A wise man once said, "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit." Don't the Red Sox know that right now as John Smoltz at this point in his hallowed, Hall of Fame career is basically chicken shit every fifth day.
In game one of a pivotal four game set in the new Yankee Stadium, Smoltz got rocked and the Yankees (66-42) rolled 13-6.
Staked to a 3-1 lead, Smoltz couldn't hold it as he and PawSox call-up Billy Traber (who I had never heard of before yesterday) gave up an eight-spot to the Bombers.
Smoltz's final line: 3.1 innings, eight earned runs, nine hits, four walks, three strikeouts. The question now: will that be his last start for the Red Sox (and his career)? Maybe he could be used for an inning or two out of the bullpen but at the moment, the Sox (62-45) desperately need starting pitching, like Kate Hudson (A-Rod's main squeeze) needs a boob job.
With the loss, Boston fell 3.5 games behind New York while also ensuring that even if they win the remaining three games this weekend, they'll still occupy second place.
The ironic thing was that last night Joba Chamberlain (8-2) was not on his game but he looked like Tim Lincecum next to Smoltz's batting practice stuff. Joba lasted only five innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits with a career-high seven walks and five strikeouts.
Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, 2 RBIs, walk) hit a solo shot to right in the third as the Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead.
Johnny Damon (3 hits, 3 runs) answered with a solo shot to the same cheap spot in right, to tie it in the bottom of the third.
Casey Kotchman made the most of his first start for Boston as he cranked a two-run bomb to the exact same place in the fourth, giving Boston a 3-1 lead.
In the huge fourth, Melky Cabrera (2 hits) and Jorge Posada (3 hits, 2 runs) both crushed three-run homers.
Mike Lowell (2 hits) made it 9-4 with an RBI single in the fifth but New York added single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh including another bomb, a solo job by Mark Teixeira (3 hits, 2 runs) in the seventh.
The Red Sox scored two in the ninth for yucks.
Clearly, Josh Beckett needs to play his usual role of stopper tonight as he opposes former Marlins teammate A.J. Burnett. The Red Sox' season is spinning out of control and it needs something positive.
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