Fair
| Game 10: April 10, 2008 | |||
| Tigers | 6 | L: Nate Robertson (0-1) | 1-8, 2 game losing streak |
 Red Sox |
12 | W: Tim Wakefield (1-0) H: Manny Delcarmen (1) H: Hideki Okajima (1) S: Jonathan Papelbon (3) |
5-5, 2 game winning streak |
| Highlights: The bullpen guys are a tight-knit group. Even this season they continue to pound out rhythms from their dwelling near the bleachers. But are they so bound to one another that Julian Tavarez would allow three runs in the eighth to score so Papelbon could get his third save of the season? I wouldn’t put it past “dumb like a fox” Tavarez. | |||
The Bruins took over NESN because they squeaked into the playoffs, so I was forced to watch the game in non-HD format.
Even without high definition, however, I did have an issue with second base umpire Greg Gibson’s call of Coco Crisp’s hit in the fourth inning. The replay showed that the ball bounced in the fair territory beyond first then hit the foul pole. After hitting the foul pole, it wasn’t touched by a fan, so the ball should not have been called dead because the foul pole is an extension of the foul line.
Instead, Crisp was granted a ground-rule double because of fan interference. If the call had been correct perhaps both Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew would have crossed the plate for Crisp rather than just Youkilis.
Gibson may have still been reeling from the play just prior where Manny Ramirez ran through DeMarlo Hale’s stop sign to score on Drew’s single to shallow right. To see Ramirez motor around the horn to score his team’s first run of the game was simply that much of a spectacle that it skewed everyone’s view of reality for a few minutes.
Without Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney as the bridge from starter to closer Todd Jones, the Tigers bullpen has been reminiscent of the Orioles 2007 ragtag band of relievers. Between them, Zach Miner, Francis Beltran, and Yorman Bazardo allowed eight runs to score in the final two innings.
Youkilis took his first baseman Gold Glove credentials to the hot corner and with the second batter of the game proved that he has not lost his Midas touch at third. He flawlessly barehanded a grounder off the bat of Placido Polanco and fired it across the diamond. I think he should showboat at first and catch all put-outs thrown at him sans glove.
Speaking of dashing defensive play, Kevin Cash has filled in for Doug Mirabelli without a hitch. His slightly off-kilter crouch enables him to pounce after stray knucklers, which he did to great effect in the top of third. Cash snatched a butterfly out of thin air with Carlos Guillen at the dish and the bases loaded. Two pitches later Guillen popped out to short, disaster and yet another Mirabelli stint with the Red Sox averted (some would say the former equates to the latter and they would have a fair point).
Despite injuries to Mike Lowell and Alex Cora, Boston carries momentum and a .500 record into a three-game series against the Yankees, who hold the same win-loss tally. I’ll be at tonight’s tie-breaking game, cheering on Clay Buchholz as he faces New York ace Chien-Ming Wang.
