Great win for the Sox. A shaky start by Arroyo but he’s picked up by the bats and escapes with no decision. A monster home run by Manny, key hits by Bellhorn and fan-favorite Pokey Reese and great, OK, perfect relief by Timlin all help get it done.
Warning: here comes a serious rant. So, both kids end up out of the house and the wife and I sneak down to a local bar to watch a few innings and eat some pizza. The game is tied when Manny comes up in the eighth. He swings at a hanging breaking ball and hits a no-doubter over everything. A few tables over sit a couple of 50ish guys, one of their wives, and apparently one of their mothers. One of the guys says, “It’s about time”. I cringe and look over to see the blasphemer taking a dainty sip from what appears to be a glass of fine merlot. Then he comments, “Well, he hasn’t been hitting so great, he needed that”.
Now I don’t expect everyone to be as passionate and statistically aware of the players as I am, but Manny hasn’t been hitting? He entered the game at .357 (4th in AL) with 9 HR’s and 26 RBI. If you’re trying to impress your wine-drinking friends and your mother (my condolences if that was your wife), stick to talking mutual funds or bowling or something. I later heard him mention something about Bill Mueller (he pronounced it mew-ler), so maybe it was just the merlot talking.
Notes:
Yankees lose, Jeter goes 1-for-4, bringing his average to a lofty .194.
Mulder took a no-hitter into the seventh and completed the shut-out with a 3-hitter.
The Blue Jay that took out Dinardo at first (I forget if it was Hinske, Gomez or Pond, I was so enthralled with the conversation across the room) can expect a little “reminder” from Pedro on why you don’t do things like that.
