A BYRD TURD...Chicago 12 Boston 2...Wakefield Goes Saturday

The title of this post fits perfectly. It was 7-0 ChiSox after 3 innings and 12-1 after 4. Boston starter Paul Byrd proved on Thursday night that his previous shutout outing might have been a fluke. The final score of this very forgettable contest was Chicago 12 Boston 2. By the start of the fifth inning, many of the Red Sox regulars were on the bench, resting for today's game. Here is pitcher Paul in his own write...

“Quite a difference, huh?’’ Byrd said. “It is tough. I was hoping to give our team a much better performance tonight. I don’t want to put this team in that situation. I want us to be in the game when I’m on the mound, so this is totally unacceptable for me. I shoulder the blame. I dropped the ball here. We’ll see if I can’t get it going my next time out there.’’

Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez put it best for most of us. Here are his post-game words...

"We’ll just turn the page and come back tomorrow and play our game,” he vowed.

That sounds good to me, Victor. In all, Byrd was only able to go 2 1/3 innings, giving up a whopping 7 runs on 10 (10!) hits. Tazawa was brought in to be an inning eater but HE allowed another 5 big ones. Delcarmen and Saito pitched the final two frames and establshed a brief sense of normalcy. As VMART suggested, it's time to turn the page. I know...I did that last night.

Tim Wakefield feels good enough after his cortisone shot to start today. Let's hope he gives Boston a shot in the arm because the AL wild card lead over Texas is again down to 2 games. He'll face Floyd with first pitch time at 4:10pm EDT. The contest will be televised by Fox and Fox HD. We need you again, Timmy.

To all my Constant Readers, have a wonderfully happy and healthy Labor Day weekend. You can click on this post's title for more on the Boston Red Sox and remember, BE WELL. Thanks for stopping in and leave a comment if it suits you. The page has been turned, at least for a day. Who knows about tomorrow? Not even the Shadow does. Or as John Lennon wrote and sang in 1966..."Tomorrow Never Knows."