Sox's Sixth Surprise

I thought I'd do a special weekend post on a bit of the boxscore from last night's Sox-Sox game.

Did you happen to see the game? Well I didn't. I checked out the boxscore and the line that stood out to me was Damaso Marte's:

 

 
IP
 
 H
 
 R
 
ER
 
BB
 
SO
 
HR
 
PC-ST
 
ERA
 
  
F Garcia
5.0
5
3
3
4
1
3
98-58
5.40
 
D Marte (H, 1)
 
0.0
 
1
 
0
 
0
 
2
 
0
 
0
 
16-7
 
###
 

Wow, I thought, how'd that happen? The next pitcher must have gotten out of it! But I looked up and saw that Boston had actually scored a run in the sixth. Huh? So I proceeded to the play-by-play and, as it turns out, this was the unusual turn of events:

  Garcia pitching for Chicago
Ramirez homered
  Marte relieved Garcia
Nixon singled
Mueller walked
Olerud walked
  Hernandez relieved Marte
Varitek popped out
Graffanino popped out
Damon struck out

Now that doesn't happen every day!

This sequence demonstrates a case in point why a middle reliever's ERA is less than meaningful and holds are even less so: Marte comes into the middle of the game (the sixth) and retires none of the three batters he faces. If Hernandez allows a routine fly ball, or a bases-clearing double, Marte would have been charged with all those runs (and his ERA would be...ooooh...infinite). But because of Hernandez's heroics, he comes out spotless...and with a hold! Hernandez, actually, for his three nearly perfect innings in a one-run, series-clinching game against the defending world champs, got a hold, too. That's gotta be the worst, most meaningless hold of all time followed by perhaps the most meaningful!