Any ball player will tell you that the objective is to win the series. Sweeps are great, but if you can win the series, it’s pretty damn acceptable.
Sox already did that. Tonight is gravy. Matsuzaka can pitch with no pressure and the hitters can do the same. Can’t say that having a lefty out there the team hasn’t seen before isn’t a little bit of concern, but the way I see it, if the team can sweep the Yankees this weekend, sweet for them and for all the fans. If not, this weekend has ALREADY been a success and you can’t begrudge them one loss.
Still, I want the sweep. Especially since I’ll be there. 🙂
So proud of the pitching again yesterday. Beckett, while not red-hot, after the first two innings was good and kept the team in the game. Mike Timlin came in, again, and did what he was supposed to do, again. Papelbon…well he’s just ridiculous isn’t he? Six appearances, 5 saves (out of 5 save opportunities), 12 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. The kid is nasty.
But the big story, to me, is Hideki Okajima.
In spite of his first pitch in the majors being a home run ball to John Buck on opening day, Okajima showed us this weekend that he has the stones (and talent!) to not only play in MLB, but to perform under the pressure of the Sox/Yankees rivalry. Twice, this weekend, they asked him to come through, and twice he has.
And before the likes of "Evilsnare" come around to point out that it was against a ‘depleted team’, let’s review who Okajima faced this weekend.
Friday night: Ninth inning. Derek Jeter (grounds out) – Bobby Abreu (walks) – Alex Rodriguez (lines out) and then, thanks to a less than brilliant call on Torre’s part, instead of facing Jason Giambi, he gets Kevin Thomspon to strike out swinging.
Saturday evening: With two outs in the seventh inning, Jason Giambi (strikes out swinging and Kevin Thompson yells from the dugout – "I could have done that!") – Eighth inning he’s against Robinson Cano and gets him to ground out.
Impressive, impressive stuff.
Tonight should be fun. After the last two games, it’ll be exciting to see what transpires!
Go Sox!!!
4 comments for “The pressure is off”