Can't We beat Anyone Besides the Yankees?--Peter

Sorry,Jenn--the streak continues. It's now four, now that the Sox have lost the first two in the series against the Rangers, including Beckett's complete game failure today. Same story--pitching was good enough to win, but we got no timely hits, actually almost none--Lowell's 9th inning hit brought home Bay with the final Sox run. Seriously, though, we're now out of first for the first time in over a month and no sign of any improvement in hitting. Bay and Drew, in particular, are both in long steady slumps; Papi's hitting, but still not up to his former level and Lowrie, even though he's a great fielder, is doing absolutely nothing other than that first game HR. He's so far below the Mendoza line, he'll be in Antarctica if he doesn't watch out. Things better turn around soon!

Bad Series Against the Jays

Dad --

Bucky may be back and he may have done a phenomenal job. Unfortunately it was the only win the Sox got this weekend. Penny was clobbered and Lester did a great job, unfortunately he was up against Halladay who did better.

I didn't actually see Saturday's game because MLB can't show the games when they're on FOX and if it's a 1 o'clock game (which means they air at 10 am here on the west coast) Fox airs the Saturnday morning cartoons and kids don't care about baseball. So, I couldn't see the game and after reading about the loss, I'm glad I didn't. Although I do know that Lowrie got a home run in his first game back since his wrist surgery, so that's great news. Even better news is that Julio Lugo's been released which gets a big YAY from me.

As for Sunday's game, I take it back. Halladay didn't do better, the Sox just did what they do best - left five men on base. They had their best opportunity to strike in the first inning when they got three men on. Unfortunately they could only get one man to make the round trip and score their only run.

So, that was the series against the Jays. Now it's on to Texas to face the Rangers
with Smoltz getting today's start. Hopefully he can get another win 'cause so far watching him has not been fun.

Jenn

Bucky's Back!--Peter

And I don't mean Bucky Beaver! Buchholtz got the start to get the Sox going for the second 'half' (although they've already played over half of their games on the reg season), and he pitched beautifully into the 6th. Left with a 4-1 lead, got the win--thanks, Pen; and looked pretty good doing it. I think that Terry had him on a very strict count, Jenn. Question now is how does the rotation break down? Is it six (I hope not) or who goes to the pen to combine middle relief and spot starting? I'll tell you, Jenn, some folks would say it's a problem everyone would like to have, but it can be a negative on the psyches of the guys on the team not knowing exactly who is the staff beyond JB & Lester. My guess is that either Penny or Smoltzie goes into the 'either-or' slot for a while, depending on how the rest of the race goes.
The relievers seem pretty set and Bard, Oki and Laser did their stuff beautifully tonight. Between the three of them, the Jays could only get a meaningless two out single, and both Bard and Pap were perfect--stand 'em up; sit 'em down! Goodbye! Done!

Eck's Color Commentary

Dad --

Thanks for covering the weekend series against the Royals. As seems to be a recurring theme these days, the weekend got away from me.

But while I didn't get a chance to post, I did see all the games and each and every one had my attention. Whether it was game one that we lost because of our recently failing bullpen, or games two and three that we won but were true nail biters. Game three was the worst because Smoltz left after the fifth inning with an 8 run lead that again our bullpen cut down to two. Yuck! But game four was awesome. Watching Beckett tune in and "punch out" guys with just a few pitches per inning was truly amazing.

But what's even more interesting has been the commentary. Unlike previous years when I watched the game on fast forward, this year since Aidan likes to graze when he eats, I watch the games at regular speed. All three to four hours of them. And watching the games on normal speed allows me to listen to Don Orsillo and his co-commentator discuss the game.

Normally Don's cohort in the booth is Jerry Remy. But this year the Rem Dawg has been out recovering from lung cancer surgery he had in the off season. So, Don's cohorts have changed depending on where they're broadcasting and who's available. But the guy who's spent the most time in Remy's chair while he's been away has been Dennis Eckersley. And Dad, let me tell you, he puts the "color" in color commentary.

Now I know there's baseball slang. And I also know that while I'm fluent in your basic baseball lingo - run, strike, in field fly rule, etc. - there's plenty of slang that I don't know. These days I need to watch the game with a dictionary just to know what Eck's saying. So, I thought I'd give some definitions for the other devoted Red Sox and NESN fans out there.

If you're watching the games on NESN, you know Eck's favorite term is "cheese." Whether it be "easy cheese" or "high cheese", it doesn't matter, cheese is his term of choice and it always comes during an at bat. So, I looked it up.

Cheese - A fast ball - So if Eck says that was "easy cheese," it was probably a fast ball that was easy to hit.

High cheese - A fast ball that's at the top of the strike zone or out of the strike zone that the batter swings at and misses.

There's also Educated cheese - A fastball thrown at an appropriate time by a veteran pitcher.

Some of Eck's other favorite terms are...

Can of corn - a high, easy-to-catch, fly ball hit to the outfield.

Easy gas - Throwing 95-plus miles per hour effortlessly

Hair Something that grows on fastballs. If a pitcher throws a 98-mile-per-hour fastball by a hitter, Eckersley might say, “That was big-league cheese. It had hair on it.”

Moss - An alternative to "hair".

Off the boards - A hit that reaches the wall in the air.

Punch out - A strike out. Eck used this phrase numerous times during yesterday's Beckett shut out.

Salad - An assortment of off-speed pitches. “With a two-run lead and nobody on base, Papelbon’s going to serve salad until he has to bring the cheese.”

Those are just a few of the Eckisms you might hear during one of the games on NESN. There are others, but those are his favorites.

Can't wait to hear what he comes up with next.

Jenn

GREAT Numbers--Peter

In contrast to yesterday, Jenn, today's game was the kind of game you can relax and enjoy to its fullest. Beckett was pitching for the Hose and 'PITCH' is exactly what he did. A three hit complete game shutout, no walks, another seven K's and his 100th career win. He was so in control that his game WHIP was 0.33 (1.0 is considered good), and he had his first five K's by the 3d inning. Adding to the Sox big numbers was Jake's 40th stolen base of the year. This makes him just the second player in Sox history to get 40 or more in consecutive years. You ask who the other was, Jenn? Just some guy named Speaker, as in Tris, from 1912-14. If you've never heard the name, he's only one of the inaugural class into the Hall of Fame. Hell of a center fielder, too! All Jake needs to do to start matching up totally with Tris is get his batting average up a bit. Ol' Tris had a lifetime B.A. of .345, along with over 3500 hits and 1500+ ribbies. He also holds the marks for most doubles and most outfield assists in a career, as well as being in the top ten in many other categories. He also was a team member of the man who this blog is named for, Duffy Lewis. Duffy, Speaker and Harry Hooper comprised what was known as the "Million Dollar Outfield" in the second decade of the 20th century. He even has a similar history to Babe Ruth, another early Sox hero, in that the team owner made a horrible trade and sent Tris to Cleveland--over a salary dispute. While he never hit .400, he did have four separate seasons in the .380's and another in the .370's--not too shabby.

I say matching up for Jake. At this stage in his career, the Speed Racer is actually ahead of Speaker for career B.A., as Tris suffered two of his very few sub-.300 seasons in his first two years with the Hose.

Anyway, congrats to today's two heroes--and the rest of the Sox who helped get the win--AND a three game lead over Mr. Hankie's Yankees, who were swept by the Halos down in la-la land.

Sox: Of Yesterday and Today!--Peter

Boy! If ever a Sox game exemplified the Sox of, say, 1925-1945, and the present day Sox, the Epstein-Francona era, it had to be tonight's. If anyone can find me a similar one, I'm open to considering. Here we were. From the 1st inning out of the gate, three zip, soon to expand to nine zip by the 4th. I'm thinking we're home free--another game up on Mr. Hankie's Yankees and also one on the Rays. I'm figuring the only way we lose today is a repeat of the nightmare against the O's a week or two back, and things like that don't happen to good teams--teams like our Hose.

I turn around and it's 9-4 and the Royals are still batting. Then it's rapidly 9-6 before Oki shuts off the spigot, and it's still only the 6th. Suddenly, we've got a ball game again! Bosox get zip in their half of the 6th and Oki is greeted by the R's leadoff man in the 7th with a shot to the cheaps--9-7. I'm thinking, "I can't watch." But, like watching someone pull the wings off a fly (sorry, PETA), I can't turn away. Fortunately, Bard comes in and zip, zip, zip, the inning is over. Sox seemingly put it out of reach in their half of the 8th with a trey, but the R's won't stay dead. They're like zombies and they're taking chunks out of our heroes! Suddenly, it's 12-9; the Royals still have baserunners and I'm thinking of losing my dinner. Fortunately, Bard finally shuts the door, all three Royals runs charged to him unearned. The Fenmen come up for their turn in the 8th and suddenly, it's NOW again. Guys are getting hits--even with runners on. They're taking walks, getting HBP and when I check the board,it's 15-9. Barring a complete reversion, this one's done. We're back from the Time Tunnel. It's 2009; Sox up by two and the world is right!

Individually, Smoltzie got his first W, going five and giving up just a run while striking out seven against only a single free pass. Yooooouk got three hits, two of them yard, and Papi continues his comeback assault with a two run drive into the seats. Dusty picked up his 28th two bagger, and Jake figured "why not" and swiped his 39th sack of the year, accompanied, by the way, by Jason Bay's tenth swipe of the season.

A Real Nailbiter--Peter

Well, last night's game was a true nailbiter! It really was a great example of a pitcher's duel--and all the while, in another game, a more or less 'nothing' pitcher who'd lost his rotation spot for the Giants was tossing a no-no--even perfect into the 8th! So I guess Lester's duel was fitting for the evening. Things went back and forth all evening. First the Lester would put up a zero for his half inning's work. Then the Royals' hurler would give us his imitation. On and on it went inning after inning. The trouble with these things is that when you get into the later innings, it gets particularly nerve racking because you know that, God forbid--the other guys score first, you've got much less time to respond to avoid a loss--particularly when you're in a tight division race.

But finally, in the 8th, the Hose came through. Bates, pinch running, was waiting for someone to do something when Dusty stroked his 28th two bagger of the season and brought him home with the winning run, in fact the ONLY run. This time Papelbon didn't waste any time. Taking the mound in the 9th, he went right after the Royals. Eleven pitches later everyone could go home--no hits or free passes from The Laser this evening.

Lester was also sparkling. He's definitely back in the groove. Going into this game, he was 4-1, with a 1.74 ERA in his most recent seven starts, and that single loss was the rain shortened game that was called 'official' just after five innings with the Sox behind by a single run. On the season he's 8-6 with his ERA for the season back into the respectable range at 3.87. While we're on ERA's, by the way, Pap's is now down to 1.85 for the year.

Nerve racking, but a good night after all. Making things even better, Mr. Hankie's Yankees lost and dropped out of the first place tie they'd moved into a day earlier--against an Angels lineup that had been damaged by its two best players--Hunter and Guerrero--going on the DL earlier in the day.

Smoltz goes today. Keep your fingers crossed.