There are two things I’m pretty certain of in baseball right now.
One, the Baltimore Orioles aren’t going away anytime soon. Two, the Boston Red Sox really aren’t a good baseball team. I kid with the title of the lineup post by saying “Wednesday Red Sox Mediocrity” but in reality, it’s not a joke.
Aaron Cook was his own worst enemy as the Red Sox fell 5-3 to the Baltimore Orioles. It would be his throwing error in the 6th that would ultimately do him and his team in.
Cook had been cruising through the first five innings of the game. He was perfect through three innings and then walked a guy in the 4th and 5th innings. Those walks didn’t hurt him though.
Things changed in the 6th though with him holding onto a 2-0 lead.
After getting the first out of the inning, he walked Nick Markakis. Two singles later, one by J.J. Hardy and the second by Nate McLouth, cut the Red Sox lead in half at 2-1. It looked as though Cook would get out of the inning as he got Adam Jones to ground back to him but when he tried to start the inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, his throw sailed past Mike Aviles that allowed Hardy to knot the game up at 2.
Matt Wieters followed that with an RBI ground-rule double to chase Cook from the game. Andrew Miller came in and got a groundball from Chris Davis to Dustin Pedroia at second. Pedey went home to gun down Jones to keep the game a one-run ballgame. But Junichi Tazawa came in and was greeted by Mark Reynolds double that cleared the bases and put the O’s out in front for good at 5-2.
The Red Sox got a run back in the 7th but that’s as close as they would get.
One odd thing happened to the Red Sox in the 8th.
Adrian Gonzalez was ejected from the game in the 8th inning after grounding out. It appeared that O’s pitcher Pedro Strop quick-pitched him with two strikes in the count. Gonzo wasn’t ready but still swung at the pitch and grounded out. He said a few things to the home plate umpire Mike Everitt going by and went into the dugout. But as Cody Ross was coming to the plate, Gonzo was chirping from the dugout and was ultimately ejected by Everitt.
Bobby Valentine came out to argue to no avail and he too found himself taking an early shower.
Given that big Yahoo! Sports report, you would have thought Valentine wouldn’t defend him. But he did so that tells how true that report really was. Plus the players named in that report have stated it’s not true.
Whatever the case may be, it’s a distraction, a HUGE one.
Whomever this anonymous source is in the Red Sox organization has to be carrying a grudge or something. I mean why else would you want to hurt your team by putting something like this out there.
I’ve been trying to stay as positive as I can with this team. They had a chance to make up ground against the Orioles. Now they have to fight to avoid being swept. If the Red Sox are swept, you can bet your bottom dollar that the chapter of the 2012 Red Sox will be closed.
But that doesn’t mean I still won’t support my team.
We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Orioles sink them again with 5 in 6th [boston globe]
Sox can’t plug leaks [boston globe]
Remaining idle is a sore spot for Ortiz [boston globe]
Sox come apart, again [boston herald]
David Ortiz cooling his heels [boston herald]
John Henry again backs Bobby V; refutes story [boston herald]
Alex Ochoa, Jon Lester laugh off controversy [boston herald]
It’s time to call it quits, Sox aren’t worth our attention [boston herald]
Gonzalez, Valentine explain ejection [rob bradford – weei.com]
Kelly Shoppach: Red Sox have ‘disconnect in communication’ [clubhouse insider]
Red Sox lose lead, fall to Orioles, 5-3 [csn new england]
Epstein gives thoughts on Pesky’s passing [csn new england]
Cook: ‘We lost it because I made an error’ [csn new england]
Gonzalez frustrated by non-call on ‘quick pitch’ [csn new england]
Matsuzaka: ‘Im ready to make the step up’ [csn new england]
Valentine secure in job, believes he’ll be manager through 2015 [csn new england]
Buchholz: Sox situation ‘blown out of proportion’ [csn new england]
Bobby appreciative; Ortiz takes it slow [espn boston]
Rumor Central: Options for Sox trades [espn boston]
Rapid Reaction: Orioles 5, Red Sox 3 [espn boston]
Cook self-destructs as hard-luck Sox fall [espn boston]
Bobby Valentine’s Boston Red Sox are in a funk, and the stink could linger long after 2012 [espn boston]
Adrian Gonzalez refutes claims made in report [full count]
Closing Time: Red Sox suffer a sudden collapse against Orioles once again [full count]
Aaron Cook: ‘We lost because I made an error’ [full count]
Adam Jones Tweets That Jarrod Saltalamacchia Is ‘Heavy Human’ After Collision at Plate [nesn.com]
Red Sox’ Sixth-Inning Breakdown an Apt Metaphor for Fast-Unravelling Season [nesn.com]
Arguing Strop’s quick pitch, Adrian, Valentine ejected [redsox.com]
Ortiz feeling better, but still not running or hitting [redsox.com]
Doubront should return to rotation next week [redsox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, be sure to head over to the Baltimore Sun and MASN websites. Also be sure to check out our Bloguin brother the Oriole Post for all of your Orioles needs.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: getty images
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WHAT: Boston Red Sox All-Star pitcher 
