Red Sox 7, Twins 6 (F)
Posted on March 1st, 2008 – 1:34 PMBy Joe Christensen
FORT MYERS — Some sights and sounds from Hammond Stadium:
(*) Jon Lester and fellow LHP Michael Tejera have combined to allow seven walks in three innings for the Red Sox. It’s been a case of decent pitch selection for the Twins, but mostly it seems like those two couldn’t find the plate with GPS.
(*) LF Delmon Young has his first outfield assist, after throwing out Alex Cora at second base to end the second inning. Young also took the first six pitches he saw for balls (drawing a first-inning walk to load the bases) before ripping a run-scoring single in the second.
(*) Carlos Gomez singled to lead off the first inning and stole second base on the next pitch. He got a great jump and was safe by several feet. All impressive. And you read all about his arm last night.
But sitting here now, I’m having a hard time getting past the huge swings and misses he’s had in his second two plate appearances — a sacrifice fly, and a grounder to third. Seriously, his swing is so big, it’s almost cartoonish.
Anyway, he seems like the definition of raw talent. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
(*) Jonathan Papelbon is on to face the Twins’ 2-3-4 (Mauer, Young, Morneau) in the fourth inning. … Morneau grounded into his second inning-ending double play of the game but stung the ball this time.
(*) I wondered how tough the New York papers would be on Johan Santana after he gave up three first-inning runs to the Cardinals on Friday in his spring debut. Here’s the New York Post’s headline, “JO’ NO!”
(*) Brian Duensing was pulled from the game after being struck on the left foot/ankle area with a comebacker. Duensing was getting close to his pitch limit anyway after tossing 1 1/3 innings. Carmen Cali entered with the bases loaded and walked the first two batters he faced. Ugh.
(*) Jason Pridie replaced Gomez in center field for the fifth inning and has looked good running back on two fly balls. Pridie bounced back to the pitcher in his first at-bat.
(*) Dusty Brown led off the eighth inning with a home run off Kevin Mulvey, tying the score 6-6. Then, Brandon Moss hit a run-scoring single, putting Boston back in front.
Now that the Twins have blown a 6-3 lead, this seems an appropriate time to mention the starting pitcher they’ll be facing in that B-game Monday on the other side of town: Josh Beckett.
8 Responses to "Red Sox 7, Twins 6 (F)"
Can you guys go down to the dugout and tell Gardy to let RedDog leave. He has to pick up his wife from the airport at 3:30 and this game is dragging…
Santana, we’re told, wanted to play in New York. Oooook. After all the years of pampering at the hands of the Twin Cities’ sportswriters, JS is really in for a rude awakening. Talk about culture shock. He’s coming in as the man who supposed to guarantee there is not another collapse, a huge burden even for the best left hander in baseball. Given that JS habitually starts off slow, when combined with the ridiculous expectations it is entirely likely that his first couple of months in New York will be hell on earth.
Joe.
That has been something I noticed in the videos I’ve seen of Gomez swing. It’s fast as heck, but it’s pretty outrageous.
How long do you think it will take for him to work that out?
Wow, the lefties have been less than stellar so far this spring for MN.
Lots of control problems.
Quote of the day March 1
“The best athlete in the organization is Austin Jackson. He moves better than LaDanian Tomlinson.”
- Reggie Jackson
interesting to see the Lester/Ellsbury Mulvey/Gomez comparisons in this game… I think that the scale leans towards the Twins…
Funkytown, are you sure you’re talking about the right club? I mean, both MN starting pitchers today were lefties.
Outside of Hernandez, I am very impressed with the Twins pitching this spring. OK, Guerrier gave up 3 hits in one inning today, but he’s a RIGHT hander.
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