Carl Beane (wbur.org, c/o flickr.com)

The Boston Red Sox lost twice yesterday.

First, the Red Sox lost Carl Beane, the “Voice of Fenway Park” – otherwise known as the Fenway Park PA announcer who always gave me chills when he said certain players’ names.  ”David… Or-tiz.”  ”Kevin… Youk-ilis.”  The way he announced the Red Sox lineup made me think they were a group of Supermen, that they could do anything.  We will miss his deep voice, the way it echoed around Fenway, and the sense of grandeur he could lend to the appearance of any bullpen pitcher or pinch hitter.

The Boston Globe reports on the car accident that took his life.  At 59 years old, Beane had a heart attack while driving in Sturbridge, Mass., and his car crossed the double yellow line, drove off the road, and hit a tree and a wall.  There were no other passengers in the car, and no other reported injuries.  The Globe article has reactions from Red Sox personnel, including an anecdote from NESN play by play guy Don Orsillo, who reveals that Beane thought the two of them had the coolest jobs in New England.  I can’t disagree with that.  WEEI’s Mike Petraglia offers a more personal portrait of Beane, and recalls a veteran fatherly figure who knew the ins and outs of Boston’s minefield of a sports scene, and was always willing to lend a hand to those coming up behind him.

After the sad news of Beane’s death, the Red Sox’s second loss yesterday – a 4-3 loss to the Royals, Boston’s eighth loss in ten games – takes a back seat.  It was a frustrating loss, punctuated by poor outfield defense and a boiling-over Bobby Valentine, who had two outbursts.  Valentine blew up at the home plate umpire when, as Marlon Byrd pulled back from a bunt, the ball appeared to hit him in the hand but was ruled foul.  Valentine had more to say about the call after the game – but this is a family blog, so we can’t repeat a lot of it.

Byrd and Cody Ross also each muffed catches in the outfield, which didn’t help Jon Lester’s outing: he was only able to go five innings in the loss.  Lester allowed six hits, four of which were doubles.  Another Red Sox game, another non-quality start.  It seems like Lester didn’t really have much of substance to say after the game, either, telling the Globe:

“It [stinks].  Hell, nobody in this clubhouse came to this team, whether they were a free agent or got called up from this team or whatever, expecting to lose. Everybody in this clubhouse wants to win, everybody tries . . . We’re just not doing it, plain and simple.  It’s a cliché and it [stinks] to hear, but we need to keep showing up and keep grinding.’’

Lester also acknowledged that he threw too many pitches, 108, to Royals hitting.  The Sox did all their scoring in the third inning, when Adrian Gonzalez (finally) hit a three-run double to right field on a 3-2 pitch.

Here’s a link to the uninspiring box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  The team comes home to Fenway tonight (if it stops raining) to take on the Cleveland Indians.  Josh Beckett (2-3, 4.45 ERA) is scheduled to take on familiar faces Derek Lowe (4-1, 2.39 ERA) (and Johnny Damon) in a 7:10 start.