The Giant Awakens...

The slumbering giant has been awakened! Not just the sleepy Red Sox offense, but also that agile outfielder they acquired for that middling guitar player back in the day. (The Day That Will Live In Infamy.) Wily Mo Pena was 2 for 25 (.080 BA) in July before Thursday's action, but raised his July average an astounding .120 with a 4 for 5 performance. Before you say, "Sure, he fattened up his stats against a lefty (Cliff Lee) with an 11.81 post-AS Break ERA, throwing sub-90 MPH fastballs," take a look at the box score. The sprightly Wily Mo did the bulk (all 3 of his XBH) of his damage against relievers with ERAs in the neighborhood of 5.00. Impressive. The Sox need to trade him now- his value will never be higher. Perhaps they can pick up Damaso Marte for him?

Terry Francona is also on the "Trade Pena Now" bandwagon. In the "Roy Rogers' Restaurants Terry's Take with Tina Cervasio", he lauded Pena's ability to hit left-handed pitchers who have minimal baseball ability and a repertoire consisting solely of AA-quality fastballs. (He did not mention that Pena was only in the lineup because J.D. Drew is batting .143 against LHSP's with ERAs under 12.50.) When asked if Wily Mo should be traded while his value was at it's peak, Terry indicated that "no one was untouchable." Pena's skill set is definitely a good fit for the National League. Well, except for that whole fielding thing. But the Pirates can figure that part out. The Buccos wouldn't be where they are today without being masters of innovation.

Wily Mo wasn't the only offensive hero in the Sox' 14-9 win. Manny Ramirez blasted two homers in his 3 for 4 performance. One of his homers carried an estimated 481 feet. That's pretty far. Even LMontro was impressed. And he doesn't impress easily. Cliff Lee was bombed for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and three walks. He survived five batters (and zero outs) in the Sox' five-run 5th inning. He left to a chorus of boos, which he responded to by taking his hat off after he left the mound. Because his head was sweaty after giving up all those runs. No hat-tipping to be seen here. He'll take his 3 yr. $14 million contract down to AAA, as he was optioned down after the game.

As you might be able to tell from the score, the Sox' pitching performance could have been better. After the Sox scored five runs in their 23 minute 5th inning, Not Jason Gabbard took the mound with a 9-1 lead. Considering that Not Jason had only allowed one hit (a solo HR) through the first four innings AND he has magical powers over time and space, it seemed like a good time to zip around in the MLB Extra Innings Zone and see what was going on. After watching the Yankees and Royals for awhile (the quality of the Royals broadcast is equivalent to the quality of their team), I flipped back to watch the Sox score some more runs. Unfortunately, at that point, Not Jason was Bonking Pronk with a pitch, reducing the Sox' lead to 9-5. Gabbard got the hook, one out away for qualifying for a victory, and Batshit Tavarez got the call for his first relief appearance this season. Tavarez got out of the inning without further damage, and picked up his 6th win. Batshit did give up four runs in his 2.1 inning, 39 pitch outing, but they were unearned, thanks to a Julio Lugo error. The Sox pitching was bombed for nine runs, on only six hits and four walks, but it was enough to win on this night.

Boston travels to St. Petersburg to play a three game series against the D-Rays this weekend. In tonight's game, RHP Jason Hammel takes his 5.82 ERA this season (10.50 against Boston in his career) to the mound against Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Wakefield never loses at Tropicana Field (7-0, 2.39 lifetime ERA), and gets a decision every time he starts a game (11-9 in 20 starts this season). Therefore, by the transitive property, the Sox will win.