MayDay Summer

Six, Two and Even More to Grouse About

Somewhere former Sox manager Joe Morgan is smiling - it's 6/2 (June 2nd) and the Sox are ten games better than even. (On the other hand, the Orioles are exactly even - 24 and 24 - and a fat lot of good it's going to do them.)

The chief gripe after last night's loss is that Francona left Arroyo in the game one batter (and three pitches) too long. This must be the sleep deprivation talking. Francona is right to be stretching out his starters now, and Arroyo made Guerrero look quite sad in his previous three at-bats. The real problem here is an offense that routinely whiffs more than it hits (last night's tally, 14Ks vs. 13Hs), that leaves legions of runners on base - including last night's truly preposterous 23 runners stranded (six marooned by Daubach alone), and that runs the basepaths as if hiking the rain forest in cement shoes while drugged.

Can't help but notice that as excited as we are in Boston about the imminent return of our injured frontliners, it's hard to imagine a sunnier horizon than Anaheim's. This team is currently fielding the best outfield in the majors - Guillen, Mondesi and Guerrero - while the, say, fourth-best outfield in the majors (Anderson, Erstad and Salmon) convalesces. Even with their spotty pitching, Anaheim could easily win 105 games by pounding opponents to death. Which, coincidentally, is also something the Yankees have started to do.