Having escaped the first of our possible two two-game backwater mini-series with a split, the result, from a straightforward perspective, is good. From an offensive perspective, even including "Big Game" James Shields' mastery (although, sorry, your nickname is taken), the corpse of Jason Varitek, and the decoy status of the Heavy-Set Patriarch, is good.
The pitching? Goes like this.
Surprisingly fucking awesome: Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Fucking awesome: The bullpen. (Javier Lopez's single pitch appearance being the only bullpen-related run, an inherited one at that.)
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit:
While Game 1 featured Terry Francona pressing his luck with Daisuke Matsuzaka starting the 8th and getting away with it, Game 2 featured Francona perhaps still more pressing his luck, leaving Beckett in after a very long top of the 5th, having shown no signs of out-making in his previous 4 innings out there. Aside from a 2-seamer similar to good ol' zinger, the arsenal of Josh Beckett was not there. Bad location, not many appearances of the real curveball, 92 mph fastballs down the plate...I don't know what to say here.
I'm too busy listening to the game right now to go on too long, but here's your basic math in the 9=8 dumb math thing.
Very good Matsuzaka plus mediocre Beckett plus excellent Lester = Mediocre Matsuzaka plus excellent Beckett plus very little Lester.
In other words, this could all work out.
But it's 1-0 Tampa now off a walk, a dink hit, some bullshit ball Varitek let get past him that transformed the situation dramatically, and the wouldabeen double play ball that scored a run. And so I must be going.
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