the night of the naughty bats

so. all the hype about Matsuzaka facing Ichiro, and in the end, that wasn't what mattered at all. Ichiro never got a hit & it wasn't him that beat the Sox.

photo from the Boston Globe

what spelled out Boston's demise were these two guys: King Felix (who, going into this game, was the only pitcher to have a better first 2007 start than Matsu) and Johjima (the former Japanese player that *didn't* get all the attention, but made it on base three times last night).

photo from ESPN.com

the fact is, i am not at all disappointed in Matsuzaka's performance. his line from last night, while not as stellar as his first outing, could have easily won many other games. it's just very difficult to top a complete game shut out from the opposing pitcher -- and it did not help matters when, as i feared after Tuesday night's slugfest, the bats were hung over from all their partying & didn't show up to face someone the caliber of Felix Hernandez.

photo from ESPN.com
what we did learn is that Matsuzaka can field as well as pitch. probably feels he needs to what with Julio Lugo goofing off behind him. =P the way he reached up & grabbed that ball & tossed it neatly over to Youk saved a base hit. i can't wait to see what other talents he has as he gets himself familiar with MLB!

no matter what you saw last night, hold onto your hats. because this *will* be back! i mean, c'mon. it's not like he got beaten by Carl Pavano or Jason Johnson or something. =P

photo from the Boston Herald

i would like to say that maybe last night's major offensive suckage will mean that Wakey might actually get some love from the bats since they should be feeling well-rested but... this forecast is not boding well for any ball today at Fenway. =/
Snow with a chance of rain this morning...then rain this afternoon. Rain may be heavy at times this afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation. Highs in the lower 40s. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph this afternoon. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. Tonight: Cloudy. Rain in the evening...then a chance of rain and snow showers after midnight. Little or no snow accumulation. Lows in the mid 30s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph... Becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
Lucky 49 just cannot catch a break... ::sigh:: and to quote Nichole, "Global warming my ass."

in other baseball news, seems Mike Mussina might not be available for at least one start, which i am sure is the last thing they wanted to hear in New York. followed by the words "strained left hamstring." just one more reason for the Evil Empire to try to get The Rocket back into pinstripes, huh?

and the Reds benched 3B Encarnacion for not running out a pop fly. three thoughts on this: A) i am kind of glad to see that somewhere there are teams that hold their players to higher standards. 2) good thing we don't employ this tactic in Boston, because we wouldn't ever have Manny or Papi available to us. and D) why do i even care about some player for the Reds? because of course he would happen to be on my Fantasy Baseball team. of all the dumb luck... =P