and the thunder rolled

i'm not going to lie. Lestah's starts scare me. you just never know what that boy is going to bring to the mound. take, for instance, the difference between last night's start and game two in Japan. not that i am complaining about last night, mind you. just wish he could pitch more consistently like last night. last night was the kind of outing that lives up to all the hype the front office gushes about him.

not that yesterday afternoon's game was without any frustrations. like the not once but TWICE loading the bases with not a single run scored. at least the third time they were full, we got two runs across. Lord, does it drive me up the wall when we abandon bases full of runners. especially when three are on with no outs.

and then, no sooner do i say Papi is having a "Manny start" to the season (three games in without a single hit for Ortiz) than we hear some noise from Papi's bat. he gets his first hit of the season & follows it with an encore two-run homer thundering from the park in his next at bat. and just like that, the Sox are cookin' instead of playing out game two in Japan, which has been a recurring nightmare of sorts over the last two seasons: pitcher struggles & the bats go dead and everything goes right to hell in a handbasket.

(photo from Yahoo! Sports)

i know it drives some of you out of your ever-loving minds when Manny admires... a long fly out. but i have to tell you, when he stood between home & first, slack-jawed, i had to laugh. i don't think Manny does it to be obnoxious. i think he really does think the ball is just gone, because that expression of bewilderment on his face that it was an out said it all. the announcers got it right: people grumble about Manny admiring his work, especially fans from opposing teams, but it you don't like it? do something about it. strike him out. don't let him make contact with that ball. because if Manny does get a hold of one, you are gambling that it stays in the park. he wouldn't have 491 home runs if none of them actually left the park, ya know? ;-)

on the topic of things known to drive people crazy, Cora campaigned for SS with two nice plays to first, a beautiful catch in the sixth (that Lugo would have missed) & a good day at the plate (a walk, hit by a pitch & two singles). and if that isn't enough to sell you on Alex Cora, how about: "I had a National League GM tell me late in spring training that Alex Cora was "the best 10th man in baseball." "I think teams would fall over each other to get to him," said the GM. "He does a nice job in the middle infield. He can hit. He's smart. Like having another coach around." (Extra Bases) i truly do believe that Cora should start walking the baseline between second & third with a picket sign. i would walk with him. Cora for SS!

we rounded out the game with a solo shot for the Cap'n and a new record for Youk at first with 194 consecutive games at first without an error. YOOOOOUK!

so Matsuzaka won Tuesday night & Lestah won Wednesday, leaving us 3-1 for the Oakland series. you will notice i have no commentary for Tuesday's game. it is a testament of my love for this little girl

and how much i wanted to meet this little boy

that i missed the first Sox game on American soil for 2008. and now there is no game tonight, and i have no plans. =P i have plans Friday through Monday now though, and of course there will be games (well not on Monday, but Friday, Saturday & Sunday, anyway.you can *bet* i will be camped on my couch for Tuesday's home opener, praying it doesn't get snowed out!). i'm not complaining though. we're playing ball. and *winning*. and it's baseball season. life is good.