The Axeman Cometh
Red Sox pitching coach Bob McClure was fired yesterday. Randy Niemann will replace McClure for the rest of the season, but it is unlikely that members of the coaching staff feel comfortable in their positions. This ouster could be a harbinger of the housecleaning to come.
The timing of the dismissal seemed somewhat appropriate with Josh Beckett losing four of his last six outings, the other two being an injury-shortened showing on July 31 and the other an eight-run drubbing on August 8 that wasn’t a loss thanks to Will Middlebrooks tying the game with a three-run homer.
But in this game Beckett wasn’t spectacularly awful, it’s just that Boston’s offense was woeful against Hiroki Kuroda and Rafael Soriano. They managed a mere five hits against the duo and did not work a single walk. Adrian Gonzalez lofted a solo shot into the right field stands in the seventh, but he was outshone by Ichiro Suzuki’s pair of circuit clouts.
I commiserated with some Red Sox fans in Fire Brand of the American League’s live chat Sunday. Misery loves company.
| Game 122: August 19, 2012 | ||
| Boston Red Sox 59-63 |
1 | L: Josh Beckett (5-11) |
| HR: Adrian Gonzalez (15) | ||
 New York Yankees72-49 |
4 | W: Hiroki Kuroda (12-8) S: Rafael Soriano (31) |
| 2B: Derek Jeter – 2 (26), Curtis Granderson (14) HR: Ichiro Suzuki – 2 (7) | ||
