Yuck Squared-Peter

For you loyal followers of this site, you'll remember I referred to yesterday's game as 'Yuck'. Well, today's was, on the whole, much worse--exponentially so. Hence the post title. Actually, I shouldn't be surprised as it's the sixth, if my memory serves, loss in a row to Toronto, going back to last year. On top of that, the Sox always seem to have had trouble with the Jays, no matter how good or bad the Jays are. Anyway, as the game went through its early stages, it looked promising. Sox were up one-zip quickly and, even though the Jays immediately came back to tie it, the Sox just as quickly reclaimed the lead. Unfortunately, the 2 run total was all they were going to see all game.
What made things worse is that not only did the vaunted pitching staff not perform as expected, the fielding was not much good either--TWO ERRORS! I mean, hey, guys--this isn't Double A ball here. Combine less than quality relief pitching with sloppy fielding and you rarely are going to win.
Meanwhile, our hitting, with a few exceptions, continues to be sub-par. Papi has gone back into hiding--at least his bat has; Mike Lowell is way, way below expectations, and the team B.A. is well below any semblance of the Sox lineup we know and expect to see this season. At least Manny's picking up some ribbies and doing something to right the ship. He was joined to some degree today by Dusty, who went 2 for 4, including a double and a walk. Drew appears so far to be having a better early season than a year ago; he's hitting .333 for the season, and has a homer, so maybe his last third of 2007 will carry over for the full year this year. But the rest of the guys have to pick up the pace. The guys from NY are coming to town in about a week, and, while they're also having early season problems, I'd hate to face them if we're playing sub-par ball.
As you follow my posts over the season, you'll note that, while I am an inveterate Sox fan, almost as rabid as they come, I will at times laud the accomplishments of an opposing player here--someone who clearly rises above the crowd, not just for a game or two, but over a career. It won't happen often, but in the case of today's game, you'll find one. A sure Hall of Famer, Frank Thomas again showed why the Pale Hose (White Sox to you folks who haven't paid attention) made one of the stupidest mistakes ever in letting him go a couple of seasons ago. He again demonstrated exactly why he's referred to as the Big Hurt. Two hits, including a homer, two ribbies and five total bases. Not too shabby. I'm not suggesting he come to Boston, but I do believe in giving recognition when it's called for.
Now that I've got that off my chest, tomorrow--Beckett's supposed to come off the DL and take the rock. Here's hoping the back spasms are behind him (no pun intended) and he starts this year the way he finished last year.
Stay tuned.