September 22, 2008

G156: Spiders 4, Red Sox 3

Spiders - 010 030 000 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 001 010 100 - 3 12 0
The celebration will be delayed an additional night.

It's small consolation on a night when the Red Sox squandered numerous scoring chances -- bases loaded/one out in the seventh and 2nd/3rd in the bottom of the ninth -- and left 12 men on base, but the only thing worse than leaving guys on base is not having guys to leave on base.

In the seventh inning, Kevin Youkilis's one-out double high off the Wall brought the Red Sox to within one run at 4-3. After Jason Bay was walked intentionally to load the bases, Rafael Betancourt got Jed Lowrie looking at strike three and retired Mark Kotsay on a routine fly to left.

Earlier in the evening, the Red Sox had left men at second and third in both the first and third innings. A baserunning blunder by Jason Varitek killed a rally in the sixth. Tek was on first and Bay was at second with two outs. Jeff Bailey ripped a single down the left field line that struck the 3B umpire. As Cleveland 3B Jamey Carroll went after the ball, Bay rounded third and tried to get back. He would have been safe, but suddenly Varitek appeared. Replays showed Varitek racing around second and on to third, even with the entire play in front of him. Bay was tagged out in a rundown for the third out.

Facing Jensen Lewis in the bottom of the ninth, Dustin Pedroia looked at two strikes, then fanned. David Ortiz, who crushed a solo dong into the Sox bullpen in the fifth, lined out to right on Lewis's first pitch. One out from defeat, Youkilis singled to right-center and Bay followed with a double into the left field corner. Youkilis held at third -- and watched as Lowrie struck out on three pitches to end the game.

Beckett (6-7-4-1-6, 105) hit a rough patch in the fifth, allowing three runs on four hits and a wild pitch. However, the first run he allowed, back in the second, was complete horseshit. After getting two easy groundouts, Ben Francisco doubled. Beckett then hit both Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach with inside pitches. Neither batter made any attempt to get out of the way -- and under Rule 6.08(b), home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman should not have allowed either Cleveland player to go to first base.

This rule is never enforced (has anyone seen an umpire refuse to grant an HBP?), but it's in the book. So after the two HBPs, the bases were loaded. Beckett's 2-1 pitch to Asdrubal Cabrera was over the heart of the plate and at the level of Cabrera's gut. That is pretty much right through the exact heart of the strike zone. Dreckman called the pitch a ball. Beckett's next offering was ball four -- and a run scored.

P.S. Shoppach tried to get hit again in the sixth. Beckett's 0-2 pitch was inside, and Shoppach tried to drag his left elbow through the upper part of the strike zone. He was unable to get his arm in the path of the baseball -- and he was called out on strikes.

Down in Baltimore, Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 4-2. The Rays upped their lead in the East to 2.5 and cut their magic number for clinching the division to 5.

Can the Red Sox still win the East? If Tampa goes only 3-4 over its last seven games, Boston would have to go 6-0 to win the East. Meaning that if Tampa can manage a mere 4-3 record from now until next Sunday, Boston cannot overtake them.

***

Zach Jackson (6.35, 70 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3.96, 115 ERA+)

The Red Sox can clinch a playoff spot with a victory tonight.

A win will also snuff out any chance the Yankees (idle tonight) have of winning the wild card. And it leaves the White Sox and the Twins (2.5 GB) fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Talk now turns to the ALDS roster and the pitching rotation.

***
Rays/Orioles at 7
East                     Magic #
Rays 92 62 ---
Red Sox 91 64 1.5 7

Wild Card Magic #
Red Sox 91 64 ---
Yankees 85 71 6.5 1

158 comments:

Jere said...

56 degrees at game time tonight. Hopefully the Sox will make it worth my (and ish's) sitting out in the cold.

Rob said...

I'm trying to figure out how to stay warm. Trying to minimize what I bring with me, because I have nowhere to put anything. And I don't want to bring a large backpack. I'll have my camera in its lunch box, my mp3 player... I'll have to make this work somehow.

nixon33 said...

ish, thermals!

nixon33 said...

i cant believe the reg. season id over in about a week.
i love the playoffs OBVIOUSLY, but it means baseball season will be ending soon. i guess i'll have to get back to real life. the adjustment period is so strange.

Zenslinger said...

Regarding the YED contest...if we win tonight, the person who picked 9/22 will win it?

allan said...

Yep. Only one person picked 9/22: Douglas I.

If it goes to tomorrow, there will be a five-way fight -- with Zenslinger and Ofer being 2 of the 5. And 3 of the 5 picked 88 MFY wins. (They have 85 right now.)

But not a lot of suspense tonight!

allan said...

I'm trying to figure out how to stay warm.

Whiskey?

FenFan said...

I'm so looking forward to October baseball, especially having had the luxury of attending a few post-season games in the past several years. This last week should be interesting for scoreboard-watchers - if Tampa goes 4-4, Boston needs to go 6-1 to win the East. Possible? Stranger things have happened...

My suggestion to ish would also be thermals along with a knit cap. It's not uncommon for me to wear them in April or October when there's baseball to watch at Fenway!

allan said...

And I guess we'll look at the W-L contest on Friday, with 3 games left. Right now, the Sox could win anywhere from 91-98 games.

nixon33 said...

whiskey. yes. that playoff game i went to last year. i snuck a little cap'n. morgan bottle. came in handy!

s1c said...

Ish, thermals and whiskey. By the 7th inning you will be so toasted you will feel toasted!

Sox go 5-2 on the home stand and Rays go 4-4 on the road. Making everybody worry about the Angels (who the Sox beat in 4).

allan said...

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Jamey Carroll, 3B
3. Shin-Soo Choo, RF
4. Jhonny Peralta, SS
5. Travis Hafner, DH
6. Ben Francisco, LF
7. Ryan Garko, 1B
8. Kelly Shoppach, C
9. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Mark Kotsay, RF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Jeff Bailey, 1B

allan said...

anyone else unable to get gdgd to open?

lurkkher said...

Neither GDGD nor mini-GD are working for me. (At least the WRKO feed is playing WRKO, not WAAF...)

I've switched to ESPN's GameCast, which is a full batter behind the audio (typical), but at least it's working.

Zenslinger said...

GDGD no function here as well.

allan said...

thanks, glad it's not my laptop, which can be stubborn sometimes.

Amy said...

I have to teach at 7:30, but I hope to get home in time to see the Sox clinch the wild card.

It is damn cold here in New England for just the first day of fall.

And, Nix, I think I expressed a similar wistfulness about the season ending last time I was on a game thread. It's just sad how the summer disappears, and baseball along with it (although the post-season does sweeten it quite a bit).

allan said...

Good Ol' MLB!

...

Sox: Stop hitting the ball back to the mound.

allan said...

It's funny, awhile back when I was putting the game # in the corner of my scoresheet one night, i thought "142? why is the season so long? it's crazy!" i like it, but at that point, it seemed silly to play so many games. ???

Zenslinger said...

I see what you mean, RS. I am sort of asking myself if I'm tired of the season. Maybe it's easy to be nonchalant about its ending when you know you're going to the playoffs. But as I consider celebrating a playoff-clinching game at The Bar, all I can think is that the place will be lousy with Monday Night Football people tonight.

allan said...

beckett's curve looks nice so far.

allan said...

nice move to get out of the way, asshole. ump should rightly say no HBP on that one.

Zenslinger said...

Shoppach...the Revenge of the Trading Chip?

In trouble at catcher, I picked him up for my fantasy team this year. Been good for that.

Zenslinger said...

ump should rightly say no HBP on that one.

That ever happen to Don Baylor? He used to just stand there, right over the plate.

Zenslinger said...

Christ, 2 straight HBP...what's going on?

allan said...

i'm not sure if i have ever seen a batter not given the base.

but shit the rule is there -- and the batter just stands still.

allan said...

dear ump: a pitch over the heart of the plate at the batter's stomach is pretty much right in the middle of the strike zone. shithead.

lurkkher said...

GDGD is now working for me.

allan said...

GDGD tells me the HP ump doing a shitty job so far is Bruce Dreckman.

lurkkher said...

Here's the plot of Cabrera's walk at-bat, courtesy of Brooks Baseball. That 3-1 pitch looked a lot better on GameCast.

allan said...

none of those pitches were close, remy? what the fuck game are you watching?

allan said...

FKR: 000
BAL: 000

allan said...

flipping over to the rays/o's game, i'm pretty sure that when buck martinez talks, he has a big clothes pin clamped on his nose.

efd said...

hi all... walked in the door and put the TV on about a half hour ago just in time to see the two HBP and the walk... glad that Beckett's last inning was a little smoother.

We should be able to hit this Jackson character, right?

allan said...

everyone else has hit him.

"why not us?"

efd said...

Heidi: Ellsbury has been hot in the month of September.

[L-girl: Hey, what about the other 11 months?]

allan said...

L is not here, though on her way home!

efd said...

I'm just writing her lines in her absence. :)

allan said...

oop - just pulled in!

efd said...

and just as L-girl comes home, so does LBJ.

laura k said...

Hi all! Just stopping by to say hi and YAY!!!! The Resisters Campaign had a great victory, I was just out celebrating. (Too bad it was at a Quaker meeting house, an alcohol-free celebration.)

Now I'm going to blog and watch and drink wine at the same time.

What's this about LBJ hot in September?! What about the other 11 months??

efd said...

Essactly!

Congrats, L-girl! Sounds like you have a fine night ahead of you.

Awfully quiet around here with ish and Jere at the game... hope they're keeping warm!

allan said...

remy calls CI's speech "off the cuff"

yeah...

allan said...

I had the MFY on mute, but I read that Joe Torre's name was not mentioned even once all night.

Disgraceful.

allan said...

FKR: 000 02
BAL: 000 0

Benjamin said...

Baltimore has two on and no out.

Zenslinger said...


What's this about LBJ hot in September?! What about the other 11 months??


Nice when someone writes your material for you.

efd said...

fwiw the party line is that Jeter didn't have anything prepared... he was widely quoted in the NY media saying something along the lines of trying to think of what to say after he was taken out of the game. Not saying I believe that, but that's what's being "reported."

For a team that is always touted as being "classy," not giving any acknowledgement to Torre was more revealing than anything else that went on last night.

Benjamin said...

Bases loaded and no out.

allan said...

AH - don is holding two different colored pens for his scorecard!

Benjamin said...

BBRBI.

FKR 2 - BAL 1

allan said...

L: "Sha-pie-ro. Yeah ... and I'm Jerry Cougar Mellencamp!"

Zenslinger said...

TB 2-1 over BAL, but the Birds have the bases loaded and still no out vs. David Price.

efd said...

So far this game does not have the feel of a clincher.

Benjamin said...

BAL 2 - FKR 2

allan said...

WHY IN THE FUCK IS NESN MAKING SOUND EFFECTS WHEN A FUCKING RUN CROSSES THE FUCKING PLATE? NESN, CUT THAT CHILDISH SHIT OUT RIGHT NOW!!!

efd said...

I was wondering about that noise too (although not in all caps). It's not like you're not going to notice a run crossing the plate!

Wasn't there a brief period earlier in the year when they would play some kind of sound effect at Fenway if a pitch was above a certain speed? That was really annoying too.

Ugh, gorund rlue dubole.

efd said...

Francisco DID NOT "immediately head to first base," Remy, he didn't toss his bat until the umpire called the HBP! Sheesh.

Benjamin said...

Nice play.

Runs, please.

nixon33 said...

this sucks. its not a good feeling when a 4-1 deficit seems insurmountable with this offense. especially going into post season play.
i heard drew and lowell most likely be in the post season roster. ugh

allan said...

efd: yes, and they were apparently flooded with complaints and they ended the noises after one or two games.

it may be time to call them again.

nixon33 said...

HEY OFFENSE OTRIZ CANT DO IT ALL TONIGHT!
LETS GO

efd said...

OK, Papi-dong!!

allan said...

QUADRANGULAR!!!!!!!!!!

efd said...

Timlin's true talent revealed: catching homeruns hit into the bullpen.

nixon33 said...

timlin: so this is what one of the balls that get hit off me look like.


too bad one of those balls he catches with the towels would, oh i dont know, hurt a finger or two.

allan said...

if timlin was a real man, he'd catch them barehanded, not with a towel like a pussy.

allan said...

shoppach tried to get hit by that inside curve, kind of dragging his left elbow through the zone. luckily, he missed and got run up.

allan said...

remy says clev gets hbp far and away more than any other team. 96 coming into tonight. ... then does't say who is second, so there is no context for his comment. worthless, 0% analysis.

allan said...

FKR: 000 020
BAL: 000 02

allan said...

K with 2 guys on twice
then a bases-empty single

Jason Bay-Rod?

Benjamin said...

Assholes.

allan said...

TEK really fucked Bay over there.

efd said...

Holy crap, talk about your freak plays!

It kind of seems like Varitek should have been able to hold up at 2nd, but with 2 outs I guess he was just flat out running.

allan said...

The ball hit off the 3B. The entire play -- including the stopped Bay -- is right in front of Varitek. Why the fuck does he keep running?

allan said...

tek never stopped running hard. is he blind?

efd said...

Yeah, when Varitek came into the picture about halfway between second and third Bay was already on his way back to third - it looks like Tek had time to go back to second, if he'd been paying attention.

allan said...

FKR: 000 020 2
BAL: 000 020

Fuckin' FKR.

nick said...

just coming back after a few innings away.

Laura's Boy with the wheels!

allan said...

the table is set -- time for the big man to tuck in.

Amy said...

Hi, why are we behind? I am not happy with that.

efd said...

Amy, they were waiting for you to get home so you wouldn't miss them taking the lead.

Amy said...

I see that. Youk will get us ahead. Right?

Benjamin said...

Youk.

Amy said...

I heard the play when the ball hit the umpire on the radio on the way home. I take it from comments here that Tek blew the base running.

efd said...

He got us closer, at least!

If only that ball had a little more height...

Amy said...

OK, he didn't get us ahead yet...but he can score the go ahead run.

Benjamin said...

Jed time.

Joe Grav said...

what the hellll was that on yook's hit lol

efd said...

Jedi, *use* the force - don't hit into it.

Amy said...

I will accept a walk here.

Joe Grav said...

BB pls

efd said...

agreed, Amy.

Benjamin said...

That was a close pitch even before the replay.

allan said...

amy, as your comment came in, i was saying the exact same thing.

a BB would not be a bad thing!

Joe Grav said...

aggggh

Amy said...

SHIT

Joe Grav said...

lowrie...

allan said...

fuck - jed being tek

Benjamin said...

Ball 4.

Amy said...

Hey, Tek has walked twice tonight,
and then screwed up....

efd said...

K = not acceptable.

allan said...

kotsay - stop sucking NOW

Amy said...

No MLOB

Benjamin said...

Fuck.

Amy said...

Oh that really PISSES ME OFF.

efd said...

Too much squandering in this game.

Amy said...

SCORE RUNS THIS TIME, YOU IDIOTS

allan said...

tie it, tek!

Amy said...

So Ish and Jere are both at the game? No wonder it's so quiet here tonight.

Benjamin said...

Useless.

allan said...

gumball rally?

Benjamin said...

Not useless.

Amy said...

Casey is the man.

Benjamin said...

So if Coco was available, why was Kotsay starting in RF?

efd said...

Crisp in to pinch run...

... as Don explains that his foot has been bothering him.

SoSock said...

Evening all.
5 outs left, eh?
Tying run on - all the time in the world!
Keeping the motor running.

efd said...

(Coco's foot, that is)

allan said...

easy coco - don't try to do everything and get thrown out/picked off

efd said...

COME ON, LYNDON!!!

Benjamin said...

Bleh.

efd said...

fuck.

Amy said...

Hmm, that doesn't happen often. LBJ GIDP.

SoSock said...

SUNUVABITCH!
ANYTHING but the DP.
dammit

allan said...

tying run at the plate for the orioles with 1 out, bot 9th,

efd said...

sounds like about 35 people are at that Orioles game.

allan said...

i guess not many rays fans made the trip to camden.

efd said...

heh

Amy said...

If we don't tie this up with the heart of the batting order....

Joe Grav said...

JIMA

Joe Grav said...

well, this has been abrupt

SoSock said...

Final at the Yards.
Evil Rays win.
The Sox are stripping the gears on my bus.

efd said...

Youkilis quoting Elvis Costello: "Don't bury me, 'cause I'm not dead yet."

Benjamin said...

Please, Jed.

Amy said...

Why, why do they torment us this way?

allan said...

DOUUBLE

Amy said...

Oy, Jed again?

efd said...

come on, ish and Jere want to see a clinch!

SoSock said...

Double-Bay garage for the bus :)

Joe Grav said...

lowrie...stop sucking

Benjamin said...

Jensen Lewis is on the all furniture purveyor team.

Benjamin said...

Fuck you, Jed.

Amy said...

I hate Jed.

Joe Grav said...

Red Sox (TM)

Fuck that. FUCK THAT.

SoSock said...

#$@^%&$^%$#@$^&*&%
Tying run 90 ft away and the winner at 2nd.
DAMN!

efd said...

Phil, I always think of that when Lewis is pitching.

In fact, I have a book/record shelf from Jensen-Lewis right here in the living room.

Oh, and FU Jed!

SoSock said...

End of the line :(
Wild Card, here we come. Not that that is a bad thing necessarily. Seems to me some team did manage to win a World Series from that spot recently.
It's just.....I mean..... the freaking D-RAYS?
No way.

allan said...

Oh shit. I'm sitting about 2/3 of the way back in a bus and I think the driver just jumped out the window.

Zenslinger said...

It's cool.

Now I got a shot at YED, at least.

efd said...

And I will be able to go on the air tomorrow night and announce that the Sox are in the playoffs.

SoSock said...

hehe
Cat is watching one of the Health/Medical channels and they're on the subject of contagious diesease. Talking about an ebola-type virus that is spread by - FRUITBATS!
Me - (walking in and glancing at the screen) Look, it's Mariano Rivera!
Cat - ? (that wtf look)
Me - It's a fruitbat. It pitches for the Yankees.
Cat - (rolling eyes) I'm not going to ask, I refuse to bite.

allan said...

Nice. :>)

Tell her that Wikipedia can back you up!

efd said...

In other can't-seem-to-clinch news, I am going to Shea on Wednesday night. So, I'll see you all back here on Thursday.

Devine said...

That was one of the 2 or 3 most enraging games of the season (Joba vs. Beckett was another--that's my touchstone for rage comparison this year).

With a little distance, I'm not screaming and throwing unbreakable objects around my apartment (anymore), but it still sucked SO...FUCKING...HARD.

Jere said...

Well, we almost got to see a great finish. Got to use the phrase "Are you ish?" tonight. We should make a huge chart of who's met who on this site. Like, it could be a giant board with the names scattered around, and every time someone meets someone else in person, a line is drawn between the two names. I've met something like 9 Red Sox bloggers through having my own blog--but none of them post on JoS regularly. (But if I can get them to, I can quickly gain a bunch of lines on the chart! I want lines!)

nixon33 said...

pathetic.

Rob said...

It was some night. Frustrating game, that's for sure. But for a first game at Fenway it was fantastic. Got to see Beckett pitch, got to see the Large Father's dong, got to see someone from JoS (!!!), got to feel the magic, especially in the bottom of the 9th when Bay was the winning run at second base...

Just, didn't like the part where I was one of 38,000 screaming "FUCK!" at the end of it.

I didn't even hear "are you Ish?"... Jere snuck up on me - for a second there I thought he was just the person who was going to be sitting next to me - then it hit me. That was cool. I love how he had absolutely no problem finding our seats and it took us about fifteen minutes to find them ourselves. We thought we had the right ones at first, but ended up being Box 133 rather than 134.

Our timing on leaving the park wasn't great, either. We got stuck behind EVERYONE - took almost 15 minutes to get out onto Yawkey Way and another 10-15 minutes to get to the Kenmore T Station... Entrance.

It looked kind of like how a piece of food looks when there are hundreds of ants crawling all over it. We were hoping to get to South Station before 11 but we decided to walk to the Prudential Center instead and get on a subway with less people. Didn't make it to South Station for 11 - ended up taking the 12:00 bus home. Got home shortly before 2.

Whew. I can sleep now.

nixon33 said...

glad you had a good time ish. fenway is magical.