Papi-less Red Sox Fall To Angels 5-4

Big Papi David Ortiz seemed like a ghostly apparition yesterday in California, unable to connect bat and ball and going 0-7 while leaving 12 runners on base. He was surrounded by reporters in the clubhouse after the game while he was slowly getting dressed and said to them "I'm sorry, guys. I don't feel like talking right now. Just put down 'Papi stinks.' " Sadness, that's what hit me when I read that quote. But the numbers don't lie. He is currently batting .208 and was the last out of an inning a staggering four times, including with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. But redemption was near in the twelfth inning as he strode to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in a 4-4 game. Sadly, he did not hit the ball past the pitcher's mound, slowly rolling it a few feet past the plate. Boston was retired and the Angels scored in the bottom of that frame to win it. Centerfielder Torii Hunter graciously had this to say about his ex-teammate...

"A guy like that who's big and strong, he's going to knock out eight home runs in 12 days somehow and he's going to catch up with everybody once he gets that swing down," said Hunter, Ortiz's teammate in Minnesota. "I'm almost 100 percent sure both those injuries have a lot to do with his homerless streak. When you have a wrist injury and a knee injury at the same time, it messes up your mechanics and you're trying to figure out ways to hit while you're hurting," Hunter added. "So you've got to tweak your swing - and that's not his swing. But he's going to be fine. I just told him, `Just go out there and do what you do, and at the end of the season watch what you have.'"

I know we ALL hope that our Papi will break out of his too-long funk with some deafening blasts and many explosive bangs. He's got to! On the bright side, Julio Lugo collected five hits and Pedey, in his first game back from an injury time out, collected four. In all, the Red Sox had fifteen hits but were unable to push across that go-ahead run in the late innings. Brad Penny had a near quality start, going six and a third innings and giving up four runs. Manny Delcarmen was the eventual loser, giving up the winning run while allowing two hits in one third of an inning. But my mind always returns to Big Papi and his evident frustration. David, it WILL get better and and we're all behind you. We always will be.

Click on the title of this post for more Red Sox details. Boston starts a three game set with the Seattle Mariners and the pitching matchups go like this...

Jon Lester (2-3 6.31) vs. Charis Jakubauskas (1-4 7.67) tonight
Josh Beckett (3-2 6.42) vs. Erik Bedard (2-1 2.53) Saturday
Justin Masterson (2-2 4.89) vs. Jason Vargas (1-0 1.04) Sunday

The Boston starters MUST lower those ERA numbers, starting today. The bullpen is literally carrying the team...that won't work for long.

I hope your Friday will be a terrific one and as always, BE WELL. See ya soon. Your comments are always welcome and always answered. Thanks. GO SOX. Forever.