One of Surviving Grady’s faithful followers spreading the word.
When I was in Baltimore for the last weekend of the regular season, I saw a few of the players prior to the first game on Saturday. A couple of them were wearing shirts that said “The Time Is Now”. Never were those words more true than tonight.
The question mark is not Bronson Arroyo. He has delivered in every pressure situation he has been put in so far this season. There is no reason to doubt him tonight. The last time he faced the Yankees was September 17th in Yankee Stadium, where he gave up 2 ER on 4 hits in 6 innings. He is home gnawing on roofing nails and washing them down with battery acid in preparation for tonight. All eyes will be on the hitters. Johnny Damon and company must jump on Brown early and often. Put the game out of reach and decimate the bullpen for the rest of the series.
The x-factor will be the crowd. Kevin Brown is not Pedro Martinez. He can be rattled, and it is up to the fans to make that happen. I was at the playoff game against Cleveland when the crowd chanted “Jaaarrr-etttt” incessantly whenever Wright was on the field. He folded. The fans should have been given the win that night. If you are going to the game tonight, and you can still speak tomorrow without feeling like you’re gargling shards of glass, you didn’t do your job.
Personally, I am in my buckskin kilt, war-paint from head to toe and wearing a full head dress and have been doing the Cheyenne Rain Dance since dawn. I want Pedro back on regular rest for game 5. The next time I see Derek Lowe I want it to be in a different uniform, preferably one with a “BK” on the apron as he prepares a flame-broiled burger for me.
In the immortal words of Mayor Menino, Thank you all for coming.