Manufacturing a Loss
Red Sox 0
Indians 1
A pair of excellent games against the Indians are more than we could ask for. These contests were a pleasure to watch, one win is a bonus. Last night may have been given away, but back-to-back 1-0 games are the epitome of pitching prowess and baseball joy. If lightning strikes a third time tonight, Kason Gabbard will have earned his stripes.
The top of the eighth contained numerous mental errors. Alex Cora missed a sign on a hit-and-run with Jason Varitek at first, but eventually reached on an infield single. Lugo pinch ran as the lineup turned over, and Coco worked the count to 3-1 as Rafael Betancourt warmed in the bullpen. Lugo takes off?! The attempted steal in that situation is a bad play. Carmona was tired, Betancourt pitched two innings yesterday. Just get to Betancourt with the big boys coming up.
Maybe if that was the first caught stealing of the evening - or the inning. Maybe if Coco wasn’t thrown out at home in the sixth - after slowing down between third and home. Maybe if Eric Hinske and Alex Cora aren’t in the same starting lineup. That was frustrating.
Tonight, Gabbard faces lefty Cliff Lee. As my colleague Jimmy pointed out in the comments below, J.D. should sit tonight, replaced by Wily Mo (2 HR, 7 ABs versus Lee) in right.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Hey Honey! Did you see where I put my panick button?
…I need it!
Win tonight, sweep Tampa and all will be well!
Come on Baltimore Oreos, don’t pull a “Kansas City” this weekend. You’ve lost that make-up game already, but you can still go out there and sweep the Yanks!!!!!
July 26th, 2007 at 9:11 am
I gotta say, for a guy who is heralded as “The Smartest Man in Baseball”, Alex Cora has had a fair amount of f***-ups this season.
But, it’s always funny to hear the announcers reach orgasm whenever guys like him hit a grounder to 2nd with a runner on 2nd. “HE MOVED THE RUNNER! GOOD GOD, HE MOVED THE RUNNER!! IN ALL MY YEARS, I’VE NEVER SEEN SUCH AN ACT OF HEROIC SELFLESSNESS! CORA FOR MVP!”