...from a cold, wet night at Fenway...
- Adrian Beltre, at least for a day, swung the bat well. He collected three hits, stung another one right back to the pitcher, and drew two unintentional walks. With three games coming up against the Yankees, we could see something of a sustained hot streak.
- Cla Meredith was absolutely awful, and the fans were letting him hear about it. It looked like he'd get out of the inning without allowing a run, though, when he got Richie Sexson to pop out to right. Only he didn't get Sexson to pop out. The ball kept carrying deeper and to the right, until it finally flew over that joke of a fence. Hands down, the greatest moment of the year so far for me as a Mariners fan. Unfortunately, I had to limit my celebratory dance to the bear minimum for fear of getting beaten up.
- Of course, leave it to the bullpen to make me incredibly nervous. Ron Villone had his worst outing of the year, and it felt like the Sox would climb back and take the lead before long. I spent the last three innings rocking back and forth in my chair. Kudos to Putz and, more importantly, Guardado for blowing through the lineup when it counted.
- Fat Lazy Catcher had three fat lazy hits. When's the last time we saw that kind of offense from the guy behind the plate? Hell of a debut for Wiki, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him force his way into more playing time with a few more games like tonight.
- I almost had to cover my eyes for each Franklin-Ortiz at bat tonight. The following is an exchange I had with my brother in the fourth inning:
"No good can come of this at bat right here. No possible good. Walk him!"
:a few seconds pass:
"Great, three-ball count, walk him!! This is going to be bad, this is going to be bad."
:pitch, home run:
"Jesus Christ. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, FRANKLIN??"Ortiz hit a homer, a double, and a fly out to the track in right in his three AB's against Franklin. Absolutely nerve-racking. Thank goodness that Ryan was able to limit peripheral damage and end up with a good start against a great offense.
- Bret Boone: Eight games and counting for that RBI #1,000. Before long, I expect him to start growing a beard for good luck. Can Bret Boone grow a beard? Things to ponder.
- This was a game full of well-hit balls. On any other day with less rain and less wind, the final score could've been around 10-8. But hey, I'll take it. This could turn out to be the game that turns things around.
- Wade Miller was terrific. May indeed have been the best bargain/quality contract of the winter.
That's all I've got for now. I'll be back at Fenway tomorrow, rooting against the A's.