Lookit Me! Lookit Me!

(photo from Boston.com)

Is it just me, or does Schilling look like he wants to make sure no one breaks Manny? Like maybe he's realizing that despite his occasional, shall we say, "adventures" in outfielding, Manny might save his ass more often than not. I'm just sayin'.

That game wasn't particularly pretty. Sure, it started off that way and it was 4-0 Sox when I flipped to Fox to watch that gray-haired, drunken, 45-year-old lawyer (HATE) on American Idol annoy me further with the slaughter of a Bruce Springsteen song but when you've got a 4-0 lead against the Orioles with Schilling on the mound, you're pretty much thinking you're good. I don't think that's overconfidence, I think it's realistic. Of course, when I flipped back to the game twenty minutes later to give my eardrums a break from the aural assault, the Sox were down 5-4, Schilling had given up three home runs and all hell had apparently broken loose.

Clearly, I cannot leave them alone for a second.

It's like the team needs a babysitter or something. I feel like they're a petulant child, acting out when I dare turn my attention away for a second and focus on something else. It's the baseball equivalent of holding their breath and stomping their feet until they get their way. Jesus, boys, aren't you grown men? Can't you handle twenty minutes without my constant attention? Manny aside, you really shouldn't need supervision at all times. I mean, I have other interests. I have shit to do. I have Idol to be annoyed by (speaking of petulant children...).

Thankfully, Mark Loretta isn't interested in this attention getting, acting out business and prefers instead to just win baseball games. He is quietly challenging Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell for most "no nonsense" guy on the team.

And David Ortiz is...well, he's David Ortiz. Was there a question?

So, beers better have been on Schilling last night as the team bailed him out of a jam. I hope he also bought one for Brandon Fahey because homeboy is about one violent swing-and-a-miss away from snapping himself completely in half.

Tonight the knuckleball battery goes for the sweep. Have I mentioned yet how glad I am to have Dougie back?