Game 2 played out like a heavyweight prize fight. What a donnybrook ! The favored challengers took a huge haymaker right at the start, thanks to another Jason Bay BOMB with two outs, but somehow staggered back to the corner and survived. Over the course of the rest of the epic battle, they scratched and clawed, finally drawing EVEN, only to be laid out for good by Drew's one, last, desperate, huge swing with two strikes. What an exciting, nerve-wracking, competitive affair this was. This game embodied what this writer envisioned in an earlier tome in a series that figured to be justthisclose.
The faint-of-heart should not watch ANY game pitched by one Dice-K, but especially when it means this much to both teams. He was his usual STAGGERING self with ungodly stuff, but once again could not go beyond 5. He proved that you cannot get away walking the first two batters of an inning and prosper like during the regular season, no amount of wiggling would see him through because these Angels were desperate and came to PLAY.
The weakness of the Halos is their starting pitching, in that they are all number 2 types, very good but not dominant. Thank goodness you can get to them a little bit, because that bullpen is DOMINATING. Aside from their old Red Sox like 2-5 batters, they have not provided ANYTHING else offensively, an even those bashers have only hit singles. Poor Howie KKK-KKKKendrick, fanning 7 times in 2 games stranding runners like a full bus passing awaiting passengers at future stops. The RS hurlers have kept the supporting cast at BAY, kept the ball in the yard, and are ahead 2 games to zero because of it.
Despite the heroics at the beginning and end, DEFENSE, and in the Angels case lack of defense, allowed the RS to prevail. The tack on run in the 4th by Boston should not have happened. Rightfielder Riviera took a very bad route to Ellsbury's double. He was only out there because the Halos needed his bat, for the reasons mentioned above. Later, when he was replaced by Willits for speed on the base paths, Reggie could not come up with the big fly by Big Papi, despite a great try. Gary Matthews, the game one starter who didn't hit, catches BOTH those balls maybe allowing the Angels to win !!
BASERUNNING hurt the Angels badly in Game 1, and almost did again in game 2. Why in the world did the third base coach send Texiera from second on that hard-hit single to left with NOBODY out !! He made it, of course, but just BARELY, and only because of a magnificent slide and hand tag around Varitek. It is one thing to want to be aggreesive, it is quite another to be RECKLESS. They have been the latter and it has hurt them. I'm hoping for more of the same. Every out you get on the bases is one less of the 27 you must get at home plate with your pitching.
To hit a HOMER last night, the ball had to be launched !! Serious bids by Pedroia, Youkilis, Garret Anderson, and the previosly mentioned Ortiz shots somehow stayed in the yard. The ball appeared to carry much better early when Bay launched his. The final blow by Drew was just a blasted, MAJESTIC shot through the thick air.
There were some minor gaffes by the RS though. Ellsbury, with one out, the bases full and the shortstop and second baseman playing back, only had to put the ball on the ground in the 6th to score a run. Instead, he fanned and Pedroia hit a one hop bullet to second and the Angels escaped unscathed. Using his god-given gifts right there and putting the ball on the ground with a drag bunt would have stretched the precarious lead. Also, Youkilis was not able to move Coco over in the ninth, which should have been a very big mistake, but Drew took care of that. Don't get me wrong, both Arredondo and K-Rod had a lot to do with those at bats, but they MUST be accomplished.
Tito should be second-guessed too. He clearly left Masterson in one batter too long allowing the Figgins triple. Also, why Oki was left to face Vladi earlier, no matter what he was 0-4 prior, was another error FrancoMa lived to tell about.
The pressurized 7th inning was the best of the game. Arredondo wiggled out of the bases juiced mess getting Ellsbrady and Petey, and then I though Masterson did a good job in his half with the sacks full, despite the walked run. Pressurized baseball, nothing better !!!
Finally, back to Drew HR. The pitch selection by the Angels was TERRIBLE. There were at least 3, maybe 4, changeups in that at bat. As a pitcher, you NEVER want to get beat on your THIRD best pitch, but that's exactly what transpired. That room service MEATBALL looked like a BP pitch. Give Drew credit for crushing it though, and for Tito hanging with Drew when I would not have.
HO HUM, just another game !! NOT !!!!!!!!! The Angels are in grave danger now losing two at home, but Boston must play well with Beckett in top form to close them out. Joe Saunders for them has been great all year, particularly against Boston. But as Dice-K learned last night, this is NOT the regular season anymore. It would be very helpful if Petey could get going. It's not over yet, but Sunday cannot come soon enough.
BYE
1 comment:
youre good
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