Tito, I Think It's Time by Jared Carrabis
Sox suffer frustrating loss in twelve, strand 34 men on base


The Red Sox had just about as many opportunities to win this game as Manny Ramirez has games remaining on his suspension, a lot.

"I know we stranded a ton of guys. Up until the end, we've got Pedey and David at the plate with guys on base," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I thought we were going to win. We had a lot of opportunities. We couldn't cash in. On the road, that makes it even harder. But no, I thought we were still going to win."

In the twelve-inning marathon between the Red Sox and Angels on Thursday, Boston stranded 34 men on base and went an abysmal 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position. Regardless of the fact that they out-hit the Halos 15-11, more often than not, you're not going to walk away with a victory when you go 3-for-22 with RISP on the road.

Before I get into the game, I think it's time to address an issue that I've been shying away from in hopes that it would no longer be an issue, but after today, I don't think it can be ignored any longer. David Ortiz went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts on Thursday, but the most alarming stat of his nightmarish day at the plate would be the twelve men he left on base, tying a Red Sox record set by the original dirt dog, Trot Nixon. I can't be the only one that has noticed this, but pitchers are no longer afraid to pitch to Big Papi. They don't bite, they don't nibble, they attack the strike zone against Ortiz, and it makes no difference. Ortiz fell behind in the count 0-2 in his first three consecutive at bats in Thursday's loss. Red Sox Nation watched helplessly as Papi's average plunged to .208 on the season.

This is not an issue of Ortiz being washed-up, this is not an issue of our lovable DH "not having it" anymore; it has simply become a mental issue with Ortiz and something needs to be done if he is ever going to return to form. Manager Terry Francona is going to have to drop Ortiz down in the lineup real soon, assuming that the left-hander doesn't offer his third slot to be occupied by another bat himself. Don't get me wrong, dropping Ortiz down in the lineup is not "punishing" him by any means. Ortiz simply just needs some time to get in a groove and get his swing back. If he is dropped lower in the order, he won't feel as much pressure to perform and it could do a world of good for the designated hitter.

In his career, Ortiz has appeared in the fifth slot 248 times. In 1,020 plate appearances in the five hole, Ortiz has a .290 batting average (257-for-887), 164 RBI, 47 HR, 68 doubles, 123 walks and a .909 OPS. Needless to say, Ortiz has some experience hitting fifth and dropping a couple slots down in the order could be just what Big Papi needs to start feeling like Big Papi again. The Red Sox have the luxury of having a handful of talented hitters that can produce no matter where they are inserted in the lineup, like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay, so revamping the Red Sox lineup in order to get Ortiz back in the swing of things should not be a difficult task. Ortiz didn't have anything to say after the game.

"Sorry, guys, I don't feel like talking right now," Ortiz said. "Just put down 'Papi stinks.'"

Papi, we're pullin' for ya. Red Sox baseball just isn't the same without David Ortiz no-doubters into the right field corner and the feeling of having to hold back a smirk when you come up to the plate with men on base in a clutch situation because we know what's going to happen. A change of situation could be just the right medicine to cure your prolonged offensive drought.

"We're pulling for him and he's going to get out of it," Pedroia said. "He's just got to find a way."

Many moons ago, this game was started by Brad Penny. The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning for first time in his Red Sox career last Friday earning a victory against the Rays. On Thursday, Penny pitched his way into the seventh inning for the second consecutive start, giving up four earned runs on seven hits after logging 6.1 innings. Penny's command was among the best we've seen from him in a Red Sox uniform, as the former Dodger walked just one and struck out four. He has never had an outing with zero walks for Boston, but this was his only his second start with just one base on balls. The 30-year-old hurled 97 pitches (61 for strikes) to 26 Angel batters.

The Red Sox first got on the board in the top of the second after an RBI single by Julio Lugo to tie the score up at one. Boston manufactured a run in the very next inning when Dustin Pedroia returned to the lineup with his tenth double of the season that hopped up into the stands in right field. Pedroia advanced to third after an Ortiz flyout and later came in to score on a Jason Bay ground out.

Penny gave the lead back almost instantly when Torii Hunter connected for his eighth double of the season that drove in two runs, giving the Angels a 3-2 lead. The Sox battled back to tie the game in the fourth after scoring a run in third straight inning. Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to ten games after shooting a two-out RBI base hit into right field to knot the score up at three.

The Angels would reclaim their lead in the bottom of the seventh when Erick Aybar legged out a three-bagger that ended the day for Brad Penny. Hideki Okajima took over for Penny and allowed his inherited runner to score, charging Penny with his fourth and final run. The relentless Sox tied the game right back up in the top of the eighth inning when Dustin Pedroia connected for his fourth hit of the day to drive in Jacoby Ellsbury, who was on base three times going 2-for-6 with a walk.

A battle of the bullpens ensued between the two teams, as Ramon Ramirez continued his dominance of the American League. Ramirez turned in 2.2 innings of no-hit relief, striking out one and lowering his ERA to 0.45 in 17.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting a mere .127 against the Red Sox not so secret weapon this season. Jonathan Papelbon turned in a scoreless inning of his own, before handing the game over to Manny Delcarmen. Delcarmen, who was neck-and-neck with Ramirez to start the season, has since allowed five runs (two earned).

Delcarmen allowed a lead-off single to Juan Rivera before Erick Aybar bunted his teammate over to third base with one out. With a 1-1 count, Jeff Mathis drove a Manny Delcarmen curveball out to left-center field to bring Rivera in to win the game in twelve innings. The frustrating loss for the Sox handed the Angels the series win after Boston captured the first game of three between the two teams. Boston now heads to Seattle for a three-game set with the Mariners to wrap up their final west coast trip of 2009.

Jon Lester gets the ball for the 10:10pm start in Seattle. The left-hander has had a rough start to the season, but when he's been on, he's been on. Two starts previous, Lester racked up ten K's against the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium, but in his most recent outing, he was knocked around the yard for eight earned runs on ten hits. Hopefully Lester returning to his home state of Washington will be enough motivation for him to get back on the right track and start to gain some consistency. Lester's opponent, rookie pitcher Chris Jakubauskas, is coming off an outing in which the right-hander gave up nine earned runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings. He walked three and struck out zero.

Things you'll need to know to impress your friends:

Julio Lugo was 5-for-6 with an RBI on Thursday against the Angels. The last time Lugo had a 5-hit game, you have to go all the way back to when he was with the, then, Tampa Bay Devil Rays. On June 24, 2004, Julio Lugo went 5-for-7 with 3 RBI against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 19-13 victory. The 5-hit performance for Lugo helped boost his average to .349 with an .892 OPS in 43 at bats, so stop hatin'.

Jacoby Ellsbury is currently riding the wave of a 10-game hit streak. Over that time, he has seen his average jump from .276 to .297. Throughout the duration of his hitting streak, Ellsbury is 16-for-46 (.348) and has only struck out five times in those 46 at bats.

In 18 appearances so far in 2009, Ramon Ramirez has given up just one earned run. In previous seasons, Ramirez gave up four earned runs through 18 appearances in 2008 and 16 earned runs through his first 18 appearances in 2007. Needless to say, the right-handed reliever has established himself as one of the top relievers in the game over the past two seasons.

On Wednesday, Clay Buchholz continued to dominate at the Triple-A level. The right-hander tossed eight shutout innings, while racking up 11 K's. His start on Wednesday was the third consecutive start in which Buchholz has not allowed an earned run. The 24-year-old boasts a 1.03 ERA and opponents are hitting a measly .130 against him. The Red Sox have three out of five of their starters with an ERA over 6 at this point; pick one, give 'em a breather and let's give Buchholz another shot at the bigs.

-Jared Carrabis

Final Score: Red Sox 4, Angels 5 / 12 innings

Published on May 14, 2009

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