Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
"This game is all on me,'' said Gonzalez after the Red Sox dropped their second straight to the Oakland A's, 4-2. "I had two great opportunities and I didn't come through. It's one of those things that I'll make a definite point to not let happen again.''
In the seventh inning with the Red Sox trailing 4-1, Gonzalez came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out, but fanned against Ryan Cook.
Then, in the ninth, after Dustin Pedroia had doubled home a run to bring the Red Sox to within two and make Gonzalez the potential tying run at the plate, he grounded out for the final out.
That brought Gonzalez's hitless streak to 17 straight at-bats.
Manager Bobby Valentine theorized after the game that perhaps his first baseman was tired -- physically and mentally -- but Gonzalez said that wasn't the case.
"Not at all,'' said Gonzalez. "I feel great. I had two at-bats where I should have come through at least one of those times and I wasn't able to. I feel great physically and I'm not tired at all. I just didn't come through. It won't happen again.''
Scott touched on Adrian struggles a bit yesterday, stating that Adrian's power outage is a concern. Sure it's disappointing for all those that own him in their fantasy league but as long as Adrian kept getting the hits and driving in runs, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. He won't go for the triple crown but he'll still be pretty damn good.
Well now he's stopped hitting altogether. He's stuck in an 0-for-17 stretch, with last night being the worst of it when he wasn't able to continue the rally in the seventh & ninth inning. After foul tipping a pitch with the bases loaded, he showed some anger and slammed the bat to the ground.
He regained his composure in the locker room when talking about it but it's good to show some raw emotion. The guy is laid back but it shows that he does give a damn and that he's not this robot that just plays baseball like our old friend JD Drew. That may sound stupid but after all the accusations that we're being tossed about him and the rest of the players on this team, it's a welcome sight to see.
He said he'll be ready for Friday and I think he will now that he's pissed. Hopefully this will be the last time any of us type "Adrian Gonzalez slump" again.
Rest of the links:
Globe: A's defeat Sox 4-2 | Middlebrooks makes major league debut with Red Sox | Herald: Middlebrooks gets two hits in debut | Sox' luck going Gonzo| Beckett will skip start | Clayton's place? | CSNNE: Middlebrooks on debut | A near perfect beginning for Mortensen | WEEI: Gonzalez reaches a boiling point and perhaps some promise | Middlebrooks shooting to be the next Cal Ripken | Daniel Bard bewildered by an outing where he couldn't finish
