a sweep, one of our own returns, and an attempt to push through writer's block

photos from The Boston Herald

i know. i know. i've been completely absent. i just couldn't make it work for me against the Rangers, i guess. i had nothing. which is odd for me, but it's not like i write some in depth article. it's really just my own observations. whatever. let's get things up to speed, shall we?

Friday, Game One against the Texas Rangers
1. during the rain delay, i watched the Yankees play slop ball against the Angels. they lost 10-6. that made me happy. i also watched another score that ended up shocking me. after nine, the Pirates & Reds were tied at two. the next time i checked, it was the top of the tenth. and the Pirates were winning, 10-2?? that's quite an inning. final score ended up being 10-4.

2. the rain delay. all one hour, fifty-seven minutes of it. which means an 8:05 game became a 10:02 start. and it lasted three hours & twenty-three minutes. do the math. i did not see the end of this game.

3. Josh Lewin (one of the tv announcers for the Rangers) has one of the most annoying voices ever.

4. for all the criticism Pedroia has received, he certainly makes a lot of contact with the ball. it was really only a matter of time before the bad luck wore off & he stopped hitting them right at fielders. in 104 at bats, he walked fourteen times, and only struck out eight.

5. nothing strikes fear in the gut of a Sox fan like hearing your starting pitcher may be injured, because he was seen grabbing his side on the way off the field. and the mention of oblique? terror. sheer terror. of course, not having the game on NESN meant minimal updates & much stressing. turns out he was *sick* -- so sick he was throwing up between innings. and still went five deep, got the win & didn't look half bad. he may only be half human.

6. can one really say *anything* to elaborate on something dubbed "The Rally Mushroom"?? i think not. seems all the rain in Texas caused mushrooms to pop up on the field. every time one popped up, the Rangers scored a run. it was actually pretty funny. probably because it was something i could totally see Remy & Don cooking up.

7. Youk count: 17

8. Sox stay strong with their season record of winning all thirty games in which they scored at least five runs. Sox 10 Rangers 6

Saturday, Game Two against the Rangers
let's do this one "by the numbers" just to change things up a little
4: how many hits Manny got
18: Youk's hit streak
5: the number of toes on the socks the Sox are all crazy about wearing now, thanks to our Japanese pitchers
3: the inning during which Manny belly-flopped into a triple
12,000,000: the number of years it takes for Rangers reliever Benoit to make a pitch
38: the number of minutes it took to play the top of the sixth
11.5: number of games the Sox were ahead of the second place AL East team by the end of this game
8: number of hits the Sox gave Wakey!
7: runs scored by the Sox
4: runs scored by the Rangers

Sunday, Game Three against the Rangers
1. Youk is at 19 games now!!

2. Julian Tavarez has some huge hands. Never noticed that before.

3. JD Drew *finally* broke his 0-for-17 slump with a single in the fourth.

4. three-run homer for Tek. =)

5. Coco dives again. must be back to downing the Red Bull.

6. best comic relief of the whole series: Julian *rolling* the ball over to Youk at 1B for an out. i know that we value strikes in baseball, Julian, but ummmm... not of the *bowling* variety. even funnier was Youk trying to hide his laughter behind his glove until he finally gave up, lowered his glove & just roared.

7. Pedroia Pocket. ninth inning. twelve-pitch at bat. finally belts one out of the park. even Gagne (the Rangers reliever) had to tip his hat at that one.

8. Sox win! 6-5! they sweep! and to make it just a little sweeter, the Angels swept the Yankees!

Monday, Game one against the Cleveland Indians
1. no Papi. for the second game in a row. i hope he's ok. and i hope he plays this weekend when the bombing Bombers come to town. because i won't feel the slightest bit comfortable until the Yankees are: a) 25 games back, 2) mathematically eliminated, or d) we have this same lead *after* the All Star Break.

2. you know this series is all about Trot's return to Fenway. i cannot tell you how happy it made me to hear the fans cheering for him. and the standing ovation his first at bat. and Schill stepping off the mound to let Trot have his due. say what you want about Schilling, but he knows how to respect the game & the appreciation of the fans. the smile on Trot's face when he stood there, listening to the Fenway fans... priceless. good to have you back, ol' buddy. miss you over there patrolling your old corner...


3. Big Schill Kd the side to start the game. and went on to rack up ten for the night, his season best. rough outings are hopefully behind him now.


4. make it 20 for Kevin Youkilis!

5. i am thisclose to tackling JD Drew & painting a number one on his back before that seven.

6. here's a tidbit for you: Trot signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Indians. he's hitting a solid .281, has two home runs and 20 RBIs. in right field now: J.D. Drew, who makes almost five times as much as Nixon, sits at .238. i guess that goes to show, if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- or if it is a little dinged up, don't fix it with something just as dinged up but more expensive.

7. in the park home run for Kevin Youkilis!!

and some major hustle by Mr Nixon to play the ball in CF. all the way from right. i know he couldn't get it in there fast enough, but i would be willing to bet we don't see that kind of hustle from JD Drew.

8. Sox 5 Indians 3 (photo for no particular reason other than we are apparently all about the love for Julian Tavarez this season)


9. Joshy back in action tonight. i think he needs to be fitted with that second skin stuff... no more injuries for our starting rotation, please. and the Indians *better* let Trot play all three this series.