A Very Short Win

Dad --

Something unusual happened in last night's game against the Blue Jays. It was only two hours and 13 minutes. I think that might be the shortest game the Sox have played this season, if not ever. I couldn't believe how fast the innings were going. And that was all due in part to our knuckler, Wakefield.

He threw a great 97 pitches over 8 innings and only gave up the one run. And the reason he only gave up the one run was because he induced 16 fly outs. It was nice to see, especially after his fiasco against the Angels.

So Wake took us through eight and Pap finished off the ninth with three up three down that amounted to a strikeout and 2 grounders. It's good to see the laser's got his stuff back.

As to your concern over Papi, I'm worried as well. Everyone thought giving him the series against the Mariners off and getting him back to the Fens was all the original "clutch hitter" would need. But alas that was not the case. Even all the fan support at home couldn't muster up homer. Hell, it couldn't even muster up a single.

I think Papi's now at the point where it's stuck in his head that he can't homer. And until he gets one out of the park, any park, he's going to continue down this homerless path.

But at least the fans still have faith. And so evidently does Francona because he refuses to make matters worse by bumping Ortiz to a later slot in the lineup. Yes, he is considering it, but he's not making the move yet. He's got the same faith in his designated hitter that the fans do. Now if only Papi would have faith in himself.

Jenn