Ugly way to lose? You bet.
The 6-5 loss to the Orioles didn’t look good. But I’m going to take a different tact tack and say that more good came out of that loss than bad.
Am I crazy? Of course, but hear me out.
1. Wily Mo Pena came through in the clutch. I don’t remember saying that statement more than once before in the last 270 Red Sox games. Whether it is for later this season or getting trade value, that’s a good thing.
2. Dice-K is legitimately very good. He was near unhittable last night. I would want him to be the No. 2 guy in a big playoff series. Other than his occasional wild streaks, he is a borderline staff ace.
3. Julio Lugo ignited this team again. Again, this has not been a common theme in 2007, but it happened last night. All he did was bunt the ball, but it was a good one, scoring the go-ahead run. If he can generate similar electricity the rest of the way he will be a contributor.
Now, the bad part is that the Eric Gagne and Hideki Okajima didn’t come through, especially Gagne. But that probably won’t happen again. Both are considered automatic and had a bad game. The odds of both of them messing up, together, are so high it’s not worth mentioning.
Gagne has a lot to prove and last night will probably make him a little fiercer than he has looked thus far. He has to treat his “setup” role as if he is closing. His eighth inning should be his old ninth inning.
Again, forget about the Yankees. The Red Sox did a lot of good last night and should have beaten one of the hottest pitchers in baseball in Erik Bedard (12-4, 3.11 ERA). In fact, the way the clawed back against Bedard in the eighth inning, with two outs, is something to call home about.
But there is one caveat to last night being a “successful” loss. And that’s Josh Beckett and the bats doing their job tonight. My guess is both will.
