Scratched
Game 118: August 15, 2006
Tigers (78-41), 3
Red Sox (68-50), 2
BS: Wilfredo Ledezma (1)
W: Fernando Rodney (6-3)
S: Todd Jones (33)
L: Mike Timlin (5-2)
See Curt and Mike. Curt and Mike are old. See Curt and Mike pitch. See Curt and Mike pitch and pitch and pitch. Mommy said they were cooked, but they looked alive to me.
See Coco. See Coco hit. Coco hit a home run! Yay, Coco!
Listen to the funny men. Mommy, what is Jewish? Who is Mel Gibson? Are we Jewish? Can I be Jewish? Why not? What is rehab?
See Sean. See Sean score more runs. Mommy said she wishes they kept Chris Shelton around, like how Terry did with Kevin last year.
See Placido. See Placido end the inning and hurt himself. See Wily stuck on second base. Poor Placido and Wily!
See Ivan. See Ivan play second base for the first time ever. They used to call him “Pudge,” but Mommy said there’s only one Pudge and he played for the Red Sox. Daddy said it’s funny how “Pudge” ain’t so pudgy any longer and it must be because he’s off the juice.
There’s no such word as “ain’t.” I told Daddy that maybe if he got off the juice he would lose weight, too.
See David. David and Coco are friends. See Coco hit again, and watch David help him score. Score, Coco, score! Daddy said Ortiz was good late, but I thought the early bird catches the worm.
See Wily. See the ball. See Wily drop the ball. Run, Carlos, run.
See the score. See the Red Sox lose.
For me, the Detroit Tigers bring out both child-like wonderment and grownup appreciation. From what I’ve seen, they don’t play like a group of highly-paid stars, and those who are paid the best don’t act it. Half the team makes less than a million dollars, whereas over 20 Red Sox players make seven figures and above. They abide by the decrees of Jim Leyland, a flinty manager that calls his team out publicly and acts as a real manager rather than a babysitter or guidance counselor.
So much of their success is tied into their extraordinary bullpen. Constructing a winning bullpen is like trying to turn lead into gold. I am thoroughly convinced that there is nothing more capricious than the relief pitchers’ performance. If Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez had been able to perform in the AL as they did in the NL, Keith Foulke rebounded, and Mike Timlin not show the effects of age, the baseball world would be lauding Theo Epstein as general manager of the year.
Instead, the Red Sox have shown only a tenuous capacity to compete with the class of the AL and a seeming inability to keep pace down the stretch run.
I do see a future ball club with younger, hungry players combined with consistent but cost-effective veterans leading a campaign into the playoffs. But I wonder if someone like Francona would be the proper manager for such a team.
