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Baseball Today: Thursday, May 31

FIRST DARK CLOUD ON THE HORIZON: In a season that's been remarkably worry-free, the Red Sox finally have something to fret about: Daisuke Matsuzaka (right). He was cuffed around pretty good by the Indians last night in an 8-4 loss -- his numbers destroyed, and the game lost, in no small part by Terry Francona's incredibly slow hook; Cleveland went double/410 foot out/double/single/single/home run in the sixth inning and turned a 2-2 game into a 6-2 game before Tito finally got around to lifting Dice-K -- and now has given up 13 runs in his last 11 innings. ''Overall, I had problems,'' said Matsuzaka, though he said that, unlike Friday's start in Texas, he felt fine. (For what it's worth, the blog Matsuzaka Watch predicted Dice-K would get lit up, a combination of last week's illness and the Indians' tough lineup.)

The Sox had one last chance to salvage something, when they loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but it ended when Aaron Fultz retired David Ortiz in a classic confrontation, recounted pitch-by-pitch in Steven Krasner's Inside The Game. (All stories projo.com)

Still, says the Boston Herald's Steve Buckley, there's no reason to worry. (Seth Mnookin concurs.) And, he adds, there's certainly no reason to invoke memories of 1978, which is the next big ghost of the past waiting to be exorcised. (Maybe the Sox could beat the Mets in the World Series and make it a two-fer, erasing the stain of 1986, as well.)

NOW THIS REMINDS ME OF 1978: For whatever on-field links the contemporary Yankees have had to their storied predecessors in recent years, they've never come close to their '70s brethen when it comes to off-field shenanigans . . . until now. Alex Rodriguez' wife apparently has left him (New York Daily News) in light of the New York Post's Stray-Rod spread showing him squiring a ''mysterious, busty blonde'' around Toronto Sunday night (including a stop in ''a flashy strip club''). The Daily News story gets pretty salacious -- A-Rod is ''the king of the strip clubs," according to one source, and story adds he ''even shoots X-rated text messages to his favorite strippers across the country'' -- and, in best Woodward-and-Bernstein/Edward R. Murrow tradition, the Post has dug deeper and learned that A-Rod has been spotted with a similar-looking woman in other cities, as well.

Deadspin, as usual, had the best take on the whole thing: ''We know! We're as shocked as you! A Major League Baseball player, of all people. Well, now we've seen everything!''

AS DOES THIS: The Yankees broke their losing streak last night but A-Rod made even more enemies -- this time in the Toronto clubhouse -- by distracting Blue Jays third baseman Howie Clark on what should have been an inning-ending popup in the nintn, causing the ball to drop and leading to three more New York runs. (New York Daily News) The Blue Jays were furious. (Toronto Star) So were their fans, in somewhat saltier language than was used publicly by the Jays (Tao of Steib blog) The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro -- calling A-Rod ''a human lightning rod, always managing to find a way to become the middle of a story, even when it seems he has to go out of his way and make half a dozen U-turns to find [it]'' -- points out that if someone like Pete Rose had done it, ''men would write poems about grittiness, paeans to aggressiveness. But with A-Rod, it rubs opponents the wrong way.'' Probably true. But Vaccaro also adds: ''[The] next time the Yankees face the Blue Jays, the next time A-Rod steps in against A.J. Burnett or Roy Halladay, he may want to wear two batting helmets.'' Also true.

So just when the tabloids had turned A-Rod into a sympathetic figure (Toronto Star), he turned himself back into a villain by resurrecting his Slappy McBluelips/Little League persona. (Yelling "Mine!" at a fielder as he runs by? Really . . . ) The Daily News' Bill Madden thinks it's time for Rodriguez to ''wake up; everyone is watching you.''

LOST IN THE SHUFFLE . . . was the fact that Mariano Rivera actually recorded a save last night. (New York Post)

ALMOST FORGOT: Oh, yeah. The Yankees are coming to town this weekend. (New York Daily News)

A DAY WITHOUT CLEMENS IS LIKE A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE: Taking a break from its stakeout of A-Rod, the Post caught up with the elusive Roger Clemens.

IN OTHER NEWS: Ichiro says he doesn't usually do this, but admitted that he sent mental signals for the ball not to be hit to him the other night because the color of the sky made it difficult for him to see. (enjoytheenjoyment.blogspot.com) Blogger Seth Kolloen enjoyed the admission: ''I think what Ichiro's trying to say is that he couldn't see the ball at all, so he was, essentially, praying that it wouldn't be hit to him. As the Times' Geoff Baker points out, 'How many of us, at one point or another, stood out there in the outfield as kids just praying to some unseen force that the ball wouldn't be hit our way?' ''

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT YESTERDAY: Kevin Youkilis has joined Curt Schilling in the blogosphere. (kevinyoukilis.mlblogs.com/)

QUICKLY: Derek Lowe spun a beauty last night in Washington (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Guillermo Mota says he's sorry (New York Post) . . . Elijah Dukes must stay away from his wife (Tampa Tribune).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:50 AM | Permalink

Comments

Bryan | May 31, 2007 10:54 AM link