"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."
--
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3
It was a weird afternoon in the Fens yesterday. It was cold and it was wet.
Two games were played at unusual hours. One of them was won, and one of them was lost. Balls that should have left the park stayed inside, and a ball that should have been caught was swallowed by the crowd. Two pitchers made their debut for the Red Sox; one pitched well, and one did not. And, hanging over the whole affair like the heavy slate-gray sky, was the death the previous evening of one of the Red Sox' own.
Kevin Millar hit his first home run yesterday. Or would have, if a stiff wind hadn't blown his hard-hit ball back down just as it was about an inch from clearing the Monster. Aeolus was similarly cruel to David Ortiz and Doug Mirabelli (twice). Those almost-bombs were during the matinee game. That evening, we again were awarded the short end of Mother Nature's stick, as Terry Francona brought in just-called-up 21-year old Cla Meredith -- who was pitching in AA Portland just a week ago -- with a man on second in the seventh. Meredith promptly walked two batters, loading the bases. But then he induced Richie Sexson to fly to right. And, it flew all right. Right over Trot Nixon's outstretched glove and into the stands. Grand slam. Wind, why do you mock us?!
Bright spots? Silver linings? Rays of sunshine? There were a few.
Jeremi Gonzalez looked good again in the afternoon game, lasting five and two thirds innings while ceding just four hits and three runs (only two of them earned). And the much-anticipated
Wade Miller made his debut that evening and did not disappoint, going five frames and allowing only three hits, one walk, and two earned runs. Expectations had been tempered, owing to the frayed rotator cuff he'd had to recover from, and the fact that his starts in Pawtucket had found his pitches hovering around 88-89 miles per hour, and only topping out at 92 mph a few times. Last night, in the process of striking out six, he hit 92 and 93 several times, and even pushed it all the way up to 95 once. Miller attributed his velocity to "an adrenaline rush." Let's keep fingers-crossed that he didn't get too excited, that he didn't overthrow and screw anything up. Based on last night's results (even if they didn't translate to a win), we'd like to have this guy around for a while.
Cla "Pronounced 'Clay'" Meredith? No one seems quite sure what a kid with just one inning of AAA experience was doing making his debut in a tie game with a man in scoring position, even if there were two outs. But we'll leave that alone. We can only hope that giving up a grand slam in his first major league appearance won't spook him. There will be other games, and he'll pitch well. He's posted a jaw-dropping 0.76 ERA over his speedy travels through the Sox farm system (Augusta, Sarasota, Portland, and Pawtucket), giving up just four runs so far in his professional career. His ERA at the moment? Oh ... 81.00. But he'll be all right.
Meanwhile, Johnny Damon remained white hot, going 4 for 9 with three singles, a double, and two runs scored in the two games. His 14-game hitting streak is best in the majors. And David Ortiz went 4 for 7, including a home run and three doubles.
Ortiz had written a small tribute to Red Sox cook and clubhouse attendant
Bernie Logue on his batting helmet before the first game. News of the 30-year-old's death the night before, in a fall from the sixth floor of a Government Center parking garage, obviously came as a body blow to the teammates, many of whom heard about it just prior to game time. Not many details have emerged about Logue's death so far. But Kevin Millar, who was in a box at the Fleet Center with him the night Logue died, points out that maybe this didn't have to happen if only Mother Nature had been kinder and Saturday's game hadn't been rained out. ''If we were playing, this probably wouldn't have happened," he told the
Globe. "It makes you wonder." Too sad.
The
Globe also reports today on increasing vigilance at Fenway Park with regards to
alcohol sales. Team officials have increased the number of alcohol compliance supervisors at the park from five to nine, the better to police potential underage drinkers and obnoxious drunks. While beer has been flowing more freely at friendly Fenway -- roughly 20 percent more in 2004 than in 2003, with many cups now 16 ounces rather than 12 -- the Red Sox, who understandably are trying to squeeze every bit of revenue they possible from the tiny facility, point out that only Fenway vendors still refrain from offering the 24-ounce cups favored by many other parks.
And speaking of substance abuse,
Peter Gammons this week has another thoughtful column about Steroidgate, but also casts an eye on the potential prohibition of other performance enhancing drugs, like uppers and energy elixirs. Tellingly, his unnamed sources have some interesting things to say about that prospect.
"If they ban greenies," says one superstar player, "there'll be a lot of boring 2-1, 3-2 games from about Memorial Day on through the end of the season."
"The owners," says another player, "had better be careful what they ask for."
Energy and focus stimulants are far more sophisticated than in years past, and all the drinks -- Red Bull, Full Throttle, Ripped Fuel, etc. -- can be bought at the ESPN cafeteria and/or gyms.
"With all the travel and the day games after night games, it can be tough to focus on a guy throwing 95," says a player. "Very tough. If they can greenies and the like, you'll be seeing players all over baseball trying to find doctors who will diagnose them (with having) ADD or narcolepsy. Heck, the players with ADD will have a big advantage because they can get Ritalin to focus."
Gammons also weighs in on our developing ace, Bronson "Saturn Nuts" Arroyo (who seems
spooked by the attention). He points out that "as of May 7, Arroyo was 11-2 with a 3.72 ERA, fourth in the AL in victories behind
Johan Santana (18),
Bartolo Colon (16) and
Ryan Drese (13) and seventh in ERA. And Boston's "big three" of Arroyo,
Tim Wakefield and
Matt Clement started the year 11-1."
Our own Big Three. Who woulda thunk it?
Wakefield goes tonight against Danny Haren from the A's, whose weak-hitting lineup helped the Yankees win two shutouts in a row this weekend, giving (false?) hope to Yankee fans that their
fortunes are improving. Let's hope the
awful A's -- last in the majors in OPS and runs scored and 27th in home runs -- continue their poor play tonight. And, of course, that Wake's knuckler flutters like a beautiful butterfly.
Or something.