has anyone seen my panic button?**

how quickly we forget that one start ago for Brad Penny, we were singing his praises for collecting only our second win on the young season. less than a week later, the boos are raining down on him? i think it's time to take a collective deep breath & give him the benefit of the doubt before we treat him like the reincarnation of Eric Gagne.

so no, the panic button is not about Brad Penny nor about Boston's stutter-step start out of the 2009 gate. it's about... the alternate cap.

(photo from the Boston Herald)
what is the deal with that stupid red button on the top? they had some extra red fabric lying around & needed a place to use it to prevent waste? what about using it to add some red to the Yankee-ish basic road uniforms instead?! all i know is that when i see those new Friday-night hanging socks caps, my eye is drawn immediately to that red button.

perhaps it should come with a warning label: press only in case of emergency! in which case, we *did* run the risk of seeing a field full of Sox pounding in unison on the top of their heads during the top of the second last night. you know... when the Sox found themselves staring down the barrel of a 7-0 deficit following a painful inning from Penny. after that Markakis slam, things looked a bit grim. but in the wise words of Don Orsillo: it's still early in the game.

and yes it was!

by the end of the second, the score was far less imbalanced at 7-4. and the insanity of the night danced on.

there were moments of intensity: Youk taking a pitch off the noggin* and the presence of Javier Lopez on the mound; moments of sheer joy: Pedroia finally located his swing and Nick Green's double to deep center, plating two to tie the game up at 8; moments of brilliance: Ramon Ramirez getting Wiggington out on one pitch after Lopez put on both batters he faced; moments of crazy: not one but *two* hits with super ball effects for Tek allowing him to reach base safely; moments of frustration: what was with the magically elastic yet pin-hole-sized strike zone last night??; and moments of absolute beauty: JD Drew deciding to actually swing his bat for a change and collecting both a solo homer into the bullpen and a triple that later resulted in him crossing the plate.

bottom line is the pen (minus Javier Lopez) pitched well last night, Sox defense was top-notch and the bats were singing. by June, we could be thanking Brad Penny for this rough outing, forcing the bats to wake up and thus being the catalyst that sparked the season for the Sox. really though, sometimes these crazy comeback games just happen--and i'm betting the Orioles wish they'd quit happening when they're the ones facing the Sox.

i think i'll save *my* panic button for the news that Lowrie may be looking at season-ending surgery on that troublesome wrist. while i do think that he maybe should just call it a season & get it done rather than prolonging the inevitable & doing longterm damage, we all know that means we're that much closer to the certain return of E6. shame, since i'm growing fond of Nick Green now. hmmmm...

*i do love Beckett, but he might maybe could take a pointer from Danys Baez on how to properly react when you pitch near a batter's head. granted Baez actually made contact with Youk's big shiny dome, but there was no doubt he felt terrible--and i truly felt bad for him too. no hard feelings at all for Baez.

**alternate title: you're not in Texas anymore, Orioles! seriously though. the O's seem to be a magnet for high-scoring contests this year: 10-5 win over the Yankees, 11-2 loss to the Yankees, 11-3 loss to the Rays, 10-9 win over Texas and a 19-7 loss as well, prior to last night's 10-8 Sox win. that's six out of ten games played that one team involved put up double digits! crazy!