Fishing For a Series Win

Sox: 8 Fish: 2
Sox: 6: Fish 1
Sox 1 Fish: 2 (in 5 innings due to rain)

Had a busy weekend, so, sorry for no blog on the Phils series. As for the home series against those Florida Marlins, Mother Nature pulled a fast one on the Red Sox tonight, with the help of Ricky Nolasco (he of the 7.62 ERA coming into this start), and a Lester who wasn't at his bester. On paper, this game looked like a nice and easy way to pick up a sweep. Lester had been mowing them down his past three starts and K-ing up a storm. Nolasco had an ERA worse than Dice-K's. What happened in the five innings the teams got in before the sky fell out goes to show that baseball is not played on paper. While Lester labored through the first four of his innings as the Marlins proved more patient than usual, Nolasco ate the Sox for dinner. The only hit he allowed was a solo dinger by Youk in the first inning. Lester got taken yard twice in the second, once by Dan Uggla and once by Ronny Paulino. During his dominant trilogy of starts, he didn't allow any long balls. As far as runs allowed, he didn't do too badly at all tonight. Having no offensive support by his teammates is really what did him in. That and the rain delay that went on for over two hours before the game was called. Had the game continued, who knows what might have happened? The Sox could have come alive against the Florida pen or they might have kept on playing dead. We can't complain too much, because, after all, the Sox did, you know, win the series, and THE YANKEES LOST A SERIES AGAINST THE NATS!!!!! Let me repeat for the sake of Schadenfreude: THE YANKEES LOST A SERIES AGAINST THE NATS, A.K.A. THE. WORST. TEAM. IN. THE. MAJORS!!!!

One thing the Red Sox will never have to fish for is fans to fill the seats at Fenway. Yesterday marked the 500th consecutive sellout at the ol' ballpark. It was also the game in which Jacoby Ellsbury made his first major league error, that led to the only run the Fish scored. The Jakester gave that run back later in the game, however, when he knocked his third dinger of the season. Papi hit his fifth long ball of the season on Tuesday night and Wake got his team-leading 9th win.

The Atlanta Braves, who, many moons ago, were Boston's National League team, come to town for the weekend. Tomorrow night, Dice-K tries once again to salvage his season. If he does well, then it's a step in the right direction for him and the team. If he's ineffective again, Smoltzy does need a spot in the rotation. The WBC may not have affected him as much in '06 when he was still pitching in Japan, but it sure is doing a number on him this year.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! 3-GAME LEAD IN THE A.L. EAST!!!!