After a long weekend in Boston Sports Hell, (even the Celtics winning game 1 of their series with the Heat was a kind of loss with the Garnett suspension), Tuesday was a day of Miracles. Who had ever heard of Darnell McDonald? A man who waited 13 years to get his chance to make a difference on a big league team, and on his very first at bat, he hits a two-run home run to breathe life back into this Sox season. Then, the 31 year old rookie hit’s a Monster-scraping walk-off.
I know there were a lot of story lines in that game that might carry greater significance over the course of the season, like Lowell finally pinch-hitting for Ortiz. Fact is, though Papi was a “good team-mate” for hanging around long enough to give Lowell daps as he came back to the dug-out…Ortiz still then left straight away for the clubhouse after his token gesture of solidarity. Grimace, as my friends and I often call Ortiz, probably just had a craving for more mango-salsa.
We could talk about the Rangers stealing 9 bases against V-mart. Man on 1st, I tell my buddy watching the game with me “After this pitch, he’ll be on 2nd”…and Victor’s throw (on a pitch-out) Sails high over the sliding base-runner. Then, I tell my friend, “Watch, after this pitch, he’ll be on 3rd”… Guess what happened next? Sox fans, I have the solution to all our problems. Ortiz can play catcher. Lowell can DH. V-Mart moves to 1st so he never has to throw out a runner again. Youk moves back to 3rd, and Beltre plays…oh never mind.
We could talk about Red Sox starting pitching having the second highest ERA in the American League. Beckett, you give up 4 runs before the 4th inning… Your team miraculously bails you out and provides a 3 run lead…and then in the 7th, you turn around and give up a 3 run homer to Hamilton. Now, Francona probably should have pulled you before you faced Hamilton with runners at the corners…but you’re supposed to be the Number 1 Ace of a staff that supposedly has 3 Aces. For the past two weeks, it's looked more like someone stacked the deck with Jokers.
But it’s early, and I know as well as anyone that Beckett and the rest of the staff will find their rhythm as the season wears on. I’m not an alarmist.
In fact, lets talk about Bard, Papelbon, and Okijima pitching 5 shut out innings in relief of Beckett. And believe me, I’m sure he was relieved when Youkilis hit a walk-off wall-scraper of his own in the 12th. I can’t remember the last time I saw better relief pitching from either the Sox or the Rangers. In fact, I can honestly say I was in awe of the Ranger’s relief pitcher Neftali Feliz clocking 102 on the radar gun. That’s like lethal weapon fast.
And then, while all that drama was unfolding at Fenway, the Bruins were in double-overtime at the Garden, and Satan, yes Satan, scored the game winning goal against Ryan Miller. Well, Miller's used to coming in second by now. The Bruins, who were one of the flattest teams in the NHL this year, somehow remembered how to hit folks and made hockey relevant again. Satan scored the skate-off goal, and only the ice-rink was frozen over.
Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that the Celtics did not miss Kevin Garnett at all. Indeed, I have to wonder if the Celtics would have played like they did if the Big Ticket had been on the court. Ticket Stub might have taken the Heat by surprise, but he also made the most of his own opportunity. Glenn Davis has a record now of playing better in the Play-offs than he does in the regular season, but I don’t think anyone was ready for his 23 point 9 rebound effort. I’m not saying the Ticket Stub is better than the Big Ticket, but the change of pace between those players was good for the team as a whole. I won’t say much else about the Heat series, as so far it looks like the Heat will just beat themselves.
All in all, Boston Sports are back on track, and while there are plenty of issues for all the teams playing, well, that’s Boston. Analyze, critique, bemoan, and eventually rejoice with the teams, but ultimately, one way or the other, Enjoy.
