Stranded: Sox - A's Game 2

I almost didn’t write a blog today; after yesterday’s loss, I figured the Sox would put their tail between their legs and give up the series, and I’d just do a composite recap titled something along the lines of, “100 bad things about the past three days.” Instead, the Sox went out on the field and stole themselves another W. By no means deserved, by no means well-managed, and by no means effortless, but a W nevertheless. John Danks picks up his 10^th win, the Sox outscored the A’s 2-1, and the team is still tied for first with the Twins.

John Danks walked away with the win, but things weren’t looking good when he got himself in a bases-loaded situation twice. He owes this win entirely to Juan Uribe (This man had himself an unassisted double play, for Crede’s sake!) for saving him twice. Of course, there were at least 3 errors (only one put on the board) that dug his hole deeper. I have never written more about a pitcher- and he’s never walked so many guys: a career-high 5. He went deep into counts, got into too many pitch-offs with guys that fouled off pitch after pitch, and had no back-up from Ramirez today in the infield. He was at 100 pitches in 5 innings- and it was only in the 5^th inning that he seemed to settle down and start having easier outs. They let him out for another inning (thankfully an easy 1-2-3) before bringing out Carrasco. Two consecutive nights of DJ can only mean one thing: he’s certainly not our starting pitcher Tuesday. Well, not certainly, but it’s a fairly safe bet. Actually, I was expecting to see Clay Richard out after seeing his gianormous shoulders out for a warm-up in the fifth inning. Maybe he’s just warming up for Tuesday. As of right now, it looks to me like he was called up to be Lance Broadway. [Shrug] I still can’t figure it out. Moving on to Matt Thornton. That guy is unhittable on a good day. If only all his days were good days, etc, etc. And Bobby Jenks to finish up the evening.

Well, our hitters weren’t helping the pitching out much. 11 hits and 4 walks and only 2 crossed home plate. And you know who our best hitter for the day was? Toby Hall. I mean, I give the guy so much crap, but he came through today. Had himself an RBI, went 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch. And this is the 2^nd consecutive time he’s been the man behind the mask with Danks on the mound where Danks has held the other team to two runs or less. Quentin was also 2-for-3 with two walks, Griffey had 2 hits, Konerko had a nice hit, paired with an intention walk that had to have done wonders for his self-esteem. But all these hits were badly placed. They had the lead-off man aboard almost every inning and could do nothing over and over. I think this is a result of a bad batting order. And of a bad day from JD.

Ok, so some notes and nonsensical thing. First of all, I hate the Twins and can’t wait until they go on that road trip because they need to slow their roll. Then, I have to make a quick reference to Brian Anderson almost stealing home from first base yesterday. I heard some mean comments thrown his way, but I’m guessing this was Jeff Cox- at it again. And on the flip side, you had Alexei Ramirez yesterday. I’m not sure if he’s getting the sign to steal a base or if he’s doing it on his own, but with his speed, it’s a shame that he’s so bad at it. I suggest that he uses the offseason to work on stealing bases, and stops for this year because he’s hurting the team. Frank Thomas. Gotta mention that guy. I mean, we have some guys on our team that are just enormous, but he’s something else. I’m amazed that Danks was as good against him as he was because the man can intimidate the cement off a sidewalk. Our 5^th starting pitcher, Dewayne Wise was brought in to hold Griffey’s place on base. Not to be blunt here, but he was about as useful in that situation as he is being kept here instead of Lance Broadway. So, unless he can pitch on Tuesday, or unless the managers are willing to part with Brian Anderson, I’d say he doesn’t have a place on the team anymore. And, finally, Joe Crede still hasn’t played his rehab games. I’m assuming he will once the Knights stop playing away games, but it will soon be a month since he’s been gone and it’s time for him to return.