Once More Into the Breach

I 'borrowed' the above picture from the gentlemen over at Surviving Grady and I'm presenting it here as a service to any of my readers who are:
a) Red Sox fans that...
b) didn't see the game last night and...
c) may not comprehend what the image on the right depicts.

Which would be understandable since the image depicts defense, something the Red sox have been a little short of recently. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday afternoon the Orioles bitchslapped the Red Sox again in the first game of a day/night doubleheader. The Red Sox sent Abe Alvarez to the mound, who according to some posters at Sons of Sam Horn, is legally blind in one eye.

Fuck me if I'm kidding - I couldn't make that shite up. The Red Sox called up a one-eyed pitcher from AA. The results were predictable; Alavarez, who tops out in the mid-eighties and is a control pitcher, was roughed up to the tune of five runs over five innings, with 2 strikeouts and 5 walks. Red Sox batters responded by remaining ineffective, getting only 3 runs from 11 hits, 2 of those RBIs coming from a Millar homer. When Mendoza trotted out of the bullpen, you knew the game was over.

But a funny thing happened in the second game - the Red Sox showed signs of life. Of competitiveness. In the first inning Dave McCarty, throwing from left field, cut down Brian Roberts at home plate. Defense, at last. And for shits and giggles, McCarty went 2 for 3 at bat, driving in 2, while fellow newbie Kevin Youkilis also went 2 for 3, with a homerun for good measure. While the entire top half of the batting order put up a string of 0 fors (though Manny did get his 79th RBI), the bottom half powered the offense. Just the other day my dad was claiming that 'if the Sox get to the World Series it'll be because of a bunch of rookies and unknowns.' I thought the old man was having flashbacks to the Impossible Dream of 67, but maybe he's on to something. I'd certainly like to see more playing time for Kapler, McCarty and Youkilis.

I haven't even touched on Wakefield's performance. I love this guy. He's been around forever, done whatever the team has asked - started, relieved, closed - and seems to have a knack for coming up big when the team needs it. After giving up 10 earned runs in his last two starts (which lasted only a total of 10 innings) Wake held the Birds scoreless for 7 innings yesterday, on a day when the team desperately needed a strong outing from their starter and some rest for their bullpen.

Now the Yankees are in town, and I'm wondering which Red Sox team will show to play - the one that made the most of Wake's start or the one that threw away Arroyo's? Because I know which Yankees team will ahow up. You can hate the Yankees, like I do. You can look at Jeter's cold lifeless eyes and think 'there's a man with a dead hooker in his trunk,' like I do. But if you're the least bit honest, you have to respect the Yankees. They come to play. They come to win. They are professionals, in every sense of the word, a tone that is set by Joe Torre:

Torre can be their friend, but he's their manager first, and everyone knows it. There are no shenanigans in the dugout. Nobody's asking to go home. You don't see A-Rod or Jeter sitting out key games, and both have had legitimate reasons to do so at times this season.

There are rules. There is still no facial hair allowed below the lip. Players and coaches must dress in suitcoats and ties on the road. Torre does not allow music in the clubhouse before or after games.

So let the ancient feud begin yet again. And let us hope that yesterday's performance was not another flash-in-the-pan by a team that has disappointed time and time again this year.