George Kottaras congratulates Jonathan Papelbon on save #133. (AP Photo)
This recent trip to Fenway South seemed so promising at its onset, however it was beginning to look more like a disappointment as yesterday afternoon crept into the early evening. The Red Sox entered the 9th inning with zero walks on the day. Dustin Pedroia however quickly turned that around earning the first walk of the day for the Red Sox, as Kevin Youkilis shortly after deposited a two-run HR into the stands, and like that, the Sox were suddenly back in the game. The meat of the order couldn't further convert as Jason Bay (who earned the platinum Golden Sombrero yesterday) and David Ortiz both struck out.
On a side note here, while talking to my Dad about baseball he stated how he's never seen this many Red Sox take so many called third strikes. Of course I disagreed initially here because, well, I am his child and must therefore question everything, but the more I've been watching and thinking about it, I have to agree with him. I don't know if this is a direct result of the modern day ballplayer being more patient at the plate and seeing more pitches per plate appearance, but the hitters seem to be very comfortable now with two strikes. I'm not noticeably seeing them choke up on the bat, close their stance, and swing if it's close, and as my Dad said, Ted Williams would be having a fit if he saw this. I'll be looking into the validity of this more, however keeping an eye open on it, because it's happenig a lot.
So after the back-to-back K's the Sox chances were looking pretty bleak, however with a couple more walks and some magic from the pride of Rhode Island the Sox were able to tie up the game. It only seemed fitting at this point in the series that it'd be Julio Lugo who'd drive in the winning run for the Sox as the weird kept turning. Say what you will about Lugo, but through his entire benching the guy's been a Grade A Professional as he's stayed prepared to play, and has not outwardly complained to the media really about his playing. It can't be easy to be benched in the way he is, and seeing him still come through for us like this is nice to see. Still, what an odd series, and I think some Fenway Loving is more then needed right now. Now about that rain in Boston...
The games were definitely not pretty but at least they got the wins! (Well most of them) Who would have seen that coming..Lugo for the win?!? But I agree, he is taking the whole benching in a very professional manner and the Sox have some super talent coming off their bench.
Posted by: Callie Durbrow | July 03, 2009 at 03:05 PM