Looks like I'm going to have to come up with a new poll question. A few of you were calling for it to be taken down yesterday when Pods stole a couple of bases, but I thought it should remain at least until the correct answer was apparent.
When Emil Brown got a bad read on a line drive, Hawk proclaimed, "He's back," referring to Podsednik's return to respectability at getting on base. It's only slightly humorous that Pods was able to make 2 outs on the basepaths to really cement his "backness."
The Sox wasted opportunities to score early and often, which is pretty normal for a game started by Scott Elarton. I can't figure out why they have a problem with his middling high-fastball repertoire. Those wasted opportunities nearly came back to bite them, as Ozzie had to call on Bobby Jenks for the rare 4-run save in relief of Cotts in the 9th.
Javier Vazquez was allowed to cruise thanks in large part to three gift runs from the hapless Royals. Vazquez' fastball was filthy today. And his curveball and change weren't too shabby either. The first hit he allowed was a check swing roller down the third base line by Dougy Alphabet. Vazquez might have had a play on it, but he waited for it to roll foul. But it never did.
Taking into account the competition, it was hard to gauge how well Vazquez was throwing. The Royals have now lost 10 straight and were only able to score one run in the series, against Jon Garland, who wasn't on top of his game the night before.