never say never

photo from ESPN.com

1. i think i've figured out where some of my JD Drew aversion comes from. i believe that when i see the "JD," it reminds me of... someone else who has those initials. someone who lost the love of RSN...

2. theory proven: yesterday, i mused about Jon's game face only appearing for Tek. it was missing when he closed Wake's game with Dougie on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, Tek behind the plate, and The Face is back.

3. ho.lee.crap. Julian Tavarez starting against Roy Halladay & the Sox *won*??? i can't fault Julian. he did pretty well, considering a) he's Julian. 2) he pitched on twelve days off. and d) he is our Number Five starter. we might have been losing when he fatigued & had to take a seat, but he didn't leave us in a hopeless situation. that stands for something in my opinion!

4. if Mike Lowell *has* to take a rest every now & then, i have to say, i rather liked our infield yesterday. Hinske has shown he is a worthy back up for Youk at 1B. Pedroia Pocket is winning me over at 2B, if we can't have Mark Loretta over there. ::sniffle:: i have plenty of faith in Youk to play 3B. and the best part? Alex Cora at SS. no Lugo to make me feel somewhat ill. they played reminiscent of last year's Perfect Infield. it made me miss those days, when a ball on the infield never made me worry...

5. speaking of infields. the Jays looked mighty impressive. and i'm a tough sell on infield after the gift i was given as a baseball fan last season.

6. Alex Cora for game MVP! he turned one of the most incredible double plays with bases loaded to keep the Jays from scoring in the eighth. got bowled over doing it & still nailed it right into Hinske's glove at 1B for the second out. (i don't understand why there are *no* photos of this online *anywhere*?!) no way Lugo would have pulled that off. and then there was the triple Cora hit in the ninth, to drive in the go-ahead run. he was a regular little army of one out there, our little Alex. so starts my newest campaign: Cora for SS!

7. for the love of all that is good & sane in this world. what did i say about this never needing to happen again?!


8. whew. Manny *does* actually have a bat. i was starting to think that maybe he sold it on eBay or something. let the home runs start adding up. and soon. like tonight.

9. i cannot imagine Jonathon Papelbon anywhere but as our closer.

10. definition of a great game: when Julio Lugo doesn't touch a glove. or a bat. put him on as a pinch runner in the ninth & let him run like hell. that's the one thing he doesn't seem to screw up & that he doesn't do half-assed.

11. why couldn't King Fleix have suffered his owie elbow *before* playing the Sox??


12. you know... after all the ridicule & criticism Slappy McWhippingboy has taken in NY... i was *almost* starting to be the tiniest bit happy for him, now that he's playing the field like a pro & hitting the ball like he's putting on a David Ortiz impression, while Jeter has been falling all over himself on defense.

but then i was subjected to seeing A-Rod's walkoff home run against the Indians about 387 times in twenty minutes on ESPN last night. and i got over it in a hurry. plus? the Evil Empire descends upon Fenway tonight. there will be no well-wishing for anyone wearing pinstripes. i hope all Sox fans have donned their luckiest gear. we will need all the powers of good to converge -- and the stars to align -- to snuff out the forces of evil. i seem to have only a hazy recollection of last year, but something is nagging at me... that Steinbrenner's evil henchmen are never to be taken lightly... Schilling & Pettitte face off in just over four hours. let the pacing commence!