Clutch Carl Wins It Again

Can we send SEAL Team Six to get Angel Hernandez?

The World's Worst Umpire struck again on Monday night, calling a BS balk on Alfredo Aceves, and that led to the tying run scoring by the Twins, and eventually sending the game to extra innings.

Granted, Hernandez wasn't totally to blame for the Red Sox having to win it in extra innings, as the Sox left runners everywhere, going 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position going into the 11th inning. Carl Crawford had his second game-winning hit of the homestand, as he doubled in pinch runner Jose Iglesias with the winner. (And did you notice he was wearing number 76, after wearing 68 on Sunday? Uh, Jose, the number is suppose to decrease from the number you wore in spring training.)

Crawford is now hitting .361 since the month of April concluded, after a .155 average in the first month.

(BTW, I don't want to be a spoil sport, and I'm certainly glad you won tonight, but: you DIDN'T win the World Series tonight. PLEASE stop the stupid, idiotic celebrating on top of guys who just drove in the winning run, knocking them to the ground and falling on top of them. Do I have to remind you all about Kendry Morales or Chris Coghlan from last season? We don't need any injuries occurring from these unnecessary displays.)

Josh Beckett deserved a better fate, as he pitched seven terrific shutout innings. He absolutely should have gotten the win. A little dunker of a hit tied the game in the eighth off Jonathan Papelbon, and it was his first blown save of 2011. It wasn't a bad pitch at all.

The Red Sox are now 17-18 and finish the homestand at 6-5, having taken three of four from Minnesota.

And here's a Tweet from Jeff Howe about how Joe West was treated by Sox fans in a bar in Boston after that insanity last Friday night. (With thanks to my friends Evan and Cyn for the link.) Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.