Bad enough for the Boston Red Sox that Daisuke Matsuzaka was taken out of the game in the fifth inning with a lower back injury, but even worse is that Manny Ramirez’ 499th home run, a three-run shot, to tie the game at 3-3 was all for naught as the Seattle Mariners walked off with a 4-3 win.
With a runner on third and second base and two outs Mike Timlin went after Jose Lopez with first base open and lost the battle as Lopez slashed a liner past third baseman Mike Lowell to give the M’s the win.
Goat of the Game: No its not Timlin and I am not saying that just because he is my “boy”.
Why the hell would you pitch to Lopez with first base open? Why? Jose Vidro was on deck, a .232 hitter, and he was 0-3 in the game. Walking the bases loaded makes the situation a force out at any base with two outs no less. I really wonder if Tito would have done this if he had not been ejected from the game.
Preview of Next Game: These are games we are supposed to win.
We cannot win against Miguel Batista so who knows at this point. At least Dice-K is still perfect on the season.
Loading ...
Why Timlin in this situation?!?!?!? Why pitch to Lopez!?!?!? Why does Tim Wakefield seem to always face the ACE?!?!? Bedard tomorrow. Harden last week. Let’s hope he has everything working, and Jacoby/ Pedroia can set the table for Papi, and Manny’s 500th. How many DP’s did Julio hit into? Interesting comment by Remy, that Julio complains so much at the plate, that he gets a shorter leash by the umps. I wonder if this has any carry over effect for the team?
KNBR reports that Dice-K doesn’t have a back or hip injury, but is actually dealing with shoulder fatigue. The Sox apparently wouldn’t elaborate on whether he’ll miss any starts, but KNBR believes he’ll be out for 2-3 weeks, and will be placed on the DL within a couple of days.
Timlin is in the situation because it was a tied ball game. If we had the lead the Paps comes in. Honestly, who else do you go to in that situation in a tied ball game? Also, did you really want to stretch out the bullpen in one game in May?
Think about it.
Dice was unfortunate, but I’m perplexed as to how we managed this game. If Tito was calling the shots from the clubhouse, he should be excoriated. But Mills hasn’t shown much capability when he’s been helming the ship…
Yes Shawn, IMO, in a 3 – 3 tie in the 9th, virtually tied for 1st place in the division, with the Rays, Toronto and Yankees in the hole, if you have a choice among three remaining power pitchers, in order to have a chance to win the game I would have put in the best one available at the time, to get a shot at the 10th inning. At this time, Timlin would have been my 3rd choice for this make or break situation, in terms of his gradual improvement, and his awful record at Safeco. This is not a good time to test his readiness. (And I certainly agree Lopez should have been walked).
Last night, and I know this is heresy, my first choice would have been Paps to finish getting some of the rust off. He is not just the Save guy, he is a pitcher, and the best one for tough situations like this. Not to use him, again IMO, means we wrote off a tie game before it was over, which is not how to win the division.
It may be May, but winning now prevents us having a race to the wire in September. And our depth at most positions (including pitching) means we don’t have to grind our guys down. There is relief out there for the relievers.
Finally, Aardsma, MDC, Lopez and Oki would be ready for an inning tonight, if necessary. In fact, they appear to be getting in a groove, and the work won’t hurt them.
No, it is not how to win a division but if I were managing the team I would have either gone with the veteran in Timlin or thrown out Papelbon. No way I would have gone with the real wild thing on our team: Craig Hansen
Will athletes EVER leave the show gracefully? If not at the top of their game, like Marvelous Marvin Hagler, then not at the bottom of their game. I love Trot but he is another one. The bell has rung. School is over. Go home, be a father and a husband.
Ditto Tomlin. Give him the gold watch and handshake and say thank you for al your fine work here, now GO! He has KILLED them this year. Every game he comes into, I expect them to loose.
2-3 with a 6.89 ERA and 21 hits including 3 HRs and 5 walks with 6 Ks in 18 innings.