All that hard work for nothing...
As the game slipped away in the 11th, I realized that this entry would probably turn into the second installation of Good Things Dustin Pedroia Did Last Night, simply because he seems to do the most amazing things when the team ends up losing. I also don't really feel like talking about Gagne, Javy's failed attempt to clean up after him, and...well, for once, Trot Nixon. We had our chances, and we didn't capitalize on them.
Some people deserve credit for their good work, though, namely Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, who preserved the tie through the 10th. It's nice to see both of them in top form, which does make me feel a little better. Additionally, Pedroia saved the game at least twice by making key defensive plays (after both of which he smiled all cute-like, which I loved) and he also set up a walk-off in the ninth by knocking a single before being lifted for Jacoby Ellsbury, who stole second. Actually, had Grady Sizemore not been Grady Sizemore, Youk probably would have gotten that hit and Jacoby would've come home. I guess it can't always go your way, though.
This game was just that much more painful for me because I had been up from 6:30 in the morning to go to a reenactment at Harpers Ferry, so after being stuck in one of those hated crinolines for the entire day I needed something nice to happen. I didn't get it, but this morning I got to thinking about the pitching rotation. The pitchers going for the next two games - on both sides - are not the strongest on either team, which means that the key factor will be getting to them early. Then we come to the fifth game, during which we shall witness the triumphant return of Josh Beckett...which I really hope is a win, because the next three games will be played in Cleveland. I really wanted to go into Cleveland up two games to nothing just in case their home field advantage won them the next three, but I have faith in Beckett and I'm going to trust Matsuzaka with game three. If Wakefield has sufficiently recovered, then I'll lean on him, too. For those third and fourth games, though, remember that it'll be our offense that will be the key to winning, as I said above.
Oh, good news from the Pedroia front: he's been given an award named for Larry Doby (who, by the way, lived in Paterson, NJ!). This is in addition to the good things he did last night. See, those good things are what I love about him - he never lets the team down, he never lets the fans down, and he never lets himself down. He's incredibly dependable, he works for everything he wants to achieve and he genuinely enjoys playing the game (evidenced by the way he was still smiling even in that incredibly close game last night).
And he also has a very supportive family, evidenced by this: Passionate. Guy Pedroia, a longtime Giants fan, said he now understands it. He is from Woodland, Calif., not far from Sacramento. A reporter was walking up the aisle behind home plate, halfway up the section behind the field seats, and decided to ask one last fan for another trait just to be complete. "My son plays on the team," said Guy, whose son, Dustin, is a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. "It's pretty fun. After this first year, I can tell you that it's not anything like we're used to in California. ... We're just excited that he got the opportunity to play here. We're rooting for him. We won't go to Cleveland, but we'll be at the World Series."
I hope you do get the chance to go there, Mr. Pedroia. I'm sure your son appreciates it a lot, and I know he's going to try to get the team there, too. There are five games left to do it - let's get it done.
EDIT: I want to see this. It doesn't hurt that the main character sort of reminds me of Clay Buchholz, either...He even looks like Clay on the mound, seriously!
EDIT 2: Holy shit, the Rockies just won again. They have a 3-0 lead over the Diamondbacks in the series now. Remember that the only team to ever overcome that deficit in the playoffs was the 2004 Red Sox, so the odds are stacked against Arizona now...
Some people deserve credit for their good work, though, namely Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, who preserved the tie through the 10th. It's nice to see both of them in top form, which does make me feel a little better. Additionally, Pedroia saved the game at least twice by making key defensive plays (after both of which he smiled all cute-like, which I loved) and he also set up a walk-off in the ninth by knocking a single before being lifted for Jacoby Ellsbury, who stole second. Actually, had Grady Sizemore not been Grady Sizemore, Youk probably would have gotten that hit and Jacoby would've come home. I guess it can't always go your way, though.
This game was just that much more painful for me because I had been up from 6:30 in the morning to go to a reenactment at Harpers Ferry, so after being stuck in one of those hated crinolines for the entire day I needed something nice to happen. I didn't get it, but this morning I got to thinking about the pitching rotation. The pitchers going for the next two games - on both sides - are not the strongest on either team, which means that the key factor will be getting to them early. Then we come to the fifth game, during which we shall witness the triumphant return of Josh Beckett...which I really hope is a win, because the next three games will be played in Cleveland. I really wanted to go into Cleveland up two games to nothing just in case their home field advantage won them the next three, but I have faith in Beckett and I'm going to trust Matsuzaka with game three. If Wakefield has sufficiently recovered, then I'll lean on him, too. For those third and fourth games, though, remember that it'll be our offense that will be the key to winning, as I said above.
Oh, good news from the Pedroia front: he's been given an award named for Larry Doby (who, by the way, lived in Paterson, NJ!). This is in addition to the good things he did last night. See, those good things are what I love about him - he never lets the team down, he never lets the fans down, and he never lets himself down. He's incredibly dependable, he works for everything he wants to achieve and he genuinely enjoys playing the game (evidenced by the way he was still smiling even in that incredibly close game last night).
And he also has a very supportive family, evidenced by this: Passionate. Guy Pedroia, a longtime Giants fan, said he now understands it. He is from Woodland, Calif., not far from Sacramento. A reporter was walking up the aisle behind home plate, halfway up the section behind the field seats, and decided to ask one last fan for another trait just to be complete. "My son plays on the team," said Guy, whose son, Dustin, is a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. "It's pretty fun. After this first year, I can tell you that it's not anything like we're used to in California. ... We're just excited that he got the opportunity to play here. We're rooting for him. We won't go to Cleveland, but we'll be at the World Series."
I hope you do get the chance to go there, Mr. Pedroia. I'm sure your son appreciates it a lot, and I know he's going to try to get the team there, too. There are five games left to do it - let's get it done.
EDIT: I want to see this. It doesn't hurt that the main character sort of reminds me of Clay Buchholz, either...He even looks like Clay on the mound, seriously!
EDIT 2: Holy shit, the Rockies just won again. They have a 3-0 lead over the Diamondbacks in the series now. Remember that the only team to ever overcome that deficit in the playoffs was the 2004 Red Sox, so the odds are stacked against Arizona now...