Sox in Atlanta

On True Realizations

2010-06-02T23:39:00.005-04:00

Armando Galrraga was robbed tonight, no one can argue with this. First-base umpire Jim Joyce really screwed up. I personally laid out a few choice words after reviewing the replay of Galarraga's near-27th out, many of which were severely looked down upon by The Lady. Had the out been called, it would have been the third perfecto of this season, and the first ever thrown by a Detroit Tiger.

It was a monumental f***-up, no lie.

But around the Twitterverse, after the profanities stopped flying, other words began to take wing. Words like "utterly distraught". "Regretted". "So sorry". These all being feelings and words felt and uttered by Jim Joyce. And it got me thinking... maybe there is hope. In a world full of men like Joe West and CB Bucknor, there are men like Jim Joyce to balance it out a bit. Men who perhaps get the call wrong, robbing a pitcher- and a team- of a perfect game, but who can own up to their mistakes, men who can fully accept responsibilities for their actions.

I recently had an epiphany, that my chosen profession should fall under the umbrella of law enforcement. Not because of the power, or the gun, or the pay, but because it gives me the chance to do something good in this world. There are certain professions which are often believed to be above rebuke, professions in which the participants may not own up to their mistakes. Umpires/referees. Police officers. Politicians. Don't get me wrong- I'm not saying umpire screw-ups are in the same vein as law enforcement or political screw-ups- but they're in a similar vein. I want to be able to make that difference in being a police officer, like what Jim Joyce did for me tonight with my opinions on professional umpiring. To quote an oft-underrated movie, "You can't change the world but you can sure make a dent".

Tonight, Jim Joyce made a dent.

UPDATE: Jim Joyce telling reporters he blew the call, right after the game. You can hear the sadness and anger in his voice:

(courtesy of 97.1 The Ticket)

On Oh Crap I Already Used That Title

2010-05-27T02:01:00.007-04:00

Familial rivalries aside, this sweep of Tampa Bay felt *really* good. This team, where people were jumping ship not a few weeks ago, beat the best team in baseball? Three times? Yes. How about that bat of Adrian Beltre? Tonight alone, 2HR, a single, and a triple, all for 6RBI. Let's not forget some fantastic plays at 3rd though - I think he actually caught a grounder with his testicles at one point. I know he didn't hit a double, but why not just *say* he hit for the cycle? Damned if he doesn't deserve it. I might even say I've forgiven him for breaking Ellsbury's ribs. Oh yeah, and one of the times he took it yard, he was on his knees. How cool is that. Ortiz also hit the long ball again, finding HR #10 and, it seems, his mojo. McDonald, who was previously DFA'd, also managed to grab a pair of RBI late in the game. Rays starter Matt Garza, who was previously terrifying against the Sox when in Tampa, was utterly grabbed by his saliva-dripping chin pubes and slung around the place. Unfortunately Lackey didn't have a super night, seemingly barely holding it together over 6 1/3 innings, allowing 2R, 8H, 4BB. But... it was better than his previous outings, and hey, it was a win.

A damned good win, if you ask me.

p.s. Seriously, what the heck is that on his chin. The images above is at least a trimmed version, from 2008. If you can find a picture from tonight's game... God rest your soul.

On Memory Blocks

2010-05-18T10:50:00.003-04:00

There are many, many words that could be used to describe last night's 11-9 loss to the Yankees: heartbreaking, disappointing, meltdown, absolute crap. I find the need to add "forgettable" to the list. The most obvious application reminds us that there are 162 games in the season, and while we as fans may remember this loss as the game that most epitomizes the 2010 Red Sox, it's still just a loss. At the end of the day it's just like every other loss the team has recorded, it's just a little more emotionally charged.

But for me, the more relevant use of the word "forgettable" comes right at the end of the game, when Thames hammered the final nail in the Red Sox' coffin to left field. When the outfield let those easy fly-outs turn into baserunners, I was yelling. When A-Rod smacked one out to tie it up, I slammed my hand down on the desk (scaring the crap out of The Lady). But when Thames took it out... I don't know. I don't remember what happened. I even had to go look up where he hit it to, because I didn't know. Don't get me wrong, I was watching the game, but those last few minutes were a bit hazy. All I know is at some point after the ball left the bat, the television was turned off. Maybe it was immediately after he made contact, maybe it was fifteen minutes. I genuinely don't remember.

This game ended about as crappily as a game can end. But for some reason, by some stroke of providence, I don't remember it.

And I'm fine with that.

On Turn-arounds

2010-05-06T01:27:00.000-04:00

After nearly a week of moving-to-a-new-apartment madness, I'm back, and with Internet. Rejoice.

The last three nights of Red Sox baseball have made me awfully happy. Sticking it to the Angels- enacting a sort of revenge for last year's playoffs- felt good. Buchhy, Jonny, and Lack all brought it to the mound, and the offense was (for the most part) damned good as well. These three wins were important- I feel they brought a modicum of confidence to the club. Now whether we can continue this run... well that remains to be seen. Papi smacked one to opposite field tonight, and there were ding-dongs aplenty across the rest of the series. I never was one to give up on the Sox, and our performance over the last three nights is exactly the explanation why. Despite having a losing record (at the time), we managed to pull it through. Now sitting at .500, the Red Sox have the opportunity to blast it open. With one more game against Los Angeles followed by a six-game stretch at home against the MFY and Toronto, now seems like the perfect time to reclaim our spot at (or at least near) the top of the AL East.

Now's the time. Let's do it, boyos.

On Making it Three

2010-04-28T00:25:00.001-04:00

There are not a lot of things that can take away the pain of dropping a series to a division rival, but tonight's 6-4 Georgia Tech win against UGA seemed to dull the ache a bit. Showing up at Turner Field almost two hours before first pitch and braving what looked to be a rainy, cold night, the Tech faithful were ready for battle... and a battle it was. A helluva pitching matchup took place, pitting Mark Pope against Georgia freshman Blake Dieterich. Both pitchers put up five innings of scoreless ball, after which both sides' bats started swinging. I'll not bore you all with the details.... suffice it to say, season sweeps are something nice.

Oh, and the Sox beat the Jays 2-1 tonight, making it a great night for baseball. None of this 13-12 crap from last night, thank you very much.

Tech's off until Friday- I'll be back tomorrow night after Boston finishes up the series in Toronto.

On Regrets

2010-04-21T00:19:00.007-04:00

I went to the GT baseball game (6-2 win over Georgia Southern, by the way) and then trivia, deciding to forego the Red Sox game in order to temporarily save my sanity. My reasoning is, it's too early in the season to lose my mind.

Far off in the corner of the bar was a small television displaying ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," and I noticed a few things, including a Papi-esque figure flounder at the plate and then snap his goddamn bat in half. But then I saw two amazing things: Darnell McDonald hit a two-run blast over the Monster, and Darnell McDonald knock in the winning run off of the wall.

At this point, three thoughts ran through my mind. The first was something along the lines of "oh crap new question better get back to the table," while the second was a little more relevant. "Did... Did the Red Sox just snap their losing streak?" The third, of course, was "Who the hell is Darnell McDonald?"

Darnell McDonald, for those who (also) missed the game, is the man behind this video, which I cannot embed here because the MLB sucks.

I feel terrible and good at the same time. Can't believe I missed that damned game. G'night, folks. Sleep well tonight, wrapped tightly in the knowledge that we have a winning streak brewing.

On Spring Cleaning

2010-04-18T18:50:00.010-04:00

Bust out the brooms kids, 'cause the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5) just swept the Clemson Tigers (16) over a three-game weekend series. I had the pleasure of going to all three games and seeing some really good baseball. Short recaps:

Friday night, GT 8 Clemson 6
Chase Burnette lifted the Jackets over the Tigers with a 2-run walk-off home run Friday night to open the series, as starter Deck McGuire pitched 7 innings and gave up 7 runs. Cole Leonida and Matt Skole also went yard during the night, advancing their home run counts to 7 and 12 on the season, respectively. Reliever Andrew Robinson got the Jackets out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the 10th, paving the way for Burnette's game-ending shot.

Saturday afternoon, GT 4 Clemson 3
Brandon Cumpton picked up his sixth win on Saturday, holding the Tigers to just 3 runs over 7 innings. Jacob Esch tied up the game in the bottom of the seventh with a 2-out RBI single up the middle to score Chase Burnette. Jeff Rowland followed by dropping a hit into center to score Esch, giving Tech a 4-3 lead. Andrew Robinson closed out the game in the ninth, cementing the efforts of a solid bullpen and earning his third save of the year.

Sunday afternoon, GT 11 Clemson 3
After two games in which the bats weren't swinging as soundly as they usually do, Tech was right back on top with a dominating performance from most everyone on the rotation. Jeff Rowland, Tony Plagman, and Jacob Esch all went 4-for-5 on the day, combining for 12 of Tech's 17 hits. Rowland had a standing triple in the second to bring in three runs, while Esch went yard in the eighth to extend the Jackets' home run streak to 15 consecutive games. Georgia Tech scored a run in every inning, except for the second in which they scored 4.

Highlights:

Purple doesn't work well for you, Clemson. For reference, Barney has dropped by to model Clemson's unis.
The Jackets improve to 31-5 on the season, reaching the 30+ win mark for the 28th straight year.
Selected cracks from the third base heckling section concerned Clemson's highly-touted ability to count to four and head coach Jack Leggett's bordering-on-obsessive nudging of third base.
A spectator got hit on Sunday by a Clemson foul ball, but was alright. Jack must've gotten tired of our heckling.
Watching three Tech wins sure beat watching three Sox losses, I'll tell you what.

On a Triumphant Return

2010-04-05T00:51:00.004-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, baseball is back. The Red Sox came back and beat the Yankees, thus making this a successful Opening Day. A giant middle finger, however, is extended in the direction of Bud Selig and the MLB, with their ridiculous blackout policies. I pay $120 a year so I can watch the Red Sox in the comfort of my own home, not so I can go downstairs to the laundry room and watch the game by myself.

Oh and I gotta say, big ups to Posada. Way to handle all those wild pitches and such... Oh, wait... You didn't. Old fart.

I won't be watching Tuesday's game, on account of me doing couple-things with The Lady. Something about "South Pacific," I think. See you all on Wednesday.

GT Baseball: GT 6, UGA 5

2010-03-17T01:25:00.003-04:00

So The Lady and I went to the ballgame tonight, since the University (sic) of Georgia was in town and we wanted to see a good'un. UGA, while no slouch of a team, ain't the best in the nation, so we entered the park expecting to see a few ding-dongs. A few were certainly seen, especially in the first, where Jeff Rowland had a lead-off homer on the third pitch and Tony Plagman took one yard for two (his seventh on the season, fantástico). Jay Dantzler had one in the second, and GT took an early 4-0 lead.

But the game certainly wasn't a cakewalk, with UGA (once starter Dieterich was gone) keeping the ball low and holding our men down. Our man Mark Pope had some issues late in his outing as well- except his outing lasted maybe a bit longer than it really should have. The relief did it's job a little less than adequately, allowing UGA to take the lead in the sixth. Cole Leonida came through in the seventh though, tying it up with a magnificent single up the middle, and Jacob Esch took a walk with the bases loaded in the eighth to take a somewhat anticlimactic lead.

Strully's MVP goes to reliever Andy Robinson, who pitched 2 scoreless, forcing a pop-up and K'ing two more to retire the side in the ninth.

Wag of the finger goes to home-plate ump David Savage, with the most inconsistent strike zone this writer has seen since C.B. Bucknor.

Fine, fine, that's an exaggeration. Nobody's worse than C.B. Bucknor.

On Getting Closer

2010-03-13T13:06:00.003-05:00

Today's spring training game against the Pirates is one of a small few that I'm able to watch on MLBtv. I was excited because they're actually using the NESN feed- my first game of 2010 with DO and Remy. Of course, something has to go wrong. NESN's having technical difficulties, and right now all we have is the audio feed... lame.

I blame Selig.

More to come, if the game actually returns...

On Not Being Quite There

2010-03-05T09:06:00.004-05:00

Holy crap it's been a while. Sorry folks. Trying to graduate, and trying to find a job, and holy hell those Olympics. No more excuses though.

I don't consider Spring Training to have begun, in my book, until I've actually watched a game. The first Red Sox game isn't on MLB.tv until Sunday, and that's not even the damned NESN feed. Why aren't they televising more games, or at least televising games that don't suck?

Here's today's MLB.tv schedule:

TB @ NYY, 1:05pm - Alright, fine, WS champs versus a division rival. I'll allow it.

FLA @ NYM, 1:10pm - What? Who the hell cares about these two teams?

CLE @ CIN, 3:05pm - Two teams that... I don't even know. Never heard much from them last season. Oh that's right, Cleveland fired everyone at the end of '09. What do you mean? EEEEEEEEVVVVERRYYYYYOOONNNNNEEEEEE!

COL @ LAA, 3:05pm - I'll admit this might be a more interesting game... oh wait, Colorado's going split-squad.

One and a half decent games out of four being shown- out of sixteen being played. No, Spring Training hasn't begun yet. Maybe I'll throw on the Rays game if I'm bored.

On Moving On

2010-01-08T12:57:00.003-05:00

OK, so there wasn't a pregame post. I lied. I was too busy having fun in Tampa (What?! Having fun in Tampa! Surely you jest). But enough about that.

So... another disappointing loss. Iowa outplayed us. The O-line didn't bother to show up at times, and the offense was seriously lacking as well. When your first 1st down comes in the second quarter and your first completed pass comes at the end of the third, there are issues. Iowa's defense is just plain good, and the time they had to figure out the triple option served them well. Blair's missed FG though was a key play, and I am still cursing Blair. I've been cursing Blair for a long time now, as his inconsistency just isn't acceptable.

Oh, and Iowa fans are dicks. Getting out of the parking lot at Land Shark Stadium took a while, and while we were sitting these two inbred Iowa-holes in a giant truck thought it'd be funny to gun the engine and stop their truck inches from my rear passenger door. If it weren't for the fact that my roommate's girlfriend probably would have died, I kinda wished they'd hit the car, just so my roommate and I could rid the world of two more hicks...

Football season's over. Something like, what, two months until baseball? Bring it on!

On the Road

2010-01-03T01:53:00.003-05:00

In just about seven hours the Lady, the Roommate, the Roommate's Girlfriend and I will be en route to Miami to see our Yellow Jackets take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Orange Bowl. Yes, it's a few days ahead of time, but we're making a stop off in Tampa to divide up the trip and visit family and friends. It's gonna be a helluva time. Helluva road trip, helluva good time, helluva good game, it's bound to be.

I'm confident Tech will do well in this game. Not confident-we're-gonna-beat-Georgia-confident, because that'll get us killed. Confident that we've learned from our mistakes. Confident that the triple option will continue to stun. Confident that Coach Paul Johnson and Co. will make this a fitting end to a fantastic season.

See you kids Monday night with a pregame post.

On Failing Commitments

2009-12-24T04:46:00.003-05:00

Holy crap, it's been a month since I've posted. This is what trying to graduate from Georgia Tech will do to you. What's happened? Well...

So much Red Sox news I can't even begin to cover it. Scenic's not leaving? Maybe Bay's coming back? I can't keep track of this stuff.
Tech lost to UGA, because we were overconfident.
Tech beat Clemson in the ACC Championship, paving the way for...
Tech heading to the Orange Bowl, to face Iowa. In attendance will be...
Me, The Lady, my roommate and his girlfriend. This is gonna be one helluva post-graduation road trip, with many repeated renditions of this song.
Coach Paul Johnson got ACC Coach of the Year. No surprise there. What, you think the likes of Bowden were gonna get that or something? Please.
Schumi's returning to F1? Don't know the whole story yet but that sounds... mighty exciting.

Yeah I know I took a month off while I was graduating, but it's Christmas. I'll be off again until Monday, when I'll start pre-Orange Bowl analysis (or what passes for analysis here at SiA. Prolly just a bunch of crap about music and plans to hit up the Tesla dealership in Dania Beach).

Happy Christmas all!

On... An Airplane

2009-11-26T02:06:00.003-05:00

I write this, ill-advisedly, by hand, and in the dark so as not to disturb the girl sitting next to me, on a plane bound for New York, the belly of the beast. Thankfully none of my NY-based family is that into baseball (note: I would actually learn later tonight that they are, but they're Mets fans so it's OK), but we'll see if the first World Series title in nine years has changed that (again, it doesn't matter, but I'm keeping this in for posterity). It'll be a mighty fun Thanksgiving if it has, he says with a devilish grin (not grinning devilishly, but because I have anti-Yankee allies in NY). While suffering from an hour-and-a-half long layover in Charlotte, I learned we picked up 2B Tug Hulett from the Royals today. (note: It's kinda tough to find a decent picture of this dude. Just sayin'.) We're just lusting after infielders these days, aren't we? But it makes me wonder, since we already have a more-than-capable second baseman in the form of Dustin Pedroia. Aside from a really great name, what does Tug bring to the table that the Elf can't provide? Unless Tug can play some position that I missed (which is entirely possible- it took me half an hour just to get online), this seems like a deal with a very small return. I'm gonna stop jumping to conclusions about utility infielders for now.

And I hear we're going after Doc Halladay with both barrels too, eh? Heard a lot about that. Theo seems to have his heart set on Halladay being our #1 starter. You know who I haven't heard much about in a while though? Becks. Or Jonny Lester. Or Buchhy. Where do they fit in with all of this? I maybe heard talk that Buchholz, along with Casey Kelly, might be used as a bargaining chip for Halladay. I'm not so sure how much I believe this though. To me, Buchholz is too young- and far too valuable- to let slip from our grasp like that. As a side-note, Mein Gott airline coffee is terrible. WOW. As another side-note, I am a lefty-writer. The sleepign girl to my left is encroaching, yet I still feel bad whenever my elbow hits hers. Back on track though. Not much else to discuss right now, as lack-of-internet severely limits my researching abilities. Oh, right... SIGN JASON BAY.

Time to try and obtain a $7 thimble of wine. See you on Sunday, kids.

On Excuses and Lists

2009-11-25T13:24:00.005-05:00

Hey, I know I've been slacking on the writing, alright? But it's finals. I'm trying to graduate. And I'm shooting papers out of my butt faster than a P90, so writing's not exactly a fun task right now. But I'm gonna try to say some good things today, before I head up to New York for Thanksgiving.

I'm debating whether I wanna wear my Sox hat up to NY. Can't decide which is stronger: my pride or my desire to not get my ass kicked.
Roy Halladay? Yes, please!
Trade Bucchy? Hell, no.
Being lazy with my sources today? You bet.
Miguel Cabrera? Yes. Marco Scutaro? No. Matt Holliday? We'll see.
Jason Bay? For Fisk's sake, yes.
What's the good word? To Hell with Georgia. (For added irony, disable your ad blocker. Ad placement FTW)
The graffiti says "JACKETS", for all you U(sic)GA grads.

Alright kids, that's about it. I'll be back on Sunday (assuming I'm still alive) with a of some Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

In Which We Look Ahead, Prematurely

2009-11-16T18:34:00.003-05:00

So the Jackets have taken the ACC Coastal division, and clinched a spot in the ACC Championship, against either Clemson or Boston College. Awesome. We're 10-1 right now, ranked seventh in the nation, with a team that can't be beat. Awesome. And Coach Paul Johnson ain't done smackin' people around, including refs, if need be (see fig. 1). Awesome. This week we rest, regroup, and ready ourselves to face Georgia, an opponent which, in the past, we have looked upon with some trepidation.

Not this year, though. Coach Paul Johnson has, in his second year at the helm this team, fully cemented himself as leader of the Yellow Jackets. The triple option is a winning formula, and with it we have one of the premier rushing offenses in the country. But I'm not gonna talk about numbers (like 314.1 rush yds/gm) today. I'm not gonna talk about individual players (like how Josh Nesbitt, our freaking quarterback, is tied for 4th in the nation with 16 rushing TDs). And I'm not gonna talk about records (like 10-1, against Georgia's 6-4).

I'm just gonna say that we're hungry. We're gonna want to win this game, and win it big. Mark Bradley of the AJC predicts a win of 42-27, though I think that's an awfully conservative mark. That score could happen any Saturday for us. No. On November 28, the game will be big, the score will be big, our team will be big, and the Dawgs will be naught but a smear under a train that's bound for Tampa.

On Old Men

2009-11-10T12:17:00.007-05:00

I was very, very glad to hear the news that we're bringing back Wake for next year (and how 'bout that, the year after). I have a feeling that this off-season is gonna be a good and restful one for the old guy, and am confident that he's gonna go back out there come spring and show us that he's still got it. The man's 43 years old, and says that the 2011 season would be his last... which I'm fine with. I am totally OK with two more years of knuckleballs, though I don't want to think that far ahead. It's gonna be good, I can feel it.

As for the other old man on the team, I hear Varitek's not going to be our main catcher for next year. This pleases me on a few levels, the first being that I think V-Mart's much more suited to be our starting catcher (duh). Second, Tek could possibly be the best back-up catcher in all of baseball, and that's something pretty spiffy. Third, maybe it'll spur him to work on his baserunner-throwing-out...ness. Though I wouldn't be averse to Tek taking over as a bench coach or something, as (despite my ragging on his paying ability) I'd hate to see him leave the Red Sox.

In other news, how 'bout them Jackets? And how 'bout the balls on Coach Paul Johnson? Aside from the combination of "nine and one", the number '7' is reigning pretty high as my favorite number right now. Though '9', '21', and '18' are pretty high up there as well. Glad to see Tech's finally getting some respect in the media, though I doubt the ACC-bashing in general will ever stop. Rumor around the blags says that seven's as high as we're gonna go in the B(*llsh*t)CS ranking, if only because the computers and the voters are morons and don't recognize that the ACC is a legitimate conference, much moreso than, say, Mountain West (are you effing kidding me?). I'll leave the college football rants for a separate post though.

On Quiet Grace and Dignity

2009-11-05T19:46:00.004-05:00

Something about the Yankees, and winning the World Series? I don't know, I didn't see it happen. I walked out of the bar before the final few pitches. That's right, your author is so immature that he left where he was early so he didn't have to see the Evil Empire celebrating their fat-wallet victory. And you know what? I think it actually helped. Today didn't suck too much. Am I bitter? A bit. Will it pass? Yeah, I'll probably be over it by tomorrow. And only one of the Yankees fans I interact with on a semi-regular basis was a jerk today- well, actually it was last night: she was apparently cut off from the internet and television and I was the only person she could ask for a score update, conveniently just as Victorino grounded out to end the game. "You're the only one I could ask" my black ass...

Anyway.

Life returned to normal today. The celebratory (from the, what, two? Yankees fans I follow) and bitter (from everyone else) Tweets died down, talked moved to off-season moves and deals and whatnot, and I spent the better part of the day worrying about work that's been piling up instead of what would happen tonight at 8pm. And it felt somewhat alright. This postseason dragged on for far too long. Between the retarded amounts of rain, the retarded amounts of Buck/McCarver/Rosenthal, and the retarded amounts of MFY love, I'm glad for a few months of respite. Now I can focus on work, school, relationships I've undoubtedly let fester, and college sports. But mostly that last one.

On Opportunities

2009-11-03T12:01:00.006-05:00

I had this whole post lined up responding to Tony Massarotti's article on how we (the Red Sox Nation) should root for the Yankees, but I got distracted by Hallowe'en and Georgia Tech football and this sweet little Flash game... and I digress.

Matt over at the stellar Fenway West has asked me to be a guest blogger, an endeavour I am incredibly excited about. I'll be popping over there from time to time to toss in some analysis and (what passes for) insight, but this doesn't mean I'm not going to be writing here, of course. However since this is the offseason (I mean, there are at most two games left) I will be taking the opportunity to talk about other sports here, namely GT football and basketball (when that starts up). But the Red Sox are still what this place is about, fret you not.

So look for me over at Fenway West, and keeping looking for me over here- I'm bound to be around somewhere.

On Honesty

2009-10-26T10:08:00.004-04:00

Haven't really felt the need to write anything as of late... until today. Didn't watch the game last night as I had prior plans. This morning however I awoke to learn that the Yankees are going to the World Series. But... you know, I'm not all that broken up about it. The Yankees were a very good team this year, a very good team all around. They had the arms, they had the bats, they had the team. As much as I hate them, and think that maybe certain officials were biased, and believe that A-Rod's maybe on the juice, the Yankees, for the most part, deserved it. With the Phillies as the last line of defense against me having a Very Bad November, I will more than likely be glued to my television set for the next few days. I have a feeling it's going to be a good Series.

Go Phillies!

P.S. I know this picture hasn't got anything to do with anything, but it always serves to cheer me up.

On Life Returning to Normal

2009-10-11T16:20:00.006-04:00

And so ends another amazing season of Red Sox baseball. We went out what looked like was going to be a bang, but it ended with a sort of sputtering-coughing-wheeze. In this final game of the season, we put up a helluva fight- six runs over the game matched our average for the year, if I remember correctly. But despite the fact that our bats were actually cracking for the first time in the playoffs, and Buchhy and Bard were doing a damn fine job on the mound, it came down to one man.

Mothereffing Jonathan Papelbon.

Earlier this morning my dad emailed me, expressing his condolences about the end of the Red Sox season. I told him in no uncertain terms that the season wasn't over until we say it is... I guess Paps decided it was. He had, what, five chances to get that third out? That don't fly. Hopefully it'll be a long off-season for him. And the rest of the pitching staff, as well.

But enough animosity, the time for healing has come. Though I don't know what I'm gonna do here for the next few months...

At least I still have Georgia Tech football.

On Diminishing Light

2009-10-10T14:23:00.006-04:00

We've been here before. Down by two, in a bad way. And we've come back. But that doesn't matter, history doesn't mean a damn thing if our bats can't produce. One run in two games? I can't remember the last time I saw offense that bad. I guess the good news is we're heading back to the Fens tomorrow... where the magic happens. I'm tired of thinking about Red Sox baseball right now... thank goodness for this night off.

On Starting the Postseason the Wrong Way

2009-10-09T10:27:00.006-04:00

Last night's 5-0 loss to the Angels was... painful. Held them scoreless for five innings and then it all just sorta fell apart. I'm just glad I'm currently too poor to afford alcohol. And when the offense can't produce a single run? What the heck is that? If the Sox want to get anywhere in the playoffs, what happened last night cannot happen again. Commander Kick Ass needs to effin' step up, the bats need to start swinging, and Bucknor needs to get his eyes gouged out.

Because that guy is a fuckface.

On 50-word Essays

2009-10-07T16:58:00.005-04:00

Apparently Steve Lopez from the LA Times is giving away World Series tickets to the person with the best 50-word essay on why Manny Ramirez sucks. Here's my entry:

Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Douchebag Stupid Dreadlocks

See you at the World Series, folks.