Good things Dustin Pedroia did last night
Let's be honest - there's not much to be negative about after last night. The Sox have a 4.5 game lead in the AL East because of what they did on Saturday, so there really isn't much to worry about.
I felt apathetic towards the loss last night. It didn't affect me at all. I was, however, very inspired after something that happened during that last inning, hence the title of this post. It's better to focus on the positive at this point, not that I'm noted for being particularly optimistic or anything.
Before we get to what Dustin did, though, I'd just like to point out something Mike Lowell did first - he ruined Joba Chamberlain's perfect ERA with a home run over the Monster. Joba didn't look too pleased about it (although I imagine nobody would be happy). According to ESPN, Joba might be a starter next year, which would be interesting - I can almost see him going the Papelbon route and deciding closing is more fun, though.
Now, on to the many ways Dustin amused and astounded me last night:
~ In the first inning, he called a pop-up and waved off Hinske, but J.D. Drew didn't hear him. They collided. Dustin made the catch, but was knocked over. It was strangely adorable, especially the way he got up and asked J.D., who was clearly fine, if he was okay. He was unharmed, as well, because he went on to make some of those amazing defensive plays in the field that are so routine to him later in the game.
~ For nearly the entire night, he was pulling weird facial expressions. During one of Jacoby's at-bats, the cameras caught Dustin on deck, and he actually appeared to be yawning.
~ In the seventh inning, Jeter fouled off a pitch to the right. Dustin, J.D. Drew and Hinske all went for it and crowded into a little group as they watched it fly into the stands. That actually made me laugh out loud (which I stopped doing as soon as Jeter removed the next pitch from the park in fair territory).
~ The bottom of the ninth, though, was what kept me uplifted despite the loss. Mariano Rivera was pitching, and he had just beaned Jacoby with two outs. Dustin came up and was apparently going to be the last out of the game, as he immediately went down 0-2. He fought back, though, and miraculously worked a walk to bring up David Ortiz with the bases loaded. Although Jeter caught Ortiz's attempt to salvage the game, I wasn't paying that much attention. I was more impressed with the heart Dustin showed out there.
~ Finally, as I mentioned on Friday, Dustin's got Joe Morgan's vote for Rookie of the Year. Oh, and there were signs out there and everything, too, so clearly Morgan wasn't alone last night.
Oh, as an added bonus, the video of the tradition that involves dressing up the rookies is out now! You can view it right here. Trust me, it's worth watching. Repeatedly. I didn't see Dustin and Jon Lester, though, so it looks like they may have somehow gotten off the hook. (There is some video of Dustin from last year, though. Can you say, "Awwww," kids?)
In other news, I may be falling ill, like the rest of my floor. My nose has decided it wants to run, or at the very least get a bit stuffy. Everyone else on the floor who has gotten sick seems to be more affected by it than I am, though, although that's probably because I don't go out and binge drink on the weekends. (Instead I sit around and watch baseball in the common room with my friends, some of whom play poker during that time.) Don't worry, though, it's not like being sick has ever kept me from working. Unfortunately, that seems to also be the reason I get sick a lot - I am prone towards overworking myself. Eh, bad habit.
Lastly, has anyone else seen that commercial for the new iNano with video? That song got stuck in my head and drove me insane until I downloaded it on iTunes. I played it repeatedly during the ninth inning last night, so maybe it's some kind of sick rally song or something. Hmmm...
I felt apathetic towards the loss last night. It didn't affect me at all. I was, however, very inspired after something that happened during that last inning, hence the title of this post. It's better to focus on the positive at this point, not that I'm noted for being particularly optimistic or anything.
Before we get to what Dustin did, though, I'd just like to point out something Mike Lowell did first - he ruined Joba Chamberlain's perfect ERA with a home run over the Monster. Joba didn't look too pleased about it (although I imagine nobody would be happy). According to ESPN, Joba might be a starter next year, which would be interesting - I can almost see him going the Papelbon route and deciding closing is more fun, though.
Now, on to the many ways Dustin amused and astounded me last night:
~ In the first inning, he called a pop-up and waved off Hinske, but J.D. Drew didn't hear him. They collided. Dustin made the catch, but was knocked over. It was strangely adorable, especially the way he got up and asked J.D., who was clearly fine, if he was okay. He was unharmed, as well, because he went on to make some of those amazing defensive plays in the field that are so routine to him later in the game.
~ For nearly the entire night, he was pulling weird facial expressions. During one of Jacoby's at-bats, the cameras caught Dustin on deck, and he actually appeared to be yawning.
~ In the seventh inning, Jeter fouled off a pitch to the right. Dustin, J.D. Drew and Hinske all went for it and crowded into a little group as they watched it fly into the stands. That actually made me laugh out loud (which I stopped doing as soon as Jeter removed the next pitch from the park in fair territory).
~ The bottom of the ninth, though, was what kept me uplifted despite the loss. Mariano Rivera was pitching, and he had just beaned Jacoby with two outs. Dustin came up and was apparently going to be the last out of the game, as he immediately went down 0-2. He fought back, though, and miraculously worked a walk to bring up David Ortiz with the bases loaded. Although Jeter caught Ortiz's attempt to salvage the game, I wasn't paying that much attention. I was more impressed with the heart Dustin showed out there.
~ Finally, as I mentioned on Friday, Dustin's got Joe Morgan's vote for Rookie of the Year. Oh, and there were signs out there and everything, too, so clearly Morgan wasn't alone last night.
Oh, as an added bonus, the video of the tradition that involves dressing up the rookies is out now! You can view it right here. Trust me, it's worth watching. Repeatedly. I didn't see Dustin and Jon Lester, though, so it looks like they may have somehow gotten off the hook. (There is some video of Dustin from last year, though. Can you say, "Awwww," kids?)
In other news, I may be falling ill, like the rest of my floor. My nose has decided it wants to run, or at the very least get a bit stuffy. Everyone else on the floor who has gotten sick seems to be more affected by it than I am, though, although that's probably because I don't go out and binge drink on the weekends. (Instead I sit around and watch baseball in the common room with my friends, some of whom play poker during that time.) Don't worry, though, it's not like being sick has ever kept me from working. Unfortunately, that seems to also be the reason I get sick a lot - I am prone towards overworking myself. Eh, bad habit.
Lastly, has anyone else seen that commercial for the new iNano with video? That song got stuck in my head and drove me insane until I downloaded it on iTunes. I played it repeatedly during the ninth inning last night, so maybe it's some kind of sick rally song or something. Hmmm...