Tagged: Royals

Dirtbags

”We’ve got to be a bunch of dirtbags that just don’t quit.” 

“Don’t be afraid to get dirty, do the little things.”

“We have some guys that are established hitters, done some great things in the big leagues. But as a team, we have to just start playing hardball. That’s who we are as a team.”

Quotes from Jake Peavy after last night’s win over the Royals.  I love that guy.

Mark Teahen, on the other hand, you can have.  Last year our veteran infield pick up was Wilson Betemit.  This year it’s Teahen.  The results at the plate and in the field have been similar.  Ugly.

Et Tu’, Bobby?

The most interesting part of the season so far has been the nightly effort to guess which part of the team will conspire to create the loss

Will it be the much vaunted rotation that can’t make it out of the fifth inning?

Will it be the “ozzie ball” offense.  WIth the emphasis on the “o”, as in zero!

Will it be the bullpen.

Well, yesterday it was the bullpen.  After giving us all heart palpitations in his last several outings, Bobby Jenks had a full blown crap of the bed yesterday, and blew a save and then lost the game for the Sox.  It seems to this Sox fan that it may be time to put Santos in the closer’s role.  Bobby seems to have completely lost his edge.

Two monumental games in Minneapolis against the Twins this week, followed by games at KC and then Detroit.  It seems almost foolish to say it on the 10th day of May, but this season could be effectively over for the Sox by the end of this trip…….They’re not going to win the wild card, so the division is their only shot at the post season, in other words these games are crucial!

Thank God For The Rain!!!!

Having lost their last four, and six of their last ten, the second best thing possible happened to the Sox tonight, they were rained out.

There is no positive way to spin it, the Sox have been ugly on this trip.  The pitching got shelled by the Rangers, and then they got swept by Greinke and the Royals.

Two positives came out of this trip, I think Ozzie and Coop have finally concluded that Contreras is not ready for the rotation.  Not exactly a headline you want to print in the media guide, but at least now they can move on and give Richard or one of the kids in Charlotte a run.  Marquez has been terrible to start the AAA season, but two kids Wes Whisler (5 GS, 1.95 ERA, 27 innings, 10 W, 17 K) and Carlos Torres (5 GS, 0.96 ERA,  28 innings, 10 W, 28 K) have put together reasonably strong starts (although neither has pitched a substantial number of innings in their starts), so we will see if Kenny Williams gives them a run.

The other troubling thing has been the errors.  Guys are booting the ball all over the place, and even when he’s not commiting errors, Fields is making it clear that he cannot go to his left, and please, please don’t get me started on Wilson Betemit.  WHAT A HACK!

In the midst of the injuries and the mayhem, Jayson Nix has made a nice showing for himself.  Also, Scottie Pods has returned, and while he will remind no one of Rickey Henderson, he has done reasonably well in the place of the injured Anderson and Wise and the waived Jerry Owens.  How bad must Jerry Owens feel, the two guys he competed with in the spring go down with injury, but rather than give him a shot to take the spot back, they waive him, and call in a fella sitting at home watching the games on TV with you and me.

As bad as the last ten have been, it is a long season, and we are only 3.5 back, but we need to start putting together wins, or we will be watching the pennant race from the cheap seats in August.

Sox 4 – Royals 2

Sox win on the power of a Thome three run homer, and four lockdown innings from Richard, Dotel, and Jenks out of the pen.

You knew we had a chance when the Royals lifted Gil Meche, who had a strong seven innings for Kyle “Gas Can” Farnsworth, and then left him in the game to face Thome!

Buerhle did not have his best stuff, but kept the team in the game through five.

Wise, Ramirez, and Quentin scuffled at the plate, but Fields had a strong game, as did Jimmy.

On to 162-0!