I'm not saying a game in June could ever equal a World Series game, but Middlebrooks's dong tonight made me think of Bernie Carbo. Bottom of the 8th, dead-center, and it tied the game. (If you're young or whatever, and you know about Carlton Fisk's famous 1975 World Series homer, Carbo's was the homer that made Fisk's possible. Watch all of Game 6 and you'll see what an incredible moment that was.) We got one more run in the frame to get the comeback win and complete the sweep.

Dice was pretty himself-ish tonight, with a rough first, then a Cy Young stretch, and then, after we'd come back to tie it after being down 3-0, he gives up a dong, and that was his night. Again, not great, but this is your number 5 starter after all. And we got the win. We're 5.5 out of first, and 2 out of a playoff spot.

I saw Psycho tonight outside here in Providence, so I DVR'd the game. I remembered to record the next several shows this time and it paid off. But my stupid remote's batteries are already dying even though I just replaced them. So fast-forwarding between pitches was tough, as sometimes I'd be stuck on FF, leaving me to cover the screen with my hand while pounding the play button over and over, knowing that even when it did kick in, I'd have to quickly hit rewind so I wouldn't hear the announcers give anything away. So this was a nerve-wracking game for me in a couple of ways. But we got the job done.

I did notice Don and Jerry talking about the Papi thing early in the game so I watched all of that. And perfectly enough, they did exactly what Papi and I have been pissed about: they took a situation and created some bullshit from it. Instead of talking about how the media is indeed made up of shit-stirrers who make playing in Boston no fun, they focused on (and obsessed over) WHY Papi decided to say something today. They had the same tone as whoever that one reporter is, as he was acting like Papi was a dick for bringing this up during a hot streak, like he was really mad at him. And Don and Jerry turned this into the story. "WHAT'S COME OVER PAPI?" So stupid. "What set him off??" He's telling you point blank, and you're either not listening or you're afraid to admit what assholes the media are. But either way you're missing the point. So to answer Ryan's comment from the previous post (as I just now reached the end of the recorded game), yes, I heard Don and Remy discussing it, and yes, you're exactly right.

Can't wait to see how the media spins this one. I'll guarantee it won't be "Papi's right, we do need to shut the fuck up and leave them alone."

Fenway homemade sign suggestion: THE ONLY THING TOXIC AROUND HERE IS THE MEDIA.