Silver Linings from Sunday
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get Furbushed.
While dropping two of three to the Mariners certainly sets off some baseball logic alarms, it's best to chalk this up as an inevitable bump in a 162-game schedule. The Red Sox still sit atop the AL East, hadn't dropped a series since the end of June, and by all accounts, the team has taken the last two losses to heart. So, what good came out of Sunday?
1. Tim Wakefield pitched a very nice game. For teams (like Seattle) that attempt to score in fractions, four earned runs from your starting pitcher can be problematic. Boston will take that every time out from Wake, who was the victim of some tough calls and bad luck. He gave the bullpen the day off and probably deserved to pick up his 200th win. Next time.
2. Youk's return. Youkilis missed Friday and Saturday's games with a stiff back. Prior to Friday, he had been in a quiet mini-slump, going without an RBI in seven consecutive games and dropping his average to .267--he was at .288 in mid-July. Not a major concern, but for a player who feeds on his own momentum perhaps more than any other Red Sox, maybe his late home run will trigger a healthy, productive stretch.
3. Adrian Gonzalez goes 2-4 every night. Seriously, he's had multiple hits in 12 of his last 19 games. The man just hits. Yes, it's been 52 at-bats since his last home run, but you can't question the production of the guy batting .352. A-Gon continues to impress.
The Sox have another off-day today, followed by a Fenway doubleheader against the Rays on Tuesday. With Jon Lester starting the first game, let's hope for a return to form, so Heidi Watney can stop testing out her "I'm sorry your dog just died" voice (see below).
