Profess
| Game 29: May 7, 2009 | |||
| Indians | 3 | L: Jeremy Sowers (0-1) | 11-18, 1 game losing streak |
 Red Sox | 13 | W: Tim Wakefield (4-1) | 18-11, 1 game winning streak |
| Highlights: This was the last game Dom DiMaggio watched before he passed away. He witnessed the only professional team he played on tie the record for runs scored before recording an out. Rest in peace, Professor. | |||
The Red Sox went into the bottom of the sixth trailing 2-1. They say things can go south very quickly with Tim Wakefield pitching, but last night that truism applied to all of Cleveland’s arms.
Jason Bay knocked in the tying run with a gapper between left and center. Then the freshly activated Rocco Baldelli lined a shot over Luis Valbuena for the go-ahead run plus an insurance run.
After that the Indians hurlers passed out runs like banks gave away subprime mortgages in 2005. Jeremy Sowers pitched to six batters and Masa Kobayashi five; neither of them notched a single out. Matt Herges eventually got his team out of the inning, but not before Bay, with two runners on, smashed his eighth homer of the season.
The oddest hit of the inning was Nick Green’s. He earned his single by outrunning Valbuena to the vacant first base. The shellshocked Kobayashi failed to cover the sack and Ryan Garko was sprawled on the basepath in his attempt to field the ball.
When Baldelli returned to the dish he fouled off a ball into the seats behind the Red Sox on-deck circle. The pursuit of the ball took Victor Martinez near the wall, where he got into it with some fans. He angrily tossed the ball back to Herges with too much force and the ball sailed over the reliever’s head. Already amused and amazed by the dozen runs, the crowd enjoyed a good guffaw at the hapless battery.
I think Ben Francisco’s actions in the seventh inning give a hint about Cleveland as a team. He tried to stretch his single into a double and was thrown out at second. It was a selfish play by a guy trying to improve his slugging percentage or add a run to his statistics. The replay showed that Francisco got his foot to the bag before Dustin Pedroia applied the tag. I agree with Dennis Eckersley when he said, “Well, he should still be out because he was stupid for doing that.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some management changes in Cleveland if the club doesn’t turn it around. I don’t think they have to get into the playoffs, but a team just two seasons removed from winning the division shouldn’t find itself in the cellar. The Diamondbacks have already canned Bob Melvin; Eric Wedge might be joining him in the unemployment line sometime this summer.
