9/25/04 vs. Yankees W 12-5

Looks like the Yanks Achilles heel has been found. As good as their bullpen has pitched this season, long relief is obviously a problem for them. Gordon & Quantrill can go an inning each, but asked to go any further and they are pushing their luck. All in all, I guess we shouldn't be surprised when you look at some of the names in the pen: Heredia, Nitkowski, Sturtze. I watched Strutze pitch at AAA Las Vegas this summer; I'm pretty sure the Dodgers were the only ones even interested in his services over the offseason.

Toot the MVP horn for Manny some more. Another huge hit to put them ahead in the 8th. He just continues to get those clutch hits. I don't want to take anything away from Big Papy, he's probably my favorite player on the team, but there are so many narrow minded sports writers out there that think he shouldn't even be considered because his primary position is DH. I don't even want to get started on that discussion.

Well, it only took us 153 games to see that Terry Francona can actually get fired up. Unfortunately, I was limited to listening to the game tonight so I didn't get to see his tirade, but it seemed like he did successfully light a fire under the collective teams butt.

An interesting move bringing in Foulke in a tie game. I have to admit I was a little concerned when they went to Leskanic, but he was able to produce his 'once every three appearance' solid performance. I'm still hopeful that they will get Williamson some more work down the stretch. If he is truly healthy and can get back into shape, he is quite obviously our best setup man. He could clearly be a closer on just about anyone else's ballclub.

I was a little disappointed in Wake when he gave up the lead in the 6th. He seemed to be throwing pretty well, and once the Sox went up, I thought he might cruise. It just seems like every starter besides Schill has been victimized by the big hit for the last two weeks straight. Including this game, Schilling is the only starting pitcher in the past 13 games to get a win. This is not a good sign heading down the stretch.

Looking forward to watching Schill pitch tomorrow. The games on ESPN2, so the added visual is nice. If only the MLB Audio would synch up with the TV broadcast, then I wouldn't have to listen to Sutcliffe and his ridiculous statements. I remember earlier this season catching a Padres game that was on locally, and he was announcing. I didn't know it was him, but I kept saying to myself: "Who is this idiot?". About two weeks later his was calling games for ESPN. Yuck! Maybe I'll luck out and they'll send Miller & Morgan to Boston.