This is getting a bit crazy.
In the A's last 11 games, they had walk off hits in 6 of them.
Recently they have better than a 1 in 2 chance of seeing a game end with the winning run crossing the plate.

I predicted on Bleacher Report that the A's were about to start a 25 game gauntlet that might sink their season. Well, they've won 5 of the first 6 games of that stretch.

Along the way they swept four from the Yankees, all games by one run.
Do you know how many teams have beaten the Yankees four times in one series by one run each game?

Try zero.
Has never happened before.

And oh yeah, 11 out of 50 home games have been walk off wins for the A's.
22% of the games at the Coliseum end with the winning run crossing the plate.

With my Red Sox dead and buried, I am finding more joy following the A's (and Pirates and Nationals). And why not?

They are actually exciting.

 

Quite a first game for the kid wearing #70.
He got to get rocked and then see the Red Sox tie the game.

And THEN he got ejected!

That's quite a first day.
And quite a job from the bullpen to hold on to the win and go into the All Star Break on an 10-1 run.

Let's update the tally.


April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

Seriously, the Red Sox did everything in their power to squander a great Josh Beckett performance.

They made every effort to let the Astros have a shot, even down to the 3-2 2 out bottom of the 9th inning single by Brett Wallace.

The Red Sox really REALLY tried to let the Astros win a game.
But one run scored on an error, another on a bases loaded walk and lo and behold the Sox get a sweep.

Back to Fenway with a nice 4 game winning streak. Let's update the tally.


April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

No part of me thought the Red Sox were winning this game tonight.

Even going into it, I thought it was a "House Money" game. The Red Sox had won the first two games. Mission Accomplished. The goal should always be to take 2 out 3 in a series. And doing that on the road is an added bonus.

Doing it in the Bronx is sublime. So I literally felt no pressure going into tonights game. I figured the Sox had beaten CC before and Beckett looked great against the Yankees this year... so the law of averages said that Sabathia was going to win.

So the worst case scenario had a virtual tie for first place.
And secretly when I saw the game was delayed so long for rain, I thought "Ah just call it, make it a 2 game sweep and have Beckett start tomorrow in Toronto.

And when the game was 2-0 in the 7th and it was like 4 AM or something stupid in New York, I thought "Christ, I can't blame the bats for being asleep. The PLAYERS should be asleep and taking a flight north of the border!"

Then it happened. Ortiz, who was plunked earlier, got a meaningless hit. And Lowrie got what should have been a double down the line but Nick Swisher, clearly rattled from his shower with Papelbon, booted it into a triple and I thought Ortiz was not going to make it home. He looked as out of shape as one of those fat dudes riding a cart around the shopping mall.

Yet he scored. And the parade began. It was startling. It was "Marlins taking the lead after the Bartman play"-esque where one minute there was a pitcher dominating to a win... the next minute the game was out of hand for the other side.

A transition that fast usually gives someone the bends.

And oh yeah, the capper was Ortiz driving that 2 run double.

I wrote earlier in the week that I didn't care about beanballs and retaliation. I hoped the Red Sox just focused on winning.

Not only did they win... not only did they sweep them... not only did they embarrass each starting pitcher... but Papi got the last laugh.

He kicked their ass and stole their lunch.

And I get to update the tally.


April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

There are so many wonderful things about this Lakers collapse, I can't pick what is the best part.

- The Lakers are a loss away from a monumental face plant and doing it because the team is imploding from within.

- The Lakers are a loss away from having Phil Jackson's career end with a whimper. Red Auerbach's coaching career ended with the 1966 NBA Title. See the difference?

- The Lakers are a loss away from forever ending any talk of Kobe Bryant being on the same level as Michael Jordan. Kobe is a great player. A Hall of Famer. But would Jordan be swept out of the playoffs like this?

- The Lakers are a loss on Sunday away from making last Wednesday's 93-81 fiasco their last home game of the year. That would mean the last game Phil Jackson coached at home, the Lakers got booed by the remaining fans in Staples at the end of the game.

- The Lakers call in show on 710 ESPN are filled with fans complaining about refs calls and intense denial. Schadenfreude is fun.

- Because the Lakers are down 0-3 in the series, there is talk about how no NBA team has ever come back from that. But guess what other team they brought up? What other team came back from an 0-3 hole? I'll give you a hint... they don't bring up the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers.

That's right. My 2004 Red Sox! So I get to hear about Laker misery and how they probably won't match Red Sox heroics.

It doesn't get any better than that!

There wasn't a lot of "Winning" going on with either one. In fact both flopped pretty dramatically.

I would argue that the Red Sox had a worse opening. Because with Charlie, what exactly could you possibly have expected the show to be?

He wasn't going to sing. Or dance. And clearly no writers were on tour to feed him lines. (Although it is safe to say Sheen had a LOT of lines before the show.)

So if you went to the show, you were expecting to see Charlie Sheen act like a deranged lunatic. And it sounds like he delivered.

Meanwhile the Red Sox were capable of something. They could have pitched. They could have hit. They could have kept a FEW balls in the yard.

Let me put it this way, nobody was picking Sheen's show to win a Tony Award, but a lot of people thought this Sox team was ready for a parade in November.

So I guess the one with Tiger blood indeed won again.
(How could his Tigers uniform not say "Tiger Blood" on it? That could have made the whole show work!)

My friend, the brilliant Christian Finnegan, Tweeted it best regarding the Sheen refunds.

"DECREE: Anyone wanting a Charlie Sheen refund must first make a public speech explaining his rationale for purchasing the ticket."

The REAL winners?
The writers of Two and a Half Men. They can say "It's not so easy, is it Mr. Warlock?"

Let's hope the Red Sox can start being more Hot Shots, Wall Street, Major League Charlie Sheen rather than "being an expensive and humiliating public disaster" Charlie Sheen.

I like starting a season in an 0-3 hole. It is more fun that way.

Seriously, this was a pretty lousy display by my Red Sox, picked by so many to go all the way. It was home run derby off of both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz and frankly that makes me nervous.

I know it is against Texas and they are a good home run team. But what happened to "Good Pitching beats Good Hitting."

The Sox have an off day tomorrow and then Josh Beckett take the mound. Remember him? The guy who got lit up last year and this spring.

In terms of the "2011 Red Sox compared to hyped movies" template I made before the season started... this team is off like Superman Returns, the film where it just felt slightly off right from the beginning.

Let's hope things go up, up and away in Cleveland.

Reds fans have been waiting since 1995 to see a playoff game in their hometown.
And guess what? If they don't win today, all they'll get is a single playoff home game.

It seems almost unfair. A fan base gets pumped up and expects to have a ton of October memories... and then blink, it is over.

So I wondered how many teams made it all the way to October baseball and then gave their teams only one home game.

It has happened 21 times... Cincy had better hope they are not #22.

This is Sully Baseball... we do more than wonder about stuff like this.
The staff here finds it out and we list it.

ENJOY.


1969 MINNESOTA TWINS
Game 3, ALCS
11-2 loss. Baltimore sweeps 3-0.

1971 OAKLAND A'S
Game 3, ALCS
5-3 loss. Baltimore sweeps 3-0.

1975 OAKLAND A'S
Game 3, ALCS
5-3 loss. Boston sweeps 3-0.

1975 PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Game 3, NLCS
5-3 loss in 10 innings. Cincinnati sweeps 3-0.

1980 NEW YORK YANKEES
Game 3, ALCS
4-2 loss. Kansas City sweeps 3-0.

1982 ATLANTA BRAVES
Game 3, NLCS
6-2 loss. St. Louis sweeps 3-0.

1995 BOSTON RED SOX
Game 3, Division Series
8-2 loss. Cleveland sweeps 3-0.

1996 SAN DIEGO PADRES
Game 3, Division Series
7-5 loss. St. Louis sweeps 3-0.

1997 HOUSTON ASTROS
Game 3, Division Series
4-1 loss. Atlanta sweeps 3-0.

1997 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Game 3, Division Series
6-2 loss. Florida sweeps 3-0.

1998 CHICAGO CUBS
Game 3, Division Series
6-2 loss. Atlanta sweeps 3-0.

1998 TEXAS RANGERS
Game 3, Division Series
4-0 loss. New York sweeps 3-0.

1999 TEXAS RANGERS
Game 3, Division Series
3-0 loss. New York sweeps 3-0.

2000 ATLANTA BRAVES
Game 3, Division Series
7-1 loss. St. Louis sweeps 3-0.

2005 BOSTON RED SOX
Game 3, Division Series
5-3 loss. Chicago sweeps 3-0.

2005 SAN DIEGO PADRES
Game 3, Division Series
7-4 loss. St. Louis sweeps 3-0.

2006 LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Game 3, Division Series
9-5 loss. New York sweeps 3-0.

2007 CHICAGO CUBS
Game 3, Division Series
5-1 loss. Arizona sweeps 3-0.

2007 LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
Game 3, Division Series
9-1 loss. Boston sweeps 3-0.

2009 BOSTON RED SOX
Game 3, Division Series
7-6 loss. Los Angeles sweeps 3-0.

2009 MINNESOTA TWINS
Game 3, Division Series
4-1 loss. New York sweeps 3-0.

2009 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Game 3, Division Series
5-1 loss. Los Angeles sweeps 3-0.

It's safe to say that whatever shot Lee took worked. And let's just say let's not ask too many questions to what it was.

Ron Washington handed Cliff Lee the ball and basically said "Look, we've been wearing out our bullpen. I know you haven't pitched since August 31 and you haven't pitched more than 5 2/3 innings since August 16th... But could you PLEASE give us a few innings? And oh yeah, we're playing the Yankees."

If Lee got bombed, then the Rangers would have been the definition of "We're just happy to be in the playoffs."

Instead, he pitched into the 9th and the Rangers swept the Yankees and served notice that the Rangers have their ace back.

This was no Vicksburg... This Lee isn't about to surrender to the Yanks.

(Too Soon?)

Maybe I should rephrase the title "Did ANYTHING happen the way I wanted it to this weekend?"

I made a wish list for the weekend... let's see how awfully it turned out.

RED SOX vs. WHITE SOX
I wanted the Sox to sweep. They did. Unfortunately it was the WHITE Sox who did the sweeping. The Red Sox season is basically done... but the White Sox are rampaging.

YANKEES vs. BLUE JAYS
I wanted the Jays to sweep. They lost 2 of 3... but showed that there are cracks in the Yankees armor in terms of their starting pitching.

METS vs. CUBS
I wanted to see the Mets take 2 of 3 and R. A. Dickey to pick up a win. The Cubs took the first two before being thrashed today. Dickey got the loss on Friday.

ORIOLES vs. RAYS
Wanted an Orioles sweep. The Rays took the first game but lost the next two. Not that it helped the Red Sox in the standings any!

PHILLIES vs. BREWERS
I wanted the Brewers to take 2 of 3 but Halladay to take the win on Saturday. Hamels finally got a close win, Halladay won his 17th on Saturday but the Brewers avoided a sweep today.

PIRATES vs. NATIONALS
The fans at this series never have to prove their loyalty to their team in any other way. I wanted the Pirates to take 2 of 3. Naturally the Nats did.

BRAVES vs. MARLINS
I've never been a fan of the Bobby Cox Braves, so I wanted a Florida sweep to knock them out of their perch, to use a fish term. The Marlins took 2 of 3 including a thriller today.

RANGERS vs. TWINS
No offense to Minnesota, but I wanted the Rangers to sweep so Chicago could keep pace. It was the Twins who swept and kept pace with the surging White Sox. And oh yeah, one of the games ended on a crazy ticky tack interference call.

TIGERS vs. ROYALS
I wanted a Zack Greinke win. The bullpen blew a lead for him. I wanted an Armando Gallaraga win. He got a no decision. I also wanted a 28 inning game. I got an 11 inning one. Close enough.

CARDINALS vs. REDS
I wanted the Cardinals to take 2 of 3. They did. But I was hoping Wainwright's 18th victory would come this weekend, which it didn't.

ASTROS vs. DIAMONDBACKS
I didn't care about this series so basically I wanted three winners. Specifically I wanted 30 inning games, but I would settle for thrillers. I got three one run victories, including a wild comeback from Houston on Saturday as they took 2 of 3.

ANGELS vs. A'S
I still don't like the Angels and I hoped for an Oakland sweep. I got 2 of 3 for the A's. Both Cahill and Santana got wins to keep padding their win total.

INDIANS vs. MARINERS
I wanted them to go back in time to 1995 when they were both contenders. I also wanted Felix Hernandez to get a win. They stayed in 2010 but King Felix did indeed get a "W."

ROCKIES vs. PADRES
I spent the weekend in San Diego. It's a lovely city and the Padre fans have been wonderful. But I am rooting for the Giants to win it all if the Red Sox can't. I wanted a Rockies sweep. That's exactly what I got.

GIANTS vs. DODGERS
I hoped the Giants could inch closer to a playoff spot by sweeping L.A. While it wasn't a sweep, Juan Uribe is etching his name into the history book of late season Giants heroics as he powered San Francisco to two wins in three games.

So all in all, I didn't get a lot of what I wanted...
The Red Sox season appears to be over.

However, my dad (and my son Aidan) should be thrilled to see the Giants climbing back into the thick of things.

So as long as my family is happy... I'm happy.

I am sure this is not how Brandon Phillips saw this series unfold... The Reds went from 2 up to 1 back... and Cincinnati has 47 games to get back on track.

If they don't they can look squarely at this weekend as a big time lost opportunity... when they showed they couldn't play with the big boys.

The Reds are part of my "Less Than Magnificent Seven"... the seven teams that went from 2000 to 2009 without making the post season once.

They can get off the schnide with a division title in a month and a half... and the lead in the NL Central hasn't been more than 2 games since May 9th with the exception of one day where the Reds opened up a 3 game lead.

In other words, a tradition filled midwestern team that has a lot of red in their uniform will be playing in October this year... your guess is as good as mine as which one.

But despite Ubaldo Jimene's solid performance last night in New York, Adam Wainwright at this point has to be the Cy Young winner.

He came up big in today's big game that put the Cardinals in first by themselves.

He's matched Jimenez's 17 wins... his ERA has joined Josh Johnson as sub 2.00. Wainwright's 1.99 ERA trailed Johnson's league leading ERA by 0.02 points.

His 0.97 WHIP is the lowest in the league.

His 176 1/3 innings pitched is second only to Roy Halladay. His batting average against is third in the league.

It's an amazing year for aces, and a strong August and September could put Jimenez, Johnson, Halladay and even Lincecum into the winner's circle.

But right now, it needs to be wrestled from Wainwright.

Sure a lot of things SUCKED about tonight for the Red Sox.

Yeah, they got swept by the Rays.
Yeah, they have lost 4 in a row.
Yeah, they fell just short in a come from behind effort.
Yeah, Tim Wakefield got rocked.
Yeah, David Price looked like he is solidifying his Cy Young candidacy.
Yeah, we had to have stupid Matt Garza shut the Sox down.
Yeah, the Sox fell to 18-20 against the AL East.
Yeah, it is feeling more and more like 2006 with the injuries and the Sox fading away.

But hey! Nobody got hurt!

Let's update the tally.



June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)

Yes, I know the Mets just swept Philadelphia.

That's always a cool thing.

I know the Mets are only 2 back and look like world beaters right now. I beg of you, Met fans... don't get too excited.

Seriously, it isn't going to end well.

And in fact I think the two nice runs the Mets went on this year will in the end hurt the team... because they NEED to make a big move like dealing Santana when his value is at its best, and they won't do that when they think they are a contender!!

Just enjoy this fluke and don't start making October plans...

UNLESS...

There was one factor in today's game the team should take into account.

Once again my rocker friend Jaime Fallon was in attendance... and as I wrote before, when she shows up, the Mets win.

It hasn't failed yet.

The Mets should just give her a season pass, and then get ready for October ball.

(Seriously, Jaime's attendance is the only reason I can think of for the Mets good fortue.)

Victor Martinez's homer made me leap for joy.