Toss This One In The Garbage

The Red Sox played their worst game of the season last night, as Julian Tavarez gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings, and they also committed four errors as the Blue Jays waltzed to a 10-3 win and a sweep of the brief two-game series. Only one thing to do about a game like this: throw it in the garbage and forget about it.

Almost nothing good to say about last night. Wily Mo Pena continued his disasterous outfield play, dropping a fly ball that led to four unearned runs. I guess it is now safe to say the Bronson Arroyo trade was a certified bust. Granted Pena doesn't not get a lot of playing time, but he looks absolutely lost at the plate, as most teams throw junk at him or pitches out of the strike zone, and his strike outs continue to add up. The Red Sox should look into moving him somewhere else, if just for a prospect or two. He's not going to get the playing time in Boston.

I watched the game at Professor Thom's and had a chance to chat with Sheila Papelbon, the mother of Jonathan, who is up in New York, as the Red Sox will be in town on Friday. I met her last summer at the bar, as she works in the same company as my buddy Eric does. She's a nice lady, and we chatted about her son and the incredible nerve-wracking saves he's had this season. "I just wish he'd have an easy ninth inning save," Sheila said to me.

She also told me that Jonathan accomplished a goal of his this past weekend as well: to strike out Derek Jeter. "He always puts the bat on the ball and gets a hit," she said. Jonathan not only struck him out once, but twice, once on Saturday and Sunday. We were both hoping that her son would get into last night's game, but Toronto's run away win made that impossible. Still, it was good to see her again and chat with her.

By the time the Sox game was 10-3, the bar turned to watching the Yankees-Devil Rays game. Carl Crawford's grand slam got the biggest cheer of the night, and gave the Rays a 6-4 win, a sweep of the series and dropped the Yankees to last place. (I also stayed around to see Endy Chavez' drag bunt single in the 12th inning to give the Mets a 2-1 win over Colorado. The only other time I can remember a bunt single winning a game was Oakland winning Game 1 of the 2003 ALDS over the Red Sox, also in extra innings.)

The Red Sox head to Baltimore tonight with Curt Schilling on the hill for another brief two-game series before they head up to New York and a date with the Yankees over the weekend.