Eric Gange is the New Bob Stanley

It was hard to find a picture of Bobby Stanley in a pose that wasn't watching a home run leave the park or else of his hopeless back end as he watched the ball roll into Right Field after Mookie Wilson had poked it through Buckner's legs in '86. If you aren't familiar with that incident then you've come to the right blog as there are lots of comments about it to be found here.

Let me be the first to say that the Red Sox are three Gagne appearances from being eliminated. He is terrible. Yes, eventually a reliever was going to blink, but Gagne only faced one batter before he blinked, giving up a hard single and then a walk. pathetic in a Bob Stanley kind of way.


The sox should win game 2. They don't have to win it, but shit, what a crappy performance by Schilling and Gagne. Horrible. Was I missing something about his performance in game 1 where he was staked a 7 run lead in the top of the ninth and still managed to load the bases with walks and hits? Was that the kind of performance that earns you the right to hold the Indians in the top of the 11th? I don't think so. Papelbon can't go three innings? With a day off tomorrow? That sissy. He can't get one out?
It's frustrating because I want the Sox to win 4 straight and also because Manny and Lowell tagged home runs and the game was scripted to be won in the 9th. But somehow Youk hit it on the button to Sizemore. Also that single that Papi ripped to the shift was so close to being a hit. The shift robbed two hits from Papi tonight. That's the difference in the game.
But Gagne has such a simple job to do and he absolutely collapses. He just can't get it done and shouldn't even be on the roster. Wow! Did his agent pull a fast one? Horrible. His attitude and the way he looks coming out of the bullpen like "I wonder how this outing is gonna go." and the fans all grimacing when he trots in. It's exactly like Bob Stanley. He just looks like a loser. His attitude is "Hope I don't lose." The Indians didn't beat Gagne. Gagne beat himself. Like the Mets didn't beat Schiraldi. Schiraldi beat himself. He didn't have the confidence to win game 6. He was mentally incapable. Gagne is not mentally prepared to throw post season pitches. He belongs in Texas where they don't play post season games.
So, a key hit would have won it for the Sox, but it was a mental error by Francona to bring in Gagne that lost it for them.
Can Dice K rebound from his shaky outing against the Angels? I think so. More importantly, the Red Sox are going to pounce on Paul Byrd. It could get ugly. As long as Gagne stays in the bullpen then the Sox have a chance.