“I snow-coned it. I was like, ‘It keeps dying on me.’ I was wondering what the heck was going on,” Stern said. “That’s the way I play sometimes. I take some chances to make some big plays.” (Link)
Good Lord - Jonathan Papelbon owes Adam Stern a few beers. And Adam Stern owes Bostonians a lot of pacemakers.
I suppose overall, 7 runs is pretty good. It just seemed like such a tight, tight game - there was the frustration of the 2nd inning “2 inning bases loaded no runs” could be a motto for the way this team plays. And Paps loading the bases - pure gas no command is a poor recipe for an engine, and for a closer. Fortunately that Stern all-or-nothing catch worked out.
On the bright side, Manny got his first double of the year (!) and had that nice 7th inning hit. It’s weird, for all his offensive woes previously, I had no doubt he would get a hit there. Particuarly since Branyan was playing so damn shallow - there was some retribution from the baseball gods, methinks, for such arrogance in the face of Manuel Aristides Ramirez. Poetic justice when the hit went over Branyan’s glove.
Seemed like a lot of wall-ball hits this game. Manny this year seems to play the caroms off the wall really well, though. Other bright spots: Clement looked decently sharp - starting with the Ks of the first inning - and only really showed trouble in the 7th inning. And I like that the 7th-inning rally started with a walk by supposed hacker Wily Mo Pena. (Incidentally: I had always assumed his name was pronounced like Wile E. Coyote, till a couple of years back when I caught a Reds broadcast and was sorely disappointed. Eric Gagne throwing a Bugs Bunny change to Wile E. - how good would that have been?) And Youks, Youks - clearly already a fan favourite (don’t you love the resounding YOOOOKS chants?) and hitting that double just adds to it.
So, Paps with the Sox rookie record for saves with 7. And a new theme song, the Ultimate Warrior one. Are those 7 saves a sign of his impending greatness (despite a less-than-stellar outing today) or a sign of the Sox’s inability to really put games away leaving games close? Both, I suspect. 10-4 for the first time since 2002, and I always think of 2002 as the year the Sox had incredible pitching (Pedro - Lowe - Wakefield) and still didn’t make the playoffs. So knock on wood, Manny being more like Manny today is a good sign of things to come.
Had dinner with a Harvard admissions officer who was in town (I help out with interviews around here) and that made me think - man, I miss Boston.
