A Chance Missed
The Red Sox went into their recent three game series against the Yankees with a 10 and a half game lead. Considering the games were being played at Yankee Stadium with pitching matchups favoring New York, I was hoping for a single victory which would keep the Red Sox 9 and a half games in front of their rivals.
And that’s what the Sox did, taking the middle game in between two miserable pitching performances by Wakefield and Schilling. I should be happy, and yet, with a team playing as well as the Sox were heading into the series, it feels as if they’ve missed a great opportunity to step on the Yankees while they’re down. I’m speaking specifically of game 1.
Game 3 was a hopeless loss. Schilling, unable to locate his fastball, was pitching batting practice while Pettitte looked like the Pettitte of old. Game 1, however, wasn’t a lost cause by any means. Despite Wakefield’s troubles Boston had multiple chances, a couple with the bases loaded, to do heavy damage against Chien-Ming Wang. Time after time the Sox left Wang off the hook. A hit here or there and a Sox victory is not out of the question.
It wasn’t meant to be, however, and the Sox have to be happy losing only a game to the Yankees in the standings.
Other notes:
- While it’s been a great start to the season for the Red Sox, there are still a couple of concerns. The biggest being Lugo in the leadoff spot and Drew hitting 5th behind Manny. I like both players, and love the speed each adds to the lineup, but combined the two new additions to the Red Sox lineup were 1 for 23. I’m sure they’re still adjusting to their new surroundings, and Terry Francona and Red Sox fans have given them a pass so far, but eventually they need to hit. At this point in the season you have to wonder if Lugo has anything more to offer at the plate and if Drew’s shoulder is worse than first thought.
- Much like the first game when Yankee hitters teed off on Wakefield’s non-knuckling knuckle ball, I’m not sure their performance against Schilling is anything more than taking advantage of bad pitching. That’s what good hitters do, of course, but it will be interesting to see how Yankee hitters who were in a slump coming into the series (Cano, Giambi, Abreu, Damon) do against quality pitching.
- Jason Giambi is a really scary dude. Sporting a scraggly beard, long hair drenched in grease, continually sweating like he’s just come out of a sauna, eyes that have this “I’m going to rip your heart out and eat it” look. I’m not saying the guys ugly. He probably has women (and men) camped outside his hotel room. All I’m saying is that if I were filming a movie about a ogre, he’d be my first choice to play the part.
- Chien-Ming Wang may be the most boring pitcher I’ve ever watched. When he’s on, he’s tough to hit. You can’t argue with the results, and I can appreciate his talent. I would, however, prefer not to watch it for 3 hours. Much like Dice-K, Wang shows no emotion. Unlike Dice-K, every pitch is the same, every at bat a recreation of the one preceding it. I’m sure if I were a yankee fan, I’d be more enamored with Wang’s lack of style. But I’m not, so watching paint dry is an apt comparison.
