Red Sox / Angels Live Blog

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I'll explain my absence shortly. For now I figured I'd just start typing and hopefully something amusing will come of it.

6:45 - The Red Sox have one loss in their last 11 games and of course I had bet on them that night they lost their only game while I was out in Las Vegas. I came home on a red-eye flight last Thursday and I think I picked up a bug on the plane. I've been coughing like bastard since late Friday. I've started right in taking Mucinex but I think the lack of sleep coupled with the fact that I went out on Saturday and went to the Red Sox on Monday has left me in a weakened condition. I feel like crap. I've been drinking lots of fluids and trying to get plenty of sleep but I can't help but wonder if I've got he same bug that's been plaguing the Red Sox locker room.

6:57 - In case you didn't get my Red Sox flu reference - Jason Varitek has missed the last 4 games and Dice K has to skip his regular start tonight because of the bug. Gordon Edes is also missing from the pre-game but I'm guessing that's because he's leaving the Boston Globe to move to Yahoo! Sports. It used to be that the Boston Globe had the varsity roster of sportswriters in Boston and that the Boston Herald was the JV. Now the roles are reversed. I used to read the Globe sports religiously. Now I can't tell you when the last time I went out of my way to pick up a copy of the paper. Best of luck to Gordon Edes on his new venture. He's always struck me as a class individual.

7:05 - Jon Lester gets the start tonight. Combined Lester and Clay Buchholz are 2-3 in 9 starts with a 4.94 combined ERA. That's slightly above the league average. (Gary Matthews Jr. increases that ERA with a HR to make it 1-0 Angels). Lester and Buchholz look great compared to Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes of the Yankees who are a combined 0-5 in 7 starts with a combined 9.20 ERA. Just sayin'.

7:19 - Excellent night for watching TV in the Boston area tonight. You have the Red Sox on at 7:00 and the Celtics playing the Hawks on at 8:00 and later tonight at 11:00 one of the HBO channels has been showing Deadwood episodes each night. Is it bad that I'm actually looking forward to the Deadwood repeat more than anything else? Speaking of Deadwood - I'm still amazed that W. Earl Brown who played Dan Dority also played Mary's brother Warren in There's Something About Mary. And no - I have not seen his baseball. The Angels pick up another run to make it 2-0. The Red Sox are lucky that it's only 2-0.

7:36 - Some people would argue that the Red Sox have been lucky their whole season so far. The Red Sox are 15-7 going into tonight but according to the Pythagorean W-L they should be 12-10. I'm a fan of the Pythagorean but it's still took early in the season and the sample size still too small. Lyford does a great job breaking down the Pythagorean on a weekly basis. Julio Lugo drives in JD Drew to close the score to 2-1.

7:55 - The Angels scratch out another run to make it 3-1. And speaking of small sample sizes - I get a kick out of this comparison;

David Ortiz - .181 BA / .292 OBP / .277 SLG
Kevin Cash - .227 BA / .292 OBP / .272 SLG

And I make the comparison just as Cash gets a double to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning.

8:02 - Cash comes in to score to make it 3-2. I should mention that Cash is a graduate of the Jack Cust school of base running.

8:17 - I meant to post something on John Smoltz getting his 3,000th strikeout last night. Is there any doubt that he's a first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher? Just saying but I'd also like to point out that Smoltz is a career 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA in the post-season. Compare that to Roger Clemens' 12-8 with a 3.75 ERA in his post season career. I'd take John Smoltz over Roger Clemens any day of the week.

8:27 - Hey - speaking of steroids guys - Gary Matthews Jr hits his second HR of the game to make it 4-2 for the Angels.

8:36 - David Ortiz tied the game with a 2-run HR and makes me $20 in the process. I have Ortiz in my HR pool with my buddy Tim. I also have Vlade and Kotchman while Tim has Manny, Youkilis and Torii Hunter for his picks.

8:48 - Casey Kotchman puts me up $40 for the night but also gives the Angels a 5-4 lead with his 6th HR of the season.

8:57 - During a game break they showed Matt Stairs hit 2 HR against the Rays. I have no idea where that game is being played. It certainly wasn't the Trop or the Rogers Center. Is there any player out there today in greater need of a nickname than Matt Stairs? Also in news around MLB - there is a report that Jimmy Rollins actually has a broken ankle. Meanwhile the Celtics are up by 13 in the second quarter.

9:25 - Just checking on some fantasy stats and do you realize that Dustin Pedroia is the second best fantasy 2nd baseman going behind only Chase Utley?

9:50 - Made a couple of moves in one of my fantasy leagues. I dropped James Loney and picked up Casey Kotchman. I also dropped Manny Corpas (I have two good closers ahead of him) and picked up Rich Hill. I'm just picking up Hill because he's got 2 starts next week. I hope I don't get burned by that move. Speaking of being burned by a move - I still contend that the Yankees were burned badly by their decision to pick up Gary Sheffield instead of Vlade Guerrero when they had the chance. If they signed Vlade then they would have won at least one World Series these past 4 years. Angels pick up an insurance run to lead 6-4.

9:58 - Red Sox go quietly in the 9th and lose for just the 2nd time in a dozen games.