Frustration Embodied, Champagne On Hold...Cleveland 4 Boston 3

Monday night at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox played and lost to the Cleveland Indians, putting off their wild card playoff entrance and celebration for another day. Josh Beckett had an off game when we needed him to be ON. He was able to go 6 innings but allowed 4 runs on 7 hits while walking 1 and striking out 6. He did, however, hit 3 men and tossed a wild pitch. But the play that defined the entire night happened in the bottom half of 6th inning, with Jeff Bailey up and Jason Bay on second. The other Jason, Jason Varitek, was on first. Here's the account of the bizareness, straight from the Boston Globe, with my thanks...

"Jeff Bailey came to the plate with two outs. The Red Sox trailed, 4-2. Jason Bay stood on second, Jason Varitek on first. The count climbed to 3-and-2. Jackson fired. Bailey smashed a rocket down the third base line. Sox third base coach Hale, standing in the third base box, watched the ball scoot past third baseman Jamey Carroll's dive and then fixed his gaze on Bay, who had bolted with the pitch.
"My read is to see if it's going to hit off that angled wall," Hale said. "That's kind of a tough read, with a man on second base and the ball hit down the line with that angled wall.
So Hale, wary of the jutting wall, windmilled Bay home. Still watching Bay and glancing at Varitek, Hale saw in his peripheral vision that the ball rolled into shallow left field. He thought, "It must have hit off the wall."
Of the principals involved, only Bay and Varitek saw what actually happened to Bailey's certain double - the ball smacked third base umpire Gerry Davis in his right thigh as he pointed "fair." When Bay saw the ball drill Davis, he didn't know how far it would bounce from Carroll. He stopped halfway to home plate."

Peter here. Varitek was called out after reaching third, Bay was stranded at third, and the score remained the same. I just saw the replay (for the 4th time) and that ball was headed into the leftfield corner and would have scored both runners. But noooo..umpire Gerry Davis became a big part of a huge play instead of doing his job correctly. Hey, these things happen in the game of baseball, the game we love. We're still in great shape to play more than 162 games in 2008.

Today, Tuesday, is another day, another chance at cliching that wild card berth. The Yankees were off yesterday and the Rays beat the hapless Birds...has Baltimore ever heard of the term "spoiler"? Or have they given up for their last handful of games? I really don't know, but when these wins counted for something (for the teams they were playing at the time, not for them), they folded, spindled and self-mutilated. Wake up, Birdies!!

You can click on the post title for more on last night's off-kilter loss. My left arm is making me cease typing for now. For those of you who knew of my stairway fall ten days ago, my entire body does not sickenly ache anymore, just my upper left arm, above the elbow and below the shoulder. I am so sick of this severe discomfort. To all my Constant Readers...BEWARE OF MUSCLE BRUISES. They can be more painfull than a broken bone. Unfortunately, I found out firsthand. Tim Wakefield goes against 22 game winner Cliff Lee tonight at 7:05pm EDT at the Land of Oz we call Fenway Park. Let's break open the champage at, say, 10:21pm EDT. To all, thank you for popping in. I love your comments, so keep 'em coming. As always, BE WELL.