We’re Playing With Mulligans, Right?

If you’re reading this, that means our fearless leader, Pat Tabler, is sans internet in West Virginia, is white water rafting, and is contemplating jumping in the river without a life vest after C.C.’s performance last night. We’ll have to hope for the best, as the website he sent me for the lodge he’s “camping” at is currently not working (although it was yesterday, and showed a picture of a comfy living room with a flat screen tv which he surely was watching the game on). Never fear, T-Bone is here for the first ever pinch-hitting role at the DiaTribe.

Well, there’s not really much to report other than what you saw tonight, and it wasn't pretty.

All started off well, as the Pronk of old put us on the board early.

However, come the third inning, bad things happened.

October C.C. showed up again, but the way Beckett was dealing tonight (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, 0 BB), all his post-season hype was well deserved. Oh, also, Beckett only threw 80 pitches. At least that doesn’t set him up well for pitching on three days rest (although, CC only threw 85). After tonight his career postseason record is 4-2, with a 1.87 ERA to boot.

One problem CC (and Indians pitchers for that matter) had was getting Big Papi out. Oh, and Manny too. The duo’s combined line was 4-4, 4 R, 5 BB, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI. Ouch.

Sidebar, anyone else already sick of Manny getting all “schmoopy” with his teammates after every play?Unfortunately, Manny did it with the glove, too.

Outside of the pounding CC took, the focus group I was watching the game with thought Frank the Tank makes that catch on the Kielty hit to right in the fifth 99 times out of 100, and the bleeding could/should have stopped at 5-1, rather than 8-1. It was that kind of night.

Well, if Fausto can do what he’s done, we escape with a split, right? Right?