So I thought Tuesday was going to be one of the worst days for me in regards to the sports teams I follow, and I was wrong. Wednesday saw the Dodgers lose on another walk-off, although the play at the plate was pretty questionable, the Red Sox lost again, and the Kings lost to Vancouver. Not a good day in this house.
First, let's examine the Red Sox game. Shockingly Melancon was sent down to the minors prior to Tuesday's matchup. He and his 49.50 ERA were replaced by Junichi Tazawa, who spent a little time with the big league club last year. To me this means one thing. Aceves is the closer. They won't call on Tazawa to close, at least I don't think they will, and there are no other options right now. There were a couple bright spots in the game, Youkilis hit a 2-run bomb that will hopefully put him on the right track (man I'm getting tired of writing that) and other than one mistake to Mike Napoli, Josh Beckett pitched pretty well. I really like Shoppach catching for Beckett too, it seems as though they've developed a good relationship, which as any Sox fan will tell you, is incredibly important for Beckett. Aside from all that, this team still looks bad. The 2,3, and 4 hitters all went 0fer on the night, although Cody Ross hitting cleanup is something I don't think anyone ever thought they would see in Boston, and the team combined to leave 7 runners on base. I did like seeing Mike Aviles running though. He's not Ellsbury quick, but he is fast enough to cause some havoc out there. Lastly, Franklin Morales just didn't have it tonight. He faced 7 hitters, gave up 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and didn't strike anyone out. Not taking anything way from Texas, who looks like the best team in the AL right now, but Morales needs to step it up if he's going to remain part of the bullpen.
The Dodgers, oh the Dodgers. Everything that was bouncing their way last week, is bouncing the other way this week. The play at the plate was close. But after watching numerous replays, it sure looks like Ellis gets the tag on Nyjer Morgan before his foot touches the plate. I'm a big fan of instant replays for safe/out calls, and this one gets filed in the evidence for that category. Matt Kemp wasn't his usual self at the plate, he did drive in a run, but he was only 1-3 with a single and walk. Plus he struck out in a big spot late in the game with runners on base. But, that's going to happen. He swings hard, he knows he's carrying the majority of the weight on this team, so it's nothing anyone should really think twice about. James Loney was back to normal going 0-4 and looking completely helpless while doing so. I just don't get it. How can a man of his size look so powerless at the plate? The majority of the Dodgers pitching looked pretty good, except for Matt Guerrier. He walked the bases loaded and gave up the game-winning sacrifice fly. He wasn't helped by Ellis' throwing error that allowed Morgan to go from 2nd to 3rd on his stolen base attempt. But with 1 out, he has to throw strikes. I realize he isn't a big clutch time pitcher, which raises another question I'll get to in a minute, but he just didn't trust his defense tonight and that cost him. The other question, is where was Javy Guerra? With 2 on and 1 out in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning, Don Mattingly chose to stick with Guerrier. I just don't understand this. I'm all for trying to save your closer, but he's the guy you go to with the game on the line. I'd be surprised if Mattingly does this again, I think he'll learn from this mistake.
Lastly, my Kings finally lost to the Canucks. They looked like 2 totally different teams tonight, which was to be expected. From the start the Kings looked really nervous and the Canucks looked like a team that was facing elimination. I do think that goal that was waved off in the 2nd period should have counted for the Kings though. It looked like a scrum in front of the net and the puck slid through. Apparently not. Also, I wasn't very impressed with Dustin Brown's penalty shot attempt. He made his move, Schneider didn't bite, and then it looked like Brown just gave up. Not what you want to see from your captain. All that being said, I'm not worried right now. The Kings have 3 days off before Game 5 in Vancouver, and I think they'll close it out on Sunday. They were too anxious Wednesday night, and it showed. That's fine though, they only have to win 1 out of the next 3 games. The Kings only lost 4 or more consecutive games 3 times during the regular season. However I do think Sunday is huge for the Kings. They need to put the Canucks away. You don't want to give a team like Vancouver any sort of momentum.
So yeah, Wednesday night should teach me to just shut my mouth and not complain about a couple of losses. I didn't do that, and all 3 teams that I root for that played lost. That's OK though, I'm not looking for a bridge or anything. Just have to remember that no one is out of anything at this point. Plus, after Wednesday, it can't get too much worse. Onwards and upwards I say.
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