Sheen
Game 51: May 31, 2005
Orioles (31-20), 1
Red Sox (28-23), 5
L: Daniel Cabrera (4-4)
W: Wade Miller (2-1)
John Olerud shines on the field. Not just his helmet, but the way he plays, too. In the 4th inning he had a gem of a double play, snaring B.J. Surhoff’s line drive and He was also part of the crucial 4-run 5th inning, where he hit a double that scored Jay Payton. Finally, Olerud was on the postgame show with Tom Caron and Jim Rice, sporting a glistening hairstyle and being his low-key self. On all counts, defensively, offensively, and sartorially, he’s outdoing Kevin Millar. Caron mentioned that Olerud’s swing seemed tailor-made for Fenway Park, and the first baseman agreed, saying he feels like Fenway will help his swing. He also mentioned that his father would have him watch certain players when he was growing up:, and one of those was Jim Rice, who at the plate had quiet hands. Last year’s ALCS was even brought up, and Olerud called it a great experience to witness the rivalry first hand, although at the time he was of course disappointed by the outcome. Finally, like every other Discussion on his role: looking for strength on the bench and give Francona options.
Wade Miller got back on track with this outing, his 7 inning line a symmetric 3 walk, 3 strikeout showing with only 1 earned run and 5 hits. After several opportunities to observe his delivery, it isn’t surprising to me that he has had injury issues. Unlike Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, he doesn’t have the leg drive that they generate and seems to rely more on his shoulder and arm for torque. Even Pedro has a way of spinning his upper body and falling off to the side that alevates some of the strain on his arm. At this late stage, it is probably unrealistic to revise Miller’s mechanics, but hopefully with conditioning and judicious management reinjury will not be an issue.
The Mike and Mike show wrapped up the last 3 innings with perfection. M&Ms make friends.
Johnny fought the wall and the wall won. Walls tend to do that. Ask Kevin Brown. Fortunately, Damon only needed stitches and did not suffer a concussion. To this day he still remembers the words they told him after the collision in the 2003 ALDS.
