Walks.  Walks. Walks. Walks. Walks. Walks. Walks. Walks. Walks.

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Walks. Walks...

Summary:

So, to be fair to Dice-BB, the strike zone last night was...tight. However, the umpire wasn't biased or anything; it was up to Dice-BB and 'Tek to make the adjustments. They didn't. I told a friend of mine, before the game, that this game could have been a statement game for either starter. Neither Bonderman or Matsuzaka delivered. 

Thankfully, Mike Lowell did. 3/5, 2B, HR, and almost missed another 2B or HR due to the glove of probably anyone but Gary Sheffield Gary Sheffield. A good game, too, from Papi, who went 2/4 with his own HR and a BB. Or, a walk. A walk. A lot of f'n walks.

Craig Hansen. The one hitter where I felt he got squeezed, in the 7th, was of course Gary Sheffield. Ball 3 was particularly suspicious, even if ball 4 was all Hansen. Nonetheless, he looked strong, and it was his own error bizarre infield single that was scored ridiculously ruled a hit, and so no doubt was a hit, even if the hitter would've been out by a mile if Hansen had fielded the ball properly. I'm so f'n confused by the scoring on that particular play. I suppose it doesn't matter in the grand scheme, but holy crap some homer-scoring there. Oh well. F.

Player of the Game:

Have to, again, disagree with WPA. See the guy on the left for our PotG.

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Comment of the Game:

holy shnikees, I didn't even look at how dice k was because I was looking at hansen...8 walks? is this a joke? -pedroiastroika

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Summary:

I don't even know what to say at this point. The Jays and the Sox have the best pitching since the I didn't care about actually looking that up. The Jays and the Sox also have the worst offenses, from the same timespan. There's no way to tell which statement is more true less false. Was Daisuke just good, or was he helped by a Jays' offense seemingly committed to ineptitude? Dustin McGowan, same question kind of.

Offense included a solo Papi HR, an attempt at a walkoff single by Brandon Moss, and a real walkoff single by Kevin Cash Jason Varitek. 35-almost-36 year old "Being" is apparently faster than our young non-DP middle infielder. WTF is that about, right?

Maybe this is just how we're going to do it from now on. And Paps will make a bid for 30 wins.

Player of the Game:

Kidding. I just really liked this picture. Here he is:

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Comment ...Sequence of the Game:

When you walk Julio Lugo, there's something very wrong with you, and you should have your (ed: expletive) sent to AA in the morning. -MerryGoByeBye

...on 5 pitches, no less - BoSox415

Before yesterday, I would have bragged that Lester would have done it 20% more efficiently. -nuthinboutnuthin

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I will remain calm. I will trust in David Ortiz at all times. 

I will remain calm. I will trust in David Ortiz at all times.

I will remain calm. I will trust in David Ortiz at all times.

Summary:

"Everything's groovy."

Y'know, it's amazing what an opposite-field HR at Fenway Park will do for people. I was having a not-great night at work, and Baseball Tonight comes on the big-screen, and there's David at the plate, with runners on base. He popped up got a big hit, and I have to admit to immediately thinking that it was a replay from last season or something. Nope. Current. Tonight. Sweetness. Still got a long way to go before he, I, or us will feel completely comfortable, I imagine. 

Daisuke should watch more Beckett starts. His start would've been pretty good if he had allowed himself to pitch a little longer. The 2008 Red Sox middle relief was up to the task, after Daisuke exited, with J-Lo, Aardsma, and Timlin picking up where he left off.

Jed Lowrie is doing his best to force the Sox into a tough decision, eh? Yeah, it probably won't happen, but I have to imagine several more 2-3, 2B, SF-type performances will make the FO think long and hard about who plays SS in Boston. At the very least, I think the Sox will be less likely to overwork Youks while Lowell is out.

Player of the Game:

...duh?

Comment of the Game:

I've got an idea. Why don't you stop panicking? -RickD

Grand Salami, eh? And Allen was ready to put Papi out to pasture -tommy

...I stand corrected. And apologize for the lack of gamethread. My fault completely, as Randy is enjoying a well-deserved vacation.

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Summary:

Let's get this out of the way first. Daisuke was not sharp. Walks. Hits. Runs. Only 2 Ks, but like 8,569 pitches to get through five innings. He gave way to David Aardsma, who was ultimately capable of getting six outs to bridge the gap to Oki/Paps Timlin/MDC despite being a student of the Matsuzaka-Lester Institute of First-Pitch Strikes. The Timlin half of tonight's original equation was crap. All there is to it. Didn't have it, and the Yankees just jumped all over him. It was looking grim, my friends. However, Javier Lopez shathebed was able to come in, get a double play ball as well as another groundout to escape the inning with the Sox only having given back one run. J-Lo retired Abreu in the 9th, then gave way to MDC, who had a bit of a Papelbon-vibe going on from the get-go. He got A-Rod to strikeout and Matsui to groundout to end the game.

Offense? Yeah, we got that too. 'Tek was the only Sox hitter not to reach base. Stolen bases from Coco (2), Tacoby, and DP. Both Tacoby and Youks knocked in two runs apiece, while Drew and "Being" each scored twice. ...boo-yah. It was the usual, I guess. Sox stringing together the walks and hits, with patience and good execution at the plate and on the basepaths (am I forgetting DP something?)

Player of the Game:

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Highest WPA? Most clutchiest grittiest gameriest performance? Both, my friends. It's J-Lo tonight.

Comment of the Game:

Speed can really make things happen. I never really grasped that idea, growing up with Wade Boggs' Red Sox. - tommy

Too true, tommy

courtesy of www.fangraphs.com

Summary:

The Sox, seemingly, had this one well in-hand early. Daisuke cruised through the first few innings, and the Sox would score the first (and the only one they needed) run in the second inning. Kenny Rogers was off, but also inefficient. 

Daisuke, MDC, and Oki would combine to shut out the Tigers over 9 innings, limiting the Tigers to just 9 baserunners and striking out 11. It was an excellent, and yet somewhat understated collective pitching performance, aside from the Lesterized sixth inning from Matsuzaka. 

Lowell and Papi were the only two Sox who did not get hits, and both walked twice in the game. Coco, to the surprise of some, was able to knock in the first run on a sacrifice fly. Youks went 3-3 with two walks, while DP, Lugo, and Tek all reached base twice apiece. "Being" had an interesting triple, which ended with him crossing the plate on Placido Polanco's first error since leaving the womb. Miguel Cabrera was not GG-material at 3B today either. 

Oh yeah. If you're a fan of the Sox, and judging by your perusal of this website you are, the Sox received their WS rings today. 

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That's, of course, Pesky with Wake.

Player of the Game:

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Gotta be Daisuke. He took care of business today, striking out 7 and allowing 8 baserunners over 6 2/3. 

Comment of the Game:

Grilli's thrown 40 pitches,

Boston Red Sox leftfielder Manny Ramirez watches the flight of his a two-run double off Oakland Athletics' Huston Street in the 10th inning of their Major League Baseball regular season opener at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Red Sox won the game 6-5 (via d.yimg.com).

The storyline coming into Opening Day was about Daisuke Matsuzaka's monumental return to his home country of Japan. The storyline after 10 innings of back-and-forth baseball was about a "pencil into the lineup at the last minute" rookie that gave the Red Sox a victory on Opening Day 2008.

Outfielder Brandon Moss wasn't scheduled to start today's game against the Oakland Athletics. Odds are, he wasn't even going to play. But a late scratch from the lineup to right fielder JD Drew left manager Terry Francona with a decision to make.

Francona had two choices to replace Drew:

1. Coco Crisp - gold glove calibur outfielder that lost his center field job and is itching to play.
2. Moss - a rookie with only 25 career Major League at-bats

Deciding between a Major League veteran with a amazing glove and an unproven rookie seems like a trick question. Francona, however, decided to be the green Moss out in right field and bat him 6th in the lineup, squeezed between Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek.

I thought to myself: "Are you sure, Terry?"

And, after an edge-of-your-sit (or, better yet, edge-of-your-BED) 6-5 victory in 10 innings, Francona replied: "Don't second guess me, son."

Moss, the Pawtucket (AAA) MVP last season, earned the title of "Mr. Clutch" by hitting a game-tieing solo home run in the top of the 9th inning against A's closer Huston Street, allowing the Sox extra life. The Red Sox took the lead for good in the 10th after Manny Ramirez doubled to score both David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia, giving the Sox a 6-4 edge.

A shaky 10th inning by All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon brought the score tighter 6-5. An RBI double by Emil Brown put pressure on the Sox, but Brown's baserunner blunder cost the A's a baserunner. Brown was caught in a pickle trying to stretch the double into a trip. Papelbon was able close out the game from their and notch his first save of the season, albeit a rough one.

Moss finished the game 2 for 5 with a run and 2 RBI. Ramirez did even more damage by going 2 for 5 with a run and 4 RBI in the opener. Ramirez put the nail in the coffin after the A's intentionally walked Ortiz to face Ramirez in the 10th. After that, Ramirez found his pitch, hit it hard and watched it 'till it almost dropped over the fence.

I was really impressed with Moss at the plate today. He seemed confident and ready to find his pitch and hit a gap with it. Unlike some rookies, it didn't look like Moss just wanted to hit the ball over the wall. He was looking for opportunities to get on the basepaths and put the Sox back into the game.

As far as our clean-up hitter, that's just Manny being Manny, baby. He's a bad, bad man. This is Manny at his best and I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of this all season long. He wants his options picked up and he will with more games like this one.

Matsuzaka, the big story to start the day, was interesting to watch. His line really didn't tell the story though: 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 6 SO. That's a really mixed line. He kept his hits and runs down, but the walks were up. And his strikeouts were high, but he still only pitched 5 innings.

If you saw all of Dice-K's work today, you noticed he looked very bad in the first two innings. It was all about location -- he couldn't hit the plate and half his pitches were hitting the dirt. I'm going to attribute his struggles to nerves, though. He's back in his homecountry where the hype surrounding him is huge. He wants to live up to all the expecations and not let anyone down so he pushes too hard.

After the second inning I think Dice-K realized what was going on. He settled down and started to hit the corners of the plate. Although home plate umpire Rick Reed was a stickler for the strike zone, Dice-K was able to get the necessary outs and, more importantly, keep the Sox in the game.

Overall, I would say this was a good outing for Dice-K. Obviously you don't want to have a pitcher commit five walks, but I classify it as I did because of how well he rebounded. He bent, but never broke, giving the Sox enough daylight to snag the win.

What else is there to say about this game? The Red Sox kept the game close despite a few bad innings and were able to put it away thanks to some clutch hitting.

I know one thing: I never want to be this stressed at 9 a.m. ever again.