It's Not The Damn Olympics: A Sojourn to SOSH

The previous time the Jays faced the Red Sox, it was like a trip through Hell. They got out scored, out hit, out pitched and out uglied by the Red Sox in the Rogers Centre, which must have been a serious blow to their egos and pride. I was able to forget that series, until Sportsnet, Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler decided to discuss and dissect that series at length. First there was the ridiculous "They were massacred. Yet they continue to live. Will they be massacred again?" commercials Sportsnet was running over the weekend. And then in the broadcast, every time the Jays added a run, one of them would mention the scoring differential of that series from Hell. 35-6. 35-6. 35-6. Were they under contract to mention it? Playing a drinking game?

So last series I completely avoided SOSH, but considering the box score today and by popular demand, I figured I should take a look. Some of you may find it "ugly" but sometimes baseball is ugly and I need to get hideous.

Here we go:

Let's give these Blue Jays the same treatment we gave the last band of Canucks who came through these parts...the nuts on these guys coming here on July 4, eh?

I didn't know at first what the hell he was referring to, but then I was like "Oh, that." Which illustrates the integral part hockey has in my life. And when are people going to learn that though the Jays are based in Canada, all the Canadians on the team are in AAA? There are 17 Americans on the active roster, with 6 Dominicans, a Puerto Rican and a Cuban. It's not the Olympics. And for the record, the Bruins have 21 Canadians on their roster. And that's ok. Because it's not the Olympics.

I have felt a little sorry for Lackey, not for his on field struggle but for the struggles in his family life. The post game interviews with him have been brutal. I would feel bad if one the Jays' pitchers was facing something similar.

Die in a fire, Lackey

Charming.

I HATE RAJAI DAVIS. He always hits us and steals bases.

Davis had two doubles and another stolen base, bringing his total to 22.

Lackey looks even uglier in that hat.

He has a lot of competition.

Losing to a Canadian team on the 4th of July. Way to go, assholes.

Olympics. Not.

How do Canadiens feel about the Blue Jays wearing those hats for July 4th?

Um, I'm not sure the Habs were asked.

Everyone get Macdonald (sic) out indeed. Asshole.

It was sort of justice for JMac today.

Toronto beat up on Cliff Lee pretty good yesterday. Lackey will be 6 feet under soon.

That was really fun. A day later, it's still fun to think about.

Give Lackey back to the Angels for a subsidized Vernon Wells.

They have just lost their minds now.

Come on Lackey, do it for America. These ungrateful Canadian communist traitors don't even celebrate the 4th of July.

It's not the damn Olympics!!!! I realize that is a joke. But it is missing a key component: the humour.

After Lackey, Terry Francona and Theo Epstein took the brunt of the surliness.

Great job Tito. I just cannot understand why you let the game get out of control. Stupid beyond belief.

Well, let me explain. There is something called bullpen management. The Jays ran up the score early in the game, and it was 7-0. Now 7-0 versus say a team in the AL West, for instance, may seem insurmountable. But the Red Sox can score a disgusting amount of runs, especially in Fenway. If the manager starts running out relief pitchers when his starters get knocked around, he is going to burn through his bullpen and they will quit being able to throw strikes. And a pitcher who can't throw strikes is perhaps the most useless member of a ball club. So there are worse things than letting your veteran starting swing a bit, and eat up some innings, because the offense will likely pull them out of it.

This would be obvious to anyone not a drama queen.

So they went on and on like this on Lackey, even though he only lasted into the third inning.

We're gonna win this.

Aw, close. But no.

I hate how "Thames" is pronounced, if only because I've expended a small bit of energy in my life learning how Marcus Thames pronounces his name.

Yeah, that sounds taxing. Thames extended his hit streak to 9 games. And he actually took a walk! He was promptly picked off first, but it was an important step.

Cool, Youkilis drilled in the spine.

Yeah, I gotta say. Brandon Morrow lived the dream when he did that.

The Red Sox climbed back into it, and it was 9-7 in the 9th when Frank Francisco came out and struck out some pretty scary hitters to hold on to the victory.

Travis Snider was just fantastic today. Gregg Zaun tweeted that he can't see any difference in Snider's swing. And he also nearly fell right on his face running to second base for his first double. Not once. But twice.

I don't really understand why Lackey is pitching when it is obvious he is injured. There must be some kid in AAA who is pitching well, and could come up and not be much worse than Lackey is. They have Lester and Beckett, and though Buckholz is currently injured, he should be back.

And what did the manager have to say?

“It wasn’t one particular guy, but we forced [Lackey] to throw a lot of pitches and we stayed disciplined,” Farrell said.

Disciplined!