"Oh Honey, Anyone Could Miss Canada. All Tucked Away Down There." Sox-Jays Gamer XVII

I wasn't around for last night's Hurt, but on the plus side...Wakefield doesn't look to have pitched that badly. Frank Thomas is someone who appears to have struggled to get on base against Wake over the course of their careers--he's at .250/.321/.667 against him--except for two games: Last night's, and a night back in 1996 when he actually slugged three homers against the knuckleballer. Yes, of Frank's 12 hits against Tim, 2 were doubles and six left the yard. Anyway, given how bad Wake's been lately...I guess this was something of an improvement?

Dustin McGowan's been one of the league's best since the break this year. Overall numbers are OK, but since the All-Star Game he sports a nice 3.18 ERA with a .207 BAA and 1.05 WHIP, along with a 76/25 K/BB in 87.2 innings. So there are worse things in the world then being dominated by McGowan on the road; Rotoworld claims him to be a top-10 AL pitcher next season if he can stay healthy. I think that might be a little bit of a stretch, but the kid's a good pitcher.

That said, this current incarnation of the Boston Red Sox lineup is pretty pathetic, especially for a playoff team. There's no reason to expect anything resembling production from spots 6-8--well, I suppose Moss  could surprise--while 5 and 9 don't exactly strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers. It's incredible how much different everything would look if Manny--even 2007 Manny--were back in the 4-spot, but he's still taking his time, or something.

Jon Lester takes the hill for Boston. He's never faced the Blue Jays, but between his continued inability to throw his fastball anywhere near the catcher's mitt and Toronto's reputation as a team that hammers left-handers...well, at least Troy Glaus is done for the year.

AJ Burnett, on the other hand, is trying to extend a run of 7 consecutive quality starts since his return from his most recent injury. Since August 12, he's 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 46/18 K/BB in 50.2 innings. He's faced Boston 3 times in his career, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and predictably dominant peripherals.

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Mike Lowell, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Eric Hinske, 1B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Brandon Moss, LF
9. Julio Lugo, SS

SP - Jon Lester

Blue Jays

1. Vernon Wells, CF
2. Reed Johnson, LF
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Frank Thomas, DH
5. Aaron Hill, 2B
6. Matt Stairs, 1B
7. Gregg Zaun, C
8. Hector Luna, 3B
9. John McDonald, SS

SP - A.J. Burnett

Comments

[LocklandSF]

It's impossible to lose a game when a Simpson's quote is involved.

America Jr, indeed.

[LocklandSF]

American Coast Gaurd: Back off Canadians we got them
Canadian Coast Gaurd: You back off hosers, they are in Canadian waters, eh'
American Coast Gaurd: Beat it you puck smacking maple suckers!
Canadian Coast Gaurd: Take a hike you Shatner stealing Mexico touchers!

[Nick-YF]

The Jays will have an interesting staff next year if people are healthy. And yet they'll still finish in 3rd!

[Josh SF (D1)]

Haha nicely done. With this much Simpsons Karma nothing can go wrong!

[LocklandSF]

For thee record, I could go on all night with Simpsons/Canada references, they are a plenty...

But I digress.

The Red Sox scare the crap out of me right now. I have a pre-2004 sense of doom right now that I can't shake.

[Devine]

I'm mildly nervous, but not yet scared. Probably one more drop in games ahead, and I'll start to get scared.

Meantime, staying away from the game threads doesn't seem to have helped my nerves or the Red Sox' ability to win, so hello game threads, I'm here! (at least for the next few minutes)

Go Sox! Win today!

[SF]

Devine: prepare to be scared at about 954pm tonight.

[Devine]

Yes, probably...but you *always* seem to be scared, SF!

[Devine]

Ellsbury singles to left.

[Devine]

Pedroia pops to right.

[SF]

not scared. Pessimistic.

Supportive, though! Go Sox!

[Devine]

Ellsbury steals 2nd, takes 3rd on the throw into centerfield.

[Atheose]

Giggle.

[Devine]

Totally supportive, though abusive when it's demanded.

Me, I think I'm manic-depressive in the realm of the Sox. Happy as hell at the start of a game, ready to kill someone by the end.

Ortiz K's. Gah.

[Devine]

Lowell gave it a ride, no go. F*ck, wasteful.

[Atheose]

Another shit-the-bed first inning tonight. Goddamn Rios.

[Atheose]

Time to go write a paper--I dunno if I can deal with another playing-from-behind game again tonight. I might be on later.

[Josh SF (D1)]

Jon Lester...does not belong in a major league uniform...

[IronHorse (yf)]

I am not watching but I thought SFs loved Lester. Seriously.

[Josh SF (D1)]

"I am not watching but I thought SFs loved Lester. Seriously."

Some do. I didn't like him before he got sick, and I don't like him now. He's one of those guys scouts drool over for years who never turns into anything resembling a quality pitcher and is just painful to watch. Has no f*cking idea where the ball is going to end up %75 of the time he throws it.

[AndrewYF]

There's the Jon Lester we know, walk the bases loaded, then get out of it with only 1 run. He's a regular Houdini.

[SF]

collapse, viewable in real time. All I can think of right now are those videos of the implosion of the Kingdome.

[IronHorse (yf)]

GO*&^MN Sterling called it GONE and then said, "Oh...no....foul". So so so so so so so so so sick of his false HR calls. I don't listen to any other contemporary radio color commentators. Is there ANYONE who makes as many false HR calls as Sterling?????

[IronHorse (yf)]

Sorry SFs...wrong thread. Damn Sterling.

[Tyrel SF]

Oh, Tek in the clutch...

[IronHorse (yf)]

What'd he do?

[Tyrel SF]

Doubled in the tying run, 1-1

[IronHorse (yf)]

Must be the "C" :)

[Tyrel SF]

Ya, too bad he smelled bad doing it...

[IronHorse (yf)]

I feel......driven...

[Tyrel SF]

Papi!!! Knocks in D-Ped, 2-1

[AndrewYF]

Might we see another Gag-me blown game today?

[Atheose]

Shit. Gagne walks Thomas and then Hill singles. 2 outs though.

[Atheose]

By the way, Tek must have heard us talking about him earlier... he's 2 for 3 tonight with an RBI.

[Atheose]

Bases loaded. Hey Gagne--PLEASE don't fuck us out of this one. New York is up 9-0 right now.

[Pocono SF]

Why the hell is Paps not in there to get four outs? Wake up Tito

[Atheose]

Walked in the tying run. Jesus.

[z118]

wow. ouch. damn.

[AndrewYF]

So much for Gagne turning a corner, huh.

[TheTree1918]

fuck you eric gagne, seriousy I hope you blow yoru shoulder, and never pitch in the fucking majors again you are HORRIBLE get the fuck off the mound you born and bred loser....GET THE FUCK OFF THE MOUND!!!!

tito...why is this loser still pitching...he has ost the sox a handfull of games already, let him walk in the go ahead run?

fuck....I can't watch this shit anymore...what the hell is tito thinking.

[Pocono SF]

Pin another loss on Tito having his bald head up his ass concerning the bullpen. Looks like a first round three and out this year boys.

That...was fucking pathetic. By pitcher and manager.

[Devine]

me

[Bob]

The yankees will win the division, I can't take this anymore

[Ed]

that's the division...

[Atheose]

Sigh.

[Ed]

I MEAN COME ON!!!!

[SF]

Theo needs to consider a new manager in the offseason. Tito's handling of the pen tonight was beyond awful. Again. Not having Paps warming with Gagne imploding? MDC for ONE out? Incompetent. In the last week he's singlehandedly created a pennant race.

[Bob]

There is no pennant race, it's the yankees to win now, this is the worst feeling ever

[Atheose]

Dear Manny,

Stop being Manny.

Love,

-Red Sox Nation

[Ed]

Why do they do this to us?

[BostonRAW]

"fuck you eric gagne, seriousy I hope you blow yoru shoulder, and never pitch in the fucking majors again you are HORRIBLE get the fuck off the mound you born and bred loser....GET THE FUCK OFF THE MOUND!!!!"

Yep, that pretty much sums it! LOL

[Andrew F (Sox Fan)]

There's showing confidence in your pitchers, which I respect Tito for, and then there's not realizing when they have lost control of the strike zone. Gagne started overthrowing and badly missing, but with his recent history of poor performances Tito should have warmed up Paps in the middle of the inning.

[Atheose]

HOLY CRAP Lugo homers. Come on Ellsbury!

[Pete]

This is exactly why you can't say Gagne turned a corner.

But all you killing Tito, doesn't he need to see if Gagne is worth anything for the post-season? The Sox are making the playoffs (see Tigers) and while the division would be nice, it means more to figure out what he has. If Gagne got out of that mess that he created (after two quick outs) we'd be worried about him, but that would be that. And folks were killing him for bringing in Paps early the on Friday.

Look, the Sox bullpen is a mess. Oki is spent and may not recover. Gagne is probably hurt and may not recover. So it's Paps and who? Who's the seventh inning guy in Game 2? Or the 8th inning guy in Game 4? Who?

Wow, and Lugo!

[Ed]

No excuse to keep Gagne in after he walked in the TYING RUN... In all honesty, I don't think Francona deserves an extension, there's a lot of better managers out there, and I think the Sox know it

[Bob]

I've been defending Tito to my friends for a while, but fuck it, this was terrible, the second Gagne walked Thomas he should have been out of there, this is really just indefensible, and to think I was on my way to feeling good for a change

[SF]

Tito is a loyal fucktard. I no longer want a fucktard in control of our pitching staff.

[Ed]

Sox losing the decision = disgrace = no confidence going into post season

That's the bottom line

[BostonRAW]

BTW, not only do those comments sum up Gagne's performances but they also may become truth, or at least the never pitch in the majors again part.

Hard to believe any man can carry on with such mental baggage. He won't forget this season, and Tito will not give him another chance to correct it.

[SF]

Pete:

Delcarmen was rested and pitched 1/3 of an inning.

[Ed]

sorry Pete

[Atheose]

I didn't even put on my Rally Cap, even after Lugo homered. That's how disgusted I am.

[YF]

Objects in your rearview mirror.....

On the other hand, who wants to face LAA? You can keep your prize?

[Bob]

I can;t believe that this team is going to blow the Division in the final week of the season, I've been a fan for a while, since the Mo Vaughn days, but this could be the most heart breaking season ever, I'd feel worse getting into the playoffs with the WC than I would if they were never in the race to begin with

[BostonRAW]

"But all you killing Tito, doesn't he need to see if Gagne is worth anything for the post-season?"

Yes, he did, Pete. Gagne had a few non-pressure calls, and succeeded well enough, but it's become apparent he cannot be trusted in tight situations. I don't fault Tito because he had to find out, although he should have had another at the ready.

[Atheose]

I've posted this before but I think it warrants a reminder here:

Teams that slump at the end of the regular season always do best in the playoffs.

2006 St. Louis Cardinals: lost 13 of their last 18 games to end the season. Won the world series.

2006 Detroit Tigers: collapsed at the end of the season and took the wildcard (after being swept by the Royals). Went to the World Series.

2006-2007 Florida Gators (basketball): Lost 3 of their last 4 regular season games. Won the SEC tournament and NCAA tournament.

2006-2007 Indianapolis Colts: lost 4 of their last 5 regular season games. Won the Superbowl.

2005 Chicago White Sox: had a huge lead over the Indians going into September, and were almost caught by them, barely winning the division. Won the World Series.

2005-2006 Pittsburgh Steelers: Barely made the playoffs, won the Superbowl.

The list goes on and on. Just sayin'.

[IronHorse (yf)]

My condolences on tonight SFs. Then again, we still have to face Burnett again this year and he is killing everyone right now.

I know Gagne and Francona will get all the ire - deservedly - but Manny's absence looms huge it seems. The Sox line-up is more than a couple of orders of magnitude weaker from the absence of that one guy.

[Rob]

I cannot even watch this team right now. I came in late to see the Gagne meltdown. Yanks now 2 1/2 back and blowing two games to them over the weekend is probably going to haunt us.

[AndrewYF]

You only have the past two years for proof? I wouldn't hold my breath, Atheose.

[Ed]

I know i'm being hard on Francona, but he deserves it, he's the manager, he's accountable and he doesn't deserve to lead this franchise past his current contract... nice guy

p.s. Hey Manny, go fuck yourself, can we trade this fucking clown finally?

[BostonRAW]

I don't look at streaks, Atheose, I look at talent. So unless Oki can come in at some point and prove it's just a Yankee thing the SOX have a serious relief problem right now. Almost as bad as the Yanks had at the beginning of the year.

[Bob]

What really kills me on the inside is that if this team can't win a division with the kind of lead they had, then when will they ever, I know the East isn't everything, but it is something and wouldn't it be nice for once to have that honor, it's been 12 years. This team needs to win tomorrow desperately and also pray that the yankees lose a couple of games before this season is over because otherwise I'm starting to wonder if another team will ever take the division from New York

[Pocono SF]

The offense can't score....The pen is on fumes. I wouldn't be a sox fan without thinking this way, but the ship is sinking...

[Atheose]

Those are just the more memorable recent examples. I know I'm doing a poor job of convincing anyone (I'm doing a poor job of convincing myself, too) but you can always hope, right? ;-)

But seriously, if you look deeper I'm sure you can find plenty of other examples. My memory, however, is not so strong right now.

[Pete]

SF -

You really want Delcarmen pitching in the 7th inning of a Game 2? What about the 8th inning of a Game 4?

Look, everyone went crazy happy when they got Gagne and I wasn't a fan of the deal. Now I'm the voice of reason?

Gagne is the only other arm in the pen that *should* be spectacular besides Paps. They need to figure out over the next two weeks whether he will be or whether that trade was a complete waste. The division means little - except to us.

[BostonRAW]

As far as all you doubters:

As far as I am concerned this shit is exactly what the team needs. All year, or at least since June, this team has been coasting the remains of a 15 game lead. They need to buckle up and get moving, and there is nothing better to do that than a little fear to get their minds right.

SOX win the division. I don't even care if the Yanks grab the lead for a day. There is too much heart in the team for them to concede. They will win the division.

This game (series) was over before it even started. SOX sweep.

..yawn..

better things to do than to watch this masacre.

Posted by: BostonRAW | Friday, September 14, 2007 at 09:29 PM

[Ed]

I honestly think the division means everything... do you really think losing the division won't have an effect on the mentality of the red sox going into the playoffs? I suppose the indignancy of it all could be a powerful motivator... i'm just really at a loss right now guys

[Atheose]

LMAO, whoever posted that--good job

[Ed]

BostonRAW: how's it like to live in perfect ignorance?

[Bob]

The division means a hell of a lot, do you think that this team can beat the Angels on the road, not even with Ramirez and a working pen. Right now they probably couldn't beat Tampa Bay in a 5 game series.

I liked the Gagne trade at the outset, now I'm going to man up and say I was wrong, he has been nothing but a spectacular failure and while I've defended Theo and Terry in the past fuck them, this team has no art to it and no guts and that reflects on the GM and the Manager, I'm looking forward to another heartbreaking decade of second place finishes

[BostonRAW]

Gagne has been so bad, after being so damned good, it alomst smells like he is being paid to suck.

Anyone see George lately?

lol

[IronHorse (yf)]

SFs: You can be grateful for one thing: You are not Mets fans right now. Now that's a team on the verge of collectively leaping off a cliff after tonight.

[Pete]

Nah, these are professionals. And getting Manny and Youk back healthy turns these one run losses into one run (or more) wins. People will be all over this team if they lose the division, but I honestly don't think it matters.

That said the playoff are always a crapshoot. But of all teams in the post-season, the Sox have a better chance than most - best starting pitching and second best offense.

[Ed]

Don't let it break your heart Bob... I must say though, T.C. is really annoying me with his implicit concession of the sox losing the division.

[BostonRAW]

Ignorance? Do you even read what you write?

Another stellar performance by a starter tonight, and a learned lesson that Gagne absolutely cannot be trusted. I don't expect much from an offense minus Manny and youk, so there it is. Pitching is great but those two are needed back.

It sucked but it was not the end-all. The SOX are still 2 1/2 games up with 12 to go, in case you need reminding.

[Ed]

Not a Mets fan... YET... lol

[Ed]

BostonRAW I didn't mean to offend you and your optimism is inspiring... i'm just really bitter with this loss, so much goes wrong in my life that I can fix, but alas, I can't fix this, only root for this team and hope they can put it together

Francona looks horrible, I sympathize for him and he's right, we need Gagne, but no excuse not to have someone warming up behind him in case he falters...

[Jordan Meisner]

Hahaha, the Red Sox suck.

[Atheose]

At least we can root for the Cubs. Maybe.

[BostonRAW]

Dude, I'm bitter too. But I'm not about to post how terrible the team is after a year of accomplishments. After all, this could be the best team the SOX assembled since I started paying attention.

The shit tonight is 100% on Gagne's head. Since we won't see him again I say let it rest. Manni is now the first rightie off the bench and I'm glad that decision was finally made.

Gagne = rest in peace

[Ed]

The scary thing is Francona just sounded like it was a necessity that Gagne regain form... at what cost Terry?????

[IronHorse (yf)]

Warning to Ed: Don't take your fan advice from BRAW. He is a master at making comments and pronouncements that promise to bite him directly in the butt.

[Ed]

Varitek: "We need him." Oh my God... Gagne...

[BostonRAW]

Let me guess. You are now thinking of ways to qualify Mussina for the HOF

lol

[BostonRAW]

Better said: we needed him but obviously do not anymore

lol

[Ed]

IronHorse, though RAW is quite optimistic, I think it's his right as a fan and that it's a nice relief with all the cynicism surrounding the sox fanbase... worry about your own team bud, they haven't won anything yet

[IronHorse (yf)]

Actually clownboy, I was considering a piece on Gagne for MVP. Want to co-author? I'll do the writing, you can do the visuals - stick figures and fingerpaints should be about your speed.

Oh and clownboy, Don't forget to take the cork off you fork tonight.

Good night.

[BostonRAW]

Imagine this:

You are Gagne and you wish to get to your car. It is, of course, 4 hours since the game ended but still...