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At another time, at another point of the season, a .500 record on a demanding three-city, 10-game road trip would have been perfectly acceptable, especially when the gauntlet of opponents boast, arguably, the three toughest lineups in the American League.
At another time, in fact, a 5-5 record, with one series win, one series loss and one series split would have been just fine.
But as the Red Sox wilted in the scorching Texas heat Sunday afternoon, losers to the Rangers 7-3 to finish the trek 5-5, there was a feeling of lost opportunity.
"Satisfied?'' repeated Bill Hall to a reporter's question. "No. I think we had an opportunity to have a better record than this going home. I think everybody knows that. Obviously, that didn't happen. So satisfied, no. We still feel like we're playing some pretty good baseball. We're just having a tough time getting over that hump right now.''
This road trip gave the Red Sox a chance to make some damage and state their claim in the AL East race. But like last night, they came up short. They could've finished 7-3 or maybe even 8-2 but squandered leads or couldn't come up with big hits... which has become more and more noticeable as the year goes on. Still things could be worse as they're 6 out of the AL East and 5 out of the Wild Card. Just keep hoping that the Sox catch fire from now to September and beat the snot out of the Yankees in the remaining games.
On Page 2, CJ Wilson offering Dice-K gyroball lessons.
In some ways, Daisuke Matsuzaka was defeated on Sunday afternoon by an enemy of his own creation. In 2007, C.J. Wilson -- then a reliever with the Rangers -- commenced a quest to become the first American practitioner of the gyroball.
He had become aware of the fascination about whether Red Sox starter Matsuzaka (then in his first year in the U.S.) threw the so-called "demon miracle pitch," and the left-handed Wilson wanted in. Wilson encountered Japanese trainer Kazushi Tezuka -- one of the authors of the book describing the theory and practice of the gyroball -- in spring training prior to the 2007 season, the result of a friendship beween Tezuka and former Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka.
It was a fascinating novelty, but ultimately, for much of 2008 and 2009, it proved little more than that. Wilson's career had been up and down over those seasons, as had been his use of the gyroball, which he said in 2008 and 2009 that he was still using, albeit infrequently.
This year, however, Wilson has enjoyed a breakout as a member of the Texas rotation. With Sunday's victory in the Rangers' 7-3 beating of the Sox (recap), he is now 11-5 with a 3.19 ERA.
While CJ Wilson is throwing a ridiculous .106 against lefties this year and sports a 3-0 record with a 0.86 ERA against Boston, don't give Dice-K lessons. He knows enough pitches and throws them all anyways. Maybe teach him a little more control on some of the pitches but please no more. We put the kibosh on the gyroball fascination over here but at least someone can throw a gyroball and use it effectively.
Rest of the links: Globe-Loss to Rangers ends Sox road trip| Dice-K ahead of the curve| Pedroia clear about return| Notes: Kalish could be key|Herald-Trip ends on down notes as Rangers win| Bold bunt features Rangers versatility|Dice-K is a cool customer|CSNNE-Heat stroke| Sox left wanting more|Notes:Despite loss, Dice-K threw well|WEEI-Rangers win|Latest on Sox draft signings|Gyroball student becomes the master|ESPNBoston-Sox fall short|Dice-K confident|Bowden feels the heat|Salty catches on
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