Open Arms

Game 7 - Red Sox

Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 3
W: Beckett (2-0)
L: Towers (0-2)
Sv: Papelbon (4)
Record: 6-1

Big shout out to Whit for keeping me apprised of the events of yesterday's game, as I was trapped in St. Louis for business and in the middle of meetings as the Sox took on the Jays in their home opener. Of note, I toured the Cards' new stadium (well, I drove around it slowly) and can report that it's a snazzy yard in a cool downtown location. I got into town after their opener and left before they played last night so I didn't get to see a game, unfortunately.

For the 2nd time in as many starts, Josh Beckett scuffled through the first inning and shut down opposing bats for the next 6 innings. At this point, given his dominant performances through innings 2-7, there's little cause for alarm, but a few more of these early-inning dramatics and the brilliant minds on Yawkey Way may be running to Bill James for a solution. Hyperbole, of course, and it's really cool to see Beckett once again overpowering the opposition.

Mike Lowell earned the undying love (okay, bought himself a boo-free week) with a 4-4, 3 2B debut performance as a Sox (Sock sounds odd, no?) in Fenway. Good thing Whitney lifted him from the starting lineup of the fantasy squad we co-manage.

Wily Mo Pena, on the other hand, not so much. In addition to a Sorianoesque (Sorianoian? Sorianoiac?) effort at the plate - wave, wave, wave at outside breaking crap - the new outfielder misplayed a Frank Catalanotto (natch) drive to right into a gift homerun. With Trot Nixon now injured for 5-7 days and Coco Crisp on the 15-day DL, the Nation may have to grit our teeth and bear Wily Mo's downside while benefiting from his prodigious offensive potential over the next 2 weeks. On the plus side, Adam Stern had another solid game in center and at the plate - fingers crossed for a few weeks.

Speaking of fingers crossed, David Wells is slated to make his first start of the season tonight on national television. Tune in here tomorrow to see how it goes.