Bad Day for Pap and Green

Dad -

What the hell happened to Papelbon and Green last night?

After a very nice ceremony for recent hall-of-famer Jim Rice, Buchholz took the mound and did a decent job. Although he allowed 9 hits, he kept the A's to just 2 runs. During his 5.2 innings he got something the Sox haven't been giving lately - run support. By the time he left the mound, the Sox were leading 5-2 and it looked as if he'd get the win.

Unfortunately the bullpen took over. Ramon Ramirez allowed a run and Okajima also allowed a run. But thankfully the Sox added two more runs to their score. So by the time Pap took the mound the score was 7-4 Sox. Which means with three runs, it should've been a slam dunk.

But slam dunk hasn't been in Pap's vocabulary as of late. Sure he's getting saves, before last night's fiasco he had 25 saves out of 27 opportunities. But it's been taking him a long time to get these saves. He's throwing way more pitches than he has in past seasons and he's given up way more walks. Where before it was a joy to watch him pitch, it's now torture. I don't even remember the last time I wore my "Papelbon Saves" T-shirt.

Anyway, Pap took the mound and he walked the first guy he faced. But that's okay, I thought, we're up by three runs. Even if he gives up a hit or two or even a run we're okay. But that walk was just the beginning. He got the next 2 guys out, thanks to some awesome defense. Unfortunately after that, everything went south.

Tommy Everidge, a guy making his major league debut, hits a ball high off the monster and drives in a run. Score's now 7-5. Dad, why is it that these guys we've never heard of before are always the ones to cause trouble for the Sox - Dent, Boone, the list goes on and on.

If that were the end of the trouble the Sox would've won. But as I'm sure you know, it wasn't. Mark Ellis then hit a little nubber back up the middle that Green got his hands on, but threw into the dugout making it his 10th error of the season. That error causes another run to score and now it's 7-6 Sox. At this point I'm watching the game through my fingers.

Finally Rajai Davis comes to the plate and hits a grounder to Green that he throws away AGAIN. Another run scores. The game is tied and Pap has his third blown save of the season.

The game would continue for two more innings. And while the Sox would get one more run, the A's outscored the Sox with two, which of course means they won the game. It was awful to watch.

Hope today's game turns out better.

Jenn