Gone Fishin'

Well, that was much better. A night after Melvin apparently let the boys have it - which surprises me, because Melvin always has such sad eyes, the guy constantly looks like he's just recieved word about someone drowing a sack of kittens - the Dbacks had a sixth inning rally to beat the Marlins.

There have been a lot of 'turning points' so far this year: blowing out Atlanta, the series against the Mets and possibly another one I'm forgetting. I've embraced them all because at the end of the day, this is my team and I want to see them win. I enjoy seeing them win. I'll hold back today though, because it'll take more than a scolding from the manager and one good game to see if maybe something's changed.

Speaking of things that need to change, Melvin, now that you've put your proverbial foot down, would you mind dropping Byrnes from leadoff? Thanks.

I'm not angry, I'm disappointed

How bad are things for the Diamondbacks right now? Let's just say I totally forgot they were playing yesterday and I wasn't even sad when I realized my mistake. Don't get me wrong, I love this team and I'm sad I have to work Fourth of July and must give up a chance for my fourth trip to Chase this season, but the fact of the matter is, the Diamondbacks just aren't very good at the moment.

I don't know what's wrong with the offense, if it's mental or poor coaching or what. But something needs to be done about it. The All-Star break is coming, and let's hope the boys use the time off to get their heads back in this.

Go Dbacks.

Cashing in

So...um...Kevin Cash is a stud who hits bombs. Yeah, you heard that right. Kevin Cash. Hit a homer. Over the Monster. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming.

Yeah, me neither. And that was after he caught a jewel of a game by Wakefield, with only one passed ball - no small feat for a knuckleball catcher. And after drawing the first intentional walk of his career. And after throwing a runner out trying to steal. All of that and I was already thinking that Cash was having himself quite a night, and then he absolutely crushed that 2-2 slider from Juan Cruz and I was done. Give that boy a ticket on the hot tamale train!

Other things I never knew the Sox could do:

1. How about Brandon Moss and those two RBIs, hm? As far as I'm concerned, that makes up for his bobble in game one.

2. Flame-throwing Manny Delcarmen! He's really shown some improvement this year; I don't cringe and pull my ballcap over my eyes whenever he takes the mound anymore. Last night, he hit 99 mph on the radar gun at least once and pitched a perfect 8th inning (I love the 8th inning!), helping preserve the shutout.

3. Tim Wakefield pitching like a rock star. Or, in his case, a country music star. He allowed only two hits over seven innings, gave up no runs, struck out six and walked just one. That's a pretty badass knuckleball.

Also, it's good to know that unlike previously thought, I am not, in fact, Papelbon kryptonite. Don't think I wasn't watching that last out through my fingers, though.

Anyone else think that poor Dougie was sitting alone at home watching the game, stuffing his face with chicken parm and weeping over how much he misses his beloved Timmy? "Who does that Kevin Cash think he is!" he sniffles. "That should have been me going deep, damn it! That should have been me!"

Sorry, Doug. Seems you've been replaced.

Sox fans love the 8th inning

I said the other night that no matter what else happened in this series, I would be glad to have my moment: a victory over the Red Sox.

I lied. I wanted a series win and last night, it looked like we had. Davis had pitched well, hitting his spots with his curve and his blistering 85 mph fastball. I thought he would finally get the win. And then Chad Qualls happened.

If you happened to be on the West coast at about the time Qualls took the mound, the crashing sound you heard was Diamondbacks' fans' hearts plummenting into their stomachs at the same time.

"Oh no," I moaned (if by moaning you mean IMing Trinity). "Not Qualls."

Qualls is a good reliever - as long as nobody's on base. Put him out there with runners in scoring position and he tanks. And tank he did. By the time Melvin yanked him, the Dbacks' 4-1 lead was a 4-5 deficit, one they would never recover with only an inning to work (not the Dbacks could have with extra time; our offense is still iffy, the team failed capitalize on several chances from Masterson and didn't add on any insurance runs).

Bob Melvin, you can add Qualls to the list of things we need to talk about. Right after we finish discussing Byrnes as a leadoff man.

Oh and a fun fact: The Brothers Drew are a combined 0-16. First one to get a hit buys the other a drink.

It's going to be J.D all the way, says Trin (because of course I have to put my two cents in). Surprisingly enough, I don't have a lot to say about last night's game besides GO RED SOX! Mostly because unlike my West Coast counterpart, I was relegated to tracking the game on ESPN's Gamecast, which just isn't the same. Reading about Pee Wee Pedroia belting one over the Monster doesn't even compare to seeing it. I mean, he's five-foot-nothing and weighs two pounds soaking wet, and when the announcers aren't talking about how defensively he's the second coming, they're talking about his short swing and his short stride and you start thinking, "Well damn, how come he's not still hitting off a tee?" And then you see him hit the long ball over that 37-foot wall and you're an instant convert to the Church of Pedroia.

Or maybe that's just me.

But at any rate, I didn't get to see it because ESPN did not get my telepathic request to broadcast the game last night, so I got to sit in front of my computer and read about it instead. So when the Sox rallied in the 8th, I watched the little dots on my screen move all around and watched our score go up and I was excited, but it's hard to muster up enthusiasm when all you have is names and numbers, even if your team is winning.

I also think that perhaps I am some sort of bad luck charm for Jonathan Papelbon, because the last two times I've actually been able to watch games where he's gone in for the save, he's completely blown it. Last night I couldn't watch, and he went for the save and totally got it. Don't ask me how that works, but that's the mind of a Red Sox fan.

Tonight's the rubber game of the series, which pits grizzled veterans Tim Wakefield and Randy Johnson against each other in the oldest pitching matchup in a Red Sox game since 1965. Combined, the two are 86 years and 252 days old. I get to watch this one, which is exciting because a knuckleball is always a fun time. Guys either get whiffed or get homers, and poor Kevin Cash scrabbles around the backstop trying to catch the thing like kids after the candy from a pinata. Games with a knuckler on the mound are as unpredictable as the pitch itself, and I kinda think the Sox have the advantage here, because they don't have to hit it. And I don't mind that one bit.

Duel in the Diamond

So, I'm trying to think of a way to describe last night's game and can't. I went into the game with nothing but pessimism. When friends asked if I thought the Diamondbacks had a chance against the Red Sox, I laughed derisively in response. I mean, they're the Diamondbacks. They tanked, going from the best record in baseball to sitting atop the worst division in the league, in large part because the Dodgers have a habit of losing whenever the Dbacks do. The Diamondbacks can't hit, can't field, and their starting pitching has struggled. Clearly, we were going to get trounced.

But Dan Haren pitched like a rockstar. In what may have been the best pitcher's duel of the season, Beckett blinked first, giving up two runs while Haren threw seven innings of shutout ball. It was a thing of beauty. After Haren made a diving stop on a line drive it was clear that Haren was in it to win it.

Not that the Dbacks didn't get a few lucky breaks. No one told Kevin Youkillis that you're not supposed to catch baseball with your face and was pulled in the fifth with a hell of shiner. Since Sean Casey was sitting in timeout, the Sox had to send in Someguy Moss, whose timely bobble allowed the Dbacks second run to score. And we needed that run, as reliever Jose Pena loaded the bases in the eigth and a sac fly by Elder Drew brought the Sox within one run. Runners at second and third, two outs and Manny at the plate. I was nearly sick. Manny's plate appearance never ended. But then Mark Reynolds made the play of the night, somehow managing to get his glove on a bullet on a line drive. I'm pretty sure I saw Reynolds checking to make sure he still had all his teeth when he got back to the dugout.

What a game. It was amazing.

Oh, that goes for everyone but you, Eric Byrnes who came back from the DL and promptly picked up a gold sombrero, going 0-5. If Melvin puts you in the leadoff spot again tonight, he and I are going to have words.

I don't know what's going to happen in the game tonight. The Sox may come out and score a hundred runs off finesse pitcher Doug Davis (how dissappointed am I that it's not Davis and Lester in Battle: Cancer?) though Davis has been stellar in his last two starts, giving up one run in thirteen innings. Maybe he's due, I don't know. I do know the Sox are probably looking for some payback because they just lost to the Diamondbacks. I do know that Haren and Beckett probably went out and got drunk after all was said and done (they probably had a fierce competion of darts and tiddlywinks and checkers and who knows what else until Beckett won something). I do know that Baby Drew, who is probably crashing with his brother was probably made to sleep in the bathtub and when he protested J.D. told him that he was older, had more homeruns and more RBI and when Stephen was the best player in the league for a month, he could sleep in a big boy bed.

Trin: It's not often that Char's the wordy one and I'm sitting here with nothing much to say, but here I am. For completely different reasons, I really can't think of a way to describe last night's game either. Well, except for this:

I blame Julio Lugo.

Why? Because I can, I guess. I mean, losses like this are usually his fault anyway, he of the 16 errors so far this season. Amazingly enough, he managed not to rack up another couple last night, but I still blame him. He's a good scapegoat. And I can't blame Brandon Moss, I just can't. At the major league level, he's an outfielder. Yeah, he's been playing first for triple-A Pawtucket but it's a whole different level of play in the big club and coming in to make your major league debut at first base the middle of a game like that had to be a little nervewracking. I suppose I could blame Sean Casey for dropping his appeal or for getting in that brawl in the first place, or Mike Lowell for clobbering Youk during that warm up; I mean, there's a lot of blame to be had.

But mostly, I think that offensively it just wasn't our night. Pedroia struck out for the first time in 72 at-bats, reassuring me that no, he's not actually the unknown fifth Cylon. Manny gave us a couple of heart attacks, but nothing of substance. Even red-hot J.D. Drew couldn't produce (but he could catch his brother's fly ball!). I was a little surprised, because generally our guys give Beckett some pretty good run support - probably because they're afraid he'll skin them alive if they don't - but generally our guys aren't facing a pitcher whose only difference from Beckett is more facial hair and fewer hemp necklaces. When Beckett picks up the L, it's because the offense failed to back him up, not for any lack of badassery on his part. Yeah, Dan Haren pitched like a rock star, but Beckett was pretty studly himself. Too bad the rest of the team couldn't back him up.

Tonight, the Sox will put baby phenom Justin Masterson on the mound (4-1, 3.00 ERA). No word on whether Youk will be playing tonight; his CT scan was negative but he had one hell of a shiner last night, so who knows. Maybe we'll actually be able to score some runs without Beckett's evil twin in front of us. We could use a win at home. Hopefully we'll get it tonight, but until then, I'll console myself with this:

My boyfriend struck out more guys than Char's.

Small potatoes, I know. But after last night, I'll take what I can get.

Here's tonight's lineup courtesy of Boston.com's Extra Bases blog (with a little extra by Trin and Char):

For the Red Sox:
1. CF Jacoby "Puppies and Sunshine" Ellsbury
2. 2B Dustin "Pee Wee" Pedroia
3. RF J.D. "Made of Glass" Drew
4. DH Manny "Loco" Ramirez
5. 3B Mike "The Man" Lowell
6. 1B Kevin "Greek God" Youkilis
7. C Jason "Oh Captain My Captain" Varitek
8. LF Coco "Can't Field for Shit" Crisp (yeah, Trin's not bitter about that botched catch in the 9th last night)
9. SS Julio "E6" Lugo (or is that E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6E6? What's he up to now, 16?)
Starting pitcher: Joshua fucking Beckett

For the Diamondbacks:
1. LF Eric "Oh My God, The Mustache" Byrnes (Hey, even I'm excited about that, says Trin)
2. SS Stephen "Baby Drew" Drew
3. 2B Orlando "And Let Me Tell You Another Thing" Hudson
4. 1B Conor "Gravity" Jackson
5. DH Chad "Redhead" Tracy
6. 3B Mark "What Are You Doing?" Reynolds
7. CF Chris "CY" Young
8. C Chris "Stop Taking Away My Homeruns" Snyder
9. RF Justin "Just Because I Made an Error Doesn't Mean I Can't Throw You Out at the Plate" Upton
Starting pitcher: Dan "Pirate Hair" Haren

A House Divided: Battle of the Boyfriends

Josh "Commander Kickass" Beckett vs Dan "The Pirate" Haren
7-4, 3.87 ERA 7-4, 3.26 ERA

It's the battle of the Baseball Boyfriends at Fenway Park tonight as the Josh Beckett and the Red Sox take on Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks. The Red Sox are coming off a 5-3, 13 inning win over St. Louis yesterday, in which both teams decimated their bullpen (seriously, I think David Aardsma was the only relief pitcher who didn't play yesterday) after Jonathan Papelbon gave us his best Eric Gagne impression, blowing a one-run lead that we'd worked our asses off to get. Do not want, Paps. Do. Not. Want. Beckett's pitching on seven day's rest, though, so expect to see him locked in, executing pitches, throwing fucking strikes, and whatever other curse words he usually drops at press conferences. As for Haren, he looked good in his last start againt the As, throwing a cutter fastball he kept in his back pocket all year. But it's the split-finger he dominates with, so we'll have to see if he can smoke it by the Sox.

The Diamondbacks just got swept in three games by the Twins. The Dbacks outscored the Twins in the Metrodome (which is so ugly, it looks like they're playing baseball in somebody's rec room) for 24 innings but were never able to pull out a win. The Twins picked an inning a game to throw up a crooked number and the Dbacks could never recover. It's good to have our number-two ace on the mound as the pitching has been especially rough recently. Even Brandon Webb has struggled; after earning the nickname 'The Tourniquet' for his ability to snap a losing streak, his pitching the past few starts has had more holes than a cheese grater. Tonight also sees the return of Eric 'Star of The Eric Byrnes Show' Byrnes after spending three weeks on the 15-day DL with bad hammies. Hopefully, we'll see the return of the good Byrnes, the ten million dollar man (he's the highest paid person on the team who's initials aren't RJ). The Dbacks need a spark, need him to do all the things you can't see in a box score that we pay him so well for (Trin: You mean like flailing around in the batter's box and grounding into double plays? Yeah, I'd like to see that Byrnes, too!).

Both teams are at the top of their respective leagues, Boston leading the AL East at 47-31 and the Dbacks heading the NL West at 39-37. The last time Arizona faced Boston at Fenway was in June of 02, with all three games of the series going to the Dbacks. Can they repeat that? Trin says it's highly unlikely, but she's a Red Sox fan, so she has to say that. She admits, however begrudgingly, that Dan Haren might be the NL's answer to Josh Beckett. Both right-handers are 1-3 in five outings against their respective opponents, with Haren posting a 3.26 ERA against the Sox and Beckett with a 5.65 ERA against the Diamondbacks. Still no word on the rest of tonight's lineups, but we'd be surprised if it didn't include the Drew brothers, Nancy...I mean, J.D. (I can't help it!) and Stephen, aka Baby Drew. Everybody knows that J.D. has been smokin' hot this month; it's like after ten years in the major leagues, he finally decided to actually play. I mean, he's leading the league in home runs for the month of June! And it's been beautiful to watch. Also expected in the Sox lineup is the second coming himself, Dustin Pedroia. Know anyone else who's gone for 69 consecutive at-bats without striking out? We don't (certainly not anyone wearing a Sedona Red uniform). Missing from the lineup will be occasional first baseman Sean "The Mayor" Casey, who begins serving his three-game suspension tonight for his role in the June 5 bench-clearer against the Rays.

The Diamondbacks again find themselves in a position to have a designated hitter (if anyone so much as thinks the name Micah Owings, I will kill you) (Trin: *thinks* Micah Owings!). My guess before the lineup comes out? Chad Tracy. He played the DH in Minnesota and it will be good to get his left-handed bat in there while still allowing Gravity to play first - now that Byrnes is back, no more starts in left field for everyone's favorite gravitational pull.

So in conclusion, it's the Sox vs the Dbacks, and it's totally on.

One, two, three: not it

You know, I questioned the wisdom of wearing a Dan Haren T-shirt to a Randy Johnson start, afraid that it would bring the Big Unit bad luck. I was right. Johnson gave up eight runs and was pulled in the fifth. What followed was the most furious game of paper, rock, scissors ever witnessed as an exhausted bullpen tried desperately to avoid being sent out, lest their arms fall off.

We lost 12-3. My record at Chase Field now stands at 1-2, with both losses being blowouts. An interesting statistic, to be sure.

Less than a month and we'll both be at Fenway. Let's see if my luck is bi-costal.

Back to back homers by Youk and Crisp with one out in the top of the 10th? I'll take it. I mean, it would have been better if Papelbon hadn't blown the save, but at least we have the lead again. And extra innings means more Red Sox baseball for me to watch. There's been a serious lack of Sox on my TV lately. Reading about them is great, but not nearly as much fun as watching.

In less than a month, I'll be at Fenway!

Wow. Craig Hansen got a haircut and some facial hair and has kind of turned into a hottie. Not a big fan of the whole giving up a base hit with two outs in the tenth inning thing, though. Hotness doesn't win ballgames, Craig. And you just lost hotness points for walking that batter. Seriously, man. Do you want to win this thing or not?

Fly out, game over, thank god.

Game day

Another day, another Dbacks game, one that I will be attending.

Randy Johnson takes the mound today against the Royals, and let's hope it's a nice long outing because after three straight days of extra innings, the bullpen is pretty much spent. If that game last night had gone on past ten, they would have needed to take volunteers from the crowd to pitch.

Also, I'd like to see a win, since the last time I was at Chase Field was that awful game against the Phillies.

Turn the beat around

For the first five innings, it was business as usual for the Diamondbacks. Or at least the Diamondbacks as they have been recently: lacking a drive to win, lacking an offense and lacking confidence on defense. Then something changed. Maybe whatever it was was brought in with the winds that swept through Shea Stadium. Whatever it was, the Diamondbacks did something they haven't done in a long time.

They rallied.

Down 5-1 in the fifth, Orlando Hudson slapped a two-run homer. In the sixth, the littlest ballplayer, Augie Ojeda had a crucial two-run RBI to tie the score. A 61 minute rain delay didn't slow the Dbacks' charge. I don't know what was said inside the clubhouse last night, but the Diamondbacks were determined to win.

Chris Snyder hit the go-ahead run in the eighth. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Baby Drew had a two-run homer in the ninth and Gravity had a solo shot of his own.

Down by four runs on the road, the Diamondbacks played like a team leading its division. And man, was that fun to watch.

Victory

Perhaps the single greatest sentence ever written about the Diamonbacks:

Mark Reynolds beat Dan Haren in a spirited, dramatic game of Jenga in the clubhouse this afternoon.

Re: the Brewers

The Dbacks just don't know how to treat a girl. I came home sick from work, which means I was watching this whole debacle.

You know what? I don't think I want to talk about it.