Two can really ease the pain

Papelbon in 2007. Taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.

Yes, I stayed up for the entire game (I’m going to guess most of you did too!). Yes, I also cringed through the entire 9th inning. Why does Jonathan Papelbon feel the need to make every one of his appearances “interesting”?

Let’s not focus on the pain-inducing ninth inning. Lester pitched a great game save for two bad pitches; Papi was on base four times tonight; Yankees fans are beginning to understand why Sox fans are so happy with the Jason Bay acquisition…it’s all good when we get a win.

Interesting to read over at Peter Abraham’s blog that the Yankees where whining about the umpires (save for Phil Hughes, who refused to do so). Yeah, it was the strike zone that lost you that game, fellas, not Lester’s dominance or the Sox getting 11 hits and six runs or your own two errors. Also, Pete’s piece seems to imply that JD Drew got hit on purpose. Not sure if it’s such a smart idea, letting that leak when there’s still another game to be played in this series. Also, JD gets hit and takes his base and Jason Bay hits the game-winning two-run homer. Wonder if Girardi is mad at himself for making the call to hit Drew or if he’ll blame that on the umps as well?

Worrisome for me is Beckett on the mound tonight with a taste of blood. I just want Beckett to get back on track. Which means I don’t want him thinking about revenge nor putting himself in the position for another suspension. I’m also not a fan of putting extra men on base. But if it’s a blowout and Beckett pitches well, I have no problem with one of the relievers tagging Teixeira on the behind with an off-speed pitch. I nominate Javier Lopez.

Papi went 2-3 with two walks (including an intentional free pass) while Ellsbury, Bay and Lowell all, also, had multiple-hit games. It might have been a long-ass game, but it was more than worth staying up to see.

Unfortunately, with the awesome we get some bad. Kevin Youkilis left the game with some back pain. I suppose I shouldn’t reveal that when I got home from work on Monday evening, the Kevin Youkilis jersey that I had purchased a couple of weeks ago was waiting for me…but it was. If I broke Kevin Youkilis I might never forgive myself.

I’m terribly happy that the first Sox/Game at the new Yankee Stadium was won by the Red Sox. Mike Lowell hitting the first Sox home run there was damn sweet too. Aside from the two-hour wait, Lester’s 5th-inning struggles and Papelbon making things difficult, that game was a thing of beauty.

Another shout out to Clay Buchholz. Yesterday he was named International League Pitcher of the Week. Don’t start petitioning Theo to bring him up just yet. He still seems to be on a pitch count. I have no problem waiting on Clay as long as he’s performing well in Pawtucket while we wait.

Tonight is supposed to be Beckett v Chamberlain. I say “supposed to” because word is that the weather will still be the suck and the reason they played through the rain last night was because today’s weather won’t be any better and might be worse. My fingers are crossed to get this game in because it has all the possibilities of being an epic game. Beckett struggling, Chamberlain having his mother’s photo plastered all over creation, the Sox maybe pissed about JD getting hit, the Yanks pissed about the umps and losing the first game at the new stadium against the Sox…how could the fates deny us this game?

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