Red Sox Adrian Beltre greets teammate Bill Hall
after the latter's home run vs. the Angels
(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
On a night that Satan (Miroslav) scored a goal in a hockey playoff game, the Boston Red Sox dealt the Angels an ignominious blow by pounding out a 17-8 win against their West Coast rivals. In the process, they accumulated 20 hits (including four home runs) and even erased two guys (one pickoff, one caught stealing) on the bases. Truly, something otherworldly seemed to be taking place.
Unless you count Adrian Betre’s sixth error on the young season, or Scott Schoeneweis’ two-walk, four-run ninth inning debacle, or Clay Buchholz giving up four runs and eight hits in less than six innings (albeit after taking a line drive off his left ankle) …
It’s hard to know just how to interpret last night’s results. Was it a sign that the Nation’s long nightmare is over, or was it merely a statistical inevitability that means nothing in the long term scheme of things? After all, even the 1962 New York Mets won 40 games, and – as it is said – even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.
Satisfying though the win may have been, it is not cause for unbridled celebration in the streets – any more than the club’s recently poor play is cause to head immediately to the edge of the Tobin Bridge. This team is suffering from significant injury (see Cameron, Mike and Ellsbury, Jacoby), slump (Ortiz, David), and roster imbalance (Lowell, Mike; Wakefield, Tim; and Matsuzaka, Daisuke), and there is little now to be done but play through it and see what happens. I mean, Jason Bay isn’t walking through that door.
Last night, the sellout crowd was given something to cheer about. Tonight, it could be silenced before the first half-inning is completed. Either way, let’s be sure to count the blessings the baseball gods have given us: fine weather, a historic ballpark, and a recent history of success that fans in 30 other cities can only pray for.
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