Bill The Boy

Yes, it's a loss. No one's an idiot. Sometimes things just don't go the way we want them to. And regarding Sam Antonacci, I'll just offer this: (Full Disclosure: I'm Sam's great-uncle, so it's certainly fair to factor that bias into the following.) 1) Bottom of 1st, Sam leads off with a hit-by-pitch, steals second, and is then completely stranded out there by all three of "the big boys" in the 2, 3 and 4 slots. How nice would it have been to have that run? 2) Bottom of 10th, Sam gets an infield single to move ghost runner Acuna over to third with only one out. We all know what happened after that, unfortunately, but we need to at least give him credit for setting the stage for the possible walk-off win. 3) On the unfortunate inning-ending double play, it looked to me like Sam, being behind the first baseman, had no line of sight to tell whether Mune's low liner was caught on the fly, or on a short hop. I have no clue what his "best move" would have been in that split-second, but under the circumstances I don't think it's fair to classify the actions he took as "being an idiot on the bases." 4) Tomorrow's a brand new day, and this will all be a distant memory! Go Sox!

Twins pitcher is pissin' me off.

I agree, Kite. Sometimes you just cycle into a couple of clunkers. A brand new day tomorrow!

You got it, Luk. One of those days where you're just glad to get out of there without somebody getting hurt.

Maybe Sam A. put the bug in Will's ear...? 😉

Great point, LA. That hit me more clearly when I watched one of the game summary videos this morning. It had to be tempting for Mune to take a whack at that ball-four. In general, I wouldn't mind seeing more singles and "gap shots," and fewer home runs, from the guys. In particular, I'm concerned that Mune, Vargas, and Montgomery are feeling pressure to go deep all the time, rather than just trying to put the ball in play, and it seems like their strikeout count is getting a little high. I'd also like to see those three guys separated by a batter each, in the hitting order, rather than bunching them up three-in-a-row. Disclaimer: I am probably the least qualified person here to be making these suggestions, so... don't hesitate to tell me if I'm misguided.

We'll take it!

Awesome! Have a great time!

Chitown, my sister texted me during the game, wondering if they were using "piped-in crowd noise" at the stadium. She thought that, visually, the crowd didn't look like they were as animated as the audio we were hearing would've indicated. I wasn't sure about that one. Sis is Sammy's grandma, so we have a lot of back-and-forth on "the sibling text thread" during these games, as you can imagine! Brand new day! Play ball! Go Sox!

So happy for Quero! And once again we see a team where, if certain guys aren't able to perform on a given day the way they'd hoped, other guys step up and carry the day. That's a good dynamic for sure!

Hoping for a solid outing for Erick this afternoon! Go Sox!

Ron, being related to Sam I'm a little partial, but I think it's worth pointing out that he managed to get himself on base (via singles) in front of two of those homers.

I hope the guys can stand up strong and let the Cubs know they're not going to be intimidated, just like they did with the Mariners this time last week.

Clunkers happen! It's a brand new day! Go Sox!

Hahahahahaha! Thanks DUES !! That was kind of my impression! 😄

Joejoe, I'll confess I'm kind of a soft-hearted guy, and probably naive about most of the business and managerial side of baseball, but I sincerely wish that there could be some situation, somehow, some way, in which Edgar does something heroic. He seems like a good guy, and a hard worker, well-prepared to take his place behind the plate when the call comes, and it's painful to see him struggling the way he is with the bat right now. I certainly get your Knights reference, of course, and maybe a visit to AAA would be just what he needs to restore the feel for effective hitting. But first, how about something game-changing at some point during this series? I would love that. I think we all would.

Ray, I'm guessing that Sam would tell us he should've had that one. My broader concern, from the perspective of a guy (me) who doesn't have a huge depth of knowledge about the finer points of baseball, is that I see so many situations in these games where a medium-range fly goes out there, and we see two or three guys converging on it, all going a hundred miles an hour, and that has to create some degree of hesitation (not wanting to be involved in a nasty collision) for the guy who may be in a position to grab it via the dive (or slide). I guess that situation has been plaguing fielders since the game was invented, and I know it's an imperfect science, but it seems like there should be a better way to deal with that scenario, and thus avoid flubs, or, worse yet, the good old, "I got it! I got it! You take it!"

Thanks to all for the nice welcome and the nice thoughts on Sam. Would love to see another win tonight!

I'm a lifelong Cardinal fan, but now I've modified that to say, "The Cards are my National League team, and the Sox are my American League team." This certainly is a fun team to watch, and it seems that when one guy isn't able to do what he'd hoped, another guy is there to pick him up. This is a classy bunch of guys, right across the board, although I'll admit I'm a little partial toward my great-nephew out there in left field!