To make things easier to read, Dan's comments will be featured in blue, and Kyle's comments will be featured in red. Let's get it started.8:19 - Do they always do the pregame roster introduction in the LCS, or is this just a Tampa Bay "not-sure-if-we'll-ever-get-another-opportunity-to-do-this" thing?
8:23 – Just finished listening to the lineups and I’m glad to hear that Tampa has some fans there. But if noise makers aren’t the most annoying things allowed in baseball parks (next to cell phones) then I don’t know what is. If your fans cannot be loud, they should not be allowed a handicap. All I can think of is: I got a fever and there’s only one cure -- MORE COWBELL! 14 minutes until the game starts – and I’m pretty amped up. I’m full of Pepto Bismol and I have beer in the fridge I probably won’t get to because of the diarrhea I got from Thai food earlier today. But I’ll try to keep this out of the game log.
8:28 – But if I go for some time without a post, you’ll know why. Oh and player of the game, probably the pitcher of the winning team. That’s me, Kyle Baxter, going with the odds.
8:28 - I wonder how many John Sununu commercials we'll see tonight...
8:29 - One. I'll keep a tally.
8:32 – “Well they (the Red Sox) may be infallible but they have a pretty good guy going tonight in Daisuke Matsuzaka.” I don’t know who this announcer is, but someone needs to get him a dictionary.
8:38 - Player of the Game prediction? Jacoby Ellsbury.
8:40 - Ellsbury strikes out.
8:44 - Shields is throwing an awful lot of off-speed stuff early.
8:50 – JD Drew strikes out on a change-up. I feel like I see him strike out because he’s ahead of a pitch more than I see him do anything else (especially smile). I’m coming to the conclusion that he’s a good fastball hitter but assumes everything thrown at him is a fastball, and so doesn’t look that good in these situations. But I don’t know, I haven’t done the leg work. We now wait for Dice-K to get on the mound. Excuse me, I need to go get some Xanax.
8:55 – Dice-K walks the first hitter he faces. *Pops one Xanax*
9:00 – Dice-K walks Carlos Pena. *Pops another Xanax* 9 Balls and 5 Strikes through 14 pitches.
9:07 – Dice-K walks Carl Crawford *Pops a Xanax*
9:08 - Gets out of the inning unharmed...just like always. He's gotta teach me how to do that.
9:15 - Quick 1-2-3 second inning for Shields. He's in a rhythm now. Not a good sign.
9:19 - Dice-K strikes out Dioner Navarro on three pitches. Maybe he's settled in too?
9:24 - The announcers say that “the best trade the Rays have done was the trade for Scott Kazmir.” For those who don’t know, the trade was with the Mets, the Rays sent Victor Zambrano over to get Kazmir. This trade being the best for the Rays is a preposterous statement, as it was the best trade made perhaps in the decade. In the meantime, Dice-K goes 1-2-3 striking out the first two. He’s still throwing a lot of pitches, but I think I’m ok with it. In other news I’m feeling warm and fuzzy either from the pepto or all the Xanax.
9:25 - Very nice 1-2-3 inning for Matsuzaka. Just what he needed.
9:28 - Already seen three commercials for Barack Obama. Maybe he bought more advertising time than Sununu?
Early candidates:
* What’s my schedule, texting everyone ever all day?
* Recycling energy (car commercial)
* Poltergeist (Direct TV) [with all due respect to Coach]
* Derek with the Mustang and Mustache (T-Mobile)
* Some Frank Caliendo commercial (FrankTV)
* Ashton Kutcher has a camera (Nikon)
* VIVAAAA VIAGRA (Viagra)
* There’s Only One October (MLB)
9:29 – Dan Zappulla: OH GOD LOOK AT THE SPARKLY MOHAWK.
9:29 - DOES THAT KID HAVE A SPARKLY MOHAWK? That's it. I hate baseball outside of Boston. It's too weird. They have sparkles and roofs and fireworks and catwalks...it isn't right, damn it.
9:31 - Another 1-2-3 inning for Shields. He's now retired seven in a row, and the Red Sox seem to be swinging at quite a few first-pitches. Shields is poised to throw for awhile tonight.
9:41 – TBS ANNOUNCERS MAKE KYLE ANGRY! I mean Dice-K tipping his cap to an umpire is such a good move, especially for a guy who doesn’t speak English well and these announcers laugh. Also, Dice-K just walked Carlos Pena again. *Xanax*
9:42 - BIG three-pitch strikeout of Longoria. Got him on a patented Varitekian high fastball. Scoreless through three. Could Dice-K actually have enough in him to go beyond five innings tonight?
9:46 - Does anyone else think Joe Maddon sounds like Randy Newman?
9:48 – JD Drew grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Somehow, this feels familiar. Also, I have something I’ve noticed about Youkilis* at this point in the game, but given the current situation, I think it prudent to keep my mouth shut. But I need to say something eventually.
9:56 – Also best commercials of the night nominees:
* Swagger from Old Spice
* Miller High Life
* Some Frank TV Ad (yes they’re in both best and worst).
9:57 - Does Shields' night remind you of John Lackey in Game 1 of the ALDS? I feel like the Red Sox might squeeze out a run or two in the fifth or sixth.
9:59 - J-Bay works a lead-off walk on five pitches. Good start. Kotsay needs to keep it rolling.
10:00 - Kotsay with a check-swing double down the left-field line! Second and third, nobody out. Take 'em how you can get 'em!
10:02 – Sac Fly! Sox 1 – Rays 0. I’m not saying I predicted it, but I was thinking it before it happened.
10:04 – Tek hits one on the screws right at Iwamura with the infield in. Rough luck Tek.
10:06 - Shields somehow slithers out of that one. Varitek hit a line-drive shot to second, followed by an impossible over-the-shoulder catch by Jason Bartlett to rob Ellsbury of a hit. Middle fifth, 1-0 Boston.
10:07 - FrankTV should really be FrankRadio. Caliendo's voices are spot-on, but my god, he doesn't look like a single guy he impersonates. Half of his costumes look like they were stolen from his high school drama club.
10:14 – The announcers state That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Stated-While-Its-Happeneing as Dice-K goes 1-2-3 once again in the bottom in the 5th
10:16 - Vince Vaughn seems to be in another film which will, no doubt, feature a completely different plot than the last romantic comedy he headlined.
10:17 - NBA on TNT promo that featured the phrase, "World Champion Boston Celtics." I love this city.
10:23 – Fisted is the weirdest word ever for something happening in a baseball game. That said, Youkilis is fisted and Shields goes 1-2-3 himself. This has been one of the slowest low scoring pitching duels in recent memory. We’re nearly 2 hours in and not even through the 6th yet.
10:30 – Evan Longoria swings on a 3-0 count and flies out to right to end the inning. Dice-K gets them in order again. If I didn’t like pitching duels, this game would be boring. Thankfully I love this game.
10:42 - David Archuleta is singing "God Bless America." Forty miles away, I can hear my girlfriend screaming.
10:47 - And there's the first hit surrendered by Matsuzaka. Carl Crawford lined a fastball through the right side. I bet it was that "God Bless America" crap that threw Dice-K off.
10:59 – Pop Out, Strike out, Ground out. Actually, I expected that completely. Dice-K, atta boy. Now please don’t bring in Masterson. Short leashes, short leashes. Everyone on a short leash.
*Also, that Youkilis thing I noticed was that he was the only player up until that point to get a hit. But that is not something you speak of while it's going on.
10:59 - I just screamed and started applauding. Bartlett grounds a weak dribbler to short, inning over. Matsuzaka shows gigantic balls. And as Kyle just IM'ed to me, "that was totally expected."
11:04 – Shields is taken out when Pedroia hits a one out single up the middle. Excellent game for him, but is currently on the hook. Line: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and responsible for Pedroia who’s now on second now that Howell walked Papi.
11:15 - THANK YOU, CARL CRAWFORD. Diving and missing balls will earn you points in my book, baby! Youk with a double to left on a hanging breaking ball, Pedroia scores, Papi to third. 2-0 Sox! Howell's night is done, Drew comes to the plate, Grant Balfour in to face him. HUGE.
11:19 – Balfour drills JD Drew in the shoulder, and Pedroia looks like he could bite off the head of a baby seal. Drew seems ok but if he doesn't play tomorrow I won't flinch (he's a girly-man). Bases loaded. But.... Balfour gets out of the inning and the Sox go into the eighth 2-0.
11:27 - Hey! Our second John Sununu commercial! See, I told you we'd come across a few.
11:28 – They send out Dice-K again. WHAT!? 109 pitches and there he goes again.
11:29 - Leadoff base hit for Iwamura. Hopefully that's the night for Dice. Let's not turn this into another Pedro-in-2003 situation, Tito. (Dice stays in the game to face Upton.)
11:30 - Wild pitch. Iwamura to second. Catchable ball ... that might actually go as a passed ball on Varitek. ... Upton smashes a ball down to Youk at third, who knocks it down, but doesn't have a play. Go-ahead run comes to the plate in the form of Carlos Pena. Pretty much the last guy you want up there right now. Can't help but think a healthy Mike Lowell would've made that play. That's the night for Dice-K, as Tito makes the trip to the mound. Can't help but think it's two batters too late. Okajima will come in to face Pena.
11:37 – Okie gives up a dou… oh Drew catches it. Atta boy! Well then, umm YEAH OKIE!!!
11:40 – MASTERSON!? Oh man, come on… Delcarmen, man. Delcarmen. OK OK, now's not the time for second guessing, let’s go kid.
11:42 – DOUBLE PLAY! Atta boy, kid!!! Dan admitted to me that he was eerily calm for that batter, I wasn’t sure. But things seem to have fallen into place and now, I am sure this is ending in a win. On that I spend a lot of time questioning Tito, despite the fact that he's lead this team to two championships plus lead them to the playoffs every year except in 2006. He's got a great record, he handles pitching staffs great, and he gets his guys to play hard for him (Manny excluded). And despite all his success I cannot help but question his decision making. Perhaps it's one of those side-effects of being a baseball fan, you have to question your teams manager over and over and over and over. But in the end, Tito wins.
11:42 - This game is becoming eerily calm for me. Like it's an inevitability that the Red Sox will win. This is the natural order of things, so to speak.
11:53 - 1-2-3 ninth inning tossed by Grant Balfour and David Price. We head to the bottom half, Sox still up 2-0. The medley of "Wild Thing" and "I'm Shippin Up to Boston" is ringing through the heads of Red Sox Nation.
11:58 - Papelbon blows Crawford away in four pitches. He swung through three fastballs. One down.
12:01 - Chip Caray: "The clock strikes midnight on the Cinderella Rays." Floyd pops out to Youkilis in foul territory. Two out.
12:04 – PAPSMEARED! Sox win game 1!!! Yes, that was a 91 MPH splitter. MA-LICOUS!
And that’s why they’re the champs. Winning a close game like that reminds us that a championship attitude and experience help a lot during the playoffs.Win: Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-0, 0.00)
Loss: James Shields (0-1, 2.45)
Save: Jonathan Papelbon (1)
Player of the Game: Daisuke Matsuzaka 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K - THAT'S a winning stat line. Innings 2-7 (inclusive): 2 H, 1 BB.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment