Beckett was once again great (7-5-1-1-5, 88), although Alex Rios did tattoo his first pitch of the game for a home run to left. ... After that HR, Adam Lind doubled on a 0-1 pitch and I'll admit I was a tad worried (having seen Beckett get shelled at Skydome last season) But he settled down. Working with an 8-1 lead helped, I'm sure. After allowing a one-out double in the second, he retired the next 11 batters on only 37 pitches.
The Red Sox played long ball, too. Youkilis hit a solo shot in the first, Pedroia had a three-run job in the second, Lowell hit a three-run bomb in the third, and then Varitek followed Lowell by pounding Zambrano's next pitch over the wall in dead center.Devern Hansack made his 2007 debut in the eighth and had some control problems (he walked 3 of 6 batters), but only one run scored.
Varitek went 4-for-4 with a walk and scored three runs. Youkilis was 3-for-3 before leaving the game after getting plunked in the sixth.
Before Lugo doubled home Boston's last run in the eighth, he had a .301 OBP and a .299 SLG (now it's up to .306 and .314). It might be time to move him out of the leadoff spot. ... Then again, we're 21-10. We can afford to wait and see if he comes out of this slump.
***
Josh Beckett (2.72, 159 ERA+) / Victor Zambrano (5.63, 79 ERA+)
Against Beckett: Vernon Wells is 7-for-15, with 4 home runs, Overbay 3-for-14, Thomas 2-for-11, and Glaus 2-for-10.
Aganst Zambrano: Manny is 4-for-26, with 7 strikeouts, Hinske 6-for-23, Varitek 3-for-15, and Ortiz 5-for-12, with 2 home runs (also 7 walks for a .632 OBP).
If you're at Skydome tonight, swing by Aisle 116, Row 16, Seats 7 & 8 and say Hi. It's been a sunny, beautiful day today; I hope they open the roof.
Beth has NESN's "Cuddle Cam" clip of Manny and Sexy Lips. (Remy may be giggling harder than Orsillo, which I didn't think was possible.)
Is it just me or is there a plethora of great pitching matchups in the AL East this year?
ReplyDeleteEvery other game or so, my brain says, Those two guys are pitching against each other? AWESOME!
No. There is a dilution of pitching.
ReplyDeleteHaven't you been listening to McCarver, Kurk, Morgan, Sutcliffe, Kay, Shulman, Thorne, Berman, Buffy, et al. for the last x years?
"1. Clay Buchholz, rhp, Double-A Portland (Red Sox)
ReplyDeleteAscending as rapidly as any pitching prospect in baseball, Buchholz struck out 17 batters in 12 innings last week. He didn't issue a walk and allowed just two runs on seven hits. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder has a 1.98 ERA and 35 strikeouts vs. 3 walks in 27 1/3 innings. Just nine of the 55 lefties Buchholz has faced have reached base, while he has struck out 20 of them. He's positioning himself as a strong candidate to start in Fenway this season."
Shya. Psyched.
Tres bien.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Globe:
ReplyDelete"The Red Sox' lead of six games in the AL East is the largest advantage in team history after the first 30 games of a season. The next closest was a 5 1/2 game lead after the first 30 games of the pennant winning 1946 season."
Lineups here.
manny's a little bi. fer shure ;) either that or he's bringing male romantic friendship back :D
ReplyDeletei thought it was so cute. but you could feel the collective skin crawling-awkwardness between pretty much all het men everywhere tho--esp. remy and orsillo. hilarious.
I loved it too -- not weirded out in the slightest. (Funny how Lips keeps on talking to whoever through the whole thing.)
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought it looked like Manny was petting a nice dog. Then I thought it looked like Manny was one of those birds that cleans the bugs out of a larger animal's fur. But that wasn't quite the image I wanted to convey!
Let me know if it continues tonight!
Further proof that Manny is unique -- and doesn't care what anyone thinks about him.
ReplyDeleteI can't see many other major league players doing that, knowing it would get on TV and broadcast all over the place.
I can't see Giambi doing this to Pettitte on YES. (Tho I would like to!)
I can't see Giambi doing this to Pettitte on YES. (Tho I would like to!)
ReplyDeleteRoger would get jealous. -or- Just another case of the Yankees stealing something from the Sox.
..hour 44 'til the game. I don't know how hardcore football fans deal with 16 games a year.
Pe-DROYA! Well done.
ReplyDeleteI did watch the Manny/Julian video and it was hilarious.
Damn -- Lowell. Go go.
ReplyDeleteTwo innings in a row the sequence goes: two outs, single, walk, 3-run HR.
Then, Varitek adds a solo HR! And I kept him out of my fantasy lineup in favor of Bard. Damn.
8-1 Sox after 2 1/2 innings.
Further proof that Manny is unique -- and doesn't care what anyone thinks about him.
ReplyDeleteI thought that, too. Very cool.
And of course I agree with TDCG, Manny is a bit bi. And I mean that in the best possible way.
Jays fans are getting stupider and stupider. This is not much of a baseball town.
ReplyDeleteGreat game, tho, and a great night for baseball.
And in the 2nd inning, Zamboni got the first two outs on only 4 pitches.
ReplyDeleteThen Varitek worked a 7-pitch walk, Crisp drew a full-count walk, and Pedroia hit a 89 FB for a HR to left center.
Same deal in the third. Yook walks, but Tiz lines into a DP. Then Manny singles, Drew walks, Lowell goes deep and Tek follows with one of his own. Great.
Jays fans were a bit rowdy tonight.
manny's a little bi. fer shure ;)
ReplyDeleteBefore we jump to conclusions - let's just remember that both Manny and Sexy grew up in another country. If you have ever had the pleasure of travelling outside the U.S./Canada you may often see men walking arm and arm together and/or kissing each other. This does not necessarily mean they are gay, it is just proper decorum among men in other countries.
BUT...I did think that Orsillo laughed just a little bit too much if ya know what I mean. wink wink nudge nudge.
SFRSF: I was wondering about this also.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about it, most of the hugging is not coming from the (possibly more uptight about these things) white guys.
Seeing the hugs and happiness and genuine joy in the dugout is one of the things that I LOVE about the Sox teams of the past few years.
SFRSF: I've thought this for a long time, based on many things I see. I got my gaydar working. But believe me, it's no insult, coming from me. Quite the opposite.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I do think it's largely cultural. Latino culture is more demonstrative. I enjoy it.
But I also don't think it's an insult to be something other than heterosexual.
Before we jump to conclusions - let's just remember that both Manny and Sexy grew up in another country. If you have ever had the pleasure of travelling outside the U.S./Canada you may often see men walking arm and arm together and/or kissing each other. This does not necessarily mean they are gay, it is just proper decorum among men in other countries.
ReplyDeleteoh and i'm completely hep to that. believe me :) that's why i added the 'romantic friendship' comment. and mediterranean men are like this too (or so i've heard) very affectionate, kisses, huggles, etc.
but...hehe. i mean, you have to admit...that scene was a little...
like if that had been two girls in the dugout of a softball game....ya know what i'm sayin? ;)
anyway. no conclusions to be jumped, it's a non-issue in my little beating heart whether he likes the boys or the girls or both (and pretty clearly he quite obviously totally pretty much basically likes the girlies since he's married with childs. child?)
i was just sayyyin to say that's all :)
But I also don't think it's an insult to be something other than heterosexual.
ReplyDeleteexactly. i was just gonna post something to this effect but i couldn't articulate it as i'm tired and need sustinence...;//
Yet another win for Beckett. I wonder how he would be doing if he didnt have the run support hes had? When Beckett takes the hill the Sox have scored 50+ runs in all of his starts combined. Take away that support, and take away his wins. However, I think the Sox will keep at it. They seem to be in a good rythm.
ReplyDeletehttp://thebaseballcorner.blogspot.com/
Take away that support, and take away his wins.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree. His ERA is 2.57. He has not gotten any cheap 8-7 wins.
Runs he's allowed in his seven starts: 1, 1, 1, 5, 2, 3, 1.
The Sox have won those games: 7-1, 14-3, 7-2, 7-5, 5-2, 6-4 and 9-2.
Two games he might have lost:
The 7-5 game, to NYY on April 21
The 5-2 game to the Orioles April 26. He allowed 2 runs early, Sox trailed 2-1 when Pena hit a grand slam in the 8th, Bot finished up.
So with Wakefield-like "support", he'd be 5-2 or 6-1, not 7-0. But his ERA would still be 2.57. That's the important thing.
Seeing the hugs and happiness and genuine joy in the dugout is one of the things that I LOVE about the Sox teams of the past few years.
ReplyDeleteIt's a big part of what drew me to the 2003 team.
Take away that support, and take away his wins.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree. His ERA is 2.57. He has not gotten any cheap 8-7 wins.
A post on this, perhaps?
Work that man to the bone, L-girl! Lots of awesome posts in the last day or two, but that one might be worth the effort, too. As a fan, you had to feel kind of guilty at the way Beckett racked up wins despite pitching poorly last year. So far this year he's like some miracle dessert.
ReplyDeleteSo far this year he's like some miracle dessert.
ReplyDeleteAll that yummy winning goodness with none of the finger-nail-biting calories!
Damn, I'm pumped for this game tonight. Knowing my luck they'll lose, but whatever...I'll be in the front row above the 'pen (sec 105)
ReplyDeleteI just hope that Dice-K pitches a perfect game - no baserunners = no pitching from the stretch = no bad innings = win!
"Seeing the hugs and happiness and genuine joy in the dugout is one of the things that I LOVE about the Sox teams of the past few years."
ReplyDeleteEss-actly. And also why I'm so confused as to all the Red Sox hatred. We're out to beat the Yanks, and we're fun as hell. I'd think the average Amercian would be drawn to that like, uh, like porn, or whatever it is Americans like.
People used to say about the Yankee teams of the late 90s, "How can you not like them?" And I thought, Uh, because they're boring? (And, duh, because they're the Yankees...)