Mayoral
| Game 80: July 4, 2009 | |||
 Mariners | 3 | W: Roy Corcoran (2-0) S: David Aardsma (17) | 42-38, 3 game winning streak |
| Red Sox | 2 | L: Takashi Saito (2-2) | 48-32, 2 game losing streak |
| Highlights: Jason Varitek hit a right-handed homer in the second inning with Rocco Baldelli on base. It was the only bright spot for Boston’s offense yesterday afternoon; the Red Sox batters were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and as a team left seven men stranded. | |||
Boston’s woeful production could be attributed to lineup tinkering by Terry Francona. Julio Lugo, Rocco Baldelli, and Jeff Bailey got the nod because southpaw Garrett Olson was on the hump. They combined to go 0-6 with two walks.
Credit should go to Mariners starter Olson, who pitched 6⅓ innings with 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The relief tandem of Roy Corcoran and David Aardsma shut down the local nine for the rest of the game. So this is what it feels like to face a shutdown bullpen. I prefer it when we do this to other teams.
As he does on holidays, Jason Varitek was sheathed in catcher’s gear that represented the occasion. Sean Casey, who was in the booth covering for Dennis Eckersley, said he looked like Captain America, naturally.
Casey was a natural in the booth. He talked about the 1999 All-Star Game. Ten years have passed, making Casey’s recollections sound like an ancient Greek returned to life to speak of his stories. The entire team gravitated to Ted Williams as if he were Homer, the venerable teller of their shared epic. Zeus had nothing on Pedro Martinez, who may as well have been hurling lightning as he struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire.
In 2004 Casey also made attended the Midsummer Classic and was visited by another old sports god: Muhammad Ali visited the clubhouses and threw out the first pitch. I only wish Don Orsillo had asked Casey if Mike Piazza tipped off AL batters to Roger Clemens’s pitches.
Orsillo did ask about Casey’ role in last year’s donnybrook between the Red Sox and the Rays on June 5. I can only paraphrase the loquacious former first baseman: “I went flying out there like Braveheart. I went flying out there at Shields. I dropped a macho man elbow off the top rope, an Atomic Elbow onto the mound. That was an expensive elbow.”
“You don’t have to tell me about brawls, Big Dog,” echoed Orsillo knowingly.
Casey jested, “I do see you getting suspended, especially if it’s about burgers.”
The Mayor should write a memoir about his baseball career sooner than later. The food-related anecdotes alone would take up half the chapters. The Red Sox players’ trip to Japan must be chronicled and would include a detailed account of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s friend’s restaurant where the team dined on beef tongue.
The holiday reminded Casey that just a year ago Coco Crisp tried his mouth at competitive hot dog eating. Crisp fell a little short of the likes of Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi: he managed two.
