oo! oo! oo! oo! stayin' alive! stayin' alive!

just as i was constructing a eulogy for the Sox against the Rays tonight, something to bemoan the terrible tragedy of the last three outings here on my humble blog, Manny finally woke up the bats. i have come to a conclusion: unless Manny or Big Papi is hitting, NO ONE is hitting. i'm not sure who decided this was so--baseball gods with a twisted sense of humor? or is the rest of the batting order just feeling defeated when their homerun sluggers can't connect with the ball? the Red Sox website deems it an "offensive funk". it's offensive all right...and not in the way that should be implied when discussing Boston's hitting. but a solo homer by Ramirez in the 5th & suddenly they were all bringing bats to the plate again.

through four though, i was huddled up on my couch, lamenting the fact that no matter how poorly the Rays do against every other team they face, they seem to have the Red Sox' number. Boston is in first place, the D'Rays in last, yet it's as if the real world ceases to exist when they play against each other. suddenly it's the twilight zone & Tampa looks unstoppable. it befuddles me.

whatever the case, in an unexpected (by me anyway) about-face, Manny managed to come up with a stand-up triple in the 7th--and let me tell you, if Manny can get to third base easily, your defense must be moving backwards, never mind in slow motion. the only person slower than Manny is the as-of-late frustrated Ortiz, who, when he is in his zone, doesn't *need* to haul ass because the ball has gone yard & he can take his sweet time to trot around the bags. but Manny has shown some hustle these last few days & even if he is no sprinter, i am appreciating his effort. someone needs to show some if we're going to kick this slump & be ready to face those Crankees the beginning of next week! after several near heart failures, a couple words my father would not approve of and an ulcer the size of my fist, the 9th inning brought redemption for the poor performances i had been witnessing of late. in a delayed, but worth the wait rallying response to Manny's triple, the boys came through with some runs to take the lead at last & made me jump around like a lunatic right through the bottom of the inning when Papelbon sealed the deal with 3 straight Ks.

*sigh of relief*

if only i could be thrilled that Schilling takes the hill tomorrow afternoon. the sick feeling in my stomach comes from Kazmir starting for Tampa. Kazmir, who makes the Red Sox look like...well...like they have been looking in the games leading up to tonight. let's just hope the Sox don't revert back to bringing dead wood back to the plate & treating Schilling like they have been Wakefield.

tomorrow i will be watching the race & just checking the game's score on commercial breaks i think. i am not sure i can take that match-up at Tropicana after what they put me through tonight...