Put Me In, Coach

These three games against the Orioles in Baltimore leading up to the All-Star break may be more important than people think. Sweep three against a very bad team, and you go into the second half of the season with some momentum. Take last night’s 12-1 win, for example. Andrew Vaughn has three hits and Adam Engel four RBIs while Gavin Sheets hits a homerun with his family in the stands. It doesn’t get much better than fifteen hits in a game, unless it’s the chance to do it two more times over the weekend. With a 5.57 team ERA, the Orioles have the worst pitching in baseball. Ah, but Sox manager Tony La Russa is always thinking two steps ahead, or so we mere mortals are led to believe. La Russa intends to have rookie Seby Zavala catch two games in the series so he and Sox pitchers can get used to one another. With Baltimore throwing righties yesterday and today, I would’ve used left-handed hitting Zack Collins instead. See above for what can cure anemic batting averages. Collins is hitting .236, well above the Mario Mendoza definition of anemic. Still, you want Collins to get into a groove. Or at least I do. If only I had a World Series ring or two to show I know what I’m talking about. Maybe next life.