Last night Eric Gagne's latest escapade nearly made me vomit. The only thing that spared me from losing my meatball sub was that I couldn't actually watch Gagne blow another save and inflate his Red Sox ERA to 15.00. Gameday has a way of making things look not so terrible. The 7-5 loss to the Angels dashed my hopes that the Sox would sweep a rare double-header and gain ground on all pretenders to the throne. Now I understand why sweeping double-headers is so difficult.
Heading into the bottom of the 8th things looked less than stellar for the Sox, but down 4-1 the Sox mounted a great comeback and entered the 9th leading 5-4. With Papelbon going in the day game, Gagne returned to his traditional role of closer and began the ninth. After securing one out, the wheels came off and Gags proceeded to give up three runs. The Sox lost 7-5. I cannot re-cast the plays that led to the defeat for fear of projectile vomiting.
A team built on pitching must pitch - It's that simple. When the Sox got Gags the smart money held that he would anchor an already deep bullpen, give Papelbon a little rest, and provide insurance against injury. Well, that theory is slowly dying. It's getting to the point that when Gags enters a game the Fens holds its collective breathe and steels their nerves for another rocky road. Can a brother please get a clean inning?
What makes this loss a little tougher to take than other defeats is three-fold. First, the Sox came back against outstanding pitching (Santana held the Sox hitless over five). Second, the Sox have trouble coming back and the see-saw effect is nauseating. Third, there is no third. I'm a Sox fan. Every pitch, out, hit, run, inning, error, save, hot dog, fungo, glove, and hat is the most important thing EVER.
Around the Horn
Doug Mirabelli is on the 15-day disabled list and the Sox called up Kevin Cash (great baseball name).
Look for Clay Buchholz to return to Boston at the back of the bullpen. Can anyone imagine a rookie taking Gags' turns? I can.
It's nice to see Tito getting thrown out more this year. I've always felt that Francona, as great a manager as he is, can be too controlled. You gotta pull a Bobby Cox every now and then. On second thought, never mind. Tito has a bad ticker and I don't need to the Sox skipper laid out on the infield.
It's great to see Jacoby Ellsbury back with the Sox.
Is it me or did Ortiz look fabulous in yesterday's nightcap? He had that smile. Let's hope he is feeling a bit better.
Freakin' Gags.
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