Tough Stuff : Matsuzaka Hurt In Red Sox Loss...Seattle 4 Boston 3

Tuesday night did not go as smoothly as the night before for the Boston Red Sox. They lost to the Mariners by a score of 4-3. Seattle scored a run in the bottom of the ninth off Mike Timlin, who should retire by the All Star break. His dismal record at Safeco Field was the reason I was surprised that he was in there in the first place, but Papelbon had pitched the day before and Okajima had thrown a sixteen pitch eighth. Why Tito Francona couldn't have run Okie out for the ninth is beyond me, and we all know now that the skipper might have blown the game. More bad news had preceded that fateful ninth, for Daisuke Matsuzaka had to leave after four innings and 65 pitches with what was preliminarily deemed "a tired shoulder." I do not like the sound of that...not one bit! Here is what he and his skipper had to say after the game...

"He felt some, I guess, fatigue is the right word," manager Terry Francona said. "We're not going to run somebody out there when we think there's something wrong. It's too long of a season. I don't think he really wanted to give the ball up. We knew in between innings," Francona said. "I knew that we wanted to keep an eye on him."
"Even before I went up on the mound, I felt that things were a little bit off in the bullpen," Matsuzaka said, through interpreter Masa Hoshino. "I wouldn't go so far as to call it discomfort, but I wasn't at my best even before going into the game. After pitching the third inning, I definitely felt that there was something wrong. At that point, I had a conversation with the coaching staff."

Peter here, and I have just one word to say...OUCH! Daisuke has been our most consistant starting pitcher, not counting Colon, who's only had two outings so far. His loss for more than one start would hurt, but I'm sure Lowrie will be ready to answer a call of distress, if needed. Now, the good news...

The good news is slim but sweet. With the score 3-0 Mariners in the sixth, Manny jumped on a first pitch fastball and drove it into the rightfield stands for a line drive home run, number 499. The next one makes history. Great job Manny. We love you.

In other news, the All Star Game, this year at Yankee Stadium for the very last time, has five Sox leading in the voting. They are Youk, Papi, Manny, Pedroia and Varitek. You can vote and vote often at mlb dot com. Go for it! Now if only the world champions could get their road act "together," because so far, at least when they're away from Fenway, THEY STINK! They've lost 9 of the last 10 road contests, and it's almost getting to the point that I watch five innings and say "ENOUGH!" Not quite, though, but I have no faith in too much of the bullpen. Any comments on that blatent statement? C'mon.

Click on the title to be transported to the Boston Globe homepage. There are plenty of articles for you to read about last night and about Matsuzaka's hopefully non-serious injury. Just what we need! Have a tremendous Wednesday as we slide towards another weekend. If you didn't see the informational post I wrote about the newest A&E Home Video 6 DVD set named THE ESSENTIAL GAMES AT FENWAY PARK, just scroll down to the post below this one and simply click on the title. And then, then, READ ALL ABOUT IT! I just received my set and two giveaway sets, courtesy of Suzanne Dobson of A&E Home Video, and she has my sincere thanks. I will review the set soon, by the weekend. There are more than 16 1/2 hours of Red Sox magic on it, and I want to check each disc, in part, for video and audio quality and ease of menu function use. So stay tuned for that! And the fans of RSN and RSI were the ones to pick the six selected games. What could be better than that? Oh, and as always, be safe. P.S. Postage will be paid by me...that's the easy part. The tougher part is for me to devise a fair and balanced contest that's fun and challenging.