08/17/07: Angels 7, Red Sox 5
Dear Dustin Pedroia,
People born on August 17 are totally the best kind of people.** Rock on with your home run hitting self, and congratulations on making the varsity squad!
Love,
Jennifer, Respect the Tek
Dear Eric Gagné,
Why did you ruin Jennifer's and Dustin's birthdays?***
Okay, look, intellectually we realize that you did not lose last night's game all on your own. Plenty of people contributed. Julio Lugo gave up a run through the power of his seventy-gazillionth error**** of the season. The offense, with the obvious exception of that beautiful eighth inning rally, was anemic at best. Manny in the Dell gave up two runs in his inning of relief; without those runs, the three runs you handed out send us into extra innings rather than bitching our way out of the ballpark and planning ways to get you deported back to Canada. But, see, you're an easy scapegoat. You came into the game with a lead, and left with a loss, and we're sorry if it makes you want to cry over a nice helping of poutine, but we blame you.
We're not going to boo you (it reflects badly on all of us, the fans, not to mention the fact that we personally find it... tacky? rude to the other players on the field? annoying? all of the above?), and we're certainly not going to throw things at you, but we're not exactly going to feel comfortable seeing you trudge out to the mound with anything less than a 20-run cushion and three guys warming up behind you. Three guys minimum.
In conclusion, no, really, why did you ruin the Jimmy Fund's day? Did you not get the Lowell-Lester fuck cancer memo?
No Love,
The Girls of Respect the Tek
Dear Terry Francona,
Mike Timlin, Kyle Snyder, Julian "Batshit" Tavarez: three people we would've felt more comfortable seeing in the top of the ninth with a one-run lead. Hell, three people we would've preferred to see after Gagné gave up his first run and very obviously did not have his A (or B, or C, or even F) game. Send Beckett back out there, he'll close out his own fucking game. Send Wake, he'll do it. Hell, send Jim Flippin' Belushi out there with some water balloons, a pair of night-vision goggles, and a pack of Big League Chew. Just do not, we repeat, do not send out Eric Gagné.
Look, we know you like to give your players a chance. It's your thing. We get that. But there is a difference between giving a guy a shot and sending in someone who has, in his short time with the Red Sox going into last night's game, given up seven runs in three innings***** when the team has a one-run lead. It just does not make sense. There's trust, and then there's whatever this was, and whatever this was loses us ballgames. We hate to say it, but facts are facts, and Eric Gagné is a free agent at the end of the season and there is no excuse for you coddling him like this. And we get it: this was just the sort of situation for which Gagné was originally acquired, blah blah blah, adjustment period, rah rah he can do it. However--and, again, we don't mean to be crass here--he's floundering. He's not getting it done. It's mid-August, not spring training, and this is not the time to be campaigning for Happy Good Time Feel Good Camp counselor of the year.
The ejection was fun, though. Next time, try swinging a base over your head and then seeing how far you can toss it.
No Love,
The Girls of Respect the Tek
P.S. The answer last night, by the way, was Mike Timlin. We're, like, 102.4% sure about that one.******
Dear Kevin Youkilis,
Thank you for adding a little bit of extra pizazz to that devastating ninth inning, but, please, we beg of you, do not actually kill the umpires. And, yes, it was totally a foul tip.
Love,
The Girls of Respect the Tek
Dear Wily Mo Pena,
We wish you all the best with the Washington Nationals. May you get tons of playing time and learn to recognize breaking balls and develop into the kick-ass player Papi tells us you have the potential to be. It's not like the Nationals have a whole lot to lose by giving you a fair shake. Watch out for Dmitri Young!
Love,
The Girls of Respect the Tek
Dear Doug Mirabelli,
Get well soon.
Love,
Tim Wakefield and the Girls of Respect the Tek
Dear Captain Varitek,
You, sir, are our hero.
Semper fidelis,
The Girls of Respect the Tek
*Because we do not have the money to pay those pesky royalty fees.
**Jorge Posada would be the exception that proves the rule. Caroline, on the other hand, shares her birthday with Mary Lou Retton and Neil Diamond, and Respect the Tek greatly regrets this.
***Followed by seventy-gazillion and one.
****Slight exaggeration. We do not allow Eric Gagné to dictate our fates in such a manner. Plus, there was still ice cream. And a win in the day game. And we may have acquired, under false-ish pretenses, Jonathan Papelbon lunchboxes.
*****Yes, yes, if you look at his record (and how we hate having to look at his record), he also pitched two scoreless innings during this period, but that is not the point.
******We had a feeling.
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3 comments:
#1: I must strenuously object... August 18th is clearly the best birthdate.
#2: Papelbon lunchboxes? Do go on...
re #1: I am afraid we are going to just have to agree to disagree on this one. Though maybe we can get together on my "people born in August are the best people" theory?
re #2: Um, it is entirely possible that we joined Kid Sox Nation? Where the "gift with purchase" = a Papelbon lunchbox (also some temporary tattoos, stickers, and other assorted items we really didn't care about). We spent the entire trip home from Fenway that night going, "Lunch: J. Papelbon." (Maybe we'll have to share a picture, huh?)
--Jennifer
#1: On that theory, I think we both agree.
#2: This? Sounds awesome. And it is entirely possible that immediately upon hearing this, I tried (in vain) to sign up for Kid Sox Nation for the same purpose... and found they were sold out. My lunches will, sadly, have to remain Papelbon-free.
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