Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn: Sox Lose Again
Well the hills are pretty and rollin’
But the thorn is sharp and swollen
And the man plays a beautiful whistle
But he wears a prickly thistle.
- The White Stripes
Royals 6
Red Sox 5
The Sox dropped another game in the standings last night, to cut their lead to seven. Julian Tavarez is a dead man walking – he’s allowed a batting average of .444 and ERA over 10 in his last three starts. My somber mood should not be interpreted as pessimism, a seven game lead is still formidable, but my worry resides in the possibility of another handful of starts for Julian the Scary Clown.
An error by Mike “Silver Surfer” Lowell was the killing blow, three runs scored after a room service hop was turned into a prickly jam for Julian. The end of the Royals’ pen did a fine job, David Riske, Jimmy Gobble, Joakim Soria and Octavio Dotel combined to preserve the last three. Until the last out, it felt like the bats would come through. No one the Red Sox faced had dominant stuff, but the big hit was elusive.
These games will be a thorn in the side come September; hopefully the tune will change and we’ll look fondly back as the inevitable cold streak that ended promptly, instead of a three month nap. Wake up, fellas.
Tonight, the Pale Hose come to town and send Javier Vasquez to oppose Daisuke Matsuzaka. J.D. Drew (3 HR, 1.310 OPS, 23 AB) destroys Vasquez, so I’d like to see him a little further down in the order.
My Lineup 7/19
Lugo (He seems to be turning it around, lets give him a vote of confidence.)
Pedroia (on fire)
Ortiz
Manny
Drew (career numbers vs Vasquez)
Youkilis
Lowell
Varitek
Coco
Taverez belongs in the bullpen. He is fairly consistent during the first three innings. Thereafter he burns out quickly. Why did francona leave him in? Terrible managing job. Lowell with 14 errors is astounding. maybe you were right-time to move him. Dave Roberts is available and I would love to see him on the bench instead of Pena.