Trio
| Game 13: April 20, 2009 | |||
| Orioles | 1 | L: Mark Hendrickson (1-2) | 6-7, 5 game losing streak |
 Red Sox | 12 | W: Justin Masterson (1-0) H: Manny Delcarmen (1) | 7-6, 5 game winning streak |
| Highlights: The Red Sox and Bruins have been hogging all the sports goodwill of late. They need to pass some over to the Celtics, who are down 0-1 in their series against the Bulls and went into the second half trailing. The Bruins are tied 2-2 in the second period. I’m far from a knowledgeable hockey fan, and I admit I was somewhat swayed into watching some matches by the clever commercials they have been airing. “But she’s so pretty....” | |||
The Red Sox don’t need cutesy advertisements to fire up their fan base. A sold out crowd of 37,865 showed up for 11:00 AM baseball on a weekday.
(As I type this the Bruins went ahead 3-2 and the Celtics took the lead! Must. Keep. Writing.)
Dustin Pedroia had as many hits today as Ray Allen had points in the first game. Allen is turning it around tonight, however.
Speaking of turnarounds, reports of Jason Varitek’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. He is tied with Jason Bay, J.D. Drew, and Kevin Youkilis for the team lead in homers.
As for team leaders, David Ortiz is tied with Bay and Drew for triples thanks to his sixth-inning, two-run shot just over Felix Pie’s reach. Pie looks so much like Alfonso Soriano in build, but the former is a much better outfielder. Rare is the ball hawk that could have made a play on Ortiz’s fly, however. After the ball caromed off the wall and bounded towards right, Pie gave chase but not before he looked back at the wall accusatorially.
Of hockey, baseball, and basketball I think hockey can be the most dangerous. Start with a six ounce disc of rubber flying 100 miles an hour or more, throw in hockey sticks swung in proximity of other players, and add the metal blades of skates and you have a lethal trio. In baseball you have balls no more than five and a quarter ounces thrown at speeds up to 100 MPH and batted back faster, shattering bats, and collisions with various and sundry outfield fences.
(The Bruins pulled ahead 4-2, but the Celtics lost the lead. Come on, Bruins, share your fortune.)
Basketball seems to be the most collegial of the sports. There are no more than 10 men on the court at a time and the only instruments the players to achieve their goal are their bodies, minds, and teamwork. Hockey has six men to a side but with deadly implements, cold-induced grumpiness, and indigestion due to lack of dentition to properly chew food.
Baseball is the most lonely team sport of them all. Mano a mano, pitcher against batter. The clock couldn’t, wouldn’t save Mark Hendrickson, Dennis Sarfate, or Radhames Liz as Red Sox batters piled on run after run. In baseball, each at bat is a match of wills subject only to desire, not to a timekeeper.
Time ran out for the Candiens on their home ice and the Bruins triumphed 4-2.
The clock killed the Bulls. With 12 seconds left and no timeouts the Celtics held possession. Rajon Rondo dribbled until the clock drained to 3 seconds and then passed the ball to Ray Allen. The shooting guard nailed the game-winning three-pointer with two ticks left, making the score 118-115.
It was a good day today.
