My father used to have a saying (actually many), "house devils, street angels." That referred to children whom everyone thought (based on public persona) were perfect, only to be hellions at home. As for the Sox, they're tough at home, and have been pussycats in Tampa.
Tonight, another no name pitcher (at least he was a righthander) baffled the Sox, while Jason Johnson made no one forget Jason Voorhees, as the Rays stung the Sox 5-2 to capture the series with three wins with one remaining.
Lost in the drubbing were outstanding relief efforts from Jeopardy Category 'Ends with Z' guy Julian Tavarez who fired three scoreless, and Craig Hansen who mopped up with one.
My guy Alex Cora found a number of ways to reach base, but was the unfortunate 'Old Maid' making the last out.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Castoff Jason Johnson crumbled again, alternating batting practice with allowing Carl 'Beep Beep' Crawford to steal home. Jason Johnson doesn't look much better than David Pauley, but as Earl Weaver reminds us, "momentum lasts as long as the next day's starting pitcher."
It's pretty tough to find anything redeeming about tonight's game, other than the players can retire back to the hotel bar, which I've heard (in the past) was a destination for the Sox.
Even if every game carried a 60% chance (random) of a win, a twelve game winning streak has about a 0.2% probability. And a three game losing streak has a probability of about 6.4% under those conditions. I guess one would ask if the games truly have independent probability of victory. I guess Vegas would say a resounding NO, because of pitching matchups, home field, team versus team history, and so on. There, I feel better already.
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