Sox bullpen may need support

When Terry Francona calls the bullpen these days, he may hear this recording: “Thank you for calling the Red Sox Bullpen.  If you want a pitcher to walk the next batter, press 1.  If you want a pitcher to give up two hits in a row, press 2.  If you want a pitcher to face the next four batters without recording an out, press 3.  If you want a pitcher who can pitch the 8^thinning without giving up a run, please hang up and call the General Manager’s office and put in your request.  For guaranteed outs, please call 1-800-Papelbon.” 

If the weakness of the 2008 Boston Red Sox had not been exposed prior to the ugliest inning in recent Red Sox history, it was certainly shown in the 7^thinning last night.  Even more interesting, Hideki Okajima, the fallen golden child of last season with his own theme song, was not involved.   

Who ever thought the Sox might be relieved to arrive at Yankee Stadium? 

The real facts are these:  No one wins a World Series before the All-Star break.  The Red Sox seem to hit a hitting snag almost every season; good bullpen pitching has saved them in recent seasons, and that’s not happening right now.  But there’s nothing to indicate the bullpen won’t turn around as quickly as the Rays were able to score runs last night.   

In the words of Atticus Finch (from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird): “It’s not time to worry yet.”

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Unrelated to the bullpen woes was Julio Lugo sliding into "second base" in the 4th inning.  Everyone seems to agree had it not been for the fireworks between these two teams during their last meeting, the umpire would never have called interference.   It's a call that is probably made less than 10 times a season in all of baseball.  A call that I think I have witnessed only once or twice in all my baseball watching.  And it is a sad comment on the state of umpiring and refereeing in the modern era. 

Umpires should live in a vacuum and make calls based on what they see on the field, not what happened last night and not what happened last week.  NBA basketball has been victim of this time and again; if it's a foul in the first quarter, it should be a foul in the fourth quarter.   

How does this get fixed?  Tell the front office to butt out!  We all live with the fact the human factor is part of the game.  The home team may get the call more often than not on a close play and that's just the way it is.  But the league office (of any league) should NEVER influence how a call will go, for any reason.   

It is unfortunate that does not seem to be the case at second base last night.