Boston Red Sox 2, Texas Rangers 1
You can't catch me 'cause the rabbit gone diedGet pumped! Get crazy! I want riots in the streets people! I want cars turned over, structure fires and broken glass. I want every city and every town to look like Detroit on a Friday night. I want a mass of totally whacked-out people jumping up and down celebrating the Josh Beckett era in Boston. You want fist pumps? He brings em. You need angry words yelled at the ground? That’s gonna happen. How about some psyced up teammates? Schilling has you and Beckett covered. You want to see lots of applesauce consumed between innings? He does that too (what was that by the way?). Beckett brings it all to the table and then clears and does dishes afterwards. It’s a sight to behold.
After a rough first inning (1 run on 3 hits and a passed ball) he settled down and threw 109 pitches of gas and nails mixed with beef jerky and TNT. Beckett was great through 7, but the Rangers starter Kameron “Don’t call me Derek” Loe had all the Sox batters completely fooled with his nasty sinker. It was unbearable watching guys flail away and wasting the amazing performance by Beckett. I was pulling my hair out. I mean Kameron Loe??? He sounds like a bad guy on a daytime soap opera.
“Damn you Kameron! I don’t love you… I love your identical amnesiac twin Walter.”
“Well too bad Angela. While you were in that coma… I had Walter killed! HAHAHA!!!”
Whatever. They still couldn’t touch him. The Papi/Manny combo had no hits and one walk between them. Besides a wasted (but amazing) Coco Crisp triple, it wasn’t till the 7th when Loe started to waiver that Nixon managed to hit a 2 run shot. A small lead that would prove hard to maintain.
Beckett was followed by a still slightly rusty Mike Timlin, who quickly had a man on first and second with only one out. Then some reverse karma. Kevin Mench singled to left field and the Rangers third base coach (surprisingly NOT Dale Sveum) sends Mark Teixeira around from second. Manny throws a strike to Lowell who gets it to Tek with plenty of time. OUT! Day is saved, Timlin gets out of it and on to the 9th… here comes Foulke… deep breaths.
Wait a sec… Foulke is not taking his sweatshirt off. Jon Paplebon has been warming since the 8th and looks ready to go. What’s happening??
It seems like when it’s close, late and the Red Sox are winning, Papelbon will have the baseball. This time it worked. No hits, walks, runs or drama. Just 3 outs (2 strikeouts) and fist pumps from Paps and Beckett. What a win for Beckett and what a save for Paps.
The only damper on a win this good was the icy stare from Foulke in the bullpen. A page has been turned. As of today Paps is the #1 guy. Maybe it’s a temporary thing while Foulke slowly regains his composure. Maybe Foulke will see action in 2-3 run save situations. Maybe it will change back in the next few weeks. Maybe not. He said all the right stuff in the after interviews. Said he was a “member of the Red Sox” and thats all that mattered, but we know better. I saw his face when he was ready to go and someone else took his job. As of now he’s a set up guy. A Timlin, a DiNardo, a Seanez (shudder). How will this affect his emotions? Only time and his ERA will tell.
GO SOX.
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