Walk Off Redux

The heroics should not have been necessary. Mike Timlin came in to pitch the 8th inning with a 1 run lead. If all went according to plan, a scoreless 8th would have been followed by a Paps fired 9th, a certain save. But Mike Timlin didn't read the script, or he forgot his lines, because sooner than you could say "oh no", Travis Hafner launched a 2 run shot that made the score 5-4. Oh well. But then came a bizarre bottom of the 9th.
Fausto Carmona pitching the bottom of the 9th, with the Sox down by 1. Doug Mirabelli is hit by a 3-2 pitch. Alex Gonzalez is hit by the first pitch. Youk walks on a full count. Up steps Mark Loretta, looking for the fastball. Nothing off speed was anywhere near the plate. So he focused on the number one and drove a wall ball that plated 2 and won the game. The 3rd walkoff in 5 games, and one I could have done without. But a win was important, as the surging Yankees look as good as they have all year. They will be a problem. I'm glad we have 9 games left with them, 5 of them coming up within a matter of days, right here at Fenway.
To Mike Timlin, "STEP UP! You're not doing the job." To Jon Lester, "Way to settle down after a neverendingly long first inning." And to Little Manny, "Way to hold them." And for Paps, well, Paps was Paps. No more needs to be said. The series ender is tonight at 7PM. And we should be ducking thunderstorms, the leading edge of much cooler air.