Sports Redux: Victorious!

Papi and V-Mart hug it out after combining to go 3-6 with four RBI in an 8-4 win. AP Photo.

For five innings in Texas last night, the Boston Red Sox looked the way they've looked a lot lately. Jon Lester was good, though not great, as he allowed three runs in six innings. The offense checked out and extended their latest consecutive scoreless innings streak to 17 before David Ortiz blasted a two-run home run to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth.

Texas carried a 4-2 lead into the ninth inning and then crazy baseball goodness ensued and the Sox won a game they were barely aware of for 3.5 hours by unloading on Frank Francisco's inner John Smoltz for six runs on seven hits, five of which came with two outs.

Ortiz led off with a double after apparently remembering players are allowed more than one hit in the same game. Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury each to plate Ortiz. Terry Francona understandably pulled Varitek for a pinch-runner. He picked Clay Buchholz - WTF?? - as the runner. He looked like a pitcher running the bases, which is bad, and became the second out as he tried to score on Dustin Pedroia's double. In fairness to Buchholz, the ball was hard to judge and it bounced right back to Texas outfielder David Murphy. A more experienced runner - Varitek - may have had a tough time, too.

That was the second out and looked like a rally-killer until Victor Martinez doubled to right, to score Ellsbury and Pedroia to put the Sox ahead 5-4. Jason Bay singled in Martinez. J.D. Drew capped the rally with a two-run home run for the 8-4 final. Arlington was sounding like Baltimore.

The Red Sox continue to tinker with their roster to correct flaws that have been exposed recently. The team re-acquired Alex Gonzalez from the Cincinnatti Reds in exchange for a minor-league player. Gonzalez was in Boston in 2006 and was a meticulous defensive player who seemingly didn't own a bat. He is expected to play tonight, and should stabilize the Sox at shortstop. Sox fans, of course, are going to wonder why he was ever allowed to leave.

As David Ortiz has reverted to his slumping ways, he appears to have turned into a cranky mess. The Globe's Amalie Benjamin interviewed him and his responses read angry and defensive. Some quotes "People talking on TV, talking about me, the David Ortiz they know, like I'm a criminal. It's not fair, you know?...When I get to be gone, I won't give a flying [expletive] about nobody, period. Nobody going to give a flying [expletive] about me...All people work about is making money, selling bad news, talking [expletive] about people...If you want to judge me, it's on you."

It's unlikely Ortiz was a serial steroid cheat the way Barry Bonds is viewed. The vitamin/supplement excuse is reasonable up until the point he says he knew nothing about it until July 30, 2009. Bostonist thinks he knows what he took that may be the cause of the alleged positive test for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. But, Bostonist will accomodate Ortiz and put the burden of our judgment of him on us. In August, Ortiz is 7-47 with four RBI (including last night). If you're scoring at home, that's .149.

The Old Time Baseball Game took place on Thursday at St. Peter's Field in North Cambridge. As baseball, more than any other game, is defined by its history, this isn't the only exhibition of baseball's past. There's also New England Vintage Base Ball. Additionally, teams from Hingham and New Bedford will play each other on August 23 in Hingham. One of the players, Jeff Keller of Norwell, makes bats authentic to the 1890s specs for the games.

That other sport, football, is in full fake game/practice mode. Tom Brady is back, and so is the defensive wizardry of Bill Belichick. He rolled out a 4-3 defensive scheme for much of Thursday's game against Philadelphia. This may be a result of uncertainty about the linebackers. Or, is it a subtle messge to Vince Wilfork, that Belichick can make his defense work regardless of personnel, even without the big guy we all respect. Belichick knows, and we don't. That's how he likes it.

Bostonist checked out 98.5 WBZ-FM The Sports Hub briefly around noon on Friday. That won't happen again because that's when Gary Tanguay is on, and his incessant pom-pom waving is tedious. Tanguay's partner is Scott Zolak, who we generally like, but a former player paired with Tanguay sets up a redundancy of rooting. The Michael Felger/Tony Massarotti tandem seems more appealing. Felger/Zolak and Tanguay/Massarotti would be more interesting on the ears.