Coup de Grâce
Translated literally, “coup de grâce” means blow of grace or mercy. It refers granting the reprieve of a quick end to suffering of one who is on the verge of death, such as a shot to the head of a prisoner who wasn’t quite finished off by the firing squad. In short, it is the killing stroke, as Kevin Youkilis’s right thumb injury is to Boston’s playoff hopes.
My friend and sports guru asked me, “Guess who texted his teammates and told them he was going to retire?”
My first real guess was Mike Lowell. My second humorous quip was Jacoby Ellsbury, Of course the real answer was Brett Favre, but I feel badly for writing his name. Sports media to Favre is like your brain to “Mambo Number 5.” Once you hear it, it’s impossible to get out of your head.
As entertaining as the thought that the returns of Ellsbury and Mike Lowell might make up for the loss of Youkilis, at some point the beleaguered team and fans have to appeal to the baseball gods as Roberto Duran did to referee Octavio Meyran: “No mas.”
I’m already nostalgic about Adrian Beltre’s inevitable departure. No one else takes out outfielders, swings so viciously as to bring himself to his knee, or attacks teammates who touch his head quite like him. His two homers kept his club’s chances for a victory alive just as his consistent offensive production has sustained the Red Sox’s season.
If only John Lackey signed a contract like Beltre’s. Instead, we have the unspectacular pitcher until 2014. He’ll still be in a Boston uniform when the next Word Cup rolls around.
Cot’s Baseball Contracts doesn’t divulge how long Tim Bogar’s contract with the squad will run, but hopefully the organization has an out clause based on how many outs he gets when he injudiciously sends a runner home. While the third inning hosing of Marco Scutaro could partially be attributed to the shortstop taking a peek behind him, Ryan Kalish’s seventh inning out at home is on Bogar’s wildly waving arm.
Not only were the Red Sox left with a runner at first with two out instead of players at the corners with one out but Indians catcher Carlos Santana was removed from the game on a cart after his collision with Kalish. Knees shouldn’t bend like that, as teams shouldn’t have as many injuries as this. But sometimes they do.
| Game 106: August 2, 2010 | ||
 Indians45-61 | 6 | W: Fausto Carmona (11-8) H: Frank Herrmann (6) S: Chris Perez (13) |
| 2B: Matt LaPorta (12), Jordan Brown (1), Shelley Duncan (6), Trevor Crowe (16) | ||
| Red Sox 60-46 | 5 | L: John Lackey (10-6) |
| 2B: Marco Scutaro (26), Ryan Kalish (1) HR: Adrian Beltre – 2 (19) | ||
