Sports Redux: You Can't Win Them All
Well, that was a letdown.
The Red Sox' pursuit of a perfect 162-0 season came to a crashing halt last night at the hands of Scott Kazmir. The Sox could only get to Kazmir once, on a Youkilis RBI single, while the Rays didn't have a lot of trouble figuring out Jon Lester. Their first run, in the third, was unearned, but they hit Lester for four runs in the fifth, the big blow coming on Carlos Pena's two-run homer. Jason Bay doubled home a run in the eighth, and the Sox had the bases loaded and a chance to turn the game around, but Grant Balfour struck out Jed Lowrie and 1-2-3'ed the ninth to send the fans to the warmth of their cars or the huddled masses at the Kenmore platform. Final: 7-2, Tampa Bay.
Lester was philosophical about the loss, his first at Fenway in a year. "The biggest thing for them is they make adjustments from at bat to at bat," he said. "I didn't make the right adjustments to follow." Daisuke Matsuzaka goes for the Sox today against Matt Garza, as the quest for a 161-1 season gets back underway.
The Celtics, who weren't looking at the standings a week ago, are suddenly deciding to go all out to secure the #2 seed and home-court should they meet the Magic in the second round. There's no resting the starters who are healthy, and in fact Doc needed them last night to hold off the pesky Nets for a 106-104 win. Rajon Rondo paced the C's with 31 (his third straight 20+ game). Eddie House, who should have some kind of award invented for how insane he's been off the bench lately, added 15.
They did it in Buffalo and at Wrigley Field, and now rumors are starting to swirl that Fenway Park will be chosen to host the NHL's now-annual outdoor game on New Year's Day. Possibly against the Habs or the Rangers. But keep in mind this is from the Inside Track. which reported that Will McDonough attended Tom Brady's wedding years after his death. (UPDATE: we had the wrong McDonough, but still advise a grain of salt.)
Filed in Sports and tagged Celtics, Eddie House, Jason Bay, Jon Lester, Rajon Rondo, Red Sox, sports redux, sportsredux