Game 4

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5

I have a confession to make: I play fantasy baseball. Actually, most of you reading this blog knew that, but it leads to awkward situations. For example: last night, I finally made it to The Riviera Cafe, the accidental Red Sox bar in the Village. I was a mite disappointed, although it's probably because Nikki, Robin and I didn't go down into the bar section - we stayed up in the restaurant, ate some halfway decent food, drank Sangeria and watched the game on two smaller tvs instead of the big screen I was expecting. Pitching for the Blue Jays was young Dave Bush, who is one of the pitchers on my fantasy team. I pitched him because otherwise I would be down a starter and I figured better to hope the Sox don't do too much damage to the guy than to lose the points he might give me. Now, not only does Robin play and not only does he play in my league, but my team is up against his this weekend. So, of course, Robin's got twice as many reasons to pull for the Sox to win and I have just as many reasons to hope for a tie game until after the starter leaves. Didn't quite work that way, but I was definately more relaxed after the fifth inning and Bush's departure.

Arroyo did well, better than the score might indicate. He's still got some control issues, but when those offspeed pitches are, they're nasty. He held the Jays to three runs and after the Sox pulled ahead 6 - 3 in the seventh I figured it was all over. Then Foulke came on in the ninth and had one of those shaky saves that makes you nervous, managing to load the bases and give up two runs before getting that crucial third out. Robin was so aggitated he started jumping up and down, which is pretty amusing when you're in a restaurant where most people are NOT paying attention to the baseball game (although we could hear the cheers and groans from downstairs pretty well), but in the end all's well that ends well.

Terry Francona is home from the hospital resting. His doctors diagnosed the chest tightness as being symptomatic of a virus, not heart problems and he expects to be back in the dugout for the home opener. Good to hear; obviously a dead/sick manager is not the way to go. Ok, that sounds a mite calloused. It's good that he's feeling better, no matter what his role is with the team.

Johnny Damon cut open his left elbow on the score board in The Rogers Centre (the new name for the Skydome) while retrieving an Eric Hinske double, requiring six stitches after the game. He's listed as day to day and is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow. Robin and I noticed the scoreboard, which is located across the middle of the center field wall, last night. Apparently it's made of Plexiglass and sharp bolts. It's ugly and it hurts players. Way to go, Rogers Cable. After last night, the owners have agreed to investigate the issue at least, although I don't understand why they'd want to put the players they've invested money in (like Vernon Wells, who has expressed concern about the scoreboard) at risk to being hurt. GO SOX!!!