Officiating No Help As Red Sox Come Up Short in 12 Innings

In a game that took over five hours to play, the Red Sox were lucky they still had a chance going into the 12th inning in an eventual 5-4 defeat. Josh Beckett clearly didn't have his best stuff, but battled to help keep the game close during his five innings pitched. Beckett walked four batters during he game, a total he had taken his previous three outings to meet. Given a gift from the Angels in the bottom of the second, the Red Sox were in the thick of it all. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a pop-up to shallow center field with the bases loaded, and a defensive miscommunication allowed the ball to drop and all three runners to score. Joe Saunders pitched admirably other than his defense letting him down on that play. He clearly didn't have history on his side, as the Angels had lost 11 straight to the Red Sox, dating back to the 1986 NLCS. It seems as if the umpiring in these playoff games, and not just the Red Sox vs. Angels series, have no clue what they are doing behind the plate. Ellsbury was ... (link)