History Delayed

Sad Sox rookie starter Jonathan Cannon threw six shutout innings against the Angels last night, not that it got him a win. In fact, the bullpen was set up to take yet another loss in what promises to be a record-breaking season. Then something happened. With the Sox down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Zach DeLoach, he of .170 batting average, doubled with one out. Next up was pinch hitter Bryan Ramos, who finds himself in an odd situation at the age of 22. Ramos, through no fault of his own, is not GM Chris Getz’s guy at third base; no, Miguel Vargas, he of the .164 BA, is. So, Ramos isn’t getting quite the amount of playing time you’d expect for twelfth-ranked prospect in the organization. Yes, Ramos is hitting .188, but consider this. When he pinch hit Saturday in San Diego, the bases were loaded with 1 out; the temptation was to swing for the fences. Ramos went from a 1-2 count to work a walk, laying off two big breaking balls in the process. A walk led to a run but not a chance for Ramos to start last night. That didn’t stop him from doubling in the first run of the evening; there’d be another two after that. Sad Sox 3 Halos 2, defeat #121 delayed for another day. If this team ever crawls out from under the mess owner Jerry Reinsdorf has made of it, players like Cannon and Ramos will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Assuming the front office sees the talent in front of its face, that is.