J.D. Drew has weathered a lot of criticism in the two years since the Sox acquired him. The chattering classes claimed he was underperforming, that he lacked focus, that he was only in it for the money. Radio blowhards and casual fans accused him of not playing with heart. Even after his grand salami in Game Six of the 2007 ALCS, Drew remained the object of suspicion and scorn.
So I watched with great satisfaction last night as Mr. Roboto lit up the game, going 3-5 with a double, a couple of nifty plays in right, and of course, the 2-run shot off K-Rod to seal the victory over the Los Angeles Suburbanites of Disneyland. Here is a guy who has been hobbled with back pain, who had to take not one but two epidurals just to be pain free enough to even take the field. If that isn't an obvious sign of cardiovascular fortitude, then I don't know what is. Other random thoughts:
- Once again, Jason Bay refuses to wilt under the spotlight. Bay went 3-5 with another home run and 3 RBIs. How quickly do you think it will take the media to change its tune to how Bay was "hungry for the postseason" and is a "man on a mission"?
- Acknowledging my obvious biases, I think Coco got back to the bag safely on that pickoff attempt. I have to admit, however, that Erick "Eric" Aybar does dance a nice protest jig.
- You have to admire Torii "Tory" Hunter's enthusiasm, but injuring yourself jumping around after getting thrown out at first puts you in company with bastions of stability like Milton Bradley.
- By the way, did you know that Jason Varitek uses this magical glove sewn from the webbing of enchanted platypus feet? I didn't, until Buck Martinez wouldn't stop talking about the damn thing.
- Once again, as predicted, Angels not named Teixeira, Guerrero or Hunter vanished going a collective 3-20.
- Tito's decision to stick with Masterson was a bit mysterious. Justin didn't exactly appear to have his command down, giving up two walks in the seventh. Joy of Sox asks a good question: where in the world is Manny Delcarmen?
- Despite two effective and efficient innings, Papelbon is officially credited with a blown save. Meanwhile, all-time single season save record holder Francisco "The Less Douchy Hyphen-Rod" Rodriguez implodes. Yet another reason why saves is a useless measure of quality.
- Is Pedroia's nickname really "Caballito" - the Thoroughbred of Sin?
- Major league baseball should ban thundersticks. If your fans cannot get excited enough to make noise with the meaty, fleshy thundersticks that God gave them, then they don't deserve to watch baseball. Maybe in Japan, where everything is a bit crazy, zany props and inflatable noisemakers are acceptable, but not here in America.
No comments:
Post a Comment