That Just Happened: Red Sox Score 12 in Sixth Before Indians Get an Out

This Column Originally Appeared On GetOutofMyBallpark.com

Yes, Manny Ramirez probably used steroids. He may have even used them here. But he is gone now, and his suspension doesn't affect the 2009 Red Sox in any way. The Sox don't even play the Dodgers this season.

If you want to know the range of emotions I, and probably many of the Red Sox fans out there, feel, then read Bill Simmons' article about it.

He may be a glorified NBA writer now, who often gets too many cool points for past work (what did ESPN have to do to get him to give up such cool ideas as the top 100 sports movies of all time?

Why doesn't he do more of those instead of endless amounts of useless NBA columns?)  and rarely writes about baseball except when it is front page news, but he is still really damn good at it.

I'm sure I'll have more to say when more detailed info comes out on Manny, but for now let's just say that this was Boras' fault (don't a surprising number of his guys get caught using?) and that he never did it in Boston.

There is some more positive, pertinent and encouraging news out there for Sox fans though. Without the first, third, and fourth hitters in their regular lineup, the Red Sox went out an put up a record scoring inning all over the faces of the Cleveland Indians last night.

First, it was the weirdest lineup I've even seen. With Ellsbury nursing a hammy, The Beard That Should Not Be resting a sore side (just imagine if he had been healthy; he's hitting .393 with a side that has been bothering him for weeks), and Ortiz a late scratch with a stiff neck, Bay slid up into the three spot and Lowell into cleanup. Rocco, in his first game back, hits fifth and starts in center. Julio Freaking Lugo led off for us.

On first glance you had to wonder if Wakefield (last night's starter: 6IP, 2ER, now 4-1) had done something to piss off Tito or the baseball gods. He was going to have to do what he did in Oakland to pull this one out. And through five-and-one-half innings it looked exactly that way.

Then came the sixth. Lets just look at the sheer numbers. The first 12 men who came to the plate all reached and scored. Lugo, Pedroia and Bay did it twice. There were three walks issued, seven singles, and two extra base hits (a double and a homer, both by Bay).

The Indians went through three pitchers, two of whom, starter Jeremy Sowers and reliever Masa Kobayashi, failed to get an out. Once the streak had ended with the Buzzard's three run blast into the right field bleachers, the Sox went in order, rather quietly.

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