I am actually in transit, roadblogging in a car with Mrs. SF, but able, for the moment, to tune into the Hartford broadcast of the Sox-Rangers. Joe Castiglione is already in mid-season form, calling a Manny flyball out like it was headed for the centerfield lawn at the Ballpark. No matter, as it’s good to have the game back, overdramatized popouts or not.
Game on!
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Curt starts the season by whiffing Wilkerson and then Young! We’ll take a ground out from Teixeira, no reason to get greedy.
Ground out! Nice job, Curt.
And we drive out of WTIC’s range. Time to scour the dial.
in news around the league and certain to mystify us Yanks fans, Tony Womack led off the Reds-Cubs game with a walk.
Service is back. Coco with a nice grab (according to Joe), a whiff of Blalock, and a flyout for Mench. 6 up, 6 down.
Hey, I was impressed.
Co-co’s bet-ter, clap clap clapclapclap.
The Sox’ bats continue the offseason. Only one hit through 3. Amazingly, the Sox haven’t won on opening day since 2000.
Tek double brings Ortiz and Nixon home. 2-0 Sox.
Tek just smacked a double to drive in Papi and Trot. =)
Alex Gonzalez, now batting .500!
Coco reaches first on the FC and scores on a two out double into the centerfield gap by Loretta.
Papi comes up and smokes a 2 run shot off the right field pole.
Sox up 5-0 in the top of the 5th.
Papi!
Blech, Curt just got majorly squeezed.
So, NESN tried out a reference to the new infield as:
LoGoLoYo
— but —
I think it’s easier to say:
YoLoGoLo
And then there’s the platoon version:
SnoLoGoLo
And if Cora’s at short:
YoLoCoLo / SnoLoCoLo
… which takes the relay throw from Coco.
Gotta go.
I still like the score right now, future RemDawg tee shirts aside.
Someone warming? Curt’s getting hammered this inning…
the hank blalock homer off of Schilling is especially nice. Blalock’s on my fantasy team, and you know what I think about Curt.
A-Gone, your .667 hitter.
Coco!
An HR against Schilling is okay, a W would be better.
Deduct to AG for little league baserunning, doubled off second on a pop fly to…center. Terrible.
Plus, Francona gets his first demerit for not bunting the guys over with Papi and Manny coming up, late in the game for insurance.
Papi is unbelievable. Another 2-out ribbie, Crisp scoring on his gapper double. Crisp is on a pace for 324 runs this year, which we’ll take.
And that’s a demerit to me, for questioning Francona!
Not sure I love Curt coming back out for the 7th, to be honest.
Jeez, a laser beam right to Nixon (thankfully). Can we have a reliever, Terry? Please?
Curt’s thrown like 107 pitches, on opening day, coming off a major injury. And he’s still out there. What the heck?!
doesn’t trust the bullpen I guess.
in other news around baseball, Albert Pujols has decided that he’s still the best hitter in baseball.
Out of the inning. That’s 2 demerits for me questioning Francona, though I think stretching Schilling out that far after such a rough 6th isn’t that great a call, even if it worked out fine.
Take THAT, slow batspeed gods! Mike Lowell with the dong.
Lowell – dinger
Looks like a good day for Sox fans.
Looks like a good day for Sox fans.
foulke— yikes. that felt a lot like last season.
Great game. If only Foulke could not throw meatballs over the center of the plate… but thats of small issue now.. SOX WIN!
Paps threw a nice inning in relief to the top of the order, but Foulke looked like he was throwing batting practice. I didn’t mind the 87 mph fastballs so much as the chest-high changeups. Still, first game of the season – bound to be some butterflies.
Schilling looked strong going 7 innings. His line was 2 runs, 5 hits, 5 K’s and a walk.
It was just so nice to come home after a long day and watch baseball. That is, real, live baseball that counts. Nice game. Schill looked sharp from what I saw. Although Eck agrees with you about the seventh, SF.
Everyone looked real sharp, with the glaring
exception of Foulke.
First place, y’all! Take that, Yanks fans.
(Hope Randy gets shelled. Couldn’t happen to a taller deadbeat dad.)
Guess Schilling was determined to go 7 innings, come hell, highwater, or 117 pitches.
Not for nothing, WE, but that seventh inning saw about thirty pitches; it would be more accurate to say that he was determined to get through the seventh – which he did.
Going into that inning he was under a hundred, so what is your suggestion, end it before a hundred pitches so everyone can automatically assume that he can’t go the distance in a game?
I was questioning the decision to bring Curt out for the 7th, but then I remembered he was throwing to the bottom of the order.
Still, I was surprised. I think it was his way of throwing down the gauntlet. Basically Curt showing he’s got the arm strength to throw seven solid innings still (more or less). Regardless, overall he looked pretty sharp.
Brad,
I said he was determined to go 7 innings, you say he was determined to get through the seventh. Uh, Brad, isn’t that about the same thing?
My thinking is this. Why allow Schilling, a 39 year old, coming off an injury year in which he only pitched in like 93 innings, to throw 117 pitches, on Opening day no less, when you’ve got a 5 run lead, and a fresh, newly revamped bullpen, that needs to be sorted out, at your disposal?
My guess is Schilling didn’t want to come out and Tito let him have his way.
Tito should have pulled him after 6.
For Christ’s sake Brad, Schilling pitched a good game. Nobody in the world, other than yourself, would have been thinking Schilling can’t go the distance if Tito would have relieved him to start the seventh, instead, would have expected it for all the reasons I mentioned in paragraph two.
Jeez – I wasn’t even being sarcastic in my post; just pointing out the fact that he did not have 100 pitches going into the seventh and was in full control, so why not try to get out of the seventh.
Had Tito known that it was going to take thirty to get through it, he probably would not have let him go, but once he’s out there it was probably better to let himself get out of the trouble he got into.
I’m very happy with the results, especially those of Loretta and Lowell whom I thought looked good.
On a side note, I spent the weekend in Philly watching the last two games before the season, and while the games were not that impressive, the park is great. If anyone has not been there, and is looking for a great way to spend the weekend, it’s a good choice. The hotel was reasonable and within walking distance, and here’s the kicker: while at the ticket window on Sunday, the thought crossed my mind to check on tickets for the May games. Four seats, next to each other, for a interleauge game with the Sox for about 20$ apiece in the lower section for both days. I can’t wait – not only for the game, but to go back to the park. Do yourself a favor and go if you get the chance.
I’m with WE. I didn’t see any reason to overthrow Schill today. If you let him start the 7th, then Tito should have least had him on a short leash, not no leash. After the first laser beam I would have yanked him – not because I thought he’d implode and lose the game, but because I saw no reason to have him labor through another batter this early in the season. I think it may have been good for Curt’s ego and confidence, but who cares about his ego and confidence if his arm or ankle get tired, right?