THAT’S showing some fight, Pirates

When I saw the Pirates were losing AGAIN today, I was all ready to take them to the woodshed. I was going to trash them for letting themselves get swept at home and allowing the naysayers to be right.

Then lo and behold, a comeback and a 10th inning rally later (along with the Brewers loss to the Giants) and they finished the weekend still tied for first place.

It wasn’t the best start to the 20 game stretch to define the season… but the more days they spend in first, the better.

Now will someone explain to me why they pitched to Chase d’Arnaud instead of walking him, forcing the Pirates to bring in a pinch hitter and setting up a potential inning ending double play?

I’m not saying I’m smarter than Tony LaRussa… but the logic of that escaped me.

Well, you are still tied for first place Pirates.
Go to Atlanta. And don’t want video from the 1991 nor 1992 NLCS.

8 more wins for Wakefield?

Oh it wasn’t pretty today. But when is it EVER pretty with Tim Wakefield?
Today was a no brainer for the Sox, even after Wakes spotting Seattle 2 runs in the first. A nice 17 hit, 12 run attack. A solid sweep of Seattle before the Royals come to town.

A nice 3 game lead over the Yankees and a 16-3 July record (including 7 out of 9 since the All Star Break.)

Meanwhile Wakefield is now just 7 wins behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young. He could get 2 wins in August and 2 in September… that’s not exactly outlandish.

Then he would need just 4 wins in all of 2012 to have more wins than any pitcher in Red Sox history.

Odd. Maybe THAT’s what the Mayans foresaw!

A Little Help From My Friends

Oh Hideki Matsui used to make me wet my pants when he was a member of the Yankees. He was part of the brutal 8th inning rally against Pedro in the 2003 ALCS Game 7. And if Mariano Rivera got the side retired in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Matsui would have won the series MVP.

Then he haunted Pedro again in the 2009 World Series with game winning homers in Games 2 and 6.

But I like him today.
I like that he remembered how to hit in Yankee Stadium.

Go A’s!
Go Matsui!

And a Yankee loss along with the Red Sox win means
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 62!!!!

Keeping the Beatles theme from my earlier post… the Sox got a little help from their friends.