One Down
Bobby V got his first loss as a Red Sox manager out of the way. Nowhere to go but up! (Photo by Kelly O'Connor and used with permission)
I never begrudge a team a win on Opening Day in their own ballpark (unless it’s the Yankees. That goes without saying, right?) so I’m not too disappointed with yesterday’s loss. I did have a passing thought as I watched the Tigers celebrate the walk-off, though, that the Red Sox were just preparing us for a season’s worth of excitement. I mean, really, going into the ninth inning I was fine with the idea of the Red Sox losing to the amazing pitching that was Justin Verlander’s. But then they had to go and get me all excited about the prospect a actually eking out a win.
While Verlander was in there, only David Ortiz (double) and Ryan Sweeney (single) got hits, but then the ninth inning came and Jose Valverde showed up and we got a Dustin Pedroia double, an Adrian Gonzalez single, a Papi sacrifice and a Ryan Sweeney triple (along with a Darnell McDonald stolen base!) and Valverde’s first blown save since 2010 (in 52 chances) was at hand. Of course, the Red Sox ended up not being able to turn that into a win but it certainly made the first game of the season a memorable one.
I missed the first five innings of yesterday’s game. I have plans tomorrow night that will most likely make me miss some if not all of the game and Sunday is Easter so I might be able to get in some of the game but it’ll be questionable. For a week I have been so looking forward to, I won’t be seeing much of it live (man, I love the dvr!).
Because the Orioles, Yankees and Rays haven’t played yet, the Blue Jays (who beat the Indians yesterday in 16 innings!) are in first place and the Red Sox are in last. By tonight, every team will have a win and a loss and the state of the standings won’t matter much for another sixty games or so. For now, I just want to enjoy the fact that games that count in those standings are being played, even if the Sox started the season off with an “L”.
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