The title is fitting considering I have been tardy in my posts.  Being too busy has its advantages, but at the same time, I’m so exhausted at the end of the evening that I have no desire to write.  Now that Memorial Day is bearing down on us I have to make a concerted effort to ratchet up my posts.  The deeper the season goes the more intriguing it becomes and there appears to be some interesting issues shaping up as we head into June.

Does anybody remember Coco Crisp?  He last played during the second series of the entire season.  Well if you’re wondering what happened, the story has been kept relatively quiet, but it looks like Coco’s rehab was detoured by everyone’s favorite medical issue, kidney stones.  Judging by the luck that Coco has had so far the problem couldn’t be remedied by cranberry juice alone.  He actually had to have surgery.  Surgery!  The sympathizer in me is really starting to feel for him.  Although WAAF was handing out “Coco’s Better” signs last night we, once again, were unable to start the chant.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=rotowire-ocorispidneytoneurge&prov=rotowire&type=lgns

I am more than intrigued to see what happens with the line-up when Coco returns.  Youkilis has been swinging the bat well and yet so has Mike Lowell, who bats in the 6 spot, which is where you would probably want Youk in the batting order.  Trot hasn’t found a groove yet, but I like the 3, 4, 5 lefty, righty, lefty line-up.  Loretta is hitting the ball all over the place so the 2 slot is out.  That leaves the 7 spot.  It’s a good place to be though, because Tek and Gonzalez have yet to match the RBI total of Kevin McGee from the Quincy Little League team sponsored by JD’s Home Contracting and they need somebody to drive in the guys hitting in front of them.  I guess a manager could have worse problems than worrying about slotting a guy who can hit with a bunch of other guys who can hit.

Of all of the surprises that Wily Mo Pena could have provided us with, like sitting back on the breaking ball, I personally believe that his athleticism in the outfield is tops.  For a guy who could play power forward for the Celtics I’m amazed at how natural he looks in center field.  I’ve never seen a baseball player of his size play as smoothly as he does.  I’m not getting carried away.  He doesn’t remind me of Junior Griffey in his prime, but he certainly doesn’t look as ridiculous as Jose Canseco did.

Craig Hansen cannot come up fast enough.  This is going to be the predicament of the season because when your current closer, who is supposed to be a starter, has yet to blow a save and your set-up man is your former closer and Hansen is your future closer then you have a bunch of good arms in the bullpen who all can do the job.  Let me put my GM hat on for a second and make some hard decisions.  DiNardo as your fifth starter is not an option.  I know he’s biding time for Wells to get back, but Boomer needs to light it up or he should be told it’s over.  I want Boomer to do well so it creates an even larger predicament, but if he is as effective as DiNardo then he needs a big fat stamp on his fine career.  With that said, here is what should happen.

1. Papelbon is inserted into the starting line-up.  I’ll take Matt Clement as my fifth starter any day.  That is as good a fifth starter as you can get and actually he and Wakefield are 4a and 4b.
2. Hansen is eased into the closer role by being a set-up man, along with Timlin (who by the way is bringing his A+ game to the table right now)
3. Make Foulke the closer.  He’s earned it.  I’m sorry people, but he’s pitched very well when it means something.  It’s those “just throw strikes” big leads that he looks terrible in.  Foulke is not designed for that kind of scenario at all and last night was a prime example.  Foulke lives on the corners with his fastball and an 8 run lead is not the time to live out there with your pitches.  What is bizarre is that David Riske was off the DL and available last night.  Could you have had a more perfect opportunity to bring in a guy who hasn’t pitched all season?  If Foulke struggles then it’s back to set-up and Hansen and his 98 mph fastball is your choice.

Quick observations from Section 6 last night.

My cousins and I were talking about DP-Rod and how he hit into two double plays this weekend, when he had the chance to put his team ahead or tie the game in the late innings.  I blurt out “It’s amazing that at this point you know he’s going to hit into a DP during a clutch situation” to which my cousin Alex replies “on top of the fact that he can’t hit a home run unless they are up or down by five runs.”  When Senior Pretty Pink Lips stepped up to the plate in the 9th all of us simultaneously said  “Here comes his home run” and on the very next pitch he hits a bomb.  I guess he needed to pad those stats for the MVP voting.

By the way, the Yankee fans in the stadium last night were absolutely unemotional during every one of DP-Rod’s at-bats.  It’s astounding how Jeter, Posada and Bernie get huge cheers and everyone else on team is considered human on a technicality that they heave a pulse and partial brain functionality.  The fans lack of love for their own kind is tearing apart at the very fabric of this rivalry.

Somebody please define the term “frat boy” for me.  A guy a few rows down was standing up, during play, to let some people in and yes it was taking too damn long.  He obviously came from work so he was wearing the proverbial button down shirt and black slacks (Use of the term slacks is a tribute to my Nana, a true lover of proper English.  She would kill me if I had said pants there.).  The “tourist” sitting in front of us, wearing his dirty Sox hat, a Sox “Tito Francona Edition” pullover, jeans and your typical running sneakers yells out “Sit down frat boy”.  No offense Affleck, but when you’re wearing the frat boy industry endorsed Red Sox costume you should not shout out such drivel.  

After a one game hiatus the pickles have returned to El Tiante’s pressed Cuban sandwich.  Nobody, but my wife, knows how important it was to know that.  It was a perfect snack for a perfect night, which will be quickly forgotten tonight once I’m stuck in game-day traffic on my way to Lamaze class.