If you would have told me that Josh Beckett was going to give up 5 runs in under 6 innnings of work, I'd probably tell you we were going to lose. Not on this night. The bats came alive for a game in which Dustin Pedroia was gone for the birth of his son, Dillon, (who coincidentally is already taller than his father) and Jason Varitek is out with "muscle spasms" in his neck. But the bats brought the thunder and Papelbon produced another white knuckle save.
Josh Beckett for the better part of the last 3 months has been nothing short of Bob Gibson with a splash of Nolan Ryan and a dollop of Pedro Martinez. He has been a force on the mound and has made it clear that he is not only the ace of staff but THE best pitcher in baseball in this the year of the Ox. You have to think though that he was due for a chink in the armor sometime soon, preferably before October. But from the first pitch something just didn't seem right. Normally being able to spot things that the normal fans' eyes can't see because of my exemplary knowledge of pitching (If that's not tooting one's own horn I don't know what is) I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I looked 60 feet 6 inches away and realized that his battery mate was not Jason Varitek. Maybe this is Tito's way of saying, "Tek your arm is about as useful as tits on a bull, and it's causing us games. We'll tell the press you have some strange nagging injury to save face." If not, than it should be. Tek or not, Beckett said this game was a fluke and Victor Martinez did a "great" job back there and that he's caught the last 2 Cy Young award winners so he must be doing something right. I will not mess with Beckett. Because on the off chance he reads this I value my first born children and if he hasn't stolen your girlfriend yet, you are a lucky sonofabitch.
With the diminutive leader out, someone needed to step up. Insert: David Ortiz. Wait a tick, was that a typo? Nope you heard it here first; David Ortiz did something to help the ball club. With home runs in consecutive games David Ortiz seems to be hitting his stride, if you can call .225 hitting "a stride." I will however proclaim that if he gets another 2-3 hits tonight you can expect BIG things from the Large Father for the rest of the season. I really think that he was pressing so much because of those allegations that he wasn't thinking about baseball. And in a season where our DH has for the most part been nonexistent, hitting .325 for the rest of August and September will put us on his back like the Papi of old and hoist us into the playoffs, rather than the jalopy that breaks down at its final destination. As good as Youkilis, Martinez, and Pedroia are, the two people that this offense rests on the most is Jacoby "Grand Theft" Ellsbury and David Americo Ortiz. The Nation still needs you David, slump or not, you are the 1000lb gorilla in this lineup that EVERYONE still fears. This is evident with your intentional walk yesterday while in the 7 hole.
After blowing multiple leads in this game we brought on a less than stellar version of Jonathan Papelbon for a four-out, white knuckle, breath taking save. His excuse? "I felt 10 pounds overweight today,'' said Papelbon, who added that he sat in a spa for four hours Monday. "After an offday like that I had yesterday, I just, my body wasn't clicking. It wasn't in that usual state that it's in after the offday." Our supposed, tough as nails closer was at a spa for 4 hours. Is it just me or is our team getting gayer? Jason Varitek clearly has been wearing a skirt with more regularity behind the dish, Nancy Drew doesn't want to play right because he may break a nail, and now Papelbon is sitting at a spa with cukes on his eyes and that green guacamole crap all over his face. Well that part was made up but you get what I'm saying. I think someone needs to charge the mound, grab their crotch, or throw in the double horseshoe challenge (double-packed lips, top and bottom) to prove that this team still has some masculinity to it.
Today we get Doc and oppose him with Clay Buchholz. While it doesn't look great on paper, who's going to step up and have a huge game against the perennial Cy Young candidate? My guess? Jason Bay. I think he's about ready to catch fire again, but secretly I'm hoping it's David Ortiz. Good Luck and God speed Sox fans.
Stay Tuned
Ryan
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