Two down, one to go

Boston Globe photo by Jim Davis

Wow! What an incredible game last night - and here are the three heroes! The Sox blasted out to an early lead (thanks to Jason Bay's three-run homer in the 1st inning, pictured above). Then, the Angels slowly whittled away at that lead, scoring single runs in the 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th. Suddenly it was 5-5 ( A side note: I must admit, I fell asleep for the 5-8th innings - awoke in time to see Paps record the 3rd out of the 8th. Hey, it was a late start!) Things looked grim. But - these Sox never give up. Papi lead off the 9th with a double; Crisp replaced him on the basepaths; and then JD Drew (on the left, above) connected for a two run homer to center. WOOT! It's now 7-5. Papelbon finished them off in the bottom of the 9th - which included a spectacular catch by Youkilis (in center).

And suddenly, we're up 2-0 in the Division Series. So, too, are the Rays - we can only hope that the White Sox can rally and at least make the Rays work for another victory.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is game 3 for us - and we're back home in Fenway Park. I'm afraid to jinx anything, but I find it hard to believe we can win at least one of the next two. Of course (gamedropping), the only three games I saw at Fenway this year were three losses to - ahem - the LA Angels. Still....here's hoping.

An interesting twist. The Sox have beaten the Angels in three straight post-season series. In1986, the Sox defeated the California Angels. In 2003, we beat the Anaheim Angels. In 2007, we beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Maybe they need to take a page from the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays' playbook and rename themselves yet again?!

JD WOOO

Photo by Jemal Countess

Can you not picture JD tooling around downtown Hahira, Georgia, (pop: 1800) in this beauty?

It's over at last!

Photo by Jim McIsaac

I can't believe that I stayed up for the entire All Star Game last night. Somewhere around midnight, I began questioning my sanity; after all, "it's only an exhibition." You reach the point, however, when you've invested so much time and energy into a game that you just can't quit. You know that as soon as you turn out the lights and close your eyes, someone will pull a triple play or hit a grand slam. So you keep watching.

Which isn't to say I'm not happy with the outcome. The American League won, assuring the Sox of home field advantage in the World Series. Although, as was pointed out by several people, if the AL had lost, it would have meant that the Sox could have completed their four game sweep of the Series at home. Oh well.

And JD Drew being named MVP was sweet. What a turn around for him. I take back any dark thoughts I directed toward Theo when he signed the once-fragile JD. He has rebounded so incredibly this year - he might be our team MVP by season's end. With a healthy Papi back in the lineup next year, I'm predicting an explosive August and September!

JD!

I have to admit, I haven't always been JD Drew's biggest supporter. I've never been a JD-basher, but I just haven't embraced him and cheered for him. I know he had a lot of things going on last year - adjusting to a new league, a sick child - but I did question Theo's judgement a few times.

But JD has really stepped up his performance level - which we desperately need with David Oritz out of the lineup. Today, Drew hit his 8th HR - and he's been an offense machine this weekend.

And his defense --
AP Photo by Michael Dwyer
Awesome catch in today's game!

So maybe, maybe, we might make it through all these DL stints by our star-starters.

As for Cincinnati, I've been trying to figure out the pitching matchups. It looks to me like it'll be:

Friday - Harang v. Wakefield
Saturday - Volquez v. Masterson
Sunday - Bailey v. Beckett

Red Sox 2, Japanese Teams 0

AP Photo/Koji Sasahara

So, the Sox today beat the Yomiuri Giants, 9-2, the highlight of which was a grand slam by JD Drew - pictured above with the 3 teammates who scored ahead of him.

I've said all along that I think Drew is going to have a very different year from last year. He had a lot of stuff going on in his life away from the field - a sick child, for one thing, and another on the way, as well as adjusting to life in the Boston spotlight. But he really started to turn things around in the last month of the season - and his grand slam in game 6 of the ALCS made a lot of fans forget those early struggles.

I think his could be the turnaround story of the year. And I suspect that if Drew is hitting, performing up to both his and our expectations, this could be one of the keys to the Red Sox repeating in '08.

And don't expect this output of posts to continue. I have to go back to work on Tuesday!

ALCS Game 6

I'm still totally stoked about last night's game! The Sox won, 12-2 (!) and evened up the best of seven series at 3 games each. A victory tonight puts them in the World Series. It's too much to even dream about...

The Sox are definitely calling on the 2004 Mojo. The first pitch last night was thrown out by past fan favorite, Billy "The Pro" Mueller. Mueller got the single that scored Dave Roberts in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, after "the steal." Looks like retirement agrees with him.

Boston Globe photo.

And tonight, our old buddy Kevin Millar is throwing the first pitch. Of course, FOX won't show it - we'll have to read about it in tomorrow's paper.

Last night's long overdue hero: JD Drew!
Globe photo (Jim Davis)
Drew gets some flack for being cool and unemotional - which can come across as apathy. That guy in the photo sure doesn't look like he doesn't care. Drew had just hit a grand slam home run in the first inning - and it gave the team a major emotional boost. All Schilling had to do was put it on cruise control, which he did. Not a lights-out performance, but sufficient.

And speaking of a sufficient pitching job:

Globe photo
Eric Gagne came in in the 9th - and closed out the victory. He pitched well - I think it was the first 1-2-3 inning he's ever pitched for us. I'm not sure if he should have a place on the WS roster, if it comes to that, but...

So, tonight game 7. We've got Matsuzaka on the mound, and I'm nervous. I don't think he's shown us yet what he's capable of, and I hope we'll see something "special" (to quote Schill) tonight. One writer pointed out that with the performances of Lugo, Drew and Gagne last night, it was like Theo's revenge - it's like they were showing us that Theo knows what he's doing. That could continue tonight with a good outing from Daisuke - show the world that he was worth every yen.

I just hope that, comes the end of the 9th inning, we see another scene like this on the field:


Photo by sitting still


One thing missing from the 2004 season was a chance to clinch at home. We came back to beat the Yankees - but had to celebrate on the field at Yankee Stadium. We swept the Cardinals in the Series - but had to celebrate on the field at Busch Stadium. How sweet would it be to win tonight, and get a chance to celebrate on the field at Fenway Park. In front of the adoring, insane nutjobs that make up Red Sox Nation. Please, please, please....

Go Red Sox!!

Visitors in the desert

Tonight, the Sox take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second of a three game series. Another late start, at 9:40 pm. Although I think I could cope with these later starts if I wasn't working. Got in a long ( like 90 minute) nap this afternoon, cooked a really nice dinner ( a roasted pork tendeloin that was yummy!), and now waiting for the 9:40 start.

Side note: Yanks started Roger Clemens today against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won - but I wouldn't call it a stellar effort. 3 earned runs. Total manipulation by the NYY - they held him back due to that "tired groin" - so that he didn't have to start against the Red Sox or White Sox. Instead he gets a start against a very young Pirates team, a National League team. They perfectly manipulated it so Rogah really isn't being tested for a while. One blogger suggested that the NYF have stacked it so Rogah won't face the RS until the playoffs.

And if I didn't despise them enough - reports have surfaced that the Yanks watched the end of Schilling's near no-hitter - and cheered when he gave up a hit. As Cyn said. "stay classy, New York"

Last night, we had our first interleague game of 2007. The first of three versus the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Arizona. And we emerged victorious, 10-3. The most encouraging thing about the victory was JD Drew's performance. Many in RS Nation were calling for him to be benched - his offense has been pretty weak. But his return to the National League was awesome. He had two 3-run homers - finished the night with a career high 7 RBIs in the game. THAT was what I've been hoping and looking for since he signed in the off-season. And best of all was his grin in the dugout after his big hits - he usually comes across as very serious and dour. Not last night! And the fact that this was Josh Beckett's ninth victory of the season? Fantastique!

Tonight, Julian Tavarez starts for the Red Sox - and I can't wait to see him up to bat!