Papelbon Vs. A-Rod
A two hour and eleven minute wait for three pitches. It was worth it. Thoughts:
- While scoring enough runs to win, the Red Sox offense is still sputtering. I don’t care how crafty the ghost of Mike Mussina is; he has nothing left. A talented and veteran offense should do much more damage.
- The only reason to pitch to Manny Ramirez instead of loading the bases for Kevin Youkilis is the fear that your pitcher won’t be able to throw strikes. If that’s the case the better move would have been to walk Ramirez and bring in a pitcher that can throw strikes. Thank you Joe Girardi.
- Papelbon simply overmatched A-Rod. In fairness, he didn’t stand much of a chance. No matter what he did to stay loose waiting 2 hours to face a 96 mph fastball from the best reliever in the game is a tough order for anyone. And make no mistake about it, Papelbon is the best.
- Taking a look at Yankee sites a frequent spin on last nights game is that Boston’s ace was facing New York’s 4/5, so the tight game was a moral victory. That’s conveniently ignoring that the first game, much tighter than the 4-1 scored indicates, was a similar situation; Boston’s 4/5 against the New York’s ace. Perspective: it’s a bitch.
Finally, a line I wish I had written:
…a three-pitch strikeout of Alex Rodriguez with two outs and the tying run on second in the eighth inning - couldn’t have been more impressive. Usually you don’t see A-Rod look that overmatched until October.
Tonight it’s Dice-K against Yankee prodigy Phil Hughes. Here’s hoping it’s the 2008 version of the Dice man and not the 2007. Less nibbling, more attacking.
