The loss has soaked in a little bit -- a little. Not too much. It's a tough pill to swallow, for sure, but that's why they play three games. One win does not allow you to pass Go and enter the ALCS. Until the Angels actually win three games, the Red Sox have a chance to take this series.
With that said, there's a few things to still talk about from game one.
- How bad was Jon Lester? Truth be told, we didn't see a bad Jon Lester last night -- he just wasn't his normal self. His normal self doesn't give up big hits like a three-run home run. And if you look at it, that was the only big hit he gave up all night. Most hits were just one that dropped into the outfield. A lot of his problems came from the strikezone, too. There was a few different occasions where Lester thought he had a strike three, but instead he surrendered a walk or gave up a hit. That will wear on a pitcher fast. Despite all that, Lester held it together pretty well and didn't absolutely blow up.
- Three errors -- really? The Red Sox committed three errors last night. Actually, check that: one. CB Bucknor had two errors last night, the Red Sox have one. Whenever you see a boxscore and the Sox are on the hook for three errors, you know it was a bad night. But if you didn't watch the game, you know only one was legitimate (and I can tell you right now, that whole play was fuzzy in my mind, too).
- Speaking of Bucknor... I wonder if there will be any kind of recourse for him blowing two plays last night. Jon Lester said after the game last night that error is in human nature, but that doesn't mean there can't be some penalty for it. It didn't cost the Sox the game, but the fact the plays were to obvious blown calls should mean something to Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.
- Ramon Ramirez a little off. Terry Francona thinks RamRam was a little amped up. I can't blame him, because it was his first postseason appearance. While Ramirez hasn't been our best reliever all season, remember that he may have been our best to start the season. And he's been really good on the road, too: .182 BAA (.285 at Fenway!) and a 1.17 WHIP. Should he have pitched in that situation? I say, why not? He's been used in that type of situation all year long and Tito didn't think he couldn't handle it (in hindsight, of course, Daniel Bard would have been a better choice).
- Speaking of Bard... Man, he was pretty filthy last night. Did you see the look on Chone Figgins' face after he struck him out looking? I'll say what Figgins was thinking: "DAAAAAAMN!!" It's nice to see at least one pitcher throwing lights out last night.
- Papi. Behind a bad offense, David Ortiz went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. That is not a good way to kick off the postseason for Mr. Papi. Not a good way to anchor the middle of the lineup, either.
- Mike Lowell showing range. Defense to remember: a few Mike Lowell plays. He had a diver in the first inning to end the inning with a toss to second. He had another low grounder to his left where he showed a lot of range, fielded the ball cleanly and threw across the diamond. Can this last for entire postseason? I hope. Is that realistic? No. But still, solid fielding from Lowell.
I think it's almost about time we put a stamp on game one. Sound good?