Now THAT was fun

I knew I was going to write a blog post about this game... but it kept changing.

At first it was a good one about how Lackey stepped up and gave the Sox a great game when they needed it.

But then it turned into a bad post about how do you walk Vlad Guerrero to kickstart a rally? Vlad swings at stuff over his eyes and 4 feet UNDER ground. How can he POSSIBLY walk.

Then it turned into the frustration of a wasted Lackey outing and the fact that Cliff Lee was going to stampede to another Cy Young Award.

Then it turned into the Kevin Youkilis show with a 2 out RBI game tying hit...

Then it turned back into a teeth grinder with Mike Cameron's walk off shot caught. Finally Youk made it all worthwhile.

And time to update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 27

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 26

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)

+1

With all the injuries and blown games and heart break of this season, they have stolen more games than they have blown.

And they are only 4 games out in the loss column for a playoff spot... and are on pace to win 92 games.

And this is a LOST year.

Responding to Adam Felber

I've been good friends with Emmy nominated writer, NPR personality and author Adam Felber for well over a decade now.

We've worked on projects together, done comedy together, our wives have become friends, our kids play together and our siblings are all friends as well.

We get along about as well as any friend I have... with one exception. Our lone true tensions have arisen during Red Sox/Yankees match ups.

As you all know, I am an obnoxious Red Sox fan.
And Adam is a cocky Yankees fan.

While I have preached goodwill between Sox and Yankee fans, I can't claim I've always PRACTICED what I preached.

And when we both lived in New York, no matter how good our will was, it sometimes caused some tension, apologetic e mails after nasty passive aggressive taunts and some moments where we both wished the match up would just be over with.

Adam is a lifelong Yankee fan who went to college in the Boston area... and lived among Red Sox fans and saw us at our worst.

I am a lifelong Red Sox fan who went to college and lived 15 years in Manhattan... and I have always wondered why Yankee fans consider themselves to be classy.

In a recent e mail exchange, Mr. Felber tried to get me fired up about the upcoming clash between the Red Sox and Yankees.

I couldn't take the bait. Earlier in the year, I compared a lifeless Red Sox/Yankees series with Superman IV.

All the players were there, but it just seemed tired.

Well with the decimation of the Red Sox this season, I have a hard time getting pumped for this series. No Youk, No Pedroia, possibly no Lester and nearly a week behind in the standings...

It's worse than Superman IV.

It's like Caddyshack II.

There are too many replacement Red Sox to give me any real hope for making up six games in the loss column.

I wrote to Adam "This Year is Lost for the Sox."

I guess this was NOT what Adam had in mind.


"What are you talking about? With a sweep the Red Sox could be 2.5 games behind the best record in baseball. There are 4 teams in all of baseball with more wins than the Sox right now. And the Yankees have been kind of sucking this week. If the Sox win a couple this weekend, talk sh*t and rub it in! Make me hate Boston fans all over again. What's the matter with you?"

He then tried needling me comparing the Sox with the 1980s era Yankees and talking about how if this were a small market team this close, people would be pumped.

But alas in order for the Sox to really make any headroom, they would have to sweep. And in case you missed it, they couldn't even WIN a series against Seattle nor Cleveland, 2 of the 4 worst teams in the American League.

I'd love to see them back in it and when they slapped around the Angels and the
Tigers I thought "Oooo, maybe they're making a run at it."

However Youk's injury and Lester looking hurt may just be the final white flag.

But hey, the morons who said we Red Sox fans were going to miss "The Curse" are
proven wrong again. If I were still waiting for the Series win, this year would
be agonizing. After seeing them win a few titles, I can be a little less frantic and more practical.

That being said... there is one constant to the world of Red Sox and Yankees... the pleasure felt by seeing our team win can only be rivaled by the sick joy of watching the other team squirm.

That's why Yankee fans were so happy all those years.
That's why we Sox fans were so nuts in 2004.

In 2009, I had to sit through the Lakers and the Yankees each winning a title.
This year I had the gut punch of the Lakers beating the Celtics... I can't deal with a Yankee repeat.

Chances are the Yankees and the Rays are both going to the post season. And one of them will probably have to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in a Best of Five series.

And with the Yankees shaky starting staff, uncertain bullpen and the implosion of Joba Chamberlain, a team like the Rangers could certainly steal a game from the Yankees and throw Cliff Lee at them in games 1 and 5.

And if the Yankees are the Wild Card team, they'd be facing Lee on the road.

And if that is the case, there would be a damn good chance that the Yankees would lose, Derek Jeter would have his 1,000 yard stare and Yankee fans would be sad.

And that's a GOOD thing!

So one way to help set up that match up that would NOT favor the Yankees is to WIN THE SERIES!

That's it!
I got all the motivation I need to get pumped for this series!

Schadenfreude is a powerful muse.

OK, Felber... it is ON!

My Red Sox may not win this year, but I'll be damned if YOU feel any joy this October!

Let's Go Sox!
Suck on it Felber!

(And we should get out families together soon.)

Sully