This morning Roger Clemens? mother passed away. Tonight he pitched a baseball game. People die, the rest of us carry on doing what we?ve always done, otherwise, the whole thing is ridiculous.
Clemens didn?t have a good first inning, he walked the first batter, Conine, who is on fire, singled, then Cabrera fc?d a run in. But, that was it. He went 6.1 and gave up 5 singles.
Meanwhile?.
Burke, diving at Conine?s single, suffered a subluxed left shoulder. Greg Lucas looked that up, subluxed = partially dislocated? fuck it, at this point it?s dislocated. Charles Gibson, and if I hear one more Diane Sawyer allusion?, replaced him in center. What the hell, somebody unexpected was going to have to come through, and he did. Immediately he made a nice catch going back, in the 4th, a good play coming in that got a Clemens ataboy. On the offensive side he went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Also, he got a walk, which is a miracle on this team.
But the big inning for the Astros was the 2nd. Burnett was throwing 97 mph balls. He walked 3, 2 with the bases loaded. One of them was Clemens. Handing the Astros 3 runs. That was all they needed. But as JD noted, ?Crooked numbers early, add on late?. I?d like that in needlepoint on a pillow.
More offensive moments; bases loaded in the 5th, Everett barely missed getting around and flied out into the cutout, the score still close 3-1 at this point.
The Astros defense contributed on a couple plays, Lane made a diving catch, ending the 6th and he got a Clemens ataboy. Lamb, starting the 7th, got a convenient hop behind third, planted well, and made a strong throw to get Encarnacion.
But that was the defense; in the bottom of the 7th, all hell broke loose. Lamb hit the slowest triple ever, bouncing around the right side of the Hill. Then the Marlins brought on Randy Messinger, or as I called him, The Messenger of Doom. Lane singled, Gipson singled, Everett squeezed home a run? slobanaka time, 6-1 Astros.
There was a Twilight Zone moment in the top the 7th. Clemens got an out but, because Biggio is so short he couldn't snag a looper and a grounder in the hole, had to leave. Qualls came in to face LoDuca, NOW he gets the 6-4-3 dp.
More damage in the 8th, 2 runs already and Everett had his second chance at a grand slam, missed it by a biscuit. He turned on this one well but didn?t hit it long enough. Double off the wall, only scored 2. Bagwell pinch hit and walked. The Red Cross decal looks oddly appropriate on his helmet.
In the 9th, Charlton Jimerson made his major league debut, playing center.
Alright. Pettitte v. Vargas
