Another Good Day?

    Beating the Yankees 7-0 can't get much sweeter than the linescore, but there was a lot to be happy about in this one.

    Beckett goes 6 dominant innings. 2 hits, 8 K's. He was filthy for most of the outing, though he did use a lot of pitches. He was into the 70's in the fourth. Beckett had everything working last night, especially his two-seamer. What a great pitch to have for Teixiera. Beckett had a no-hitter into the fourth, when Pedroia nearly made a patented Pedey play. Going hard to his left, Pedroia got to a ball that was much closer to the right-field line then the second base bag (it was just a few feet away from Youkilis). He did a little hop-up-spin as only Pedroia can, and had the runner dead, but he lost the ball in transition. I know there's been a lot of speculation as to who's the best second baseman in the game, and I know that Kinsler is a great hitter, Hill is a great all-around player, but nobody comes close to making that play. Pedey has got to be the best defensive second baseman in the majors.

    Ortiz goes deep. Very deep. Ortiz took Burnett for a serious ride in the second, putting up a two spot en route to chasing AJ early. This was his most solid homer of the year, not a squeker into the camera well (a feat in itself, to be sure), or a Pesky Pole dinger. This one was a dozen rows back into centerfield. I think I'm starting to regain confidence in the big fellow. He could very well break out here sometime, and there would be no better time than the present. As far as the other hitters go, Bay is struggling a bit right now. He's still driving in runs, but he's hitting .270 something on the year. The .340 average was not to be expected, but Bay is one of the most consistent hitters in the game. If I were to bet on anyones batting average, I'd put money on Bay hitting .280.

    Bard hits 100. Awesome. I think Bard might be smarter than Papelbon with his heat, too. Don't get me wrong, Papelbon blasting 96's by Alex Rodriguez is fun to watch, but A-Rod is a great hitter, and trying to ring him up has burned us in the past. Bard seems to just want outs. Even though he was hitting triple-digits with ease, he was trying to bust A-Rod in, and went after some guys with the breaking ball, eventually getting Cano swinging. This kid is legit.

    Last night's game was the one I had the most confidence in. Beckett is unhittable right now. Tonight I put our chances at exactly 50%. Timmy will be great or get shelled. Maybe he'll be great for 5 innings, then get knocked out. Who knows, but Wang certainly hasn't been inspiring lately, that's for sure. Could be a slugfest.

    Thanks for stopping in,

    -Matt