"Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned but heaven hath no sweetness like a sports fan vindicated." - Samcat

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Turnabout is Fair Play




















(Photo from Yahoo! Sports)

Okay, someone hold me. I really think we're in the end times. First the Sox blow a 9-run lead in epic fashion last night to the lowly Orioles (love you, Baltimore, mean it), and then today they stage a comeback of their own, giving Baltimore a taste of their own medicine. The whole comeback thing isn't that strange but what is, is who played the role of hero this afternoon. That would be a one Mr. Julio Cesar Lugo, which person, I am sure you are aware, I am really not very fond of. Though, if I do recall correctly, Lugo also authored the winning run in what's become known as the Mother's Day Miracle/Massacre (depending on your side of the story). So I guess what I'm saying is...does Julio Lugo really, really hate Baltimore? Did he perhaps eat some bad crabcakes at Ocean Pride once? Does Old Bay make him retain water? Or is he just fucking with me? I'd put nothing past the guy.

Now while the win is excellent and surely takes some of the sting (though not all) out of last night's pride punch and metaphorical knee to the goob, what is concerning to me is the Sox recent issues with rookie pitchers. We had this problem a few years ago when the Sox were seemingly responsible for inflating the scouting reports of rookie pitchers such that they looked like Cy Young candidates. Other teams never seemed to have this problem when facing the same pitchers. Maybe that's how Carl Pavano happened. Now I understand how familiarity can tip a team off to a pitcher's tendencies and idiosyncrasies and the like, which is why the Sox often handle the likes of Andy Pettitte and Bartolo Colon (pre-Sox version) with relative ease, but the fact that they've apparently resorted to being confused by rookie pitchers again for more than a few innings is slightly disconcerting.

However, I suppose given the outcome of today's game and the fact that the comeback was staged against Baltimore's more talented relievers, I shan't complain. I am slightly concerned about this Lugo thing though and with good reason. Have you been around Boston lately? It's entirely possible the sky is falling.