Relax

Game 3 - Red Sox
Rays 4, Red Sox 3
Record: 1-2

There's an almost laissez-faire vibe coming from Boston after the Sox' indifferent opening series with the Rays. When I say 'coming from Boston', I mean as interpreted from my perch 500 miles or so south of the Hub. And when I say 'laissez-faire', I mean it's way too early to get worked up about things. Does this mean I'm maturing, or just rationalizing?

Daisuke Matsuzaka combined his usual nibbly wildness with an uncharacteristic propensity for allowing longballs, walking three, hitting one, and giving up three homers, all in a tidy 100-pitch, 5 1/3 inning outing. All that, and the Sox had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. If nothing else, they kept me from having to actually do work.

In a quirk of scheduling, the Sox wing to California to face the heavy-hearted Angels in the Halos' first game after losing young Nick Adenhart in a tragic auto accident. Neither silliness nor somber fill-in-the-blank platitudes seem appropriate here, so we'll suffice it to wish Adenhart's family and those of the other victims some small comfort in what must be a nearly unbearable time.