Crashing To Earth

I had a feeling the Red Sox run of good luck wouldn't last very long.

The 5-3 loss to the Twins last night means that the Red Sox have now lost 6 of 7 (and 3 of 4 to Minnesota) since taking a series from the Blue Jays in Toronto last week. John Lackey pitched well again for five innings, but his error on a possible double play ball opened the gates for a big inning, and Minnesota took advantage, scoring four runs.

The starting pitching has slumped, and it looks like the Sox have lost Joel Hanrahan for the season, as Tommy John surgery maybe looming for him. He was placed on the 60-day DL yesterday, and he was visiting Dr. James Andrews in Alabama today for a second opinion on his injured right elbow. (That visit is never a sign of good things ahead.)

Junichi Tazawa has been named closer until the other injured closer, Andrew Bailey, returns from his bicep injury.

The bullpen was an early strength, and now it is going through a difficult time.

David Ortiz' hitting streak ended at 27 games on Wednesday night. And he also had to deal with that jackass (who will not be named here) from the Boston Globe throwing brick bats at him, accusing him of being on PEDs because of Papi's hot start. I didn't think my contempt for this individual could get any worse. Now it has. The guy is a shit stirrer, plain and simple, and relishes causing controversy. (And that Papi is 0-for-his last-13, is he now off the juice? Rat bastard.) There's no evidence to go on, just Papi's hot return to the lineup. He reminds me of one of those "9/11 Truther" assholes, the ones who throw around totally baseless accusations without a shred of proof, and it's up to those accused to prove they are innocent.

The Sox play the Blue Jays this weekend, sitting on a 21-14 record. They are in a tie with New York and Baltimore for first place. There's still a long way to go, and overall the Sox have played well over the first 35 games.