Stupidity Strikes Again

Grady Little, thy name is Tito. Buchholz was showing signs of losing concentration in the 7th (witness all those pointless pickoff attempts at first with the not-so-fleet-of-foot Pena, one of which went wild and put Pena at third. A sac fly (foul ball which should not have been caught) scored him. Does Grady Francona put Bard like he should have, or even Doubront? NO, he stays with Clay, who, on his 110th pitch, promptly serves up a gopher ball to Upton.

Games like tonight are why the Sox are an extreme longshot to make the playoffs and currently sit in third place. All that they gained last night has been erased tonight with both the Yankees and Rays winning. It's been like that for most of the second half for the Sox--they are quick to give back any ground they make. To be completely honest, even if by some miracle the Sox make the playoffs, they don't have the horses to make it past the division series. The outfield is full of lightweight bats and the bullpen is a horror show after Bard, Pap, and Doubront. The defense too often lapses into Keystone Kops mode and almost half of the original starters (Cameron, Ellsbury, Youk, and Pedey) are done for the season. As admirable as the efforts of guys like Nava, Kalish, Lowrie, Hall, and McDonald have been, having four key players injured is a devastating blow. Those four players are starters for a reason and their level of production cannot be replaced no matter how hard their substitutes try.

Although Buchholz did not pitch badly by any stretch of the imagination, it was disheartening to see him revert to his nervous tic of constantly throwing over to first base, regardless of who stands there and how far they actually are from the bag. That tic cost him and the team dearly in the 7th when Pena was practically on the bag and in the way of Lowell catching the throw. The ball went rather far into foul territory and the slow-footed Lowell had to chase it down, allowing Pena to reach third. Pena scored on a sac fly that didn't have to be caught, since it would have landed foul. Some say you have to get the out there, but giving up a run proved costly because it gave the Rays life late in the game. Even after V-Mart homered in the top of the 8th to put the Sox back in the lead, the Upton dinger tied it again and the Sox could not recover. Atchison played the role of Wake this time and gave up the game-winner to familiar Sox foe Dan Johnson.

Now, tomorrow night's game is an ABSOLUTE must win if they want any hope of staying in this thing. Then again, even if they do win tomorrow, they have to face the O's next. The O's have given them fits all season, even when they were playing abysmally against everyone else. Now that Showalter's got them playing halfway decent ball, they'll likely be that much harder for the depleted, one step forward, two steps back Sox to handle.