Empyreal Environs

Game 43: May 22, 2005
Braves (24-19), 2
Red Sox (25-18), 5
L: Roman Colon (0-1)
W: Matt Clement (5-0)

There are so many ways to make fun of the losing pitcher’s name. So many glorious and perverse means to twist his cognomen into something amusing. However, because my given names are similarly manipulable, I won’t descend to that level of mockery. In fact, I felt a bit of empathy for Colon as he was brought into the 5th inning after John Smoltz gave up 2 runs. He wasn’t able to stem the tide in the 6th, with Johnny Damon hitting a leadoff single, David Ortiz doubling, and Manny Ramirez homering on the first pitch he threw.

On the good guys side, Clement threw his first complete game this season. In fact, it was the first complete game for the Red Sox in 2005. He had 4 hits, 2 earned runs, no walks, and 7 strikeouts. When Clement has no bases on balls, you know that he is dealing some nasty action and/or that the batters are being too aggressive. He threw only 110 pitches, 76 of which were strikes, giving him a strike percentage of 69%.

I’m still not quite sure what I think of interleague play yet. I am sure, however, that ESPN annoys me because they seem to have a lacuna of knowledge when it comes to the history of the Braves franchise, which most people know were originally in Boston. ESPN had a poll on the non-traditional rivalries and included Atlanta/Boston along with Arizona/Detroit, Colorado/Pittsburgh, and Washington/Toronto. Quite a shoddy job considering that the club formerly known as the Beaneaters had a rich history in Massachusetts. The Boston National League team had luminaries such as Babe Ruth, Rabbit Maranville, Bill James (not that one), Jim Thorpe, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, and Eddie Mathews on their roster. I think I’ll buy the ESPN factcheckers this book so that I won’t be so aggravated by them.