Folks, we know we’re living in harsh times when, on the cusp of a three-night showdown with the Yankees, no less than Joel Piniero — yes, Joel Piniero — is going all “Warriors, come out and play” on us, calling for blood as reported in today’s Globe:
“Everybody has been asking me ‘Are you ready for the zoo tomorrow?'” said Red Sox reliever Joel Pineiro, who spent the first seven years of his career with Seattle. “I can’t wait to get out there. I can’t wait to go out there and beat up on the Yankees. … The fans in Boston, they want us to rip their heads off.”
Myself? I see it like that bit in Escape From New York — no pun intended — where Snake Plissken takes on Ox Baker in the death match. The Yanks are monstrous, a truly imposing opponent, especially now that Alex Rodriguez has OD’ed on awesomeness. But if we’re scrappy and resourceful and Coco and Dustin and Tek can provide a couple nasty rabbit punches while the other guy’s asleep at the wheel, we could make a show of it.
Bottom line: As the old adage tels us, good pitching stops good hitting. If it can also stop “f–king phenomenal, otherwordly hitting” then the Sox might just have something of an edge going into this weekend’s series with the Yankees. We couldn’t have stacked the deck any better, with Curt, Beckett and Matsuzaka set to roll. But we’ll need every ounce of blood, sweat and vodka they can spare to shut down that offense.
