Hitting for average?
You know what? I noticed that as soon as I mentioned Jim Viox by name, Dustin Pedroia took a hiatus from hitting and spent a few days with an average of .313. He's snapped out of that, though - with one game. You see, when you score four runs in a game and go 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run over the Monster, your average goes up.
This one was pretty well fought until Pedroia knocked one over the Monster, actually. In the third, Oakland scored one, whilst Boston scored three. Oakland answered with three of their own, so Boston scored two, taking the lead back. Then Oakland scored one more in the fifth to tie it up. In his quest to beat Viox, Pedroia started a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. The final score ended up being 11-6. I don't want to overlook another important contributor to this win, though: Mike Lowell, who also went 3-for-5. He's officially set the record for the most RBIs ever by a Sox third baseman in one season!
It is also noteworthy that in the few innings he pitched, Jon Lester recorded nine strikeouts. He left during the fifth. If he can get everything figured out by next season, he's got some fantastic potential. I'm liking the future of the starting rotation - Beckett as the staff ace, joined by Matsuzaka, Lester and Buchholz. If I knew what Schilling was planning on doing next season, let alone Wakefield, I'd include them (or not, as it may be) in that list, as well. Perhaps Tavarez will become a starter or something of that nature.
Now, I love ESPN's photo library. I usually check it after games to see if the cameras captured anyone on my team posed funny/doing something cute/doing something stupid/goofing off/etc., which accounts for a rather large photo library of saved images on my computer. Today, ESPN has provided us with these, which are behind the cut.
How cute is that? I'm sorry, but they took that one at just the right time. (Image credited to Charles Krupa.)
The reason I like this other one is that Dustin is looking in entirely the wrong direction.
(Again, image credited to Charles Krupa.)I love rookies, don't you?
I should probably also point out that today is Johnny Pesky's eighty-eighth birthday. Stay young, Mr. Pesky!
Josh Beckett is on the mound tonight, which is a huge confidence-booster. It's Maes Hughes Howard Hughes Langston Hughes that kid pitching for the Yankees named Hughes going against Scott Kazmir tonight, so we might just have a chance to officially clinch tonight, especially given Kazmir's past record.
And yes, I did make a Fullmetal Alchemist reference in there. (senses a parody involving Pedroia as Ed Elric...)
EDIT: Not tonight. Josh Beckett did his best impersonation of a mediocre pitcher tonight, and we lost and the Yankees won. The magic number is still two, the same number of games the Sox are ahead.
On an interesting note, there is now a tie in the National League East between the Mets and the Phillies. My parents are Mets fans, so I have elected not to call them and talk about baseball tonight, like I often do. I don't want to deal with the pressure they must be feeling...
Lastly, very good news. I know, that may sound a bit strange, but there is some good news in all of this. Pedroia's average ended the night at .318, which puts him ahead of Jim Viox. Hang in there, Dustin - three games left! Better yet, set the bar higher! Go for .320!
This one was pretty well fought until Pedroia knocked one over the Monster, actually. In the third, Oakland scored one, whilst Boston scored three. Oakland answered with three of their own, so Boston scored two, taking the lead back. Then Oakland scored one more in the fifth to tie it up. In his quest to beat Viox, Pedroia started a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. The final score ended up being 11-6. I don't want to overlook another important contributor to this win, though: Mike Lowell, who also went 3-for-5. He's officially set the record for the most RBIs ever by a Sox third baseman in one season!
It is also noteworthy that in the few innings he pitched, Jon Lester recorded nine strikeouts. He left during the fifth. If he can get everything figured out by next season, he's got some fantastic potential. I'm liking the future of the starting rotation - Beckett as the staff ace, joined by Matsuzaka, Lester and Buchholz. If I knew what Schilling was planning on doing next season, let alone Wakefield, I'd include them (or not, as it may be) in that list, as well. Perhaps Tavarez will become a starter or something of that nature.
Now, I love ESPN's photo library. I usually check it after games to see if the cameras captured anyone on my team posed funny/doing something cute/doing something stupid/goofing off/etc., which accounts for a rather large photo library of saved images on my computer. Today, ESPN has provided us with these, which are behind the cut.
How cute is that? I'm sorry, but they took that one at just the right time. (Image credited to Charles Krupa.)
The reason I like this other one is that Dustin is looking in entirely the wrong direction.
(Again, image credited to Charles Krupa.)I love rookies, don't you?
I should probably also point out that today is Johnny Pesky's eighty-eighth birthday. Stay young, Mr. Pesky!
Josh Beckett is on the mound tonight, which is a huge confidence-booster. It's Maes Hughes Howard Hughes Langston Hughes that kid pitching for the Yankees named Hughes going against Scott Kazmir tonight, so we might just have a chance to officially clinch tonight, especially given Kazmir's past record.
And yes, I did make a Fullmetal Alchemist reference in there. (senses a parody involving Pedroia as Ed Elric...)
EDIT: Not tonight. Josh Beckett did his best impersonation of a mediocre pitcher tonight, and we lost and the Yankees won. The magic number is still two, the same number of games the Sox are ahead.
On an interesting note, there is now a tie in the National League East between the Mets and the Phillies. My parents are Mets fans, so I have elected not to call them and talk about baseball tonight, like I often do. I don't want to deal with the pressure they must be feeling...
Lastly, very good news. I know, that may sound a bit strange, but there is some good news in all of this. Pedroia's average ended the night at .318, which puts him ahead of Jim Viox. Hang in there, Dustin - three games left! Better yet, set the bar higher! Go for .320!