You complete me

Pedro does it. 109 pitches, 10 Ks, shutout. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. The Sox need, need to sign Pedro - 1) because his ties with the Dominican Republic make him worthwhile for scouting purposes; and 2) because, rabid as Boston fans are, there's a limit to how much people root for the laundry; 3) because, quite simply, the man is a pitching god.

I can't believe that this was Pedro's first shuout in 4 years. Amazing. I also can't believe of his 16 shutouts, only half were with Boston. I guess that's a sign of his decreasing durability. No matter - he's still the modern-day Koufax. Today was his 97th 10-K game, same as Koufax - how appropriate.


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Love is all around

In the mutual-affection division:

What helped him in the lowest of times, Millar said, was his friendship with Kapler, who sits next to him in the Sox clubhouse. They each have autographed color photos of the other hanging in their lockers. (From Boston.com)

Isn't that a bit... narcissistic? "I'm your biggest fan!" "No, I'm your biggest fan!"

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No mercy

Nice to have a proper, thorough, let's-bring-out-Ricky-Groundintodoubleplayez thrashing today. Youkilis is really ready for the big time and Millar was on fire. All we need is some Orlando magic. It's really very encouraging to see the 2-out RBIs, and the big innings. I want to see that killer instinct, I want to see them go for the throat, I don't want it to ever be close. I want to see such thrashings that Ricky G starts getting regular playing time. I want to see Embree/Timlin/Foulke stop coming to the ballpark and hang out at Patriots training camp instead. I want McCarty's regular position to be RP.


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Playing for your job

Kevin Millar seems to be really lovin' it now that his job is on the line, with a .440 OBP over the last 7 days. The weird thing is his .316 slugging - aren't these big players supposed to be lumbering sluggers, not pokey singles hitters. But hey, it's 2 innings into the Rays game, and he's got 4 RBIs, so I'm not complaining.


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So I Married an Axe Murdering Left-Handed Specialist

Tito's handling of the bullpen last night was much better - Mike Myers coming in for the LOOGY strikeout was great. I like that his theme music is the song from Halloween. Somehow Foulke , good as he can be, never comes across as that menacing.

Also "Everyday" Eddie Guardado is no longer so everyday, with a torn rotator cuff. Glad to see the Sox didn't make any trade for him.


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Take him out in the ballgame

Okay, I've figured out what it is that irritates me about Francona. It's not when he pulls the starters, although that is increasingly questionable. It's his unwillingness to have pitchers warming up. I don't blame him for having Schilling start the 6th. I do blame him for not having Adams warmed up when Schilling clearly had struggled to finish the 5th. So bang-bang, the D-Rays are hitting Schilling's meatballs, and there's clearly no one ready to take his place. I know warm up pitches take something out of the arm, but not that much, and Adams is not a critical middle reliever in any case. There's nothing wrong with insurance, y'know. It's not unmanly. It's not emasculating to the pitcher on the mound. It just says "hey, I got your back".


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Speak to my agent

Peter Gammons in his column this week writes about Nomar and why it was best for all involved to leave. Noteworthy is the fact that Nomar in the 2-hole is a great idea... meanwhile here in Indiana it's all Cubs stuff in the malls. Sigh. Well, actually it's all NASCAR. Five days here and all I want to do is ride in a pickup and watch stock car racing.

This whole Kevin Millar fiasco where he spoke to the media about not getting enough playing time and then was forced to apologise just kind of shows, maybe players in Boston should make like Hollywood stars and get PR agents. I hear Pat Kingsley does good work.


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This Bud's for you

Alerted to this post by the good folks at Boston Sports Media Watch... Nuf Ced over at Royal Rooters talks about a giant Sox-for-Dodgers swap conspiracy. Hopefully (probably?) not true, but does make you go "hmm..." I think the sad thing is that I can believe anything is possible under Selig.


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Yard work

Again, better to be lucky than to be good - Wake gives up 6 HRs in Comerica Park (!), and somehow the Sox come out on top. It really looks like Youkilis is the real deal, and I'm so glad that he wasn't included in any trade deal. And I do think Steinbrenner forgot to send Mendoza his paycheck, he's become, inexplicably, the Sox's best reliever at this point in time...


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Wrigley Spearmint

Also, the Nomar watch says Nomar went 3-5 with 2 runs scored for the Cubs. That gives him a .370 BA and an .898 OPS with 2 stolen bases in the NL. Pretty damn decent for a shortstop (although he does have a .923 career OPS, which is astounding). Is he going to turn in a Clemens-like "I'll show the Sox front office" season? I can see why the Sox have to make some trades. I just don't necessarily see why they need to burn bridges in doing so.



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Dominican Dominance

Pedro! Pedro! Any game in which he surpasses a Clemens record (most double-digit strikeout games) is a great game by me. So the 7-4 win wasn't masterful, but only by the standards of the pantheon of greats. Of course, in the first ever Sox game I saw at Fenway, Pedro struck out 10, allowed only 2ER in 7 innings, and still got a no-decision - story of his Boston career.

Here's a quote from the Master on the possibility of re-signing:

"I definitely want it to work out with Boston. But I'm like the rest of you, we'll have to wait and see. I don't know how it's going to turn out right now. I just want to help this team get to the playoffs and then win a World Series."

Very encouraging. Certainly sounds like the Nomar hubbub didn't affect the rest of the FAs' decision to sign.

Randomly: Smokey Joe Wood is #3 after Pedro and Clemens on the Boston record books with only 18 double-digit strikeout games. That's really strange. For a team that's had Cy Young, Lefty Grove, hell, even Luis Tiant, I would expect #3 to have more than 18. Guess I hadn't realised the extent to which the K has become more prevalent a means of getting people out.


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Nothing you could say could tear me away from my Sox

First things first: I love Motown. It made me excited when I was in transit in Detroit a few days back just to see all the greats celebrated on the wall: Marvin Gaye, the Jacksons, even Mary Wells. But enough of that. This 4-3 loss stinks. These close 1-run game losses are infuriating - what do they say? "If you lose by more than 4 runs, blame the pitching; if you lose by 2-4 runs, blame the offense; and if you lose by 1 run, blame the managing." Well, actually, I blame the lack of offense last night, but I'd like to see Larry Dierker try his hand with these Sox. Hey, so Dierker lost in the NLDS each time. I'd just like to take these Sox reach the ALDS.


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