Yeah, anyone that doubted that the Red Sox got the best young right-handed pitcher in baseball (OK, maybe 1B next to 1A Jake Peavey of San Diego), I am ready to take you on. Other than a momentary loss of concentration against Miguel Tejada in the first inning, Josh Beckett was plain and simply as unhittable as circa 1998 Pedro Martinez.
In the first, Beckett nearly got wiped out by the umpire calling time in the middle of his wind-up with the count 1-2 with two outs in the first inning (I always completed my motion and threw a strike anyway, as one time in Little League the idiot kid backed out of the box without calling time and the umpire was bright enough to call it a strike, which led to the kid crying like a baby while his mother sat behind home plate and harassed the umpire: ahh, the memories!). Anyway, Beckett was a just a bit upset. Add in a 2-2 fastball clocked at 97 MPH that looked like it was right on the inside corner, and it is no wonder that Beckett gave up that line-drive homer (which, truth be told, would have been a single at Fenway).
No worries, as Beckett just mowed down the Orioles mercilessly the rest of the night while the Sox broke out the bats and blew out Baltimore 11-1.
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INSOMNIA CURES:
Hey, I love the Boston Sports Guy (just who is this imposter who lives in L.A. anyway on ESPN.com going by the name of Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, anyway?) but his recent page 2 column (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060512) which was his running diary of listening to the Mike & the Mad Dog show on WFAN 660 in New York ranked of cheap advertising. I used to occasionally listen to Mike and the Mad Dog waaaaaaay back in the day (my Dad & I listened to static-filled AM radio from New York when it was the only place to hear Don Imus and listen to sports talk radio all day and night), but doing a running diary of the show is just silly. Granted, I will be the first to tell you that this little blog of mine is far from ESPN.com Page 2 material, but a running diary of a radio show simulcast? The most interesting part of the article was when he wrote about leaving the room to make a tuna fish sandwich.
Truth be told, Simmons is the Godfather of all sports bloggers, a legend, the myth, the one who started out small potatoes and ended up with all-expense paid trips to Vegas paid for by ESPN/ABC/Disney. We ALL pray for that kind of break. Unfortunately, I have a life outside of writing a blog, drinking coffee at Dunkin Donuts, and reading the USA Today sports section (he reads it because it is chock-full of crap about Western Conference NBA action, it is the only reason I can imagine). I HATE calling him out since it is apparently the big trend: trashing the sell-out Sports Guy who we are all secretly insanely jealous. I admit it, between him and Gregg Easterbrook (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) at ESPN.com, Peter King & Dr. Z. at SI.com, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch, Chad Finn at Touching All the Bases, and Mike Reiss at the Herald and now the Globe, I received the impetus to start my own blog here at BostonSportPage.com (OK, it was my wife who actually kicked my rear-end and made me do it, but I thinks she just took pity on Brigs, Chazer, and the rest of the guys who had to get this crap in their e-mail boxes on a regular basis).
Anyway, rambling point at last: Simmons is awesome. He just was not awesome on this occasion (and he writes too much about the NBA! No one East of the Rockies cares about the Clippers, the Spurs, the Mavs, the Suns, or anyone else in the Western Conference!).
* * *
In the first, Beckett nearly got wiped out by the umpire calling time in the middle of his wind-up with the count 1-2 with two outs in the first inning (I always completed my motion and threw a strike anyway, as one time in Little League the idiot kid backed out of the box without calling time and the umpire was bright enough to call it a strike, which led to the kid crying like a baby while his mother sat behind home plate and harassed the umpire: ahh, the memories!). Anyway, Beckett was a just a bit upset. Add in a 2-2 fastball clocked at 97 MPH that looked like it was right on the inside corner, and it is no wonder that Beckett gave up that line-drive homer (which, truth be told, would have been a single at Fenway).
No worries, as Beckett just mowed down the Orioles mercilessly the rest of the night while the Sox broke out the bats and blew out Baltimore 11-1.
* * *
INSOMNIA CURES:
Hey, I love the Boston Sports Guy (just who is this imposter who lives in L.A. anyway on ESPN.com going by the name of Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, anyway?) but his recent page 2 column (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060512) which was his running diary of listening to the Mike & the Mad Dog show on WFAN 660 in New York ranked of cheap advertising. I used to occasionally listen to Mike and the Mad Dog waaaaaaay back in the day (my Dad & I listened to static-filled AM radio from New York when it was the only place to hear Don Imus and listen to sports talk radio all day and night), but doing a running diary of the show is just silly. Granted, I will be the first to tell you that this little blog of mine is far from ESPN.com Page 2 material, but a running diary of a radio show simulcast? The most interesting part of the article was when he wrote about leaving the room to make a tuna fish sandwich.
Truth be told, Simmons is the Godfather of all sports bloggers, a legend, the myth, the one who started out small potatoes and ended up with all-expense paid trips to Vegas paid for by ESPN/ABC/Disney. We ALL pray for that kind of break. Unfortunately, I have a life outside of writing a blog, drinking coffee at Dunkin Donuts, and reading the USA Today sports section (he reads it because it is chock-full of crap about Western Conference NBA action, it is the only reason I can imagine). I HATE calling him out since it is apparently the big trend: trashing the sell-out Sports Guy who we are all secretly insanely jealous. I admit it, between him and Gregg Easterbrook (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) at ESPN.com, Peter King & Dr. Z. at SI.com, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch, Chad Finn at Touching All the Bases, and Mike Reiss at the Herald and now the Globe, I received the impetus to start my own blog here at BostonSportPage.com (OK, it was my wife who actually kicked my rear-end and made me do it, but I thinks she just took pity on Brigs, Chazer, and the rest of the guys who had to get this crap in their e-mail boxes on a regular basis).
Anyway, rambling point at last: Simmons is awesome. He just was not awesome on this occasion (and he writes too much about the NBA! No one East of the Rockies cares about the Clippers, the Spurs, the Mavs, the Suns, or anyone else in the Western Conference!).
* * *
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