ugh

So what to say about yesterday's game? I guess everyone's pointing to Tito for leaving Schilling in too long. First four innings were great, but it was pretty obvious that he was done after 5. With him just coming off the DL, having had some shaky minor league starts, and with a well-rested bullpen, 5 innings, nearly 100 pitches should've been plenty. Oh well. My guess is Schilling still hasn't learned the ALCS Game 1 lesson: if you think you're unable to pitch well, suck it up and admit it. But "suck it up" is not in Schilling's vocabulary, unless it's referring to all the air in the room. Anyhow, I guess it's Tito's job to decide; at least he could've had someone up in the bullpen earlier.

The big story, as far as I'm concerned, is the offense. Based on Wright's pitching, Sox should've had the lead even after Schilling gave up the second HR. Wright looked terrible, but they just couldn't get to him. I think, in the big picture, this game bodes well for the future -- Schilling was solid for his first few innings post-surgery, and Wright continues to pitch like he should (and not like he did in 2004) -- but still the lack of offense is frustrating. Of the 8 games, they've scored 3 or fewer runs 4 times...with hitting like that, who cares what your pitching is -- a 3-5 record sounds about right.