No Magic Tonight - We're Asking For Too Much

The Sox couldn't pull off their third walk off win in a row tonight, although it was no fault of Adrian "I crush anything that moves" Beltre.

Since it's getting late, and I'm still recovering from a weekend in Montreal that took years off my life, I'll drop some post game notes/thoughts below:

- Lackey continues to show far too many commonalities with Dice-K. He was absolutely cruising through 4+ innings, looked great, then hit one hell of a wall, combine that with the crap that is Boston's bullpen, and the wheels come flying off.

-The Sox are now 19-18 in one run games. Quick math says that's way too many close ones at this point in the season, and certainly not a good enough record in them.

-Beltre remains studerific - he absolutely destroyed his second homerun to put the Sox within one.....needless to say, 19 taters, 71 rbi already is assuring him a crap-ton of money this off season.

-Ryan Kalish - the immediate impact despite intense pressure to perform is very impressive. We'll see what happens as scouts get more of a book on him. TMurph continues to lay claim to him as "his boy"....kind of odd, but I appreciate the man love:

Me: Kalish...3 for 3...so studly
Tim: for the record, he will serve as "my boy"
me: are you calling him your bitch?
Tim: No No, just my boy


-Youk's Injury - Don't Rub It! - But seriously, is anyone surprised at this? It's been 2 or 3 days since the last Red Sox injury, they were obviously due (in all seriousness, I'm praying this is a day to day stinger, otherwise our battleship is sunk).

-Once again Boston had runners thrown out at home tonight (including a gross collision/injury at home plate for Carlos Santana....gotta feel for that kid). When 36 some-odd percent of the games you play are won/lost by one run, this CAN"T KEEP HAPPENING.

-ARod continues to suck under the pressure of hitting his fake 600 number. I love it.

-Need a huge start from Beckett tomorrow, what else is new?

One of the Best Ideas Ever.....

Saw this over at Sox and Dawgs: Heidi Watney Bobble head Night for an upcoming Lowell Spinners game. Needless to say, I was immediately sold.

The question becomes, why didn't I think of this brilliant idea? Talk about a slam dunk money maker!

Not only will the first 1,000 fans get a Heidi Watney Bobble head, she'll also be throwing out the first pitch.

It's all going down this Sunday. It's too bad I'll be celebrating my face off at a bachelor party all weekend, or else I'd be the first fan in line.....Although, I'd imagine this won't be a hard sell to get T Murph to head up there for "coverage".

This is one of the few times in my life where I've deemed it worth it to go to Lowell. Good luck Heidi, don't try to dazzle them with a curve ball, stick with the heater on the inside corner.

The Boston.com Video Above Made Me Throw Up In My Mouth

We've all read the articles, viewership is down, radio listeners have fallen off a cliff.....and then I see crap videos like this.

All this does is further confirm my hatred for pink hats (especially the first girl) and fake fans. I'm dragging ass today, and have been since last week because of this West Coast trip, while these women call themselves fans and walk around all motivated and energetic.

Boston.com should have interviewed me (post coffee this morning of course). Unfortunately, it's people like those in this video who buy tickets, go to the game in order to socialize and leave after the 7th inning to go home and watch the Bachelorette.

Bunch of Sallies.

Hump day anger? Possibly.

Lackey to LAA: "Eat It"

ITM hasn't been nice to John Lackey for the majority of the season. To put it simply, he's underperformed.

But the big ugly Texan with a ridiculous wife (above) has turned the corner, he's earning his money and letting his old team know about.

Last night, and for his last three or four starts, he turned into the 1-A starter we thought we were getting back when Joe Murph posted about how much his tail was wagging after the Lackey signing a few months ago.

His stock is definitely rising in my book.

And his post game press conference last night caused it to rise even more.....essentially dishing out a "see how much I poured" to those fake LAA fans on the West Coast:

In response to all the fans booing him at his first return to his old stomping grounds (where for 8 years he was their ace and gave them a ring), he noted "The scoreboard talks the loudest’’...

...AKA, eat it LA, or Anaheim, or whatever other fake baseball town you're trying to represent.

Lackey has found a real team, with a real fan base who cares about the game. He's moved on, and right now, it looks like he's hitting his stride at a time when Boston (and its fans) need it the most.

How Hasn't a Red Sox Pitcher Tossed a No-No Yet?

2010 is absolutely the year of the pitcher. It seems like every night there is a no hitter or perfect game watch scrolling on ESPN's bottom line, everyone is doing it.

My question is, one, does the guy in this photo even realize he's holding a sign? He looks amazingly drugged up and incredibly old, good for him for seeing a no-no, but I wonder if he even knows he's at a baseball game. "Victory"? Really? You're not Johnny Drama dude. I'm sure his 15 year old grandson got him to pay for two tickets and convinced him to buy beers after every half inning.

Anyways, my real question is how this Red Sox rotation hasn't thrown a no hitter yet? Lester, Buchholz, Beckett, Lackey and the Dice-man?....How hasn't it happened this year?

For all intents and purposes we've had 6 no hitters this year. 6. It's unreal, it's lost most of the appeal at this point. Garza threw a no hitter tonight, but Dez Bryant tweeted that he wears women's clothes, so that's bigger news at this point.

The Vicino over/under on number of no hitters this season is 8, and I think somehow we'll get there. All I'm saying is that someone from this Red Sox rotation better be among them (surely, it's not Buchholz tonight....)

I Will Not Accept The Idea of Boston Becoming Sellers

Fighting the route three traffic back to Boston this evening there was a lot of sports talk radio discussion about Boston's struggles, injuries, and the upcoming trade deadline....

But could the Sox really become sellers?

Sure, they lost a heart breaker today and have fallen 8 games behind the Yankees in the AL East (5 games behind the Wild Card leading Rays).

Despite another solid Dice-K start (you can pick apart the 5 walks as an issue, but all things considered, I'll absolutely take it) the Sox are playing eerily similar to their April doldrums. Of course the offense continues to struggle, Bard can't do it all, and Oki wouldn't be able get T Murph out at this point.

The bullpen is the clear need, I don't care if Chris Iannetta is Italian and from Rhode Island.

However, with all the injuries and Boston's inability to win close games, the question is creeping into some fan's minds....is it possible that the Sox will become trade deadline sellers?

I simply won't accept that as an option. I don't care how many injuries this team has had, management has spent over 170 million dollars on this roster, more than any other team in Red Sox history, you can't be sellers with those kinds of resources.

Moreover, as a city, I don't think Boston could come to terms with it. I'd definitely flip a car or two.

It would be an amazingly difficult sell to Red Sox Nation, and would likely bring the consecutive sell out streak to an end.

From an ITM perspective, it's not going to happen, it can't...it won't. That's what we're telling ourselves at least.