through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered . . .

Wow. Tonight's game was like an object lesson in everything the Sox are doing wrong.

* They wasted a good starter. Jeremi-with-an-I was about eight bazillion times better than everyone expected. He pitched a good game. He gave up three runs in the first inning, but then he settled down and ended up with seven Ks. I'm feeling better about our rotation.

And yet.

* Way too many men stranded on base. What was it, eleven tonight? I'm used to this, it's what we do, but it shouldn't be. I've noticed that a lot of our runs come from homers, which is all well and good, but let's do some old-fashioned hitting too, because this is what happens when no one gets a home run. Our offense needs to chill out and stop swinging for the poles every damn time.

* OUR BULLPEN SUCKS OH MY GOD. Mantei did a nice job, five up and five down, but Neal and Embree? STOP THAT. Five runs between the two of you was just tragically ridiculous. I'm just glad we didn't have to see Foulkie tonight.

* Too bad that awesome out from Rents ultimately didn't do shit.

BAH.

So, over all, it's a good thing for my sanity that I wasn't rooting for them tonight.

. . . oh, what? I love Bonderman and I wanted him to get the win. And he did, so now his record is 4-2. The Sox get way more games than Bondo gets starts. It was weird as all shit to be cheering and growling at all the wrong places, but this is the only game I'll be doing it. Next two games I'm happy either way, and Thursday Arroyo starts so it's all about the Sox.

It is strange, though, to not root for a team you know so well. Because I know the Sox's strengths and weaknesses, and I knew when to be nervous ("Oh, Tek's at bat") and when to relax ("Blaine Neal? Do they, like, not want to win?"). Usually, it's a bit of a gray area, because you can follow a rival team all you want, but unless you can watch them regularly, you don't know them like you know your own team, so you're not sure how much tension to feel when.

Oh, and that rough time Bondo had? Totally my fault. I'm sorry. See, I decided after his 1-2-3 first that it would be fun to try and keep a game log. So I did, and he promptly started losing his shit. In the fourth inning, bases loaded, I decided to stop writing and see what happened.

( Game Log of DOOM )

And the second I stopped writing, Bondo struck out Manny, and then Ortiz, and got out of that bases loaded jam. Nice. So, even though I was dying to, I didn't write another damn word. I'm sorry, Bondo. I won't do it again. In fact, no more game logs from me period.

And then the Tigers proceeded to take advantage of the Sox - doing whatever the fuck they thought they were doing. Triples and triples. Two homers from Carlos Peña. A great inning of relief from TEH FARNS, and two nice ones from Ugie Urbina. Okay, Pudge went 0-for-4, but you can't have everything.

So, from a Tigers fan standpoint, absolutely lovely. From a Red Sox fan standpoint, what the fuck is wrong with my team?

In news of other teams: Yankees actually win a game, 6-2. Over the Devil Rays, so let's not get too worked up. Meanwhile, the Astros trash the Pirates, 4-11, with my boy Andy Pettitte getting the win. Very good day for my pitchers. <3

In conclusion: BONDO.

Wow. The Sox just signed John Olerud to a minor league contract. Olerud played first base for the Yankees last year; he hurt his foot during the ALCS and ended up having surgery. So he's gonna need time to get back in shape, and then who knows? Something happens to Millar, Olerud and his batting helmet may well end up on first base at Fenway. Weeeeeeird.

Whee, Tom Caron just called Bondo a "tough way to start." THAT'S RIGHT, FEAR MY BONDO.

Speaking of who's pitching tomorrow - we don't know who's pitching for the Sox tomorrow. Gee, I sure hope they get around to that before game time. And I hope we don't have to lose Youk again to make room on the roster. Can't we ditch Vasquez? He's hurt and Youk is way better anyway.

Hate eight o'clock games. They go late and I am tired. Yay, I can't wait until we visit the Angels in California and the games don't start till ten EST.

Sox ahead so far, 8-2 in the ninth. Bronson's done, but pitched very well. Ooh, and Tek just got a home run, so now it's 9-2. I love my Tek. So, unless they bring out Foulke and he sucks harder than he's ever sucked before - sadly, this is a possibility - I think we've got this one.

In news of other teams, the Yankees won (of course, no one can lose all the time; hell, the Royals also won a game today). The Astros also won, so the Tigers promptly made up for it by losing by one run. My teams don't get mediocre losses. They either implode or just narrowly get squeaked out. I'm so proud.

Yay Sox/Tigers starts Monday!

What is with the Tigers relief giving up runs the SECOND they get the ball? I mean, in this case the score is now at 10-3 Tigers in the eighth, so I'm not too worried, but WTF?

Yankees currently behind the Angels 5-1, also in the eighth. Funny how they suck when the Princess only gets the one homer.

I feel much better now. =D

Interesting discussion on Schill's ankle going on at redsox. Heaven knows you want to take anything you read at that community with a grain of salt, but the OP here seems to know what she's talking about, and she's talking possible stress fracture. Which comes with a possible eight weeks out. LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU AND I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT IT.

But I still feel better. It's hard to lift out of a funk at work, and much easier to shake it at home when I'm free to do what I need to do to distract myself and break the circles my mind is going in. I'm not any happier about our pitching situation, but I'm not ready to have a fit either.

Edit: Final Tigers score 10-3. <3 I think I'll go to bed now and trust the Angels to finish things up.

Edit again: Okay, I lie. I futzed around and killed time getting ready for bed until that game was over. Final score: 5-1, Angels. What a difference twenty-four hours makes.

I am going to vomit everywhere. I hate the Orioles. I hate our bullpen. I hate A-Rod. And I hate rain for taking the Tigers and Astros away from me.

Well, shit, Boomer. I'm gonna miss him. How long before a month to six weeks is over?

Also, the Astros game tonight has been postponed. Except that it's rain instead of snow. But on the other hand, the Tigers game is merely delayed with no further explanation on the scoreboard. Oh, no, wait, it's rain. Well . . . at least it's not snow?

Ha, at least the Yankees aren't being precipitated on. They're playing the Angels. Which means *snf* Orlando Cabrera. Man, just the thought of seeing his little picture on GameCast for another team makes me sad.

Edit: And A-Rod got a three-run homer. MOTHERFUCKER. Does this mean I can't make fun of him for being useless anymore? (No.)

Edit again: And then A-Rod got a two-run homer. I don't care, I don't care, I'll still make fun of him . . . *foams at mouth*

On the plus side, the Sox are currently ahead 5-2. Very productive second inning. <3

Edit s'more: And he got a GRAND SLAM. Now GameCast is just making this up to TORMENT ME. The Angels need to remember never to let Bartolo Colon pitch to A-Rod again, because he CAN'T and he SUCKS. This is RIDICULOUS. Someone will please have to let me know how the Red Sox game turns out, because I will be busy KILLING MYSELF.

WOOOOO Manny just got a three-run homer! 8-3! Never mind, I guess I choose life after all. <3 <3 <3

Note to self:

( Standings math is: )

Just logging for future reference, nothing to see here, unless you also want to know how to calcuate the standings.

Oh, two Sox pitchers injured this far. Hey Boomer, Mantei, let's not spend any time on the DL, 'kay?

On the other hand, Embree is warming now, and frankly, if the injuries continue, at least we won't miss him too much.

Edit: And Embree promptly Ks Surhoff. Note to self part the second: Make pointless snarky comments about players just as they come into the game more often.

And the Sox lose to the Devil Rays again. By guess how many runs? Yeah. Schilling is starting to make me nervous. His three starts so far have not been great.

The ESPN scoreboard isn't showing the new standings yet, but I believe that this puts the Red Sox a game behind the Orioles for first place. (How, exactly, do we go from shutting out the Orioles twice in a row to losing to the Devil Rays twice in a row? Baseball is so weird.) Well, at least this means that the Yankees are now one and a half games behind the Devil Rays.

I'm sad that there was no Tigers game today. I miss them.

Standings: Red Sox ten wins eight losses, Orioles eleven wins seven losses. So, a game and a half behind?

Tomorrow I get cable. Can't wait to watch the Sox games instead of just listening to them. Hmm. Most of stuff is sitting around in boxes - I should go and at least shove them to the side so they don't get in the cable guy's way.

And the Sox tied it up. And then the freaking Devil Rays won with a freaking homer. Bleargh. Oh, and Embree gave up the homer. WHAT A FREAKING SURPRISE. Man, I can't even be bothered to swear properly.

Those two runs in the ninth were pretty cool, though, and involved my boy Bellhorn. And Vasquez laid down a sacrifice bunt for the second time in the game, which was a) cool and b) new, because I think the Sox bunted like twice last year. Not so much for bunting, this team.

Ugh, the Yankees just got two runs in the bottom of the ninth, now 5-3. Just you freaking watch. *seethe*

Okay. Deep breath. Happy thoughts. Tigers. Pudge. Homer. And holy shit, the Astros have brought it up to 6-8. Five runs in the sixth inning. Too bad I want to get some sleep. I'll have to wait till tomorrow for the final score. Oh, and Bernie Williams just flied out to end the game, so the Yankees lose after all.

And . . . wait, if the D-Rays won . . . I'll have to check the standings, but I think this makes them tied for last place again.

Yes. Yes, the Yankees and Devil Rays are tied for last place at seven wins and ten losses each.

The Tigers win, the Astros have apparently decided not to suck after all, and the Yankees are in the basement once more. The good definitely outweighs the bad here. I'm so glad I randomly picked up other teams to root for (and against). And I love the Tigers. And I also love the Red Sox. And I love my silly Astros, too.

And the Yankees suck. =D

OH MY GOD YES. Red Sox win 1-0. 1-0. That is two shut-outs in a row, eighteen consecutive shut-out innings, against what was until about two minutes ago the number one team in the division. Our boys shut them down cold.

Like Wells last night, Clement went eight innings. And like Wells, Clement was awesome.

And, since that was a two-game series, that, children, was a sweep.

And I was worried about the Orioles why?

Next series: Playing the Devil Rays. Damn. I guess that means I can't root for them anymore, because when it comes right down to it, if I have to choose, I really do prefer seeing the Red Sox in first to seeing the Yankees in last.

One. Nothing. That is all.

Edit: Except to observe that a 1-0 game where the only run was scored in the second inning is kind of what it must be like to have a two and a half hour heart attack.