We pick up with the rubber match of the May 26th - 28th Seattle series...Sox took game 1 behind Bartolo and the Mariners took game 2 after Dice got hurt, Manny hit number 499 and Timlin blew it (yes, I realize Manny has like 8 HRs since then, IT'S BEEN A WHILE)...
Game 3 was a tough loss...Wake pitched one of his rare gems, a complete game allowing 1 ER on a Betancourt HR...Bedard was strong over 7 full and we never really threatened the pen...nobody hit all night, it was gross...we dropped 2 of 3 to the lousy Mariners and that dropped us to 1-5 on the road trip (swept by Oakland the series before)...I know it's early but we can't lose series to bad teams, we just can't...it'll hurt us later if the Yanks and Rays are for real...now off to Baltimore, who is playing surprisingly well for the team they have...and for some reason these guys give us trouble even when they stink, so I was feeling awful about heading there to end the trip...
Which shows how much I know about anything as we stormed in there and took the first 3 games of the series, and pretty easily too...
Game 1 was the toughest of them, as it took 13 innings to get...Beckett pitched well but the bats couldn't put up more than 2...luckily the boys sent us home happy, putting up 3 in the top of the 13th followed by Pap nailing it shut (our 7th pitcher of the night)...gotta hope a win like that carries over (nice "foreshadowing" eh?)...
Game 2 was tied in the 7th when up stepped Manny Ramirez with a man on...Manny took a first pitch fastball from Chad Bradford and crushed it to the opposite field...the perfect Manny HR for number 500...the game was effectively over and this one will get it's own blog shortly, so just enjoy the official site video for now:
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Game 3 was in June, so, hey, we're getting current! This one was a joke all the way as Colon pitched a solid if not spectacular game but taking Manny's momentum from 500 the bats took this one away from Baltimore early...7 runs on the board through the 4th and the most relevant of those were the 2 that came from number 501...you kind of thought it might not be long before number 501 after 500 took a while, and he wasted no time...this had the feel of a patented Manny streak a soon as he hit number 500...guess we'll see if it continues...9-4 Sox was the final...
Looked like we had the sweep this time in Camden Yards, leading 3-2 and handing the ball off to Oki...but the O's had a rally in them I guess, knocking a clearly rusty Oki all over the place and putting up 4 runs on 4 hits...as long as that's not a trend it doesn't really bother me at all...off to a 1-5 start on the trip the Sox salvaged it taking 3-4 in Baltimore and finishing it 4-6...not great, but this isn't August yet, so we'll build on it...time to go back to the Friendly Confines to greet our sudden rivals in the standings, the Tampa Bay Formerly Devil Rays...
As it turned out the results were friendly, but the Rays were anything but...this one was a Sox 3-game sweep, and none of the games were close...as we all know the big story in this one was Coco vs. The Rays...I know I'm a little biased on this one, but here's how I see it...the Rays are a bunch of upstart Punks, and while you have to somewhat respect their willingness to defend their own, you can't respect their opinions on how this all started and when it should end. The whole thing ACTUALLY started when the Rays SS used a bush league knee drop to block 2nd on a Coco slide...now, is this the most bush league play in the majors, no...but it is bush league, and the Rays own manager admitted that Bartlett used to do that when he played against them, and that the way to handle it is to slide spikes first into second...that's cure it...ok, fair enough...so the next time Coco got to head towards 2nd base he slid hard, spikes first and made some contact with the Rays 2nd baseman, Aki Iwamura...was it a little excessive, maybe...but if your manager admits that there may have been a dirty play out there and then there's some retaliation, doesn't that end it right there? Iwamura didn't get hurt, there was no extra kick or punch in the hard slide...some leg contact and that was all...should have been the end of it...but I guess the upstart Rays are trying to prove that they belong in the AL East instead of AAA but going about it the wrong way, because instead of letting it go there, the Rays started jawing at Coco and making threats...apparently they didn't like how Coco retaliated...oh, I get it now, you get to employ the first dirty play AND pick the retribution...my bad, missed that one in the honor code...sorry gents, that ain't how it works...so you had the sense as this one ended that Coco might be in for it in the finale...his first at bat in that one, to no one's surprise, Coco got hit by James Shields...in the thigh, to their credit, but still, that's a bunch of garbage...they obviously felt that Coco had started something with his slide, basically not admitting that they started the whole thing even though their manager SAID IT WAS A DIRTY PLAY...f-ing Rays, stop trying to make it, you suck! Have you ever had winning season? Please, we know you're trying to get legit but trying to win arguments you've already lost is IDIOTIC...do it by winning games and championships...the Marlins have 2 WS already...it's possible...rightly feeling wronged, Coco charged the mound and dodged an ABSOLUTE HAY MAKER from Shields...he's be in a coma if that had landed, but hey, he's speedy, right? Coco got in a light right before the Rays gang-tackled him and showed just what kind of punks they are...from the dugout, Johnny Gomes, who outweighs Coco by 60 pounds, got there after Coco was being held down and tried to unload on him...Carl Crawford tried to throw some sneaky blows, and even Iwamura looked like he was pulling hair or something (aren't the Japanese supposed to be polite?)...the Sox looked mostly like peacemakers, pulling people off of the pile, and while Casey and Lester were suspended I still don't know what they did...anyway, the Sox got the best revenge, winning this one easily with Manny hitting another bomb, 502 and number 13 on the season...drove in 5 and basically told the Rays to shove it...he also was apparently jacked up from the fight because he and Youk got into it in the dugout...I was ok with this since you know it's probably no big deal and it proves that Manny cares...about anything...or something...see, I told you...and to finish this series off with a quick flash forward, today (actual today, 6/13) Pap said this is to be continued with the Rays...so...stay tuned!
Most importantly the Sox were building some mo and sitting in 1st place...love it...just in time to welcome back the Mariners and Os for 6 games on a 7-day homestand...
Since you're getting tired now, we'll summarize the two series quickly in random semi-haiku format:
Seattle:
Game 1 bad. Colon rocked, Sox can't hit King Felix...8-0 final
Game 2 good. Wake shuts them down, Manny and JD dingers...11-3 W
Game 3 awesome. Masterson masters Ms in Fenway, JD both RBIs (1 HR)...2-1 final
Love to see Manny staying hot and JD continuing his 2008 even-year play...why the hell can't he do this in odd years? What's the phobia name for odd-year phobia? He has it...whatever it is...
Baltimore:
Game 1 YUCK! Manny and JD en fuego...Oki rocked and Hansen pitched...Sox fall 10-6
Game 2 Sweet. Bartolo strong again. Tek and Lowell clutch! Sox win 6-3
Game 3 BAM! Lowell GS aftr Manny IBB. Lester looks awesome! 9-2 final...
Manny and Youk seem to be ok too, as Manny was waiting for Youk after his HR in game 3 with a playful welcome...Drew hit another too...those two guys each have 10 on the season already...they keep this up and we'll get through this stretch without Papi...how did I forget to mention that!!! Papi went down and landed on the DL...shouldn't be out too long and we've played well enough in the meantime, so I forgot to include it in one of the super mini recaps...ugh...we get Dice back soon and this team is starting to play more consistent ball...looks like we have something in Colon and Masterson and you know what they say, you can't have too much starting pitching!
Time for more interleague play and hopefully the Sox continue their NL dominance while Tamps and NY struggle...hahahahaha...ok, the AL should romp again, which is great for the league comparisons but doesn't do too much for us in the standings...first up a homecoming for Youk and Casey in Cincy...a bad team overall and let's hope they play like it...
Sorry to play crazy catch up...should be back in the swing for a while...more specialized blogs and better game watching/recaps in the near future...
GO SAWX!!! And a special...GO CELTS!!!
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