So how has this weekend gone so far?
That thug Joba got our blood boiling Friday night when he ONCE AGAIN threw high heat near Kevin Youkilis's head.
The sputtering Sox offense hasn't resembled the machine that devoured the league in '07 (and is getting almost nothing from the leadoff spot or the catchers). The bullpen seems to be regressing.
And Saturday's ugly 10-3 loss triggered flashbacks to the hideous lost weekend in 2006 when the Yankees won 5 games in 4 days.
(There was also the matter of watching LaMonica and Fernandez giggle like Robinson Cano over their first successful bet of the season).
A sweep tonight wouldn't be fatal for the Sox, but it wouldn't bode well, either. Which makes this one of those character-defining games, when the team's battle-tested veterans step forward, restore order and save the summer. Right, guys? Guys?!?
The problem, of course, is that those veterans are shouldering problems that transcend this recent slump. David Ortiz is trying to find his groove after nearly two months on the shelf. Old reliable Jason Varitek looks lost against good pitching, Curt Schilling is done for the year.
And, of course, our guy Manny Ramirez is once again picking the perfect time to flake out on his teammates. And this time he seems to have finally exhausted the patience of a loyal fanbase and generous ownership.
We don't have to re-live Manny's past transgressions (Like, say, when he gave up on the team during the aforementioned 5-game sweep in '06? Or when he developed that mystery throat ailment during a critical Yanks series on '03, but was healthy enough to spend a Saturday night with his buddy Enrique Wilson... of the Yankees?!? Or the time... sorry, re-living past transgressions.)
But with his numbers looking more and more mortal, everyone is done with his act. Weeks after roughing up a senior Red Sox team employee, Manny is once again taking off games - and perhaps at-bats - at the team's expense.
Mike Lowell was asked yesterday whether Manny has become a distraction. "I don't know," Lowell is quoted in the Boston Globe. "That's a great question for Manny."
In other words, well, yeah, he has.
And so it falls on the emerging cast of Sox veterans - Youkilis, Pedroia, Beckett, Lester - to deliver the team through this latest swoon.
Beckett did his part Friday, but received no help. And Lester goes tonight. We know he's pitched bigger games - and overcome bigger obstacles than this hot-but-inconsistent Yankees lineup.
A win might not save the summer. But it might take a bit of the sting out of putting on Fernandez' filthy Jeter jersey.
-- Dennehy
Comments (2)
Yo, it was after the Yankees sweep in 2006 that Manny called in sick. During that sweep, he reached base almost every time and drove in a few of the Sox runs. During the sweep everyone else on the team stank.
Stop whining. Pedro and company hit many, many yankees over the years. it goes all the way back til clemens was in boston. roid rage