Bronx Bombing
July 4, 2008
What ever happened to “Thank God we’re playing a series against Tampa Bay” or “Oh no, not a trip to the Bronx”? With the Red Sox coming off a series in which they were swept by the team with the best record in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays, and heading into a series against the sub par New York Yankees, things were a little twisted in Red Sox Nation. Classify Thursday night’s game as the reviving game of the 2008 season for the Red Sox.
With Boston being losers of five straight games in the Yankees coming off a game in which they plated a grand total of eighteen runs, being able to shutout the Bronx Bombers was a win in it’s own aside from the win added to the win column. There had been too much talk in the media outside of Boston about the Rays this past week that all of a sudden people seemed to have forgotten how good the Red Sox really are. If you caught even two seconds of Sports Center you would have thought that the Rays had already clinched the division just because the Red Sox were three and a half games out of first place.
Well, Jon Lester and the boys from Boston have some news for you, this race is far from over. I can’t remember seeing the home run derby, I have no recollection of the 2008 All Star game. Chances are that’s because they didn’t happen yet. We play 162 games for a reason and sure the Rays are good but do they have any idea what it’s like to grind out a full 162 game season? History is going to have to go ahead and say “no way” to that one. When you play in one of the most competitive divisions in baseball and you are somewhere in the 15-20 games back range by the All Star break every year, a certain “mailing it in” factor comes into play.
The thing that scares Red Sox fans the most is that this Rays team is young, they’re hungry and they have absolutely nothing to lose. The thing that scares “Rays fans” and I put that in quotations for a reason that I’m sure you are well aware of if you’re reading this is the fact that Boston never quits. There are too many expectations, too much pride and most importantly, too much talent for this team to not succeed. The New York Yankees saw this resurgence of Red Sox life come full circle in game one of this four game set in the Bronx.
The Red Sox set out to make a statement and that they did. The scoring began right away in the top of the first and once the Red Sox put a strangle hold on the Bronx Bombers, they did not relinquish their grip for one second all nine innings long. With the perfect mixture of timely hitting, spectacular pitching by Jon Lester and highlight reel defense, the Red Sox made their statement with a 7-0 victory under the brightest lights in the entire state of New York.
Jon Lester hurled his second complete game shutout of the season (first being, you guessed it, the no-hitter) en route to ending the Red Sox five game skid. It took Lester just 105 pitches to blank the Yankees over nine complete innings of work. New York managed to scatter just five hits off of Lester all while the Red Sox lefty punched out eight batters. Also worth noting is Coco Crisp coming back into the lineup after serving his five game suspension for his actions in the Rays/Red Sox brawl. Coco contributed with a 2-for-3 night and accounted for two of Boston’s seven runs.
Andy Pettitte lasted a mere four and two thirds innings against the highly motivated Red Sox offense giving up six runs on nine hits. While we loved to see the offense light up the well known Yankee southpaw, the way Lester was pitching, one run was all it took to bury the Yankees. The Red Sox need to build on this win and keep the ball rolling to stay within reach of first place. With the Rays getting the night off, Boston picked up a half game on Tampa Bay and will look to continue playing aggressively with a winning attitude when they give the ball to Josh Beckett in game two.
-Jared Carrabis
-CARRABIS 13
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