What is there to say about last night's game?

It sucked.

Beckett sucked.

The hitting sucked.

The defense sucked.

It was a masterpiece of suck.

Really, when Dustin Moseley can shut down the line up, what does that tell you?

A win today would be nice... but seriously, does even the most optimistic Red Sox fan think this team is making the playoffs?

I say try to get to 90 wins and tell Pedroia to get healthy for Spring Training.

How deflated am I?
The Red Sox are playing in 2 minutes and I may not even watch.

(OK, maybe an inning or two.)

Don't be surprised if Halladay winds up winning the Cy Young

I've been flip flopping left and right on the NL Cy Young award ever since it became clear in April that there were going to be a LOT of contenders.

For most of the year it looked like Ubaldo Jimenez's to lose.

Then Josh Johnson looked like the front runner and more recently I've been leaning towards Adam Wainwright.

But when the dust settles, and if the Phillies continue their huge comeback, it could very well be Roy Halladays. And yesterday's performance convinces me he might be the guy.

"BUT WAIT!" Say all the stats people. "He let up 5 runs today! He didn't have his best stuff yesterday! Yesterday was a subpar performance!"

Yes, I know that... and he still pitched well enough to win, take pressure off of the bullpen and keep the Phillies winning ways alive, taking the series from the Mets.

While a lot of stats people think baseball is played in a vacuum and things like "run support" and "winning the game" are irrelevant, I think it shows something from your ace when they don't have their best stuff and can hold on to win anyway.

I know that makes me irrelevant, but I have a feeling the team was grateful and the bullpen was happy.

Yeah, his run total was high, but he gave them 7 innings, struck out 10 and walked 1. (Isn't strike outs to walks a coveted stat?)

His WHIP is 4th in the NL.

For those who value wins (remember, the point of the game?) he has the third highest total behind Jimenez and Wainwright.

For those who like strikeouts, he has the most in the NL.

Nobody has pitched more innings in all of baseball (he should pass 200 innings before Labor Day.)

Nobody has completed more games or thrown more shutouts in all of baseball.

And oh yeah... since they hit rock bottom and were on the verge of being a .500 team in late July... he's gone 4-0, averaging more than 7 2/3 a start and a 2.03 ERA (and that includes the 5 runs today). He's also striking out better than 1 an inning. And he's winning games the Phillies NEED as they will probably make up a 7 game deficit and in all likely hood he'll be the ace of the Division Champion.

Not that those sort of things matter any more.

I can't help but feel partially responsible for the brawl tonight

I thought it was fun that Brandon Phillips wants to get the Cardinals' goat.

Why not put a little electricity into a potential rivalry. I mean have the Cardinals and Reds, two of the oldest franchises in baseball, EVER been considered rivals?

Why not start now?

What I DIDN'T expect is to see an all out brawl in the first inning.

But I guess that's what a rivalry is like. It's bad blood. It's "I want to beat you because I don't like you."

I tell you something I found very interesting... not that Brandon Phillips got under the Cardinals skin or that LaRussa and Dusty Baker were at each other (there is no love lost between them.)

It was Scott Rolen going after Chris Carpenter.

Carpenter said something to Dusty that got an f--- you from Baker.

And then Rolen, who earlier was trying to be a peacemaker, went right after his former teammate and fellow 2006 World Series winner.

So Rolen, the former Cardinal and current Red, is smack dab in the middle of this rivalry. And to quote Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi... There is no conflict!

They play tomorrow, 9:30 AM Pacific time, and three more times in September.

This could be good folks.

Winning is all they can do

What a strange season this has been... and I am still not sure if the Red Sox are in contention or not.

But they are winning... and the Yankees are losing... and Lowell is hitting... and Papelbon is closing...

I'm not drinking the Kool Aid with this team yet but I also can't completely write them off.

They are 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and 6 games in the loss column behind the Yankees. It still seems like a lot. But they keep winning.

And Pedroia might be coming off the DL...

Strange year. Let's update the tally.

And it turns out I have miscalculated... I made the correction today.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 39

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)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)
July 23 - 2-1 win at Seattle. (Bill Hall's barely fair homer gives the Sox the win on Beckett's return.)

July 26 - 6-3 win in Anaheim. (Papi homers twice and Buccholz and Papelbon each wiggle out of jams to get the win.)
July 27 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (Jed Lowrie's 2 run 7th inning double gives the Sox the lead and makes a winner out of John Lackey. )

July 28 - 7-3 win in Anaheim. (Youk ties the game in the 7th with a homer and Scutaro wins it with an 8th inning grand slam to sweep the Angels.)
July 31 - 5-4 win against Detrout. (Big Papi hits a 3 run walk off double to crush the Tigers in the 9th.)
August 1 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Sox blow a 3 run 9th inning lead but the Tigers throw away a 9th inning sacrifice bunt to give the Sox the win.

August 3 - 3-1 win against Cleveland. (Lowell homers on his first pitch back and plays sparkling defense to preserve the win.)

August 6 - 6-3 win in Yankee Stadium. (Cervelli drops an easy pop up, setting up the winning rally for the Sox.)
August 9 - 2-1 win in Yankees Stadium. (Marcus Thames' bid for a game tying homer hits the top of the wall as Lester, Bard and Papelbon hold on for the win.)

August 10 - 7-5 win in Toronto. (The Sox blow a late lead but Mike Lowell puts them on top for good with an 8th inning homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 32

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.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.) July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)
July 24 - 5-1 loss in Seattle. (Lester's perfect game is foiled and the Red Sox bats die.)
July 25 - 4-2 loss in Seattle. (Okajima misplays a sacrifice bunt and the Mariners rally in the 8th to win.)
July 30 - 6-5 loss to Detroit. (Papi's grand slam makes it a 1 run game in the 9th but Cameron strikes out looking with the winning runs on base.)
August 2 - 6-5 loss to Cleveland. (Beltre drives in 5 runs by himself but the Red Sox leave the tying run on base with Big Papi on deck.)

It's actually +7!!!!

They have a week more games that they won by the skin of their teeth than they have blown.

That's odd, isn't it?

Buchholz gets the ball for tomorrow. Just keep winning. Only good things can come if they win.

GOOD FOR BRANDON PHILLIPS!

Seriously... there can sometimes be too much gentile friendliness among baseball players these days.

Look, I understand that most of the ballplayers are friends now and you aren't going to get any true bad blood between the teams. We hear how rivalries are media creations and teams don't really care who they beat.

Yeah, as if Aaron Boone's homer would have meant the same to the players if it beat the A's... or the 2004 ALCS comeback would have been as sweet for the Red Sox if it were against the Twins.

Well Cincinnati is in its first REAL pennant race in over a decade. (Sorry, I am not counting the end of the 2006 season when the Reds almost backed into the playoffs because the Cardinals imploded down the stretch... even though the Cardinals went on to win the whole shebang.)

Cincinnati fans are coming back. There is reason to be excited again.
And the Reds and Cardinals are starting a TRULY meaningful series. I'm not talking about the "Can the Sox struggle back into the race" series they had with the Yankees.

I'm talking a "Two teams tied in the loss column for first place in mid August playing each other" series.

Now the midwest is supposed to be above anger, hatred and meanness (or so I have read) but Brandon Phillips is having none of it.

He threw a Molotov Cocktail in the direction of St. Louis. According to Rob Neyer (and why would he lie to me?) Brandon not so diplomatically declared “I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals.”

I love the caveat that he needs to compare his hatred of the Cardinals with the relatively low hatred of the Cubs. As if we ALL knew how much he hates the Cubs and we'd think "Holy Cats! He hates them more than the CUBS! Thems is fighting words!"

How much of this was show? How much of this was playing for the fans?
Who knows and who cares?

Baseball needs to let loose every once in a while. There needs to be a few Kevin Millars and David Wells and Brandon Phillips out there willing to pop off and be fun.

It's fun, remember?

Now Millar and Wells also both came up big in games that led to a World Series title.

If Phillips comes up small down the stretch, he'll be all talk.

But hey, at least it is fun to see this energy out of Cincy.

Keep talking, Brandon. Tell us what you REALLY think.

Tough Red Sox question

Who would you rather see at bat in a big spot at this point?

Catcher Kevin Cash?
Or Elmo creator Kevin Clash?

Don't answer right away... it's a tougher question than you would think.

(Maybe I'd rather have Elmo up there.)

Even with the rout, I'm not buying the Red Sox yet

I love a nice blowout. A game where the Sox can pitch well, hit well and pad their stats. It is good for morale and good for me when I am raising my kids to not be staring at a computer screen to see how the Sox did.

A 10-1 final is nice. 8 innings, no earned runs for Buchholz is great. 2 homers for Hall is fantastic.

But forgive me if I am not on the "Sox are back in it" bandwagon.

If the Rangers didn't choke against the Yankees tonight, I'd be listening.
But the Sox are still 4 games out in the loss column behind the Rays... and Tampa just has so much talent that making up the 4 games might be a chore.

If the Sox get to within 2... I'll get excited.
Instead I am happy that they are winning and are on pace to win about 93 games.

But my guard is up.

Sweep tomorrow and take care of business.