Preparing for Tuesday's home opener, the Red Sox continued their work on getting Fenway cleaned up. On order of business is always to clear out any lingering Yankee fans. There are a number of ways to do this, one is to simply sprinkle a trail of money and they'll general follow it out. But, the Red Sox are experimenting with an innovative (and 'green') method. They are employing a hawk to patrol the park and keep it clean of rodents, and other unwanted refuse. In his first day of work, the hawk circled above. Maybe it was because she was from Bristol, CT - a known bastion of Yankee fans, or maybe it was because her name Alexa Rodriguez is simply too close to the Yankees' own A-Rod, but either way the hawk picked her for cleansing. Unfortunately, Alexa got quite a scare, and a scratched scalp. The Red Sox are rethinking this plan, and have removed the hawk, after apologies to Alexa and her family. For now, they are back to using the money trail.
Okay - all joking aside, I'm looking forward to an Eastern Standard Timezone game tonight! Look for Manny to break out the big bat - he generally thrives in the Rogers Center having hit 23 home runs there in his career. Wakefield's knuckle ball also fares well indoors. Could be a good night, but Toronto has been picked by many as the favorite to win the AL East. So, look for Toronto to take this very seriously. Beating the reigning MLB Champions (always feels good to type that) would give them a lot of confidence.
I've talked a lot about Bartolo Colon being a potential ace up Theo's sleeve. Colon pitched a gem yesterday in Pawtucket allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk in 5 innings. He struck out 5 batters, and only faced one batter over the minimum over those 5 innings. He threw 74 pitches, 45 of them for strikes, and topped off at 96 mph on the radar - his last pitch of the night was clocked at 95. I expect he'll get at least one more start with Pawtucket. They'll want to see him stretch his pitch count to 90+ pitches. The extra time also gives them a chance to get a look at the current 5 man rotation. So, good news in Pawtucket.
On Monday, the Sox' day off, we'll analyze the 2008 New York Yankees - are they to be feared, or are their best days behind them?
Add to Google
