Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.
I’m not particularly high-strung (especially for a Red Sox fan) but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the Thursday night news of Jason Varitek going on the disabled list didn’t set me off just a bit. I didn’t expect the Sox to fold and from Friday out lose every game they played but it just felt like the universe was telling Red Sox fans to sit tight and enjoy the season without getting any high expectations. Of course, Friday night the universe poked us in the ribs and said “See? This is still going to be fun!”.
Thanks to the quick pace of both Tim Wakefield and Baltimore’s Brad Bergesen, the game clocked in at two hours and seven minutes. If you watched the game on NESN Friday night, by 9:20pm you could have found something else to do. Bergesen gave the Sox a run for their money but Wakefield did just a bit better, going eight innings and not touching 100 pitches. Two home runs by JD Drew, a pinch hit, RBI single from Daniel Nava and Papelbon in acting like the Papelbon we love and. poof, game over. Thanks, in part, to Joba Chamberlain choking up a lead in the 8th yesterday afternoon at Yankee Stadium (our former, beloved Alex Gonzalez hit the single that put the go-ahead run on the board in the 11th inning!) and the Red Sox now sit a half a game out of first place (and a Tampa Bay loss puts them two games out of first).
Congratulations to Tim Wakefield on his MLB-leading 201st start at Fenway last night. So happy he got a win out of it!
In spite of (or, hey, maybe because of) all the injuries that have attacked the team, last night’s win was doubly exciting. It might not always be easy but it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.