Alright, I am going to try something a little different as I explain what happened to the Sox on Tuesday night. In honor of the new look for our MC Jarren “Eminem” Duran, we will theme this game out.
There’s Vomit on His Sweater Already
Not that we should have expected anything different from our fifth starter, who entered the game with an ERA well over 4 and a WHIP of 1.75, but Patrick Sandoval went right back to his high-wire act again, and as it seems to always happen, he fell off.
Sandoval did complete six innings, which in and of itself is a benefit to the bullpen and the new philosophy, but it was the ten hits and two walks that he allowed in those six innings that were so frustrating. The Angels had men on base in every inning, and it was only because the Angels are really just that bad that they didn’t score more than four runs against him.
In the second, he gave up a leadoff double to Vaughn Grissom. Yep, the same guy who wasn’t good enough to even make this version of the Red Sox. A bunt single put men on the corners, and only a double play on a fastball right down the middle kept the inning from going way out of control, yet still gave LA a 1-0 lead.
In the third, the “Daring Wallenda” wasn’t able to catch himself and fell from the wire. Another leadoff hit started the inning, but it looked like maybe he would be able to complete the difficult traverse when he got the next two hitters out.
But just when he was about to complete his final trick and step safely onto the platform, he stubbed his toe and teetered on the edge.
A two-out walk to Trout started his plummet. A single by Jose Siri, he of the .219 average, drove in the Angels’ second run. Another single by Vaughn Grissom drove in Trout, and the Sox were suddenly down 3-0.
In the fifth, after climbing his way back out of the netting and up to the wire, Sandoval faltered one last time. A leadoff double and then a single, put men on the corners with no outs. But yet another double play, this time off the bat of Trout, saved Sandoval from a catastrophic collapse that would have left the entire ballpark horrified. Well most of the people at least.
Instead, he simply lay in the safety net, embarrassed by yet another lackluster performance.
Ope, There Goes Rabbit, He Choked
Sure, his name is Raymond Burgos and not Rabbit, but you get the idea.
With the score 4-1 at the time and the offense potentially on the come, Burgos got the first two outs of the ninth without much issue, then allowed a double to Travis d’Arnaud and a two-run bomb to Neto, thus ending the rap battle officially with LA up 6-1.
Snap Back to Reality
4-for-31 with one run scored, three singles, one double, three walks, and 13 strikeouts.
That was the offensive line against a decent major league starter in Reid Detmers, but also a tragically flawed bullpen that included former Red Sox washout Ryan Watson.
Detmers did most of the work, going six innings and striking out nine of the thirteen Boston batters Boston who K’d on the night, while allowing only one hit in those six innings. The Red Sox managed to put men on base in only three of those six innings, and none of those runners even got to second base.
Detmers is a good pitcher, but not so good that anyone was willing to offer the Angels anything of substance when he was placed on the trade block at the deadline. Yet, the Red Sox were not even offensive enough to hurt his feelings on Tuesday.
This performance did nothing but give the haters who think this team will never hit quality playoff pitching more ammunition for their verbal barrage.
You Only Get One Shot, Don’t Miss Your Chance to Blow
The one run that Boston did score came courtesy of a gift leadoff double by Trevor Story in the seventh inning. When I say gift, I can honestly say that I have not seen a route taken by an outfielder this bad since T-ball, when my friend Craig used to routinely run into other players in the outfield while going after fly balls.
Jose Siri went into a slide to try to catch the sinking line drive at least five feet from where the ball landed.
I don’t know how a Major League outfielder can look so incredibly lost!
Nick Sogard then drove Story home with a single to left-center, and after Durbin walked to put men on first and second while only trailing 4-1, it looked like maybe the resilient Sox were back at it.
Nope!
Monasterio struck out, swinging at pitches so far outside that one could question whether he remembered to put his contact lenses in, since he wasn’t wearing his glasses to hit anymore. Eli White flew out, and then Connor Wong popped up to end the inning and their chance.
Better Go Capture This Moment and Hope It Don’t Pass
Three games behind the Yankees, but really four because of the tiebreaker. Seven games up on Toronto, the first team out of the Wild Card. There are 146 strenuous games in the bank with 16 more to go. The magic number to clinch a Wild Card spot is 10.
For Craig Breslow, Chad Tracy, and the Red Sox, this season has been one of tumultuous twists and turns. Breslow and the team started out in dire straits, in danger of becoming irrelevant and, in Breslow’s case, possibly unemployed. For Chad Tracy, he started the year in Worcester dealing with the paltry routine of minor league baseball.
Then something happened for all three entities that was unforeseen and, frankly, unbelievable.
Together, they all rose from the valleys they were surrounded by to begin scaling a mountain that, even as they were gaining traction and success, no one believed they would successfully conquer. Yet, here they all are, on the precipice of one of the greatest turnarounds in Major League Baseball history and a playoff birth.
However, they are doing it all in an environment that has become so accustomed to winning championships that a moral victory of this magnitude could very easily be scoffed at and forgotten if there is not at least a playoff-round victory.
If they don’t all reach out and capture this moment, it is very possible that Breslow and Tracy may not be given the grace for another long period of unsuccessful baseball again.
And as for the team itself, they are not very far removed from fans wearing bags over their heads and chants of “Sell the team!” emanating through the rafters of the glorious old ballpark.
With an NFL season about to kick off in a few hours, followed by a basketball season that is bound to bring the eyes of New England to the television to see just what that management group is doing to another beloved Boston franchise, it is quite possible that the Red Sox might just fade from the consciousness of the region’s fans, especially if the looming work stoppage is as prolonged as everyone believes.
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