Well, it was worth the wait. The Sox opened the 2009 campaign one day behind schedule, but with results like this I won't complain. Great pitching and some timely hitting overshadow a few miscues on the basepaths and some other less than stellar performances at the plate for a 4-2 Opening Day winner.If all's well that ends well, then you couldn't have scripted today's game much better. Mark Buehrle didn't have his A-game stuff, but he pitched well enough to win today. A final line of 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 runs, and just 3 strike outs over 5 innings won't wow anyone, but the Royals had a runner in scoring position every inning he was on the mound. If you want to criticize Buehrle's efforts for allowing so many baserunners, I won't try and stop you, but there's still something to be said for bending but not breaking.
Of course, the hero of the game is good ol' #25, Jim Thome, who launched a 2-out, 3-run homer off Kyle Farnsworth in the 8th inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Youngsters Chris Getz and Josh Fields also had significant parts of today's win; both had a pair of hits and each scored a run. And if you're looking to truly feel good about today, note that all 4 runs the Sox scored today came with 2 outs.
Now for the bad, and believe me, there was plenty to go around. For one, Gil Meche more or less had his way with the Sox bats. Yes, he gave up 7 hits, but 5 of those came in the 2nd and 3rd inning. Meche retired the final 11 of 13 batters he faced, and one of those hits (Pierzynski in the 7th) got himself thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. And speaking of bad baserunning, the Jermaine Dye looked particularly bad on the basepaths today, getting thrown out at the plate (by a good 10 feet... Nice call, Cox) in the 2nd and then was caught stealing to end the 8th... Why Jermaine Dye is testing arms of outfielders on short singles and trying to steal bases I have no idea, I know the Sox are pushing this whole speed/youth thing, but you still have to work with what you got.
Oh well, I can't complain too much. A win is a win.
Despite the outcome, even Royals fans are finding solace today.
From Upon Further Review, a Kansas City sports blog published by the Kansas City Star, The Royals ran Buehrle out of their after five innings because of their solid
collective approach at the dish. Hope to see lots of that this year.
I guess hope really does spring eternal. Though, I'll admit the Royals have the look of a frisky team that's going to be a pain in the ass for somebody. Luckily, we have Jim Thome who absolutely murders the Royals.
No comments:
Post a Comment