Game 1 Review - RS Almost PERFECT !!

Repeat after me, pitching and defense, pitching and defense, pitching and defense ...........

What a TREMENDOUS baseball game the RS played. Lester easily diffused a high-powered lineup, Jason Bay hit the requisite BOMB, Ellsbury was on base all night wreaking havoc, they tacked on a couple in the ninth for insurance, Papelbon finished it off. Except for the really bad error by Lowrie, perfect game !!!

The RS outfield defense is the best, and Ellsbury made a very important sliding catch to start the ninth. As great as that play was, the one by Youkilis a couple of batters later was much better. This writer is not and huge fan of Youk defensively as I think he is very overrated and I have seen much better even on the RS (George Scott), but for all the years the RS employed those lumbering defensive liabilities over there, Youk is a breath of fresh air. He SNATCHED that quail on one hop while diving toward the outfield (when is the last time you can say you've seen THAT) and whirled and threw to Lowell almost in one motion to get a STUNNED Vlady. The hustle and wherewithall to pivot and fire was just an eye-popper by a very heady player. Between the two of them, they bailed out Masterson (the young Bob Stanley with that NASTY sinker that provides chinkers of all kinds in every direction). Other RS editions are still playing that inning and are way behind. This team can catch that baseball and it is the difference between winning and losing !!

The ability to add on (in the popular parlance) in the ninth was huge and gave Pap breathing room, which was important because he has been shaky lately. That swing by Kendry Morales on the hit to right was SMASHED though. We are not used to seeing those kinds of AB's against the closer. When he went to the split after getting ahead of Figgins, he was his old devastating self. Figgins swung over the two of them thinking they were fastballs. To the RS insiders, if the populace can see that Pap has been one dimensional with that heater you surely must see it too, but have been in denial about it or something. Mix it up !! How about the occasional slider ?? Where has that been ??

Whichever of the two basepath pests gets on consistently could determine the eventual winner. Ellsbury was on 5 times last night while Figgins took the collar. These two guys clearly make these teams go. With the Halos murderers row in back of him, Figgins must be kept in check or the RS will lose this series.

Despite the impeccable game, there were issues. Terry is loyal to a fault, and JD does NOT belong in there. He was completely flummoxed at the plate and was painful to WATCH sitting on the bench. Kotsay must play !! The RS situational hitting was abysmal, with something like 1 for 16 with RISP, OUCH !! Jason Bay obliterated most of that with one gargantuan big fly. Would anybody out there trade him back for Manny ?? This guy can really play, Manny was a sideshow.

Can't wait for Game 2. No matter what happens, I don't think the RS can play a more CRISP game than last night. Besides, Dice-K is pitching. If you thought last night was late, I would not plan anything before noon on Saturday after this Friday night excruciating test of baseball torture. GREAT STUFF last night though.