Stupid Baseball

(September 1)

Short take:  Is it over yet?

Is it even possible to recap all the stupid mistakes committed by our Sox during this 4-3 loss to the Indians?  This was a tough one to lose and it becomes ever more difficult to find silver linings amongst all the dark clouds of the 2001 season.

Once upon a time, the Sox had the lead in this game.  Jon Garland had a two-hitter going through five innings.  The Sox couldn't do anything with rookie starter Ryan Drese until finally in the fifth inning when Jose Valentin doubled home Royce Clayton and Mark Johnson for a 2-0 lead.  That's where the good baseball ended.  Next came the dumb stuff.

Still in the fifth with two out and Jose Canseco at the plate, Valentin inexplicably tries to steal third base.  He's out, the inning is over, and Canseco goes back to the bench without an rbi opportunity with two runners on.  

Cleveland bounced right back in the sixth as the Sox failed to shut the door.  A lucky bounce, a stupid walk, and an rbi double led to the Tribe's first  run.  They would score three runs in total, taking the lead.

In the seventh, back-to-back doubles by Royce Clayton and Jeff Liefer got one run back, but Ray Durham fails to get a bunt down and makes the inning's first out with a grounder.  Valentin walked but Magglio Ordonez was next, watching strike three cross homeplate without lifting the bat from his shoulder.  Konerko ended the threat with a flyout.  Konerko joined Canseco, Carlos Lee, and Chris Singleton as a quartet of Sox hitters in the middle of the line up held hitless.  Pathetic.

Should we mention the three errors by the Sox (two of them by Valentin) or another passed ball for Josh Paul?  Nah.

Corpseball the rest of the way.  Cleveland can hardly miss the division crown given the level of the competition.