Thank you Juan Rivera... again

Tonight's game had all the makings of a classic teeth grinder.
The Sox potentially blowing a 1 run over 8 innings Lester performance.

In fact for me it was a classic teeth grinder moment. I saw the Red Sox and Angels were tied in the 8th inning and the Angels had runners on second and third and only 1 out... and Francona was leaving Lester in there.

Then I had to go to the studio where we were taping an episode of The Bonnie Hunt Show.
And I just assumed the Sox were going to let those runs come in... and a day after scoring 17 runs, they'd lose with a single run on the board.

When I came back to my office from the studio, I saw that not only did the Angels not score, but the Red Sox somehow won 5-1.

And watching the highlights made me see what a true dodged bullet it was.
After The Late David Ortiz struck out 3 times and grounded into 2 double plays (I think all in the same inning) Jeremy Hermedia hit a ball to left field with the bases loaded, 2 outs and 2 strikes and the game still tied at 1.

It was a catchable ball. Maybe not an easy catch, but certainly not a circus catch either.

And Juan Rivera played the ball as miserably as he could... he took the wrong route to it, let it bounce over his head and turned what should have been a 1-1 game in the 9th into a 4-1 Red Sox lead and eventually a 5-1 win.

Just a year ago, Rivera had another interesting adventure in Fenway's left field. With the score tied and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th last September, Alex Gonzalez hit a shallow fly to left that Rivera let fall in front of him... standing.

Playing on the bounce means the game would be over and the Angels would lose... the only hope would be to dive.

He didn't. It was odd then and it was odd now.

And today another misplay turns a bad Red Sox night into a truly dodged bullet.

And FINALLY we can update the tally the way I want to!

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 11

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 9

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.

Back to +2.
Win one of the next two and it is another series win... maybe the Baltimore series was a fluke.

Let's hope so.

Oh Astros... PLEASE trade Roy Oswalt

Last April I predicted the Astros would deal Roy Oswalt.

Last summer I couldn't believe he was still in Houston.

THIS April I told the Astros they should deal him... and later said they had to do it before he got hurt and had his value plummet.

Now they have to trade him because it is the kindest thing to do.

Seriously, he clearly can pitch like a #1 starter. Yet he has a 2-4 record with the Astros... who seem to be hellbent to lose 100 games this year.

They are in the middle of their second 8 game losing streak of the year. It's not even Cinco De Mayo yet!

They've only won 8 games... so that means they have had a losing streak that matches their win total TWICE!

And poor Roy Oswalt is 32 years old... not an old man but will probably not be a #1 starter by the time the Astros turn this ship around.

Today, Oswalt struck out 8 in 7 innings and let up only a solo homer to Justin Upton... FOR THE LOSS!

He has thrown 7 innings in each of his last 4 starts to a 1.92 ERA... and a 2-2 record over those 4 starts.

Seriously, there are not a lot of pitchers of Oswalts talent... they can get 3, maybe even 4 pieces to help build this team back up.

But forget the Astros future... they should just give Oswalt his parole.

A pennant contender could skyrocket to front runner status by sticking Oswalt into their rotation the way the Brewers did in 2008 with CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee did in 2009 with the Phillies.

Just do it Astros. It is the humane thing to do.

Watch BROAD STREET BULLIES on HBO Tonight!

We interrupt baseball talk for a second to give a plug to the latest HBO Sports special... The Broad Street Bullies.



The show follows the outrageous, violent and vilified Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970s and how they fought and brawled their way to the Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975.



They follow Bill Barber, Bill Clement, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, "Moose" DuPont, Bobby Clarke and all the rest of the toothless grin Flyers who were the most polarizing team in hockey history... and took on the Russians in 1976.



Even if you are not a hockey fan, trust me... watch it. HBO Sports NEVER gets it wrong.



Their recent documentary Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals was riveting.



And Broad Street Bullies is directed by friend of Sully Baseball George Roy.



He directed the riveting films City Dump, Fists of Freedom and Mantle.



And oh yeah... he also directed yours truly in the Emmy Award winning Curse of the Bambino and the brilliant follow up Reverse the Curse of the Bambino.



So check out the trailer and set your DVRs tonight!

What is this "Red Sox blow out" you speak of?

I don't believe it.
The Red Sox actually won a blow out game.

As in "the game was not in doubt late."
As in "the Red Sox took a 13 run lead into the 9th inning."
As in "they were able to rest Bard, Okajima and Papelbon in the game."
As in "no need to update the Teeth Grinder/Dodged Bullet tally."

Now the Red Sox did everything in their power to MAKE it interesting. Buchholz struggled in the 6th.

Schoeneweis let up 4 in the 9th to make his ERA ugly.

But after the ugly weekend in Baltimore, it is nice to see the Red Sox unload, pad some stats (four players had 3 or more RBI) and Adrian Beltre got his first Red Sox homer. Even Bill Hall hit one out!

A stress free victory... against a team a team that has won 5 of 6 division titles no less.

I can get used to victories like this.
(I am not counting on them, but I can get used to them.)

Get Well Dave Roberts...

The Sox are down and they need a lift to spark a lifeless team... they need a Dave Roberts like jolt.

And today we all received news that puts the 2010 Red Sox's woes in perspective. Dave Roberts, the most beloved 4th outfielder in Red Sox history (sorry Hendu) has lymphoma.

Evidently it was caught relatively early, but still our thoughts, hopes, prayers or whatever you like to do should go to the man who gave all of Boston hope on an unlikely October night.

Good Luck Dave... steal another one... this time for yourself.

Hey A’s fans… show up to the game tomorrow

I’m serious. The Rangers are coming into town and do you know what happens if the A’s win on Monday?

They’ll be in first place… BY THEMSELVES… and it isn’t April.

Yeah I know that nobody will confuse this team with the Charlie O’Finley mustache gang of the mid 1970s… or the Bash Brother/Dave Stewart/Tony LaRussa A’s… or even the Moneyball A’s with the 20 game win streak in 2002…

But this team was supposed to be no good. And truth be told, they aren’t.
They are a .500 team.

But .500 means they are only ½ a game out of first!
They can go into first place in May and try to win a suddenly very winnable division.

This is the time of the year when teams are still wondering “is this better than I thought start a fluke or are we good?”

Maybe a better than expected start could mean a team is like the 2006 Tigers or the 2008 Rays… an out of nowhere pennant winner.

Or maybe they are like the Blue Jays last year, who flopped after a red hot start.

All I know is this could be one of the few highlights for the A’s this year, or it could be the beginning of a magical year.

Either way, a win would be cool

And I expect more than 10,000 at the game tomorrow.
Come on! Show up! Support your pennant contenders!

I know Don Marquez’s family will be there, but let’s see a few more wearing green and gold.

Heck, your team could be in first place by the time tomorrow ends. Savor it!

Did that really happen?

Did the Red Sox REALLY get swept by the worst team in baseball?

Did they REALLY lose two extra inning games and a slugfest?

Did they REALLY blow a 2 homer game by J. D. Drew one day, a 2 homer day by David Ortiz the next and a well pitched game by Josh Beckett today?

Did Francona REALLY not pinch run Bill Hall for Jason Varitek only to have Varitek thrown out by 90 feet trying to score from second with 2 outs and the Lobster running on contact?

It is appropriate that this disaster took place on the same weekend as the Kentucky Derby, because it is clear that this team doesn't have the horses.

It might not even be appropriate to keep the teeth grinder/dodged bullet tally because that is taking into account how close they would get to the post season.

Right now .500 is the right goal.

To quote Steve McQueen in The Sand Pebbles, "What the hell happened?"

On with the tally

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 10

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 8

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.

+1 in the tally and 3 games under .500

If we can't count on games against the Orioles in the win column then we are in TROUBLE