back where we started from

photos from The Boston Globe

day-night double header.

Game 1

1. not too shabby a debut by the rookie. leadoff walk and i bet that was just nerves. but seriously... is he like 10 years old?!


2. Dougie came up lame on his way home to score in the first inning & had to leave the game. hopefully he will avoid a trip to the DL. rumor has it that Wakey will be held off so he can pitch Monday in Tampa where he has mucho success. that would give Dougie another day to rest whatever is hurting him. if Dougie needs a trip to the DL, i am worried about Wakey. not his skill, but his confidence. we saw what happened last year...


3. Sox offense came alive for the kid's debut. all hail His Papiness with a two-run blast. oh how i've missed that.

4. Jeemer pitched! i feel like we haven't seen him in forever. =)

5. nothing can describe the sheer joy i feel when watching someone so wee hit home runs into the Monster seats. go Pedroia!

6. Youk was hit by a Vlad airmail into third base where Youk was already safe. i don't think Guerrero meant to do it, but he pegged him square on. at least Youk was awarded home plate in exchange for the bruise i bet that left.

7. WMP was traded to the Nationals. i can't say i'm sorry to see him go, but i am wishing him well. maybe he'll get to play more in Washington, and thus improve his playing skills. i think this was the best move for everyone.

8. combine this win with the Yankees loss last night, and our AL East lead now stands firmly at six games. SIX. =)

Game 2

1. no Youk to start this game. =( i'm hoping this was a planned rest & not a result of that ball he got hit with.

2. confusing info leading up to game time. the plan was to send Buchholz back to Pawtucket, and bring up Ellsbury. then we heard Kielty. then it was Ellsbury again. add to that, Dougie has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right calf. so the scrambling began for a backup catcher. (and i suspect Wakey was throwing up in someone's batting helmet, somewhere.) would it be George Kottaras from Pawtucket? but Pawtucket was playing a game in Ottawa... so would it be Dusty Brown then from Portland, since he was closer & could get to Boston more quickly? well, it seems Tek felt good to catch both games of the twin bill, so we imported Kevin Cash from Pawtucket instead. why Cash? if i remember correctly, Cash has some experience with the fluttering knuckleball. hopefully this arrangement will go better than last year's Josh Bard Experiment.

3. JFL is getting a little too carefree with the Es. >=[ i can't help but to wonder how differently this game might have turned out without them.

4. that was some bad call on Youk when he pinch hit in the ninth. two strikes & he fouled the ball but was called out swinging. every replay showed that the call was as wrong as it could possibly be. Francona dialed up the emotion & went mental on the umpire at first who backed the home plate umpire's call -- ejected.

Youk had a meltdown of his own at home plate -- tossed.

i started to panic wondering who would play first base now if we somehow tied the game (not that we did), but then i realized we could play Papi at first, and use our last bench player -- newly arrived late in the game -- Kevin Cash, to DH if it came down to it (which it didn't).

5. late game rally again. in the eighth. gave us a 5-4 lead. Papi & Manny played doubles, Papi with a bases-clearing double with the bags loaded to tie it up at four. then ManRam doubled Papi home as the go-ahead run. even though we ended up losing the game, it was great to see our unusually quiet one-two punch show up to play in both games.

6. i hate to say this, but lately it's looking like we should have let the Other Sox have MDC for Dye. either that or he needs to ride the very busy Pawtucket shuttle in exchange for Javier Lopez.

7. and then there was Gagne. for every time JFL screws up & i dislike him a little more, it's not the same for Eric Gagne. if i could have willed him through that inning, we would have won both games yesterday instead of just one. i have never pulled harder for one player to whom i owe no allegiance than i did last night for Gagne. and i am going to say this: i don't think last night was his fault. almost twenty pitches to get through the first two batters. after that you could see each pitch fatiguing him more & more, especially when he had to rely on his heat with his breaking ball simply not cooperating. the way he circled the mound. the ever increasing delay between pitches. we never should have left him out there. we should have brought in Timlin for the final two outs. even if Timlin had blown it at that point, at least his arm was fresh & he's been lights-out lately. i blame Tito for Gagne last night. i think Gagne was completely mismanaged. 34 pitches for Gagne. he hasn't thrown that many since 2004.

i also am severely disappointed in the fans attending that game. i know how stressful that game was. i watched. i know people aren't crazy about Gagne. much like i am not crazy about Freaking Lugo. but there was *no* reason for anyone to toss a water bottle out onto the field when Gagne exited. none. i am embarrassed & i hate the way that makes me look as a fellow fan.

8. and of course the Yankees had to win because we lost. right back to five games. but we're still ahead. it's still five games. and we're right back to where we were when the day started. no ground gained, but none lost either.

Schill pitches tonight. i hope he finds his groove again. like *now*. i have to believe that Tek won't be catching him. we can't risk his health, and catching 17 innings in one day has to mean he'll get the day off. so Cash should be catching. i hope Schill is up to calling his own game... at least we'll know before game time what happened in the Bronx...