Bailey's Daily!
This is Bailey's Daily Blog site to complain, compose, give utterance to, or just plain wax poetic. I am, if I may say, an adorable, sweet, TALENTED, 4 1/2 year old Beagle (that's 32 in people years who was rescued from Zell Miller's and Saxby Chambliss' South Georgia!). I love the Red Sox, my mom, gramdma's cooking, ice cream and playing in the dog park! I am learning how to email and blog with no opposable thumbs! IT'S BLOG-GONE FUN! WOOF!:)Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Missed chances cost Red Sox - Strand 13 Runners
The Red Sox were no strangers to the basepaths of McAfee Coliseum Monday night. Unfortunately, the majority of those runners never crossed home, and a night full of lost opportunities resulted in the Sox suffering a 6-4 loss to the A's in the first of a three-game series.
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
OAKLAND -- The Red Sox were no strangers to the basepaths of McAfee Coliseum Monday night. Unfortunately, the majority of those runners never crossed home, and a night full of lost opportunities resulted in the Sox suffering a 6-4 loss to the A's in the first of a three-game series.
The only thing more common on this night than a stranded Boston runner was a Boston hitter muttering in disgust on his way back to the dugout.
The fact the Sox had more men left on base (13) than hits (12) indicated what kind of frustrating night this was. On the other side of the field, the A's were just relieved to finally get a win, snapping a season-long eight-game losing streak.
"I think we're all just shaking our heads thinking this should not have happened," said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "They were bound to get a victory. They plugged away, they did what they had to, got out of some tough jams. You have to tip your hat to those guys."
Despite the plethora of missed opportunities by the Sox, they were still in this one down to the very end.
But the A's rallied against Sox relievers Mike Myers and Mike Timlin in the eighth to snap a 4-4 tie and that proved to the difference. Lefty specialist Myers surrendered singles to left-handed batters Eric Chavez and Erubiel Durazo to open the inning. It wasn't as if Myers didn't make his pitches. The A's just found some holes. In fact, Myers broke Durazo's bat in three pieces, only to have the ball deflect off his hand and his glove, leading to an infield hit.
"Yeah, it's frustrating," said Myers, who took the loss. "It was a fastball in. I thought it was in good enough. I got a broken bat. He hit it to the right spot. It put Timlin in a tough situation."
With runners on second and third and one out, the Sox opted to walk Scott Hatteberg. The move didn't pan out, as rookie Matt Watson struck a two-run single through the second-base hole, into right field.
Bronson Arroyo turned in a decent outing for the Sox (seven innings, six hits, four runs), who fell to 1-3 on the six-game road trip. "Bronson has been solid for us, we couldn't help him on some tough plays out there," said Damon. "He's still pitching like our ace."
Things started well enough for the Sox. A's starter Kirk Saarloos helped spark a Boston rally in the top of the second by walking Kevin Youkilis and hitting Bill Mueller, loading the bases with two outs for Mark Bellhorn. The second baseman delivered, smacking a two-run single up the middle to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. However, coming through with men on base was not a recurring theme for Boston on this night. In the fourth, the Sox loaded the bases with nobody out and didn't score. First Bellhorn struck out, then Damon. Edgar Renteria flew out to center, and the chance was gone.
"Yeah, we definitely did not take advantage of what was out there," Damon said. "We struck out a few too many times with men in scoring position, me included. You have to tip your hat. I felt like I missed those pitches by a good foot and they were right down the middle. He did a good job of getting out of some tough spots, but there's no way we should have come out with a loss."
Arroyo cruised most of the night, but had a rough fifth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Mark Kotsay roped a three-run triple to center, giving the A's their first lead. Jason Kendall made it 4-2 with a fielder's choice grounder that Renteria, playing shallow, bobbled.
The A's sent nine batters to the plate and Arroyo avoided being removed from the game by retiring Ginter on a flyout to center to end the inning.
"Well, I think he's human," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "He's been so good. He nicked their No. 9 hitter there, right in the middle of the inning, it didn't help. I will say he gathered himself. You know how we feel about trying to put crooked numbers up, it gives you a heck of a chance to win, and then they did that to us and we couldn't overcome it."
Oakland went to the bullpen in the seventh, with right-hander Keiichi Yabu -- originally slated to start on Wednesday -- replacing Saarloos. The Sox gave Yabu a rude greeting, with Bellhorn leading off with a double to right, followed by a walk to Damon and a single by Renteria. David Ortiz took advantage of that opportunity, belting a two-run double off the wall in left-center to tie the game.
That opened up yet another big chance. With runners on second and third and nobody out, the Sox seemed primed to go in front. On most nights, they would have. But once again, they couldn't cash in. Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek struck out and Youkilis grounded to short.
There would be another opportunity for the Sox in the eighth as Mueller led off with a single and Damon drew a one-out walk. Did Francona think about having Bellhorn -- who batted before Damon and struck out -- try to bunt Mueller to second?
"I didn't," Francona said. "Bell had swung the bat pretty good."
Yabu dug down, though, striking out Renteria and getting Ortiz on a grounder to first.
This most annoying of nights for the Sox wouldn't have proper closure without another tantalizing chance, this one against A's closer Octavio Dotel. Trot Nixon smacked a one-out single. And with the Sox down to their last out, they appeared to have a monumental break. Pinch-hitter Kevin Millar hit a tapper to second and reached when Dotel, covering first, somehow didn't touch the bag. But the break wasn't something the Sox could capitalize on, as Mueller lofted a routine flyout to left to end it.
"We got ourselves in good positions," said Francona. "We just couldn't get one big hit at one key time to have a big inning, or to be able to get ourselves a lead. I thought we did a great job to get ourselves in those positions. We just couldn't do anything with it."
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
OAKLAND -- The Red Sox were no strangers to the basepaths of McAfee Coliseum Monday night. Unfortunately, the majority of those runners never crossed home, and a night full of lost opportunities resulted in the Sox suffering a 6-4 loss to the A's in the first of a three-game series.
The only thing more common on this night than a stranded Boston runner was a Boston hitter muttering in disgust on his way back to the dugout.
The fact the Sox had more men left on base (13) than hits (12) indicated what kind of frustrating night this was. On the other side of the field, the A's were just relieved to finally get a win, snapping a season-long eight-game losing streak.
"I think we're all just shaking our heads thinking this should not have happened," said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "They were bound to get a victory. They plugged away, they did what they had to, got out of some tough jams. You have to tip your hat to those guys."
Despite the plethora of missed opportunities by the Sox, they were still in this one down to the very end.
But the A's rallied against Sox relievers Mike Myers and Mike Timlin in the eighth to snap a 4-4 tie and that proved to the difference. Lefty specialist Myers surrendered singles to left-handed batters Eric Chavez and Erubiel Durazo to open the inning. It wasn't as if Myers didn't make his pitches. The A's just found some holes. In fact, Myers broke Durazo's bat in three pieces, only to have the ball deflect off his hand and his glove, leading to an infield hit.
"Yeah, it's frustrating," said Myers, who took the loss. "It was a fastball in. I thought it was in good enough. I got a broken bat. He hit it to the right spot. It put Timlin in a tough situation."
With runners on second and third and one out, the Sox opted to walk Scott Hatteberg. The move didn't pan out, as rookie Matt Watson struck a two-run single through the second-base hole, into right field.
Bronson Arroyo turned in a decent outing for the Sox (seven innings, six hits, four runs), who fell to 1-3 on the six-game road trip. "Bronson has been solid for us, we couldn't help him on some tough plays out there," said Damon. "He's still pitching like our ace."
Things started well enough for the Sox. A's starter Kirk Saarloos helped spark a Boston rally in the top of the second by walking Kevin Youkilis and hitting Bill Mueller, loading the bases with two outs for Mark Bellhorn. The second baseman delivered, smacking a two-run single up the middle to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. However, coming through with men on base was not a recurring theme for Boston on this night. In the fourth, the Sox loaded the bases with nobody out and didn't score. First Bellhorn struck out, then Damon. Edgar Renteria flew out to center, and the chance was gone.
"Yeah, we definitely did not take advantage of what was out there," Damon said. "We struck out a few too many times with men in scoring position, me included. You have to tip your hat. I felt like I missed those pitches by a good foot and they were right down the middle. He did a good job of getting out of some tough spots, but there's no way we should have come out with a loss."
Arroyo cruised most of the night, but had a rough fifth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Mark Kotsay roped a three-run triple to center, giving the A's their first lead. Jason Kendall made it 4-2 with a fielder's choice grounder that Renteria, playing shallow, bobbled.
The A's sent nine batters to the plate and Arroyo avoided being removed from the game by retiring Ginter on a flyout to center to end the inning.
"Well, I think he's human," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "He's been so good. He nicked their No. 9 hitter there, right in the middle of the inning, it didn't help. I will say he gathered himself. You know how we feel about trying to put crooked numbers up, it gives you a heck of a chance to win, and then they did that to us and we couldn't overcome it."
Oakland went to the bullpen in the seventh, with right-hander Keiichi Yabu -- originally slated to start on Wednesday -- replacing Saarloos. The Sox gave Yabu a rude greeting, with Bellhorn leading off with a double to right, followed by a walk to Damon and a single by Renteria. David Ortiz took advantage of that opportunity, belting a two-run double off the wall in left-center to tie the game.
That opened up yet another big chance. With runners on second and third and nobody out, the Sox seemed primed to go in front. On most nights, they would have. But once again, they couldn't cash in. Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek struck out and Youkilis grounded to short.
There would be another opportunity for the Sox in the eighth as Mueller led off with a single and Damon drew a one-out walk. Did Francona think about having Bellhorn -- who batted before Damon and struck out -- try to bunt Mueller to second?
"I didn't," Francona said. "Bell had swung the bat pretty good."
Yabu dug down, though, striking out Renteria and getting Ortiz on a grounder to first.
This most annoying of nights for the Sox wouldn't have proper closure without another tantalizing chance, this one against A's closer Octavio Dotel. Trot Nixon smacked a one-out single. And with the Sox down to their last out, they appeared to have a monumental break. Pinch-hitter Kevin Millar hit a tapper to second and reached when Dotel, covering first, somehow didn't touch the bag. But the break wasn't something the Sox could capitalize on, as Mueller lofted a routine flyout to left to end it.
"We got ourselves in good positions," said Francona. "We just couldn't get one big hit at one key time to have a big inning, or to be able to get ourselves a lead. I thought we did a great job to get ourselves in those positions. We just couldn't do anything with it."
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