Beaneater

Great minds.

Eh, it happens. A few seasons ago the Blue Jays were unbeatable for about a third of the season and respectable people were starting to wonder if they weren't maybe for real. Then they remembered, "Oh, right, we're the Blue Jays." Yes, the O's will finish last, handily.

The moral of this story is that in general the Rays' starter had better pitch a complete game or something close to it, or we will relentlessly abuse the bullpen. EDIT: And the best part is that their bullpen is already depleted after these two games, so we'll get a chance to see even more really bad relievers in the late innings tomorrow and the next day.

Enquiring minds really do want to know. And the pitcher's a righty, too. I mean, Darnell is, um, not that good against RHP as I recall.

We had two relievers in this game mowing people down, but there seems to be some sort of psychosis among MLB managers driving them to tinker with something that is working. As soon as we get a lead, let's remove the pitcher who is doing well and put someone else in. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong (which I may well be) but it often seems like pitchers either have it or they don't. Sure, sometimes you get a really good pitcher gutting his way through a day when he didn't have his good stuff. But Padilla and Morales clearly both had it today. Padilla is stretched out for starting and Morales had thrown... well, I guess 29 pitches probably was enough, given the conventional wisdom on relief outings. Frustrating.

I always liked Brian Daubach for some reason. I don't know if he technically meets the requirements, but he was never more than a role player on the team. I was always happy to see him get the chance to play. Speaking of back-up first basemen, I must also mention Dave McCarty, another guy I always liked to see in the games. And like Nick Green, he could pitch a little, too. I just looked him up on Wikipedia. Did you know he was the 3rd overall draft pick in 1991? Whoah! EDIT: Oops. I must have been thinking exclusively of Daubach's second stint with the team. From 1999-2002 he played a lot and he OPSed .922 in 1999 so I think he's disqualified. Still like the guy, though. Mea culpa.

How long have you been a fan? As far back as I can remember -- say 1980. How did you become a Red Sox fan? My family moved to Maine when I was three months old. No further explanation needed, probably. Who is your favorite current Red Sox player? I love Pedroia, but I have to admit that I would loathe him if he played for NYY. I mean, more than the usual amount of loathing for a NYY. After that, probably Tacoby Bellsbury. Who is your favorite all-time Red Sox player? (see avatar) Who is your least favorite Red Sox player ever? Interesting question. I see that there is much disdain for Julio Lugo, but really I just feel sad when I think of Lugo in Boston, not angry. I think it has to be Clemens. What state/country do you live in (to see how spread out the fan base is here)? Benin, West Africa (though I am writing from the neighboring country of Togo right now.) What is your favorite memory being a Red Sox fan? Standing up and just screaming wordlessly at the TV screen when Papi fisted one into CF to win ALCS Game 5 in 2004. For some reason, I remember that much more clearly than the HR the previous day. When was the first time you ever went to Fenway Park? I've never been. Oh, the shame. I've hinted broadly to my wife that a Beaneater-to-Fenway all-expenses-paid trip would be a satisfactory 40th birthday present in a few years. We'll see what she thinks of that. Who is your least favorite Yankee player of all-time? Mr. Centaur himself, A-Rod. Any other comments that you would like to add? I've converted Mrs. Beaneater pretty thoroughly, though she's not as gung-ho as me. 6-year-old Beaneater Jr. already knows that he is a Red Sox fan. 4-year-old Lil' Beaneater is confused and sometimes says that he likes the Yankees, but a few more years of electroshock therapy and solitary confinement should cure him of that.

So instead of Dice-K throwing 91-92 mph and missing his target by 9 inches, he's going to be throwing 93-94 mph and missing his target by 16 inches? Awesome!

I've seen them most recently in Detroit, which was a surprisingly nice experience considering that the city in general is a festering hole. As a bonus, I got to see Timmay and Timlin shut the Tigers the heck out (OK, so it wasn't that recently). I've seen more games in Arlington than anywhere else; that's also a really nice park.

Did our guys sign some sort of pact to swing at every first pitch?

Absolutely. What would have been the problem with letting Aceves keep going? Plus, I'm sure that the "one inning and gone" approach can't be good for the pitchers' arms (says the guy who knows absolutely nothing about it). I mean, sure, if a reliever goes in and has a good inning, maybe he only throws 10-15 pitches. But there's all the getting loose and warming up. Do that night after night after night and it can't be a good thing. Maybe it'd be better to have 2, maybe 3 guys in the pen who know that on any given night, the innings left after the SP leaves are theirs. And that they'll get a couple of days off if they warm up and pitch 2-3 innings. Aaaaaand we lose. Drat.

Ugh. Past 2 a.m. here so I need to hit the hay. It was fun finally being in a game thread again. Hope I have good news waiting for me in the morning. 'Night, all.

I like this Perez guy. He should pitch more often.

Pedey you magnificent bastard.

Ellsbury for the cycle. Just needs to rattle one into the triangle next time up.

You know, if you take away the five batters that scored, Wake actually pitched a pretty good game.

Morrow is toast. Crawdad just got a hit off him.

Timmay stringing the zeroes together, baby!

Oy. What happened to Lowrie?

No. Can't get the ingredients here. Plus the temperature is all wrong for brewing (unless I want to make saison, which is not a bad idea...). My dad has my equipment and has bought the ingredients to make a porter, but I haven't quite cajoled him into actually doing it.

Settin' them up for the old around the horn triple play. He's got them right where he wants them.

Edit away. You get full credit in my book for even remembering the name of my not-so-significant country. Spelling it correctly would have been an extra gold star.

OMG. Wake in line for win (assuming he survives the 5th). Maybe we could pay the Jays to throw the rest of the game and finally be done with the whole 200 wins shenanigans.