I should have listened to Denton

Say it with me, Tito: Bard in the eighth, Papelbon in the ninth. Simple, right?

To quote Sting, that was “a humiliating kick in the crotch.” Clay Buchholz had pitched a freaking gem. Other than Longoria’s solid single in the seventh, Clay had only given up an infield hit and a broken-bat blooper. The only run was a self-inflicted wound by Clay’s two-base throwing error, inexplicably trying to hold Pena on first.

Then Francona got greedy and BJ Upton golfed a game-tying homer with one out in the eighth. As soon as 60-year-old Scott Atchison entered in the bottom of the tenth, this one was over.

And here we are, right back to five-and-a-half out. To make matters worse, we have to depend on the services of John Lackey to extend the season. All while listening to Joe Morgan flap his gums about “dead red” or someones cleats. Stock up on the grillin’ meats and ‘Gansett, could be a long night.