a little more than usual. Instead of the rising action, the fastball was moving laterally. It got quite tense for a few minutes, a long at bat for Shannon Stewart and a two-on, two-out situation got this keyboard a little sweaty.
Entering the 10th, Tito thrust the ball into the hand of Brendan Donnelly. Hey, at least it wasn’t Mike Timlin. This is why Donnelly is on the team, and I can’t fault Francona here. Donnelly proceeded to give up back to back doubles as fast as he could. I had yet to return from crafting my customary extra inning snack and the lead had been relinquished. Audible sigh.
Tonight:
7:05 EDT
Chad Gaudin (1-1, 2.54, 1.09) at Josh Beckett (5-0, 2.48, 1.04)
You know how good Beckett has been, but Gaudin has been one of the biggest surprises of the American League. The converted reliever has struck out 24 in 28.1 IP.
8:05 EDT
Andy Pettitte (1-1, 3.00, 1.47) at Robinson Tejeda (3-1, 3.82, 1.24)
Tejeda has been the Rangers best starter so far, which, to no fault of his, isn’t saying much. Pettitte will try to follow up a very strong performance from Phil Hughes; who may have saved Joe Torre’s job.
A tough loss, but this morning I’m not as upset about it as I was last night.
I figure if they beat Papelbon, they earn the W.