Suck it, Joe Maddon

Joe Maddon shows you his 'O' face.

You know, even if I weren’t a Sox fan I would have had a soft spot in my heart for Tim Wakefield being named to his first All-Star team while being in his 40′s.  I know he plays for the big, bad Red Sox who are right up with the Yankees and Mets of world spending mad money to buy championships.  But come on, you can’t tell me it was the best move in an exhibition game to have him be an extra innings reliever.

He’s a wild card when it comes to his knuckle ball and his 70 some odd mile per hour “fast” ball, but even for one trip out to the mound.  Give the old guy a bone Joe.  I’m not shocked he used Beckett and Papelbon, why wouldn’t you?  Clearly there was an audience for Wakefield out there, Boston fan or not.

Most people probably missed the story or just didn’t care, but I think it’s a shame.  I’ve also learned I really don’t like the Home Run Derby anymore.  It’s too long, and it’s boring.  I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon of people still accusing these guys of rampant steroid use, I think I’ve just accepted it for what it is.  Maybe it was the players, although I did enjoy watching Nelson Cruz stroke the ball out of the field with ease.  It was probably Chris Berman.  Is there anyone else on the face of the planet so hopelessly annoying who thinks their shtick is God’s gift to broadcasting?  I challenge you to find someone worse than him.

Back to Wakefield.  Joe, what were you thinking?  You know it is destiny that the American League wins this thing every year.  You could have started Wake and left him in for the first few innings, and your squad would have found a way to come out on top.  C’mon Joe, where’s your pair?

It Had To End Sometime

Van Every's Savior

Understanding the Red Sox winning streak would come to an end and hoping it would go on forever are two separate ideas.  Baseball players and teams live and die by the streak.  After the previous ten games or so, I thought anything was possible for the once cellar dwelling Sox.

The team rose above horrible pitching, and used some key walk-off magic and timely hitting to scrape together a streak putting them at the top of the division with Toronto.  It’s still April folks.

All inter-division snobbery aside, I wouldn’t expect the Blue Jays to hang around at the top for any lengthy period of time.  Although some of my early season posts from last year probably said the same things about the Rays.  Look how well that turned out for me and Red Sox Nation.

The road has been an unkind monster for the Sox leading up to their series with the Cleveland Indians.  Coming off a sweep of the hated Yankees at Fenway over the weekend clearly set up the chance for a letdown in Ohio.  Luckily for the team and for the fans, Jon Van Every decided it was his time to shine and take the series from the Tribe.

With the calendar turning to May, the Sox sit mathematically on top of the division with their next opponent, the Rays, at the bottom.  You would think on last season’s momentum they would have started in stout fashion, however it’s still looking like they need to get their act together.  Taking the second series of the year from the hated Sox would be a good place to start.

The Rays will look to turn their misfortunes into some positive momentum tonight with Matt Garza, who defeated the Sox earlier this year, taking the hill against Josh Beckett tonight 6:08pm Central.  Pitching match ups for the rest of the series as follows.

Friday at 6:38pm Central, Masterson vs. Sonnanstine

Saturday at 6:08pm Central, Wakefiled vs. Niemann

Sunday at 12:38pm Central, Penny vs. Shields

Not Like They Drew It Up

Well, the opener with the Rays opened with a bang and landed with a limp thud. While watching Dice-K toss more meat than a butcher on a Saturday morning, it was hard to contain my discontent while I was in class. Did I say that out loud? Of course I didn’t watch baseball in class…how is that even possible? McKay doesn’t even have air conditioning, let alone cable.

The Rays took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth when Boston remembered they were in the middle of an actual game. Watching them sleepwalk through the first two-thirds of the game was about all I could stand. It felt like we were picking up right where we left off last year, being out hustled and even outhit by the young bucks from Florida.

The middle of the lineup woke up with Jason Bay driving in Kevin Youkilis on a shot to dead center on a Manny double. For those of you that don’t know, a Manny double is a triple, or a play that 99% of all major league hitters should get to third on, while Manny would have “hustled” for a stand up double. I don’t hate Manny, if it weren’t for him this team wouldn’t have rings. It’s just something fans have done with a half joking, half sick sort of sense of humor. Anyway…

The Sox made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth with Jason Varitek blasting a dinger to right field, but were unable to muster up enough to pull into a tie or even pull out some late inning heroics.

Boston takes their 1-2 record to L.A. to play an Angles team reeling from the tragic loss of 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart. It’s always sad to see someone who has their life stolen from them with everything still yet to come. Truly a sad day for the Angles, baseball, and well, pretty much everyone.