Friday, June 04, 2010

50 Ways to Lose a Ballgame


Paul Simon had a classic hit 50 ways to leave your lover. The Red Sox have sought to establish 50 ways to lose a ballgame. I won't try to name fifty...this time.

  1. Fear Factor. The Bogar man. "Send him in Tim" Bogar might be the greatest guy in the world, but he's cost the Sox a couple of games already. 
  2. Collateral Damage. The collision between Adrian Beltre and Jacoby Ellsbury cost the Sox their leadoff hitter for the first half of the season. It happens.
  3. Year of Living Dangerously. Will Victor Martinez overcome a slow start?
  4. Pap-per Chase. A pair of Yankee homers in the ninth did Papelbon dirty.
  5. Wild thing. Daisuke Matsuzaka, a.k.a. 'The Nibbler' drives fans to drink. 
  6. "Jeremy." Like Michael Jackson, one wonders what the glove is for. 
  7. "Speed." The Sox mostly don't have it, with Ellsbury sidelined, with good baserunners including Pedroia, Drew, Youkilis, and Beltre. 
  8. The Running Man. Although it's gone better lately, opposing runners have run wild this season on the Sox. 
  9. Outland. Early season struggles at the plate for Drew, Ortiz, and V-Mart. 
  10. Eraser. What Jon Lester would do about his first three outings. 
Seriously, the early season "Misery" didn't result because of one guy, rather collective struggles in all aspects of the game. The Sox have time to recover, have played far better, led by the work of Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, and the work (especially) of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon at the back end. "It's About Time."

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