Blech

What is there to say when you blow a winnable game (12-9) like last night? To the Royals? When you're ahead 9-5?

Nothing but "blech." That and "Manny Delcarmen should only be in the game when one team is getting blown out by the other."

I love the kid, but good Lord that was a brutal inning. And with two outs to boot. Altogether it was three runs allowed on three doubles and a walk. Just a painful outing and all too reminiscent of how he has pitched in September.

Not that Bard was any better. He gave up the runs that gave Kansas City the lead and was bailed out of the sixth only by the fact that the Royals still believe that Betancourt can play baseball. Wagner came on in the eighth and allowed the last run. Hell, the only pitcher who had a good outing was Bowden, who shut the Royals down in the ninth for one of only two 1-2-3 innings Boston pitchers had last night.

Wakes had a rough game, the rain playing merry hell with his knuckler. Maybe it's just me, but shouldn't Wakes have been moved back? The knuckler depends on precise control and release, and a little wind doesn't hurt either. A steady downpour doesn't help any of those things. But in the end, the Sox still led after Wakes left the game. And they were hitting the hell out of DiNardo as well.

Jason Bay went 2-5 with a three-run blast for his 36th homer of the year. Four more and he'll be the first player since 1998 not named Manny Ramirez or David Ortiz to hit 40 homers in a season (It was Mo for those of you playing at home). V-Mart went 2-4 and grabbed a pair of RBI, giving him 100 on the year (33 with Boston). Ellsbury went 1-5 but grabbed two RBI and scored a run. The point is that Boston's offense did their job and the pitching staff simply didn't show up.

The worst part? The Sox should have cut the Yanks lead to four games last night. I think five games still makes Yankee fans uncomfortable, but the Sox had a chance to put the pressure on and let it get away. And now they face the kid who should win the Al Cy Young if voters aren't blinded by wins and wins alone. Zach Greinke takes the mound for the Royals while the Sox send Paul Byrd. This is a matchup that favors the Royals. Hopefully the pitching staff can regroup and the Sox can tag Zach for a few runs.