 Clay in Pawtucket earlier this season. Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission. |
The streak began with JPB and it ended with JPB. I think that’s somewhat fitting.
Josh was just on NESN telling a reporter who asked if the “problem” today was George Kottaras catching. UPDATED FOR CLARITY: The question was actually: “Was it an adjustment at all to switch catchers?” Is this a dig toward Beckett for not being flexible or Kottaras for not being a good enough catcher? Beckett said he doesn’t believe in putting the blame on catchers because pitchers still have to make their pitches. I was impressed with the professional manner Beckett handled himself after the game. I think I might have taken that guy’s recorder and stomped it into the ground. A special tip of the cap to JPB for helping his own cause with yet ANOTHER home run in Philadelphia. And while I’m giving away cap-tips, George Kottaras deserves a big one. He and Rocco Baldelli certainly gave me the finger today!
It’s never fun to watch the team lose but I’m honestly okay with it. Sox won the series. Took two out of three against the World Champion, first-place Phillies. They also swept the, at the time, first place Yankees. Prior to that they lost the series to the first-place Rangers (winning only one) and before THAT they swept the first-place Tigers. So in 12 games against first-place teams, the Red Sox lost 3. That is what I consider to be impressive, no? They’re 13 games over .500. I don’t see the point in getting worked up about one loss.
Quick trip home for the Sox and then a day off before the Florida Marlins show up to face Tim Wakefield on Tuesday. This gives all of us a day to rest up for the continued excitement of interleague baseball. Unless, of course, you’d like to see how Clay Buchholz is doing. NESN will be showing the PawSox game live on Monday at 7pm and Clay is the scheduled starter. If you’re around to watch it, I suggest you do. Watching Clay pitch this season has been quite the treat.
As a follow-up to my post about the whining of the Yankees, apparently K-Rod put his money where his mouth was and approached Brian Bruney on the field before today’s Mets/Yanks game.
“It was cool,” [Mets] outfielder Ryan Church said. “Frankie walked right up to him and got right in his face. And the kid didn’t say a thing.”
I always say, if you can’t win the game at least win the fight.