Don't Laugh at Baseball Players in Ski Masks

 Masked men drove in some big runs last night in frigid Chicago.   Cody Ross and Darnell McDonald proved that you don't necessarily have to look like a baseball player to come up big at the plate.   Donning  black (or was it navy blue, in keeping with the Sox' Friday unis?) ski masks to stay warm, the two corner outfielders looked like they belonged on the slopes rather than in the batter's box, but maybe the extra outerwear kept their bats warm, as Ross drove in the tying run in the 6th and after Shoppach flung his bat into foul territory for the second of 3 times and whiffed with the bases loaded, D-Mac ripped a double to left that brought everybody home.   If that wasn't enough, he knocked his first dinger of the season in the 9th.   Ross also had another RBI, a single in the 7th.  

Not to be ignored with all the thunder from the lumber is the impressive pitching of Daniel Bard.   Bard went 7 innings for the first time this season and allowed only 2 earned runs (3 total).  He struck out 6 and walked only 1.  He now owns the lowest ERA of the 5 starters and is making his case to stick around in the rotation, at least until he reaches his innings limit.  

With Aaron Cook pitching so well in Pawtucket and providing depth the Sox can ill afford to lose with his opt-out date of May 1 (this coming Tuesday), the Sox have an interesting dilemma on their hands.  Let Cook walk and risk losing him to another team (perhaps the Yankees, with Pineda done for the season) or promote him and try to wedge him into the rotation.   With both Buchholz and Lester struggling, the staff could use another quality arm (if, indeed, Cook's stellar results in AAA translate to the big-league level).   It would be just about impossible, barring injury, to demote or DL Lester, but Buchholz is another story.   He's coming off a back injury and he hasn't put up a quality start all season, while Lester pitched well his first two starts.   Monday against the Oakland A's, a team against which he has struggled, he will have to bring his A game, or he may find himself out of the rotation for awhile.