Wow.
Is there anything else we can say this morning, after the Sox unloaded the hurt on the Texas Rangers for the second straight evening, busting out a staggering twenty-one hits and fourteen runs?
It almost doesn’t make any sense, the way these guys are hitting. It’s like they’ve been belted with gamma rays. Of course, it’s going to end at some point. There’ll be a levelling off… a return to normalcy. There has to be, right? Not that I hope it ends, but… for the love of god, it has to at some point, doesn’t it?
We all know Manny hits like he’s from another planet. It’s understood. But the guy is absolutely crushing the ball these days. Four hits last night. Two of them were home runs, and, god help us, it’s getting to where you can almost call’em. In the second inning, Manny vs. Kenny Rogers. Sox are down by a run. Nomar’s on base. It’s a full count. I was thinking home run. I knew it was going to be home run. And so did you. We all knew the next pitch was going to be deposited somewhere on the other side of the fence. I almost wanted to call Rogers’ mother, kids and wife, and beg them to shut off their sets for a brief moment, to look away while this next pitch is thrown because the guy at the plate has been taking care of business and his business is hitting the stuffing out of the ball when his team needs it most and we need it now and it’s coming and you can’t stop it so if you love this guy on the mound, you’ll look away and let it happen and try not to notice the pain on Kenny’s mug when he realizes he’s just been taken deep by the single best hitter in the American League.
To think there was a time when we used to count on Manny and Ortizzle to carry the offense. Now everyone’s getting in on the act. Johnny Damon? This guy’s clearly been replaced with some sort of Robo-Damon. Another three hits last night. Four more for Nomar. Four for Bellhorn. Three for McCarty. Two for Tek.
As for D-Lowe. Well, he could have gone bughouse after that second inning, when Texas scored six times. But he didn’t. And while it wasn’t his prettiest performance, he kept Texas off the board for the next five innings. So he gets a cookie.
Before this homestand began, I prayed the Sox could at least take 4 of 6. With Rogers pitching last night, I was willing to concede the game. But then, after just one and two-thirds innings, the Sox knocked Mr. 12-2 out of the game. So now I’m greedy. I want it all. The sweep. All 6 games of the homestand in pocket. The perfect note to end the first half of the season on. It won’t make the Yankees lose a lot of sleep… but it will at least remind them that the team that almost kept them from last year’s World Series has serious designs on being a thorn in their sack for the rest of this season.
