Bad Luck, Bad Loss

And to think, WMYM was sitting here, watching the eighth inning escape and thinking about all the possible platitudes to work into a headline. Heroic comeback? There's one possibility. Resiliency? Another. In fact, what the Red Sox did until the bottom of the ninth, rallying back three times, covering for a young starter who couldn't outfox a veteran lineup more than once, all of that proved that Boston has a certain versatility it hasn't shown a lot of in the early going.


Instead, a lucky Detroit bounce, a horrendous Julio Lugo error and a terrific piece of veteran, defensive hitting from Placido Polanco conspired to make Jonathan Papelbon a loser with a blown save for the first time since last September. You know what? It really did hurt as much as it looked like, too.

But first, one thing needs to be made clear: While Papelbon will get credited with the loss, the blown save and loss were hardly his fault. After allowing an inning-starting single to Matt Joyce which was a truly random stroke of luck - Joyce made contact on a purely defensive half-cut swing that he tried to check, producing an unfieldable dribbler - Papelbon got old friend Edgar Renteria to hit into a picture perfect double play.

Of course, that's when Lugo booted the bouncer, just the latest error in his season of misadventures in the field. It's getting ugly out there for the shortstop whose substantially subpar first season at the plate was made up for by surprisingly solid defense.

A year later, he's falling into the exact opposite trap. On Wednesday night, that trap ensnared the Red Sox, spoiling a terrific rally when - after a Pudge Rodriguez sacrifice moved runners along - Curtis Granderson finished an 0-fer day with a tying-run producing groundout and Polanco came through with his bloop hit above the outstretched glove of a leaping Lugo (sounds like an item from the 12 Days of Christmas, doesn't it?).

"We had a great comeback and we couldn't finish it," Terry Francona told the AP.

Damn right you did, Terry. Damn right you did.

STARTING PITCHING: -
What did young Clay Buchholz learn tonight? Well, hopefully he learned that you can fool a good lineup once, but not twice, especially when they're desperate to rejuvenate their attack. After looking dazzled the first time he faced them, the Detroit hitters came alive in the bottom of the third, racking up four runs to take control. Then they got to him again in the bottom of the fourth. It was a definite setback after two sterling starts and a trend that had Buchholz heading aggressively in the right direction. Now, after allowing 10 hits in only four innings, the question will be whether its a blip on the radar screen or catalyst for change in the wrong direction. Here's hoping for the former, for Buchholz's case and the Sox'.

MIDDLE RELIEF: -
It's not a fair grade for David Aardsma or Javier Lopez, both of whom tossed single shutout innings, two more walks from Aardsma not withstanding. Still, Julian Tavarez was so bad that no other grade would do. Three runs in a single inning, and it was almost a miracle that there weren't more from the Big Lebowski. It's been amazing how little work Tavarez has racked up this year, largely because of the ability of the team's regular starters to go so deep into games. Unfortunately, it looks like that rest isn't helping a guy like Tavarez, who despite a general sense of flexibility in role may need just enough of a routine to cast himself in one direction or another.

SET-UP RELIEF: √-
Hideki Okajima got it done, but there was a heck of a lot of drama for an Oki appearance. First the ever so rare back-to-back hits against, to start the inning no less. Then, after a timely strikeout, Oki got himself into plenty of trouble against Gary Sheffield. Amazingly, he wriggled out of that one with a strikeout as only he can pull off, then finished off the inning when a Jason Varitek bullet comprised the second half of a beautiful strike 'em out throw 'em out twin killing. Don't get us wrong, this could have been a disaster, and when it comes to executing pitches, Papelbon probably got the job done better than Okajima did tonight. Still, baseball is a results business, so drama aside, Okie had to earn some kind of a √. There you go, √- it is.

CLOSER: -
Here's another grade that may not be fair, as discussed in so much more depth above. It is what it is, and the only way Papelbon's earning a - is with a blown save. Well, tonight he got a blown save, ergo tonight he got a -. Frustrating? Yes. Unfair, yes. That's the way the cookie crumbles after a crushing loss and melodramatic end to a terrific winning streak.

LINEUP: √+
Now THAT was a terrific offensive performance. The Sox hitters got better as the game went along, were resourceful, were pests on the base paths and rallied thrice. The final rally, with Dustin Pedroia plating the go-ahead run in the top of the 8th, was completely deflating to the Detroit crowd. It might have been a real long-term Tiger killer if not for the ninth inning rally, too. Alas, the one time when, in retrospect, the Sox needed more turned out to be the one time they didn't have any more to give ... in the top of the ninth when an insurance run would have been a huge buffer. They had a man on second with one out. That's where he finished the inning. If we're to be fair, that means that his final station short of home is part of the reason this one is chalked up in the "L" column instead of the one on the left.

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