Let Down

Red Sox Nation was expecting a Wakefield-Verlander pitcher's duel Tuesday PM. Verlander was very effective, allowing only two runs, over 7.2 innings. Wakefield, not so much. He allowed five runs over seven innings. The Sox just couldn't seem to get untracked, being held to eight hits. It was kind of a dreary performance for the Sox, but a lot of credit has to go to Verlander for quieting their bats. The Sox have still won 7 of 9, and still have the best record in MLB.

Highlights of last night's game included a Youkilis HR, a strong relief performance (1.1 IP, 1 BB, 3 K) by Kyle Snyder, and an outstanding catch by C Doug Mirabelli. Mirabelli dodged various obstacles, including bats, umpires, and dragons, to make a grab on a foul ball. The ball popped from his glove, but he grabbed it with his right hand. Sweet. But that was about it. I tried to help the Sox' chances by watching on mute (with closed-captioning) for a while, but it didn't help. The Sox trailed by five runs into the 9th, just as they did on Sunday, but there was no miracle this time.

Lowlights included Wakefield's performance, which increased his ERA to 2.41. J. D. Drew almost impaled himself on the short wall in front of the Sox bullpen. If the Sox hadn't begun the practice of retracting the outfield wall spikes when the Sox were in the field, the problem of finding enough AB's for Wily Mo Pena would have been solved. (Drew is day-to-day.) Amalie Benjamin was out of the lineup for Tuesday's game as the band she fronts was opening for Tool at the Tweeter Center. (Reports indicate that one of the show's highlights was when Amalie performed "Schism" with Tool in the encore. But that clip is not available on YouTube yet.) Neil Cafardo and Gordon Edes performed ably in her absence. Hopefully, Amalie and J. D. will return to the lineup soon.