This is the David Wells the Sox paid to see. And presumably, complaints about his lack of fitness will decrease. One thing I’ve always found interesting about baseball is that you don’t always have to be tremendously fit to be a pro athlete - as long as you can hit your spots, who cares if you look like El Guapo? Pity that the Sox were so good in the top of the 9th - or rather, John Parrish was so bad - that Wells couldn’t go out for the complete game. Weird how that works, hoping that the opposing pitcher is efficient enough so that your own pitcher can get the CG. I suppose fans of other teams will have the same complaint about Matt Clement, who does seem to take his time on the mound.
I’m glad the Orioles thus far are doing the reverse of last year, rolling over for the Sox and mashing against the Yankees. My favourite Panamanian pitcher, Bruce Chen, wasn’t as bad as his final box score line looked. And Brian Roberts, who was clearly the best hitter in the major leagues in the first two weeks of the season (leads in OPS and total bases, 2nd in homers, 2nd in steals), finally ended his hitting streak of 14 games. Still, what a breakout year he’s having - very Brady Anderson-esque. The fact that he’s my starting 2B on almost all my fantasy teams (I figured that since he was turning 28, all those doubles he hit last year might turn to homers) makes me very very happy. If the rumours of the Orioles acquiring Todd Helton are true, Helton-Roberts-Tejada-Mora would be a sick, sick infield to have to face.
Speaking of good starts to the season, amid much writing about Manny’s mini-slump near the start of the season, it doesn’t seem to have been noted much that Varitek has been a hitting monster.