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Photo: Dustin Pedroia, in Baltimore, 2012. From his Wikipedia page.
It's just one game. But my observations so far:
--You can't ask for more than 7 shutout innings from Buchholz. He struck out 9 and allowed only three hits and a walk. He'll face teams better than the Phillies this year, but he came through in a start in which he had to show he could step up and be the Jon Lester fill-in. He did that.
--And don't miss the work by the unknown starting catcher (with Christian Vazquez on the shelf), Ryan Hanigan. He called a good game and caught a good game, and even had a base hit and a walk.
--Dustin Pedroia, of course, had two homers and two Gold-Glove calibre plays. Good to see that his finger injuries are behind him for the first time in a couple of years.
--And Hanley Ramirez's 2 homers and 5 RBIs, including an Opening Day grand slam.
--And Mookie Betts had a homerun, a walk and a single so far. Experts have picked him to lead the league in runs scored. Let's hope he does.
--Pedroia had seven homers all of last year, and has had two already. Thou shalt not try to sneak a fastball inside on Pedroia.
--Or Mookie Betts, apparently. Also, Mookie Betts has one of the great baseball names today.
--As does umpire Fieldin Culbreth. That's right: Fieldin.
--Pablo Sandoval turned two walks into two outs when he flailed on garbage with a 3-2 count on him each time. He needs to take more and sport a better OBP. But he's clearly a better fielder than Middlebrooks was. I'll say it again as I said it frequently last year and already this year: I do not miss Middlebrooks. Except for how he kept Jenny Dell happy, of course.
--Jenny Dell can do better, by the way. The word is that she's actually a very nice person. She'll talk to anyone, and went to a kid's prom, and didn't just treat it as a publicity stunt. She'll sign and take pics without a problem, too.
--Right, Salad?
--Speaking of Salad, I dedicate this year's blog posts to ya, big guy. Thanks for all the games.
--First up: April 14th, the second Fenway game of the year. Against the Washington Nationals, so I'll probably blog about their pitching staff--the best since the Braves' staffs of the mid-90s.
Middlebrooks may be a mediocre ballplayer, but he might be a terrific guy off the field. Maybe he's a really great boyfriend. How can you presume he's not based on his stats? The same could be said about Jenny Dell not being such a nice person off the field. Most media personnel are wanna be actors. All those pictures and autographs could just be part of her job to appear friendly and gracious.
ReplyDeleteI may sound cynical, but people are not always as they seem unless you really know them...and even then maybe not.
All a fan cares about a ballplayer is his stats and his play on the field. If those aren't good, he's a jerk! Occasional exceptions to this rule are Bonds and A-Rod, though I'll bet you'll find that more fans dislike A-Rod than Bonds. Bonds was a better player, and he never actually got caught--I mean, tested positive--for steroids.
DeleteBut to say Jenny Dell can do better simply because his stats aren't what they should be is a little harsh. In fact, if she was as shallow as I believe her to be then she would leave him for a stronger player. So, I'm actually defending her.
DeleteI forgot to mention (in my slightly bitter remark on Jenny Dell) that I was very happy to see the Sox shut out the opposing team on opening day. Hopefully it's the start of a well played season for them.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing them play in my hometown on Friday.
Me, too. Though, truth be told, it doesn't look good for the Yanks this year. Just this week, their best pitcher, Tanaka, got his butt handed to him, and he's probably headed for Tommy John surgery. This will keep him out for the entire season.
DeleteI think the glory days of the Yankees are far behind. They have gone through many phases through out the years...and right now it's their down time. Jeter leaving last year sort of sealed their fate in the way.
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