Game 5: Red Sox 2, Baltimore 1
Any doubt that Curt Schilling could not rebound from his pathetic 2005 season has effectively been erased. And I'd like to add that these Boston Red Sox are going to be a scary-good team this year. Just give me credit and say you heard it here first when we're hoisting the 2006 World Series trophy.
There isn't a whole hell of a lot to say about today's game. Not much action occured. Schilling picked up his second win of the season. He went 7 strong innings, allowing only one run on a solo homerun to Luis Matos. Schill gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. Even in in the seventh, he looked like he reached back for another gear and was blowing the ball past the O's hitters.
We've now gotten seven strong innings out of Curt in both starts, as well as Beckett in his start and Clement last night. And I really, REALLY like the concept of Timlin in the eighth and Papelbon in the ninth. Remember the motto that Grady Little managed to fuck up in the 2003 ALCS-- Williamson in the 8th, Timlin in the 9th? Well Tito isn't going to mess this one up. He knows how strong of a closer Paps is, and I hope to God we never see Keith Foulke doing anything but mop-up duty.
This team has proven to me already that they can win close games when they don't score many runs (like tonight), and win big when the offense kicks it up a notch (see last night). NESN said today that we've only had one error in five games so far, which is incredible. I can't even think of who committed that error right now-- I must have missed it. Although we did have a scary defensive moment when, during today's game, Varitek went chasing after a foul popup and slid knees-first into the bricks behind home plate. Seriously, who the hell's idea was it to put bricks behind the plate? That's an injury waiting-to-happen. He started clutching his knees at first, but then appeared fine.
And Manny "the Gazelle" Ramirez had another fine play in the outfield this afternoon, on a hit that would have surely scored 2 runs for Baltimore. Manny's working hard on improving his Gold Glove status.
Wily Mo Peña has got to do something about his reckless swing. An MLB.com article described how he's been working with Manny and Ortiz on hitting. I hope Papa Jack had a word with him today during or after the game. He looked terrible, swinging at 3 straight fastballs out of the strike zone in his first at-bat. When he actually took a pitch in his 2nd at-bat, the crowd at Camden (Fenway South) cheered him. He managed to strike out on four pitches though. Ortiz has taken to calling WMP "Little Papi," but he has a long way to go before he lives up to that nickname.
Two miscelaneous notes:
Baltimore pitcher Sendy Rleal gave up an RBI double to Varitek today. Does his name not look like a bad typo? How in the world did that extra L get in there? It's pronounced like "Real" of Real Madrid fame... royal in Spanish. I thought NESN had messed up the graphic at first when his name appeared on the screen.
I can't find the quote in the Globe right now, but apparently during yesterday's game, many Red Sox players were seen reading in the clubhouse... including Coco, who was reading and highlighting passages from a book, Timlin and Schilling. On last year's team, Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon would throw grapes at you if you were caught reading. Looks like now that the "idiots" are gone, we have a team full of librarians*. I think I prefer the 2006 guys.
(* Except Manny. I don't think Manny can read yet.)
Pitching and defense win championships, look out for the '06 Sox. You heard it here first... remember that.
There isn't a whole hell of a lot to say about today's game. Not much action occured. Schilling picked up his second win of the season. He went 7 strong innings, allowing only one run on a solo homerun to Luis Matos. Schill gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. Even in in the seventh, he looked like he reached back for another gear and was blowing the ball past the O's hitters.
We've now gotten seven strong innings out of Curt in both starts, as well as Beckett in his start and Clement last night. And I really, REALLY like the concept of Timlin in the eighth and Papelbon in the ninth. Remember the motto that Grady Little managed to fuck up in the 2003 ALCS-- Williamson in the 8th, Timlin in the 9th? Well Tito isn't going to mess this one up. He knows how strong of a closer Paps is, and I hope to God we never see Keith Foulke doing anything but mop-up duty.
This team has proven to me already that they can win close games when they don't score many runs (like tonight), and win big when the offense kicks it up a notch (see last night). NESN said today that we've only had one error in five games so far, which is incredible. I can't even think of who committed that error right now-- I must have missed it. Although we did have a scary defensive moment when, during today's game, Varitek went chasing after a foul popup and slid knees-first into the bricks behind home plate. Seriously, who the hell's idea was it to put bricks behind the plate? That's an injury waiting-to-happen. He started clutching his knees at first, but then appeared fine.
And Manny "the Gazelle" Ramirez had another fine play in the outfield this afternoon, on a hit that would have surely scored 2 runs for Baltimore. Manny's working hard on improving his Gold Glove status.
Wily Mo Peña has got to do something about his reckless swing. An MLB.com article described how he's been working with Manny and Ortiz on hitting. I hope Papa Jack had a word with him today during or after the game. He looked terrible, swinging at 3 straight fastballs out of the strike zone in his first at-bat. When he actually took a pitch in his 2nd at-bat, the crowd at Camden (Fenway South) cheered him. He managed to strike out on four pitches though. Ortiz has taken to calling WMP "Little Papi," but he has a long way to go before he lives up to that nickname.
Two miscelaneous notes:
Baltimore pitcher Sendy Rleal gave up an RBI double to Varitek today. Does his name not look like a bad typo? How in the world did that extra L get in there? It's pronounced like "Real" of Real Madrid fame... royal in Spanish. I thought NESN had messed up the graphic at first when his name appeared on the screen.
I can't find the quote in the Globe right now, but apparently during yesterday's game, many Red Sox players were seen reading in the clubhouse... including Coco, who was reading and highlighting passages from a book, Timlin and Schilling. On last year's team, Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon would throw grapes at you if you were caught reading. Looks like now that the "idiots" are gone, we have a team full of librarians*. I think I prefer the 2006 guys.
(* Except Manny. I don't think Manny can read yet.)
Pitching and defense win championships, look out for the '06 Sox. You heard it here first... remember that.
posted by Jennifer at 8:08 PM
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