Sports Redux: Batting Practice With the Baltimore Bullpen

It was a tense time at Fenway Saturday. Curt Schilling looked human (or worse). The Sox were suffering from a chronic case of "hitting the ball right at Miguel Tejada". Losing two in a row to the Orioles looked like a distinct possibility.

But then came the Orioles bullpen, who helped the Red Sox turn a nailbiter into a 13-4 rout. A 5-4 lead turned to 8-4, on a Crisp fielder's choice and a 2-run single by Alex Cora. Then in the eighth, the Sox got singles from Ortiz, Drew, Lowell, Varitek, Cora, Lugo, Youkilis, Wally, Johnny Pesky, Jerry Remy and the Sausage Guy off of the Dynamic Duo of Jon Leicester and Todd Williams. Josh Beckett goes against Jeremy "Don't Call Me Arlo" Guthrie in the series finale.

The sad news for the Sox is that Mike Timlin isn't healing on schedule, which means an extended stint on the D.L. A glum Timlin interviewed on NESN that he had been hoping to "pitch through it", but the team and the doctors don't want him to. We know what a gamer Timlin is; it must be killing him that he isn't able to be part of this spring juggernaut.

Here's a relationship tester: Taco Bell is holding a contest where the winner gets to have their marriage proposal put on one of those green-screens behind the plate during a nationally televised Fox game. If you can stand the idea of having your Special Moment include Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, you can go to Taco Bell's site and register until May 27th. The winner also gets a year's worth of food at Taco Bell, which will either (if the answer is "Yes") make for a hell of a reception, or (if "no") provide adequate sustenance for the Dr. Who marathon. (Thanks for that line, as always, to the Simpsons.)

The Revolution didn't have the Baltimore bullpen working in their favor, but they did turn a close game into a win last night in L.A. against the Galaxy. Adam Cristman scored his first MLS goal, and superstar Taylor Twellman had two of his own, including the gamewinner in the 85th minute. Next time the teams meet (in August), L.A. should have David Beckham on the field.

In the playoffs, San Antonio took a 2-1 lead over Phoenix in a series that's turning out to be a nasty, brutish, hate-filled affair, well worth watching. The Nets finally solved Cleveland, but still trail 2-1 in that series. In hockey, the Senators took a 2-0 lead over Buffalo after a double-overtime game-winner from Joe Corvo.