April 19, 2010

G13: Rays 8, Red Sox 2

Rays    - 105 200 000 - 8 12  0
Red Sox - 000 000 200 - 2 5 1
Lackey (3.1-9-8-1-3, 79) allowed 10 of his 19 batters to reach base, and eight of them scored.

The Red Sox had no chance in this one, though they did get at least one runner to second base in three of the first four innings. Jeremy Hermida hit a two-run home run to right, following Bill Hall's single (his first hit of the season), but because the baserunner was on first, Boston's hitless streak with runners in scoring position remains alive: 0 for their last 32.

Red Sox radio made a huge deal of the fact that this was the first time the Rays have ever swept a four-game series at Fenway Park. Of course, the Rays have played only 12 full seasons (so our dog Cody is older than the Rays franchise!).

A quick run through B-Ref gives me these as the only four-game series Tampa Bay has played in Boston:
Sep. 21-23, 1998:      L W L L
Apr. 16-19, 1999: W L W W
Jun. 25-28, 2001: L L W W
Jul. 23-25, 2002: L W W L
Sep. 15-18, 2003: L L W L
Aug. 9-12, 2004: W L L L
Aug. 29-Sep. 1, 2005: L L L L
May 25-28, 2006: L L L L
Apr. 16-19, 2010: W W W W
They lost the first game in six of the previous eight series, and in the other two, they dropped the second game. So they had never had any realistic shot at a four-game sweep until now.
Example
Jeff Neimann / John Lackey

Not only have the Red Sox lost four straight games, they are 0-for-25 with runners in scoring position in those losses.

In five games since last Tuesday, they are 2-for-36 (.056) w/RISP.
Example
It's Cody Day.

She's been with us 11 years.
The girl knows how to relax.

139 comments:

johngoldfine said...

Whoops....

johngoldfine said...

kaldika“The world was conquered through the understanding of dogs; the world exists through the understanding of dogs.”

--Friedrich Nietzsche

"All knowledge, the totality of all questions and answers, is contained in the dog."

--Franz Kafka


I sort of understand both of these quotations, though not really--but I agree with them totally. Congratulations on Cody Day. Let the good news ring out through every Middlesex village and farm.

FenFan said...

It's times like these that really test your patience as a fan. Saturday night was an exercise in pain. Watching the Sox squander a bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity was demoralizing.

But... two weeks from now when they've won eight-of-ten and they are back in the thick of things, we won't remember it. :)

laura k said...

Whoops?

johngoldfine said...

Yes, whoops.

Amy said...

The Sox cannot LOSE on CODY DAY! Hear that, Sox? Get hits, run smart, and pitch sharply.

Great quotes, JGF. My dog is currently lying on our bed with his cat Smokey wrapped around her belly. Nothing makes me smile more than seeing a happy dog and a happy cat. (Though a Sox victory would add to that smile....)

allan said...

Scutaro, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Martinez, C
Youkilis, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Drew, RF
Cameron, CF
Hermida, RF

Bartlett, SS
Crawford, LF
Zobrist, RF
Longoria, 3B
Pena, 1B
Upton, CF
Burrell, DH
Brignac, 2B
Navarro, C

Bits: Rays for 9-for-9 in SB in the series. Opponents are 22-of-23 this season. Drew has one hit in his last 20 at-bats while striking out 11 times. Hermida is 1 for his last 15 with 7 K, dropping average from .357 to .207.

Let's do something crazy and score more than one or two runs and win the game. It might be fun!

allan said...

leadoff double -- and we have rays tv -- and it's 0-1.

not a good start

laura k said...

There's this thing I've heard about. It happens when your team scores more runs than the other team. Can't remember what it's called.

laura k said...

John Rish announces the men's wheelchair winner of Boston Marathon and doesn't say a word about the women's wheelchair division.

laura k said...

Women's wheelchair winner Wakako Tsuchida of Japan @ 1:43. Canadian Diane Roy came in 2nd.

allan said...

now 0 for last 29 w/risp.

tb 1-0 after 2.

laura k said...

I sort of understand both of these quotations, though not really--but I agree with them totally.

Now that I've read them a few times, I'd say the same thing.

There's also this:

"The more I see of men, the more I love dogs."

Attributed to many different people.

By "men," I take it to mean humans. So misanthropy, not sexism.

gojohn said...

OK then, let's score some runs today...!

Rob said...

Little League quality, Mr. Her Meter.

laura k said...

In-game ads, courtesy of AT&T guy in the booth. I fucking hate this.

FenFan said...

What was that again about defense? :(

laura k said...

Radio booth, that is.

FenFan said...

From the WEEI radio broadcast: "Carl Crawford has not been officially caught stealing by the Sox since 2005..."

Nuts!

laura k said...

Not so fast, Ben... Sit down.

allan said...

and zobrist called out on ball 6.

FenFan said...

FECK...

gojohn said...

yikes re: Crawford.. guess he's one to start in your fantasy teams against the Sox

gojohn said...

well L-Girl guess we do agree on hating extra ads...

allan said...

pena walks on a pitch that the ump called a strike on three straight times on zobrist.

laura k said...

Gojohn, I'm sure we agree on lots of things. :)

Like hating the Rays. There goes another HR.

FenFan said...

DOUBLE FECK...

allan said...

yay - struck out the side!!

nick said...

What the french, toast?

laura k said...

"These are the times that try men's souls."

Perhaps not what Thomas Paine meant but this is trying my soul.

mattymatty said...

I still have confidence this will ultimately be a good team. Still, they're awful to watch right now. The home plate umpire tried to get the Sox out of that last inning and they couldn't even take it.

My prediction of 99 wins is looking somewhat suspect.

nick said...

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read."

-- Groucho Marx

laura k said...

I love that Groucho Marx quote - dogs, books and absurdity.

allan said...

hey dave o'brien: this is not a "pitcher's duel".

Rob said...

Jade McCarthy makes me not miss Heidi very much.

nick said...

Pitcher's gruel?

laura k said...

Gruel, funny. Goes with oatmeal theme.

mattymatty said...

Surprisingly I have to side with Campos on those calls to Pedroia. First two curveballs he's called correctly all day.

allan said...

dave and joe noting the players all annoyed at hp ump, including pedoria, but the pitches to fy were nice strikes. you'd think the radio guys would note that rather than just saying players are griping.

mattymatty said...

This team is unwatchable now.

laura k said...

Yup. Unbearable.

Yet here we are watching and bearing it.

laura k said...

Allan: "The bottom nine of our order has been sucking."

nick said...

Who is this Heidi you speak of? Perhaps I'm too Jaded to remember.

Anyhow, yeah I noticed they had replaced the person below the blond hair yesterday. Did the Heidi decamp or merely vacation/sick?

Apparently more interesting than the game at this point.

allan said...

that was after o'b said the bottom 3 of the rays order was underwhelming.

laura k said...

Heidi is sick

laura k said...

Or as they say "under the weather". But it's been a while, so it must be pretty bad weather.

mattymatty said...

How is it that every fly ball they hit is in the gap and every fly ball we hit right at the fielders?

Good try by Drew there.

Better news has never before been uttered in a Sox broadcast: Scott Atchison is up in the pen.

Infield in because 6-0 is doable but 7-0 is game over.

laura k said...

Love this Red Sox defense.

"Defense" that is.

nick said...

I hope she and this team get better soon.

Allan's comment made me derisively snort out loud in a pleased and displeasured sort of way.

mattymatty said...

Terry should pull Bill Hall and Jeremy Hermida while he's out there.

nick said...

Lackey lacking.

mattymatty said...

OH MY GOD!! HE CAUGHT IT!!! Bill Hall for President!

MacLeodCartoons said...

Has ever a team built on defense and pitching exhibited worse defense and pitching? Just asking.

Lord Lynch said...

I don't think this game will be long on my DVR at home.

At what time should I think of pushing the button marked panic?

:-)

laura k said...

On Boston Marathon day, I'm thinking of Bill Hall the wheelchair racing pioneer. Maybe we can get him in the OF.

allan said...

TB - 105 2
RS - 000

allan said...

as long as have at least one more hit than errors ...

Lord Lynch said...

Patience is the name of the game Youky baby!

allan said...

kids eat free
when sox win

***

poor hungry kids....

allan said...

why is ortiz allowed to hang around and chat with pena after his atbat?

nick said...

Emma and I went to the 99 after the first Sox win of the season. Gah that stuff hurts my digestive system, but hey emma ate free.

The other night emma said, "Guess we're not going to the 99 tonight." Then the next night "...or tonight". It's become a bit of a running joke in the house.

Lord Lynch said...

Let's do something crazy. How about Ortiz try to steal? Then, when he gets caught, we can have Drew lead off the next innings!

allan said...

2 more risp....

Rob said...

Wondering if the Bruins could beat the Red Sox in a baseball game right now. I don't think I'm joking.

Amy said...

I have had the game on while grading papers. Probably the first time in my life that grading papers was more fun than watching the game.

I hate this team.

mattymatty said...

2 outs, two risp, a guy up with no hits on the year... I wonder what will happen...

mattymatty said...

Shocking.

allan said...

cute 99 joke.

do you grade tougher when the sox are sucking? (rays dong) D+! (sox error) F!!!

Benjamin said...

Any word on when we start getting non-shitty baseball again?

It's a confluence of shitty starting pitching, shitty relief pitching, and shitty batting, seasoned with the occasional shitty fielding. Surely it can't stay that way forever, but it's managed for a while now.

Lord Lynch said...

There's something utterly charming about futility.

Have a good rest of the day people. It is time to attack the London commute home with all the gusto of a Bill Hall at bat.

Amy said...

You know things are bad when Laura even mentions a panic button. Even if with sarcasm.

Amy said...

Lord, I never know what affects my grading. This batch had some high As and some low Ds.

If it were the Red Sox, they would all gets Ds and Fs. Except perhaps FY.

laura k said...

This thread gets so funny when the Sox suck. Gallows humour, I guess.

mattymatty said...

This must be what rooting for the Nationals is like.

Amy said...

Ha, I thought Lord made that comment about my grading, but it was Allan. Now it looks like I was using Lord in the religious sense. Not likely.

MacLeodCartoons said...

I'm grading sucky papers too. Worse than the Sox even. I just read this gem: "homosexuals should be allowed to service their country if that is
what they want to do". That kid writes like we field.

Amy said...

I wish we still had Timlin and Gagne and Lugo. Then we could really be angry and hateful.

Hard to hate a bunch of players I don't even know like Beltre, Scutaro, Hall, Lackey, etc.

laura k said...

So many of my friends are complaining about grading.

laura k said...

To service their country!! Ha ha ha, that's what the haters say all the queers want to do! Good one.

allan said...

Real panic:

When L considers re-joining Zip in May...

Amy said...

MacLeod, where and what do you teach? Servicing their country, huh?

laura k said...

Hard to hate? I'm finding it quite easy.

Amy said...

Students never like to hear us complain about grading. And non-teachers never like it either, usually reminding us how easy our jobs are (arrggh). But I am not even complaining today. Grading was a good distraction from this fucking game!

laura k said...

So why don't you know Lackey, Beltre and Scutaro? They've been around for a while, in different unis.

Whoa! Did you see that??? We threw a man out!!!!

Amy said...

Hard to hate not meaning I don't, just meaning it does not yet have the resonance of hating players who have been around for a while.

I wonder if Theo is drinking a lot these days.

mattymatty said...

Even the Red Sox can't prevent Pat Burrell from sucking.

Amy said...

Lackey I did hate. Beltre and Scutaro were non-entities on other teams that I barely thought about.

laura k said...

I don't mind that my friends are complaining about grading. Just remarking that they are.

Everyone complains about their work, I'm no different.

mattymatty said...

"I wonder if Theo is drinking a lot these days."

Diet Pepsi after Diet Pepsi I'm sure.

allan said...

Atch should have started.

Amy said...

Zip? Is that the Canadian Netflix thing?

mattymatty said...

1-2-3! OK guys, act like we've done it before.

laura k said...

The only thing I don't like to hear my teacher friends complain about is having no money all summer, or trying to live on unemployment benefits. I always want to say, Yes, but you're not working.

MacLeodCartoons said...

Amy - I TRY to teach history in Indiana. some days are better than others....

Amy said...

MacLeod, high school or college level? I am hoping high school, given that paper you quoted!

mattymatty said...

Firefox just crashed on me. Even it couldn't stand the Red Sox anymore.

laura k said...

They were all in the AL, and Scutaro was in our division, we saw him all the time. But oh well, whatever, you can hate them now!

laura k said...

Dave OB cannot get over how tall the Rays pitcher is. GET OVER IT!

Amy said...

I don't complain about money. I love my job and know I could have earned more practicing law. It was my choice to earn less and have a lifestyle and job I could enjoy.

laura k said...

Yes, Zip is Cdn Netflix.

laura k said...

Is anyone even trying anymore? Do they have to swing at the first pitch? Can't they at least pretend???

MacLeodCartoons said...

Amy - sounds more like elementary school, but sadly that was a college freshman. But at least her heart was in the right place!

Amy said...

Yeah, I know they were AL players, but I don't spend much energy learning much about other team's players. My brain's capacity for baseball information is limited, as you know.

I can barely remember who was on our team last year. Remember that guy who played left field from Canada? Whatever happened to him?

(JK, I am not that bad. But by 2011 Jason Bay will barely register on my radar.)

laura k said...

Remember that guy who played left field from Canada? Whatever happened to him?

He's leading the NL in strikeouts. :)

laura k said...

I had a feeling that was college. Writing doesn't get better just because you graduate from high school.

Amy said...

MacLeod, I teach law students, and it's appalling how poorly some of them write.

laura k said...

I don't complain about money. I love my job and know I could have earned more practicing law. It was my choice to earn less and have a lifestyle and job I could enjoy.

These folks are academics, and definitely wanted to teach. Practicing law or some other profession never came up. But they complain allll summer about being broke. While I am working all summer, because I don't have the luxury of not working.

Well let's face it, I just hate complaining. I complain about it all the time. :/

Amy said...

Now if Bay was a pitcher, that would be a good thing. Not so much for a position player.

Amy said...

LOL, Laura! Kvetch away!

gojohn said...

But JD is leading the AL in K's... anyway yeah this is very trying. But I still like being able to listen to baseball on the car radio during lunch break.

allan said...

castig says crawford will not run because it is "against baseball etiquette".

which is moronic, but why isn't the tampa batters trying to get hits (and thus run up the score) not against the unwritten rules?

seems very similar -- maybe it's because SB are a gimme vs the sox?

MacLeodCartoons said...

I have to run home now to take over the babycare for the afternoon. I'll try to get back on if he's sleeping. Maybe my departure will trigger a Sox revival. Here's hoping.

Benjamin said...

Are they singing GBA? (I hope not.)

laura k said...

Oh yeah, James (MacLeod) has a new baby, one of at least two Gamethreader babies.

Noah said...

It's bad when on April 19, you're already looking at how much dead weight you shed from the payroll after the season's over...

laura k said...

I'm not ready to go that far yet. I think the season will be fine.

But I am ready for that to start!

laura k said...

A hit! A hit!

allan said...

that's our top highlight today - hall gets his first hit of the year.

Amy said...

A hit??? For Hall??? My goodness!

laura k said...

DONG!!!!!!

We score runs!

No reall! We do!

mattymatty said...

Yay! This is now less embarrassing!

Amy said...

WE SCORED TWO RUNS! Twice as many as yesterday!!

laura k said...

Who's ready for a Patriot's Day Miracle?

allan said...

but NOT a hit with risp ...

the streak is still alive!!!!!

mattymatty said...

How long is what will be known to our grandkids as The Streak now, RS?

allan said...

0-for-32.

allan said...

another gift call for the sox on yook (should have been strike 3), but he then grounds out

mattymatty said...

Wow. Just wow.

allan said...

and that's not scoring a run with a guy from 2nd or 3rd, that's just getting a hit, which might just move a guy to third and then he gets stranded.

when you have no hits with risp in what is almost a week -- that is bad

allan said...

options for the sox:

(a) score 6+ runs
or
(b) go down 1-2-3

i prefer (a), but nothing in between, pls.

allan said...

and they go with (b).

Amy said...

Plenty of clean water to drink these days.

UCH.

I hate baseball.

Have a good afternoon.

laura k said...

Lovely. Out of our misery at last. (For today.)

Cleanest water ever.

johngoldfine said...

Macleod, Amy, Laura, sorry I missed out on the teacher/grading/we work so hard bitchfest. But I'm ready to chime in on WE'RE DOOMED whenever you're ready!

buffwarrior said...

thanks for the pitcher of Cody the dog, the only thing worth getting excited about these days. Sox seem to have struggled against the Rays for a few years now. It feels like a long season right now. Glad Pedroia is doing well.. almost the only one worth watching for.

nick said...

Had to leave... missed the rest of the game and my one chance to see the Sox score runs.


Doooomed, I tell you, doomed!

allan said...

Mowed the back yard, gonna grill some salmon, drink wine, play with the dogs ... this game is already receding into the past....

andy said...

when i saw they scored 2 on a HR I actually hoped the runner was on first...

at least we've got that RISP streak to give us something interesting to follow.


seriously tho - they'll be fine. it's a whole new team, with a whole mess of injuries and weirdness going on. i believe things will settle.

9casey said...

Peter Abraham was a sarcastic dick on extra bases today..
Where did the globe get him from again...