Death by 10 000 small cuts
My dad once told me that if I wanted to watch this game, I was going to have to toughen up. I think at the time I was making sounds only a dog could hear while watching a particularly stressful late inning. But this team is killing me right now. Could Doc or McGowan have pitched any better? I don't think so. Vernon, after being the fans' bitch for yesterday's non-throw, makes an absolute killer play to gun down a Sock at the plate. But, much like his smoked, sure thing single that was completely robbed, car-jacked and mugged by Pedroia, he can't repeat it to gun down Manny at the plate the very next play.
Few observations...
Rios should have gotten beer on him trying for that Papi HR. And no, JP from Wednesdays with JP, it was not 6 or 7 rows back it was at most 2.
Papelbon hasn't looked that sharp. Yes, he is getting outs and that's clearly what counts. But he is getting ridiculous strike calls (one on Rolen was clearly up and in) and isn't quite as precise as I remember him.
How about not Downs, Gibby? How about Frasor or Carlson? I don't know there were a lot of pitches for balls. It got annoying.
JMac as a pinch runner for the DH but not as defensive replacement, just shoot me in the foot. JMac getting picked off. Just shoot me.
Overbay seemed safe, "halfway to the Pesky Pole" as a DJF commenter put it. No luck, no drive, no mojo. I hate the Sox.
And in the words of some asshole from the SOSH, I can't even mentally process this game right now.
Stoeten rants about Eckstein and JP and he totally nails it. It's tough to be that precise when drunk. JP says, "We didn't sign him to sit on the bench." There are so many things wrong with that statement. First of all, he is implying that it is a bad move financially, and that that dictates whether Eckstein sits or not, rather than baseball reasons. JMac is a better defender, in fact one of the best defenders playing now. If Eckstein is going to stare at called strike 3, why is he in? You know what, assholes? JMac can do that too. He is just less annoying about it. Second of all, it betrays what most people suspect about how this team operates, meaning that Gibby is completely JP's puppet and that JP is making all the baseball related decisions that should be the manager's domain. And as I pointed out earlier, JP makes decisions based on finances, not baseball. It's really flippin' annoying to see so much talent absolutely wasted, because these boys can play.
Few observations...
Rios should have gotten beer on him trying for that Papi HR. And no, JP from Wednesdays with JP, it was not 6 or 7 rows back it was at most 2.
Papelbon hasn't looked that sharp. Yes, he is getting outs and that's clearly what counts. But he is getting ridiculous strike calls (one on Rolen was clearly up and in) and isn't quite as precise as I remember him.
How about not Downs, Gibby? How about Frasor or Carlson? I don't know there were a lot of pitches for balls. It got annoying.
JMac as a pinch runner for the DH but not as defensive replacement, just shoot me in the foot. JMac getting picked off. Just shoot me.
Overbay seemed safe, "halfway to the Pesky Pole" as a DJF commenter put it. No luck, no drive, no mojo. I hate the Sox.
And in the words of some asshole from the SOSH, I can't even mentally process this game right now.
Stoeten rants about Eckstein and JP and he totally nails it. It's tough to be that precise when drunk. JP says, "We didn't sign him to sit on the bench." There are so many things wrong with that statement. First of all, he is implying that it is a bad move financially, and that that dictates whether Eckstein sits or not, rather than baseball reasons. JMac is a better defender, in fact one of the best defenders playing now. If Eckstein is going to stare at called strike 3, why is he in? You know what, assholes? JMac can do that too. He is just less annoying about it. Second of all, it betrays what most people suspect about how this team operates, meaning that Gibby is completely JP's puppet and that JP is making all the baseball related decisions that should be the manager's domain. And as I pointed out earlier, JP makes decisions based on finances, not baseball. It's really flippin' annoying to see so much talent absolutely wasted, because these boys can play.