Filed under: Boston Red Sox
Take a deep breath. Soak it up. Enjoy it. Last night was the best game the Red Sox have played this season. With more storylines than a Brothers Grimm collection, last nights 7-3 win over the Yankees was a perfect way to kick off the greatest rivalry in sports. I am slightly disappointed at the intense hatred toward Johnny Damon displayed last night. I am not going to get into it much since we would need the dental records to identify this horse its been beat so bad. But Johnny played hard everyday in a Sox uniform, he catered to the fans, and above all he brought us a World Championship. The Yankees gave him $12 million more than we offered and he accepted. He may be a hypocrite, he has always been an idiot, but he is no son of Satan. I will leave it at that.
On to the happier events of last night. In one of the most bad-ass displays of player exchanging, Doug Mirabelli exited his limo in full uniform upon arriving at Fenway 12 minutes after landing in Logan. Many thanks to the Massachusetts State Police and the Big Dig for this goose-bump inducing Red Sox moment. I know its not nearly on the same stratosphere but Doug’s return in full uniform was vaguely reminiscent of Larry’s reappearance from the Garden’s tunnel after suffering a concussion. I know, I know. He’s a back-up catcher hitting .192. I don’t care. I was much more excited about Doug’s return last night than hearing the verdict about Damon. Our knuckleballer Yankee killer got his personal catcher back just in time to allow 3 runs on 4 hits in seven full. I am not going to apologize for being excited about that.
There were few things more obvious than the problem Josh Bard had catching Timmy. Bard’s a great backup catcher and a hard worker, but he just couldn’t catch the knuckleball. It was clear it was throwing Tim off a little as well. How could it not. Bard had as many passed balls in 5 games than Mirabelli had all last season. So Theo made the swap and Dougie’s back in town. Welcome back Doug. This could be the missing variable to make Wake’s starts equal wins. Well, that and us hitting the ball.
Which we didn’t have a problem doing last night. I know everyone is praising David Ortiz today for his four RBIs, and rightly so. Not only did Big Papi’s three run homer in the eighth add insurance to our lead, it crushed any Yankee hopes of a win and solidified him as one of the most clutch hitters in baseball(and a certified Yankee killer). However I would just like to point out that it was Mark Loretta that hit a two-out single with two men on to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. Loretta’s hit scooted past the mound and right up the middle of the infield to drive in Willie Harris who was on second and running for Alex Cora. Loretta’s game winning RBI was very Bill Mueller-esque and hopefully induced a spark that will pull him out of his mini-slump. Had Ortiz recorded the third out of the eighth, it would have been Loretta’s hit that would have been the celebrated winning run. However, Papi stepped up and proved why he is the best hitter in the American League by crushing a 3-2 pitch to deep center, into the wind.
The best part about Ortiz’s home run was that it came off of Mike Myers, the lefty specialist that the Yankees acquired specifically to face Ortiz in late inning situations. Oh man, it just doesn’t get any better than this. And if you didn’t have enough reason to get pumped for The Rivalry, just keep in mind that the Sox lost the American League East title last year on a 10-9 tiebreaker. So yeah, its early May and its only the first of many Sox-Yanks games this season. But they are all important. As if I had to remind you.
Tonight Beckett hits the mound tonight. Hopefully to prove that 2003 wasn’t a fluke and that he is in fact the Yankee killer we all hope him to be. Go Sox.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
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