Red Sox 8, Orioles 7: A game so bad I couldn't write about it until this morning
So this game? Blew. First of all, it took forever, because the Red Sox are incapable of playing a game in under 3.5 hours. Honestly, I know they win a lot in recent years and all that, but I don't know how Red Sox fans do it. Watching the Red Sox play baseball sucks all of the fun out of the game. This game was mostly excruciating thanks to the outcome, but the fact that it was only the 7th inning at 10:15 p.m. was almost as bad.
The offense scored seven runs, which is good and should be enough to win most games, but the truth is they had a lot of ugly moments and probably could have easily dropped double digits on Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston relievers. They left eleven runners on base. Not as bad as the fifteen the Red Sox left, but the winners don't have to lament things like that.
Matsuzaka was simply terrible last night. He walked seven batters in 4.1 innings and gave up five earned runs before Terry Francona pulled him. The O's had a 6-0 lead before the Red Sox even got on the board.
Chris Tillman was better than Matsuzaka, but he threw a ton of pitches early on before settling down a bit. He ultimately threw five shutout innings and was at 88 pitches when Buck Showalter removed him. The reason he removed him wasn't because Tillman was being babied, but rather because he'd been fighting back stiffness all day and it was getting worse as he pitched. With a six-run lead and the game seemingly in hand, Showalter decided to give him a rest.
I hate the Orioles bullpen. Have I mentioned that to anyone? Mike Gonzalez sucks. He's just terrible. I'm so tired of his face. He relieved Tillman and allowed the first four batters to reach (with some help from his friends, of course; Luke Scott misplayed J.D. Drew's single, allowing him to reach second base, and Mark Reynolds let a ball go under his glove). Gonzalez finally recorded an out after allowing two runs to score, and was lifted for Jeremy Accardo.
Accardo is also not good at pitching, and he induced a fly ball by Dustin Pedroia for the second out before giving up back-to-back RBI hits to Adrian Gonzalaz and Kevin Youkilis. Accardo isn't good at pitching, but at least he gave up hits to hitters that are actually good and not Jason Varitek the way Gonzalez did.
Clay Rapada replaced Accardo and after the imp walked David Ortiz (it appeared that he might be pitching around him), he retired J.D. Drew (who started the ending) to finally end the misery. Just like that the Orioles lead had gone from 6-0 to 6-5 and the good citizens of Birdland could feel the doom of the inevitable collapse.
In the top of the seventh, Reynolds tried to atone for his error in the field and give the Orioles some breathing room on the scoreboard by launching a home run to center field, but Jim Johnson gave it right back in the bottom of the inning. Jed Lowrie tripled leading off then scored on a single by the corpse of Jason Varitek. Seriously, Orioles, what on earth? TWO RBI singles by Varitek?
Koji Uehara pitched the eighth inning and it looked like it would be more of the same when Youkilis doubled to start the inning, but Koji worked out of it, preserving the one-run lead going into the ninth.
And you know what that means. Good old Kevin Gregg. Gregg got the first out, retiring Varitek on a fly ball (finally, someone contains Jason Varitek!) but then walked the next two batters. I know! I just love when guys walk two batters to get to Adrian Gonzalez. Because this game was predictable from from sixth inning on, you know what happened next. Gonzalez doubled to center field and the two batters that got on base via the walk scored the tying and winning runs.
I hope Kevin Gregg feel guilty when he gets his paycheck. This game wasn't all on him, of course, but STOP WALKING PEOPLE YOU DOLT! He has now walked 12 batters in 15.1 innings, which is more than his career numbers, and he's not even normally good at not walking people.
Anyway, O's lose, 8-7. What a debacle.
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Well this sucked.
I don’t have much tolerance for stupid. Or cheese on food that doesn’t need it. -duck
Where's my LBP!!??!?!
I’m going to give it to Gregg over Gonzalez.
Walking 2 guys in a row to get to Gonzalez is just fucking horrific when you’re supposed to be the guy who is “shutting the door”.
Fuck Gregg… I hate Gonzo, but we still had the lead in the ninth. Make them hit you. Putting guys on base for free is a fucking recipe for disaster especially considering you may have not ever even had to see Gonzalez or you-kill-us.
by Wieters Wieners on May 17, 2011 8:24 AM EDT reply actions
Baltimore: Where washed-up relief pitchers go to die rich
by Sakatadextrous on May 17, 2011 8:31 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
And where washed up catchers pad their stats to survive a little longer
That’s when they’re playing us, anyway.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions
This is the first game I watched in weeks
And this is how you repay me, O’s. That’s not really an incentive to watch more.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
You probably shouldn't have admitted that.
"Your most precious possessions on offense are your twenty-seven outs." -- Earl Weaver
All the games are on school nights usually
I decided I should blow off studying for my huge math test and watch the game. Yeah, that’s the cherry on top. I watched the O’s completely melt down and I might not do well on my test.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
I more meant
that with baseball superstition and all, you might get blamed for this one.
"Your most precious possessions on offense are your twenty-seven outs." -- Earl Weaver
Excuse me while I go throw salt over my shoulder.
I’ll be back.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
Turn around three times and spit. Do everything.
You don’t want to provoke the wrath of the guy atop the thing. Of course you write two speeches.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Are you suggesting that I become a speechwriter for Barack Obama?
Because I don’t know how that would help.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
speechwriter
for Jed Bartlett is more like it
"Fairy tales start 'once upon a time...'. Fishing stories start 'now this ain't no bullshit...'."
- Cap'n Phil Harris
I just started watching West Wing!
I wanted to see Rob Lowe in a more serious role. That show is addicting.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
You get to the "2 Cathedrals" episode yet?
Bartlett’s rant in that one is pure TV brilliance.
Almost up there with Capt. Picard’s “THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS!”
"Fairy tales start 'once upon a time...'. Fishing stories start 'now this ain't no bullshit...'."
- Cap'n Phil Harris
Nobody does dialogue quite like Aaron Sorkin.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions
That is perhaps the truest comment ever written by anyone on this site.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
And you need the lungs of an opera singer to deliver it.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Baltimore, do as I tell you to.
I have a deeper hatred for Gonzo
This guy was given a 2yr-12 million dollar deal to close and now he can’t even hold a 6-0 lead.
His little pouty face he made when Buck took the ball from him made me want to puke.
"Have a good time...all the time." - Viv Savage
I hate him more too
But that may be because he’s been sucking for longer in an Orioles uniform. Gregg hasn’t been given as many chances to ruin games.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
Matt Albers will add insult to injury by pitching 3 innings of shutout ball tonight, I have zero doubt.
Patron saint of quality footwear.
Would anyone care to wake me up when the nightmare is over?
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
It annoys me more that Gregg is on the Orioles.
Gonzo sucks, but if you looked at his stats it’s a bit more understandable that someone thought he was a good pitcher. I don’t know what’s occurred to make him a bad pitcher for us. Perhaps it’s another one for the evidence pile of why the AL is superior to the NL and Gonzo’s just yet another pitcher to jump leagues (or divisions) and suck.
There’s absolutely no reason anyone should have looked at Gregg’s stats and thought it was a good idea to sign him and have him pitch for the Orioles. It’s awful. He is a terrible pitcher. I only had to see him once in a Blue Jays uniform to know this. The only thing good about his stat sheet (in a loose sense of the word) is the fact that he has a bunch of saves. There is no defending the Gregg signing. He sucks and anyone who’s ever watched him try to close out a game knows this. Yet Andy MacPhail thought it was a good idea to sign him anyway. So here we are, stuck with him for this year and next. He’s already ruined three games and tried his damndest to ruin a couple more.
How much more failure do we need to see from him before Buck/the FO realize we never should have signed him? I had enough of him after his first appearance. He wanted to fuck us from the get-go.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions
He's a Blue Jays double-agent!!
"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers." - Earl of Baltimore
by J(O's)elskIL on May 17, 2011 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Evidence in favor of Gregg: (ugh I can't believe I'm doing this)
At least he didn’t cost us a draft pick.
Why the Buck not?!?
by PBR me ASAP! on May 17, 2011 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
New rule
If Andy MacPhail is retained after this season, he will be forbidden from handing out more than $3M/year to any reliever. Under penalty of torture.
"The United States is the New York Yankees of countries...powerful and respected until the year 2000." - Homer J. Simpson
by Brotz13 on May 17, 2011 9:16 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Gregg sucks
But his amount of suck pales in comparison to Gonzalez. I think I remember 1 good outing he has had this entire season, whereas Gregg has had a few. Why are we still keeping that piece of shit on our roster? Is it that solid 8.53 ERA? I’m fucking sick of seeing that sack of shit take the mound.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
Off the top of my head I'm only remembering one good Gregg outing.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions
One against Seattle, one against the White Sox, and I think one against Boston in the last series.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on May 17, 2011 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Ok, I looked at his game logs. He has three 1-2-3 innings.
Twins, Seattle, Boston (April 27).
That’s out of 16 appearances.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Still better than Gonzalez. And not even the best closers go 1-2-3 every time.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on May 17, 2011 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions
I feel like we're arguing about which smells worse,
poop or vomit. Does it really matter? They’re both disgusting.
"Your most precious possessions on offense are your twenty-seven outs." -- Earl Weaver
by Vuff on May 17, 2011 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
No one expects him to be Heath Bell or Mariano
But only 3 1-2-3 innings, in 16 tries?!
That’s not closing material.
"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers." - Earl of Baltimore
by J(O's)elskIL on May 17, 2011 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm not arguing that
I think Gregg sucks too, like I said above. But if there is one person I want off this team more than anyone, it is Mike Gonzalez. He doesn’t do anything well. He just goes out there and sucks. it is never good.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on May 17, 2011 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Gonzo is a sunk cost.
Even if he pitched lights-out for the next month+, we wouldn’t be able to trade him for anything worthwhile. No sense keeping him around. Pay him his money and tell him to go the fuck away.
Why the Buck not?!?
by PBR me ASAP! on May 17, 2011 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
although to be fair
the outing against the white sox was a gift from the umpires. He was getting absurd calls.
I am eating you, motherfucker. You cannot hurt me. - PhilR8
I've only watched when it's really bad.
Although, that isn’t really a rare occurrence, obviously.
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
I hate that they seem to save their worst losses for NY and Boston. Sure, sweeping the Mariners is fun, but that’s more than undone by utter incompetence against the teams I hate the most.
They might be able to finish at or closer to .500 than they’ve been in the last 13 years, but if they can’t compete with the YankSox, they’re still not going to be any fun to watch.
(I know they’ve overall been ok against Boston so far this year, but after last night’s debacle I’m not going to let that get in the way of a good rant.)
Upset with myself
I am disappointed with myself for staying up to watch the game. What a waste of time and sleep.
In the first place, the game itself was a laborious, artless mess. Tillman and Dice K are nibblers, so every at bat took forever. The Orioles failed to get the really big hit in the early innings to put the Sox away. Tillman lasted only 5. After Tillman’s removal, every reliever was bad, really bad. In the last half of the 9th, with a one run lead and Gregg on the mound, we all knew what the result would be. Only Gregg would walk two men to get to their Gonzales. Then the inevitable happened. As I turned off the TV, I said to myself that I could have spent the time doing something more fun, like paying bills.
The worst part about this loss
Is that it will most likely kill any momentum we gained from sweeping the Mariners and winning the series against the Rays. I fully expect us to drop the next three games. Going into this series, I fully expected a 2 – 2 at the very least against the sux and janks.
I will absolutely question the leadership of this team for every remaining day that gonzalez in on the roster. I don’t see a single benefit from keeping him on board.
What are the chances of the O's being able to trade Gregg mid season?
I don’t care if they get nothing more than a box of slightly used baseballs and half a bottle of Neetsfoot oil.
Gonzales they can just release.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
I don't see MacPhail cutting a guy who has a season left after this one on the contract.
Maybe Gonzo if he was bad enough, but even then I’m not sure. If Andy cuts/dumps those guys then he’s admitting he was wrong. I think most GMs in baseball suffer from this kind of head in the sand attitude.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Gonzales has another year after this one?
Maybe the team can pretend he’s a horse and just put him down next time he gets injured.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
Gregg has a year left after this one.
"What the hell is a Baltimore knot?" "I don't know, but it's never the same thing twice." - The Wire
by Eat More Esskay on May 17, 2011 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions
That was what I thought.
Gregg signed for 2 years, with this being the first and Gonzo being in the last year of his deal.
The guy I think he should consider releasing – assuming no one will cough up anything for him – is Gonzales. I was suggesting that MacPhail try trading Gregg and wondering if anybody would want him.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
Screw it
put em on waivers. If someone wants to pay their contracts, let them. If not, send them to the minors and let them toil down there. Either they learn what they are doing wrong, get a bit of humility, or just stay miserable until their contracts are up. In any event, it’d be better than this.
"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower
Mike Gonzalez
I say he’s pretty much done.
I think the Os might stow him in the deeper recesses of the bullpen, maybe make him a last ditch longman (not ideal), or, they just admit that he was a mistake and cut him then eat his salary. When he first returned to his rocking motion, he showed flashes of returning to his Braves form, but now he’s reverted to the same thing we’ve always seen from him, an awful reliever who gives up hits, walks, and homeruns in key situations. He’s a lefty who can’t get lefties out, so he’s not even useful in a limited specialist role. I don’t know what they can do but cut him.
What' s Brim doing these days?
All this shit is making me miss Never a doubt.
"Ohhh it's baad" - E. Smith
I got some hate mail about this story!
Good Afternoon Stacey, I’m a Red Sox fan and your article this morning was on the Sport’s Illustrated website.
First of all, if you are a writer FOR a newspaper or newsgroup representing the Baltimore area, you are NOT very devoted to your team. "I hate the Orioles bullpen. Have I mentioned that to anyone? Mike Gonzalez sucks. He’s just terrible. I’m so tired of his face." Wow, that’s a lot of people on the team to "hate", the whole bullpen! As a Red Sox fan, even when someone is playing poorly, and we’ve had a lot of that this spring until recently, I give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they will improve. I’m really learning to like Carl Crawford who was REALLY bad for the first month.
Second, you should learn how to write. This is just my advice to someone who is attempting to be a writer (maybe you are actually paid, I don’t know). You should finish sentences: "He relieved Tillman and allowed the first four batters to face (with some help from his friends, of course; Luke Scott misplayed J.D. Drew’s single, allowing him to reach second base, and Mark Reynolds let a ball go under his glove)." And use proper English: "In the top of the seventh, Reynolds try to atone for his error in the field by launching a home……".
You are not a good writer, and if you want to keep your job or keep your readers if it’s not your job, you should also have some respect for your team. If you were a writer for my team I would NEVER read an article you wrote again.
I thought your team played well until the errors and relief pitching. I hope Wakefield pitches better tonite than Dice-K did last night. Anyway, just a little friendly advice from a Red Sox fan.
I wrote him back apologizing for the typo in the Reynolds sentence and informing him that it’s not actually very friendly to tell someone, “You are not a good writer.”
Wow, Intense.
Is that today’s gamecap? If so, why was it on SI?
"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers." - Earl of Baltimore
by J(O's)elskIL on May 17, 2011 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
The Red Sox team page on SI.com
has a bunch of links to related articles and blogs etc:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/teams/boston-red-sox/index.html
Stacey didn’t publish until this morning, so it’s at the top of the heap. There are also other links from “Bosox Injection,” “Twackle,” and “Twinkie Town,” which I’ll assume are all sports blogs and not XXX sites.
Ahahaha...
Learning to like Carl Crawford, eh? Man, now there’s a problem for you! How DO you deal with all those struggling star players that you are able to afford in their prime and that are obviously better then what they have shown in a tremendously small sample size? It must be tough having a bloated payroll full of all the best players other teams couldn’t afford to keep when those players struggle for a few weeks.
I have an idea. You can have our entire bullpen, and in return, we’ll take Crawford. Then we can each learn to love our new players and everything will be right with the world! Fan-fucking-tastic!
"things like locig and prrofreading are actually valued here" - zknower
Yeah I was working on that exact first paragraph
Anyway tell him to grab an appropriately shaped bowl, fill it with some nearby dicks, and EAT EM!
Less big words and more exclamation marks
by Astronaut Mike Dexter on May 17, 2011 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Sort of ironic for a Red Sox fan to be critical of someone else being critical of their team.
I did notice that this mornings piece had several mistakes in it and was not up to your usual standards, but I figured it was because you were tired, as well as disgusted with the team’s performance. Still, unless this guy writes for a living, it is a cheap shot to take. Let him try doing what you do and see how well he performs.
Friendly advice from a Red Sox fan – there’s a laugher.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
STACEY i am a red sox fan as you all know , and i try and read all of CC every day
I think you and everyone else here do a fine job ! , i wanted to stop in last night and tell you all tillman was pretty good , but thought better of it . what can i say about the red sox fan who wrote that ? they are everywhere ! :-(
by RED SOX are #1 in my heart on May 17, 2011 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you meant to say ...
… shit-pump.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
I'm just surprised to learn that a Sox fan can read.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Baltimore, do as I tell you to.
follow ups!
My apologies for the typo in the Reynolds paragraph, as for the rest, get over yourself. A word of advice for you, “you are not a good writer” isn’t “friendly advice.”
Thanks for the advice, but I’m not the one who is
trying to be a writer. Believe it or not, typos are a major part of
editing your stories. And that wasn’t the only writing error in your
story. If you want to get better, I suggest you don’t include typos in
your stories. There are spell checkers and grammar checkers that would
help you fix those mistakes. And you really should like your team a bit
more!
You ARE the one offering unsolicited advice to a stranger. Why the hell should I care what you think, exactly? You suggest I don’t include typos in my stories? BRILLIANT ADVICE! I mean, I was leaving them in on purpose, but now that someone I’ve never met who thinks I’m not devoted to my team because I call them out for being terrible told me so, I’ll be sure to remove them.
Wow, you have issues. I thought it might be helpful for someone (you)
who obviously needs a bit of friendly advice from someone (me) who will
never read your column again. You are still the one who thinks she’s a
writer and hollers at a person who suggests you spell and grammar check
your articles for your readers.
You really shouldn’t care what I think, but you should care about the
spelling and grammar in your articles. That’s what real writers do for
their readers. If you worked at my local newspaper I would send your
response to me off to your editors, I don’t think they would like 1.
your grammar and spelling or 2. your anger at your readers who suggest
you learn how to spell and grammar check.
I will add you to my junk mail now…………….
and boston just regained the lead over new york in regards to which fanbase i hate more
carolina in my mind...
this email just doesn't pass the smell test
something’s off… he’s either a teenager or a person who was looking to get a rise out of you.
Folksy literate type.
or just a dummy who thinks very highly of himself
You’ll find people like this guy at every website that allows folks to comment on stories.
Someone is Boston
is overeducated, thinks awfully well of himself and doesn’t have a sense of humor?
Can’t be true…
If you look at those UZR ratings or whatever
Putting on my armchair psychiatrist hat.
I don’t think this is just someone with an over inflated ego. This is pure guesswork on my part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this person knows Stacey in some sort of passing way and decided to be a passive/aggressive jerk for whatever reason.
Folksy literate type.
maybe,
but the city of Boston is full of douchebags. This is proof!
If you look at those UZR ratings or whatever
"NO ONE DENIES THIS!"~Tommy from Quinzee
Why the Buck not?!?
by PBR me ASAP! on May 17, 2011 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know
this is either a know-it-all teenager, like you said, or just a random douchebag. And based on his emails, I wouldn’t guess overeducated. Just someone who lives a shitty life and wants to feel better than someone else for a few minutes.
Never mind that he made a mistake of his own in the original email:
And use proper English: “In the top of the seventh, Reynolds try to atone for his error in the field by launching a home……”.
Should be “tried,” right?
"Dyslexia?? It's DCO." - WestcoastO'sfan
No, that was my typo
Which he was pointing out before he gave the very helpful advice of, “You shouldn’t have typos.”
I think you are reading way too much into this.
I believe dfa is closer to the mark.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes
pretty sure his mailbox could be broken. :P
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Baltimore, do as I tell you to.
what's especially annoying is that he or she tells you how to root for your team!
I mean really?! You should have wrote back and said I’ll root for my fucking team however I please.
Folksy literate type.
I thought the annoying part was playing editor.
I do not get the impression the person writes for a living or runs a blog. Which means what does he know about trying to do it?
Questioning why a fan is being so critical of their team isn’t that off base. At some point you have to ask why be a fan. This guy’s problem is he tried being critical of someone he doesn’t know and with a complete lack of context. Maybe, just maybe, the experience of watching 13 consecutive seasons of losing baseball can lead to outbursts of frustration when the team you love and think might be at the proverbial corner, trips up because they once again forgot how to tie their shoes.
While democracy must have its organization and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.
- Charles Evans Hughes

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