I thought Mo looked pretty nasty last night personally. Not that I mind but what the hell were Papelbon/Varitek thinking throwing ARod an 0-2 fastball out over the plate? If they would have stayed in or went up in the zone I think ARod would have K’d, so I think we can thank the Red Sox for that one!

Don, think about what you just said: he STRUCK THEM OUT. Who cares what the gun said? Would you rather he gave up a hit on a 94 mph pitch?

Manny doesn’t have good numbers against Mo, but he has hit him in recent years. And Lowell was on fire. He struck both of them out swinging. That’s GOOD news, not bad.

For what it’s worth, the ESPN gun was 2 to 3 miles an hour off what the Fenway gun was all night.

Most of the night ESPN had Beckett clocked at 91, which is too slow. They had Bruney only throwing 90, which is also too slow. Papelbon was 90-93, which, again, is off.

Gun are useless because they’re inaccurate. Results matter.

The ESPN gun had Mariano striking out Manny on an 89 MPH pitch, then Lowell on a 90 MPH pitch. There is concern, or should be.

That’s the thing that is so frustrating about this 12 1/2-game lead. When I look at these two teams, I see equals. I just don’t think the Sox are that much better, if at all. They do have the better setup man/closer duo right now, but everything else is fairly balanced in my mind (with their edge being in the starting pitching department).

It’s about time we got to Papelbon. We had that one game against him in the Boston Massacre, but this was even sweeter. And I’m glad it was A-Rod — just because of the crap he had to take over this three-game series from their drunken, belligerent fans.

I have to admit that when Cano got stranded on third I thought that would come back to haunt us.

But it didn’t. And Mo — though that Ortiz shot was clossssse — had a good ninth.

s it just me or is anyone else not THAT impressed with the Red Sox pitching?
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I was in the beginning of the season. Okajima seemed unhittable. But a few games ago, he allowed a LOT of men on base an inning he pitched, and it told me that he was probably just one of those “you haven’t seen me before therefore you can’t hit my pitches” guys. He still impresses me though. Cano’s RBI triple was awesome, but the fact that Okajima kept Cano at 3rd and didn’t allow any of the next 3 batters to do anything IS pretty good.

Their starting pitchers are also getting less impressive. They’re not bad, but not as dominating as they once were, earlier this season.

So to answer your question–no, it’s not just you.

And what’s with Papelbon looking like he’s gonna blow kisses every time he pitches?

The Ozzie-Bobby VZ connection is the first thing that I thought of too…

The WS would make the trade because both players need a change of scenery. Plus Abreu and Guillen are countrymen, and Ozzie likes Bobby a great deal. It could work out nicely for both clubs. The WS also like the idea that they would control Abreu’s future for the next year at about $16mil. Dye will be a free agent and command more. Makes some sense to me for both sides.

Carla – I really don’t know why the WS would make that trade, I just came across that and thought it would be great for the Yankees because they are too left-handed and having another right handed bat is something they seriously need. I think the WS might be too right-handed so it might work for both teams.

I’m always optimistic, but is it just me or is anyone else not THAT impressed with the Red Sox pitching?

Why would the White Sox make that trade? I’m not being argumentative; I’m genuinely asking. There’s got to be a high-minor league pitcher in there too, right?

As for last night’s game – it was a pleasure to watch. Melky and Abreu making awesome plays in the field, A-Rod’s bomb off the great Papelbon, the team not giving up and climbing back even though they blew two leads, Mariano nailing down a save (we haven’t gotten to see enough of that this year). Great stuff.

I agree, Steve, a gain of a game a week is a tall order. But even if they only gain a game every other week, then a sweep of that next series puts them within striking distance. I don’t know; I’m usually almost as pessimistic (of course I mean realistic) as you are, but a win like last night’s just sparks a glimmer of hope. That’s what baseball is all about.

This would be so great: (From Rotoworld)
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox and Yankees have discussed a trade that would swap Jermaine Dye for Bobby Abreu.
The newspaper quotes “one White Sox source close to the situation” as saying that the deal “has started to take on some life.” ”You’re paid to work for a team for whatever period of time, give 100 percent to that club, and if you get dealt away, give 100 percent to the next club,” Dye said.