So much for needing Clay Buchholz on short rest. So much for a lot of things. Even when it was a 2-0 Sox lead early in last night's game, Don and Jerry seemed more inclined to talk about some couple they kept showing in the stands than anything happened on the field. (The crack Bostonist research team learned that they were contestants from a TV show called The Bachelorette. The crack research team then learned that The Bachelorette has been going on for six seasons. The crack research team has decided to take a few days off and donate some money to brain research.)

You wouldn't think it could get worse than reality TV stars throwing out the first pitch at Fenway, but that was before Daisuke Matsuzaka got really warmed up. He turned the 2-0 lead the Sox had before that wild digression and turned it into a an 8-2 deficit. Chased after a 2-run Jason Bartlett home run, to the delight of the Fenway fans that were left, Dice turned it over to the bullpen. Relieved of any worry about blowing a close game, Dustin Richardson let a run score on a throwing error, then watched as Roberto Manuel's pitch to Evan Longoria was redirected towards Burlington. And that was the fifth. When all the dust settled, it was a 14-5 Tampa Bay final, and the Sox lead Toronto by just 4 1/2 now for third place.

"I knew very well that this was a critical game," Matsuzaka said, "so to allow what happened to happen so early in the game, I can really only apologize to my teammates and to the fans." If it's any consolation, Daisuke...it wasn't really that critical. Buchholz will get his full rest after all, and Tim Wakefield will try to go the 3 1/3 innings he needs to have his salary next year increase.

Peter Abraham looks at the frustrating night by the two relievers who are trying to get noticed in a good way.

As we noticed earlier, the Bruins are skating together again, holding their "captain's practice" in Wilmington. Zdeno Chara, the captain in question, said, "we have a good enough team to win all the way. If we stay healthy, yeah, this team is very strong." It's only a couple of weeks until their first preseason game.

And if we were linking to Dan Shaughnessy columns, we'd definitely link to today's doozy, in which he complains that Bill Belichick doesn't like to talk about contract situations, and gives curt answers to stupid questions. Tune in tomorrow as Dan notices that soda gets everywhere when he shakes up the can before opening it.

Filed in Sports and tagged Bruins, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dan Shaughnessy, Red Sox, sports redux, sportsredux, Zdeno Chara

Comments [rss]