The Long Awaited 2nd Gamecast: Sox -Tigers

After a month and a half hiatus from the play-by-play, I'm back at it in game 52 of the Sox's season. The season lately has been mediocre at best. Since their last day off on the 18th of May, the Sox (29-22) have posted a 7-6 record, while continuing their struggles on the road (12-16 overall). The sudden lack in offensive production prompted Francona to make some changes in the lineup in the last game of the series at Toronto, and apparently are going to continue tonight. That Fenway series against Texas can't come soon enough, but a good series here can bring some swift momentum heading into Beantown. Again, it will be Dice-K (0-3) who will take the mound for the Red Sox on the Cloud 10 Gamecast. Let's hope he has better luck than he did in the last one, as he goes against young ace-in the-making Rick Porcello (6-3) and the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers (28-21). Let's hope the gamecast is more of a firestarter and less of a jinx. However, with the Sox's recent luck against pitchers they haven't seen before, I'm reluctantly leaning myself towards the latter. But don't expect me to lose the faith. I've seen crazier things with these Boston Red Sox.

7:07 PM - MVPedroia steps in the box against Rick Porcello, who was 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA in the month of May. Promptly doubles on the 2nd pitch of the game. Kinda early, but I'm liking this whole new lineup thing.

7:09 PM - Drew ropes a single up the middle and puts the Sox on top against the young hurler. 1-0 Sox! Have to remember the Sox started well in the last gamecast, only to relinquish the lead in the bottom half. Remember that Baseball's Houdini is pitching.

7:13 PM - The young hurler ends up inducing a double play with Youkilis and strikes out Bay on a good breaking ball. Important to note that Porcello came in dominating righties with a .179 average against. In contrast, Dice-K has been a throwing tee stand to righties at a .483 clip. OUCH!

7:16 PM - Dice-K promptly walks Clete Thomas to start the game. I'm gonna go with a 4 as an over/number on the walk total. As always, not a good start.

7:18 PM - The stingy Placido Polanco bloops a single to center. 2 on, nobody out. Here we go again with Dice-K. And here come the best two hitters in their lineup. Both righties (prayer position time).

7:19 PM - PHEW!!! Double play on Magglio as the slugger hit one back to the Matsuzaka, killing the rally a bit. Not out of the clear with Cabrera coming to the plate.

7:22 PM - That's Cabrera being Cabrera. Miggy singles to tie the game at 1. Somehow not that shocked, considering that Dice-K did not put him away after he was ahead in the count. Just plain typical.

7:24 PM - Granderson singles on the hit-and-run, putting runners on the corners. And you were expecting an easy inning. Another righty in Inge coming to the plate.

7:27 PM - Granderson steals 2nd. I don't remember the last time we've thrown out a runner. 2006?

7:27 PM - Dice-K ends the drama with a K on Inge. Could have been worse I guess. Threw 26 pitches overall in the 1st. Now thinking of a logical over/under for innings pitched by Dice-K, considering he hasn't pitched higher than 5 1/3 all season.

7:31 PM - Here comes Papi in the 6th spot. Just sad to see. I read the latest Bill Simmons article on how he thinks he is older than listed, which would make sense for this mega-slump, considering many Dominican players have been revealed to have a few more years on them (Tejada, Vlad Guerrero). It's just crazy how sudden this drop-off is that the Nation can't pin point exactly what it is. It's just like throwing at a dartboard of solutions at this point and picking something. It's like nothing I've seen before.

7:32 PM - Base hit for Ortiz. Next train stop, The Mendoza Line.

7:35 PM - And just like that, the Sox have 'em loaded with hits from 'Tek and Ellsbury with 1 out. Leyland out to talk with his young pitcher. Now for the moment of truth.

7:38 PM - And in shocking news (sarcasm alert), the Sox strand 3 as Nick Green and Pedroia can't hit one out the infield. Hmmm.....thinkin' how to get Miguel Cabrera in a Sox uniform. Do I seem bitter?

7:48 PM - After a hit and a couple outs, Dice-K uncorks another wild pitch, making it 6 for the year. Eck is asking for the record book now. Just embarrassing. Should have an over/under for that, too. New nickname for Dice-K could easily be "Box O' Wild Chocolates" at this point.

7:51 PM - Clete Thomas, already anticipating to get walked by Dice-K again, jogs to 1st on Ball 3. Kinda don't blame him, but probably more embarrassing than the wild pitch earlier. Strikes out on the next pitch to end the inning.

7:56 PM - After a hit by Drew and a pop-up by Youk, Jay Bay Bay slams a hanging breaking ball from Porcello a mile (you pretty much have to at Comerica) to put the Sox ahead 3-1. Make that 16 long balls for the Canuck.

7:59 PM - After Lowell gets on by error, Ortiz ends the inning by way of the double play. The decline continues (Now have "Final Countdown" in my head). Hoping for at least one 1,2,3 inning from The Dice Man.

8:04 PM - After a Dice-K strikeout, two great things happen. One, a Heidi Watney sideline report. Second, her reporting on John Smoltz and his continuing success in his rehab outings. Can't wait for this guy to get out there and improve our starting pitching one way or another. Just a true professional.

8:05 PM - No 1,2,3 for me as Magglio gets on with a single. 1 out.

8:06 PM - Miggy lines out hard into a double play. Only one base runner for Dice-K this inning. Could Dice-K go over fi.........NO NO NO. Not gonna jinx it (finding wooden objects).

8:10 PM - Ellsbury hits a single and steals a base, making it 22 SBs on the year. Just wish his OBP was higher. He'd just be a monster, in the lead off spot.

8:13 PM - It was the Brandon Inge show at third base as he makes two solid plays to get the Tigers back in the box. Could this be the 1,2,3 inning we're all looking for from The Dice Man? Like a shooting star, you have to keep your eyes open, or you might miss it folks.

8:18 PM - We'll, so much for that shooting star. Granderson singles to lead off the bottom half of the 4th. Possible stolen base threat as he already has 10 for the year.

8:22 PM - After a K on Inge, the hit-and-run went horribly wrong for the Tiggers, as Josh Anderson hit into a 9 to 3 fly out, throw 'em out double play. Granderson was in Cancun somewhere, not even close to getting back. To the 5th we go.

8:28 PM - After a classic Youk walk, Porcello is taken out after 84 pitches. He wasn't pin-point sharp tonight, but it still seems premature, even for a young pitcher. Especially one who has been riding a month of dominance. Stuff that makes you wonder, but you have to take care of the young guys. Anyway, here comes the 22-year old rookie Ryan Perry.

8:32 PM - The young Perry gets the Tigers out of it. All expectations off for Dice-K as he heads into his 5th inning of work. Final line for Porcello: 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and 1 ball that probably landed in Ontario. Not his best outing, but I see why the Tigers are excited about this kid.

8:39 PM - After a long at-bat by the #8 hitter Laird and almost giving Eck the big one, Dice-K gives the .231 hitter a free pass. Here's an Aflac Trivia Question: When was the last time Dice-K pitched a 1,2,3 inning?

8:43 PM - Dice-K has now walked the 8 and 9 hitters to begin the inning. $103 million dollars is looking reeeeeeeeeeeal expensive right now. Hope that money pays for my future blood pressure medication.

8:46 PM - The Dice Man just launches a fastball by the bat of Thomas that looked like it was 98 MPH to strike him out. Guess that what happens when you throw 75% breaking balls. 1 out.

8:48 PM - Polanco hits a solid liner that Jay Bay Bay catches up to for the snag (....and exhale). 2 outs, Magglio coming to the plate (.....inhale.......).

8:50 PM - MAGGLIO STRIKES OUT (.....huge exhale)! 6 Ks for Dice-K as he tightrope walks out of another jam. The Sox should consider sending a proposal to Selig to have 2 runners on to begin every inning of Dice-K's starts. It would improve his walk totals, his WHIP, his ERA.......everything! I swear he would be the best pitcher in the league.

8:55 PM - Papi's late on a 1-2, 96 MPH. Story of his life right now. 1 down. Average now at .189 (Please hold off the HGH/PED jokes till after the game, not in the mood).

8:59 PM - After a 'Tek walk, Ellsbury gets on for the third time today with a solid opposite-field hit. Maybe putting him 8th could be the best thing for him. Sort of was anointed the lead off hitter after Game 4 of the World Series without a large sample of experience. 2 on, 1 out.

9:02 PM - Ball 4 to Nick Green. They're loaded again. Looking for MVPedroia to provide some clutch insurance right now. Former Sox Lyon in the 'pen.

9:04 PM - Ball 4! A little offense by patience. 4-1 Sox. Let's see if Drew can continue his solid night. Old friend and member of the "03 closer by committee crew" Brandon Lyon will try to put out the fire.

9:09 PM - Weak chopper hit by Drew to Lyon. Only out is made at home. 2 out.

9:09 PM - Now a little offense by pain. Youk promptly gets hit by a pitch off the leg. 5-1 Sox. Hey, whatever gets the job done.

9:10 PM - Bay grounds to Inge at third, who makes another nice play to end the inning. Doubting that Dice-K will be coming out for the bottom half. At least he's in the driver's seat for a much needed victory. How bout "The Tokyo Rollercoaster" for a moniker? Final Line: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 6 Ks.

9:16 PM - Just learned from Orsillo and Eck that the Sox bullpen has tallied a 2.17 ERA in the last 20 games with a 2.96 ERA for the year (which is like a run better than the next team), and a .238 average against. I wonder if it's possible to give a whole unit of a team with an MVP award. It should be.

9:19 PM - Wow! What a concept. I think that was the first 1,2,3 inning by a pitcher from any side tonight. Kinda surprised that this game is only 5-1. Going on to the last third of the game, feeling alright.

9:24 PM - Another strikeout on Ortiz. Plummeting faster than TWA right now.

9:25 PM - How 'bout The Captain? 'Tek gets on with his 10th double of the year. Who would have thought that he would be a threat in the bottom of the order after last year's train wreck? Guess I'm one of the guilty ones.

9:28 PM - After an Ellsbury walk, Nicky Green hits a weak grounder to end the top half. Time for the 7th inning stretch/my 3rd gallon of water. The funky Okajima is set to step on the bump.

9:36 PM - Another solid inning from Okajima. Starting to think that my proposal of sending the bullpen out for the whole game might be a genius idea. There is no guy I would want to face right now, and I'm sure the AL feels the same way. Too bad the Yanks are just murdering the Rangers right now. Speaking of, my 1st round pick in one of my fantasy drafts (Josh Hamilton) might be out for two months with an ab strain. I should just send a proposal to my league next year to just skip the 1st round. Who in my league has a Bubba Gump voodoo doll? C'mon, admit it.

9:44 PM - Lyon produces the first 1,2,3 inning of the night for Detroit's pitching staff. Just found out that the San Fran bullpen blew a potential win for Lincecum against the "Natinals". If it isn't the Sox taking years off my life, it's my fantasy team. I guess I have to complain about something now that the Sox are up 5-1, right?

9:48 PM - After 1 1/3 solid innings, Francona pulls the Japanese lefty to put in the Dominican right-hander Ramon Ramirez, who has just been solid this year. He has posted a 1.38 ERA with a .161 average against. Other than his 2 ER outing on the 30th of May (which was as many runs as he had allowed all year to that point), he has just been baseball's version of a Rubik's Cube.

9:53 PM - And the bullpen remains perfect. 3 IP with first base nice and clean makes Chuck a happy camper. Here comes the final stretch.

9:58 PM - Former starter Nate Robertson concludes a perfect inning by striking out Big Papi on a questionable low pitch. 3 Ks for the Big Man. I wonder if it's more torture for me than it is for him. Papelbon looks like he's coming in, considering it isn't a save situation. Keep in mind, he hasn't pitched since the 28th against the Twins. Game over?

10:03 PM - There goes the perfecto from the bullpen. Cabrera singles to center off Paplemonster, who came into the game with righties batting at a .268 clip. Could be arguable that Papelbon might not be the most dominant bullpen presence this year.

10:06 PM - Point proven? Another single, this time by Granderson. I bet you he's in "save mode" now.

10:09 PM - Aaaaanother single, this time by Inge off a hanging slider. I don't know what it is, but Papelbon seems to make things too interesting this year.

10:10 PM - Juuuuuuuuuuuust foul. Josh Anderson almost made this a game again by centimeters. A little bit too late off the fastball. What a battle!

10:13 PM - Another foul. This is just the classic Papelbon drama this year, getting long at bats from number 7 hitters. Splitter anyone? Dice-K looks understandably tense.

10:15 PM - FINALLY! Paps goes high on Anderson for the strikeout. Still alive and responding. 1 out, still bases loaded.

10:19 PM - INSIDE FASTBALL STRIKE 3 ON LARISH! I think both Papelbon and Matsuzaka both have a bet going on to see who can kill me 1st. 2 out, tying run still at the plate.

10:21 PM - HE STRUUUUUUCK HIM OUT. Ramon Santiago goes down for the count, concluding another 35 pitch balancing act by Papelbon. This is the 500th win recorded by Francona as the Red Sox manager, and like many of them, this one wasn't easy. And just to think, I was going to apologize for not picking the most exciting contest to do the gamecast tonight. This puts the Sox at the 30 win mark, keeping them on pace with The Empire. Good to get on the right foot against a division leader on the road. Also good for the confidence of Dice-K to get that first victory. Would have liked him to have gone 6 IP, but we're thinking baby steps here ladies and gents. Overall, all I have to do is add some AC, and I can sleep well tonight. Later folks!