When I left the house yesterday I was excited a
bout seeing the
Sox play. It would be the 72
nd Major League game that I have been to. I was going to go Friday or Saturday, but something came up. I was excited to go because I just
received my new Fisk jersey that I purchased on e-bay. Everything was lining for a perfect day. Brian Anderson was responsible for all three of the
Sox runs on the day. He hit a two run home run, and scored the third run. The home run by Anderson was the first of the season for a player that has played in center field. The Sox have yet to have a player who is actually playing center field hit a home run. Pods may be trying though with his beer league softball shuffle while batting. Mark
Buehrle pitched great, and was in line for another win. Octavio
Dotel gave up a home run, but we had Bobby coming in to pitch the ninth. He looked good getting the first two outs, and I was standing by the exit waiting for the last out. As the ball went in the air I started thinking about Hawk saying when this ball comes down…then I realized it was going to come down in the stands. Uh-oh. Then in typical optimist fashion I decided that the perfect day would include extra innings.
Nyjer Morgan then hit a double. All game long in the bleachers the fans were getting on him. The favorite refrain that I was hearing was a different way to say his name that sounds like a word that rhymes with trigger. When he crossed home plate with what would be the winning run he had to have a huge smile on his face. Revenge would taste sweet. I had already left the bleachers, but I bet the exchange when he came back out for the bottom of the ninth was great. In the bottom of the ninth the
Sox sent three batters to the plate against Matt
Capps, and all three struck out. One out away from a huge sweep, and they let it get away. Our ship was damaged, and probably going down anyway. It did not take a very good group of Pirates to finish it off. I already hear talk about next season. It is way too early for that. We do have to find some answers quick though. This team is way too talented to be playing like this. Swing the bat Jim
Thome!
The day was not a total loss though. I had a blast in the
bleac
hers. Most of the people around me were excited to be there, and watching the game. Very unlike a couple of weeks ago at Wrigley. Between innings though we were getting
Blackhawk updates on our phones. They had a rough day too, but that is another story. I was glad to be part of the patriotic day the
Sox had planned, but I did have one question. Where were those ugly
camo jerseys that
Buehrle wanted so bad? That must have been a one time deal. Well
camo jerseys or not, the
Sox offense is in hiding. This was also my first chance to see Scott
Podsednik back in a
Sox uniform. It was nice from a nostalgia point of view, but he is not the answer in center. He got some bad jumps on a couple of balls, but one
baserunning gaff by the Pirates helped bail him out. His throw to third did not have a lot of heat on it, but he gets an assist anyway. I hope that I will see him next weekend in Toledo when I see the Knights play there.
Too many negatives. The Sox had some positives on Sunday. Mark Buehrle pitched out of a lot
of trouble to be in position to win. He gave up 12 hits, but only gave up the one run in the first. Alexei Ramirez made a couple very nice plays in the field. He made a nice stop and throw to second to start a double play in the 5th. He also made a nice cut off throw to first to catch Moss in the sixth. He went 1-3 on the day with a SAC bunt. Hopefully he is coming around. Chris Getz had another rough day at the plate, but made a nice catch on a line drive, then threw to second to get a double play to end the 3rd. I have already mentioned Anderson’s big day. Josh Fields also drove in a run, going 1-3. The best thing that I can take from the game is that Carlos Quentin was playing again. He hit a double and scored. He is the key to this team. He is the young cog that could keep the power going for many years to come. We want him in left as much as possible.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 