Did you know that that was Lester’s first start in the Bronx? Certainly didn’t look like it. The Red Sox are back with a vengeance, baby! And there’s nothing for your morale like a shutout of the Yankees on their own turf. It’s good for the mind, good for the soul, and plenty good for the heart. Last night’s contest, or should I say “no contest,” was Lester’s second career complete game (the first being his no-hitter) and he completed it with a minimal pitch count and a strike:ball ratio better than 2:1. As a matter of fact, that was the first complete game any Red Sox pitcher has thrown in the Bronx since Pedro Martinez did it in 2000.
Lester continued his dominance and pitched five impeccable innings, walking two and striking out eight. The offense finally got its act together and did its part in spectacular Boston fashion. By the time the first inning was over, we were already ahead by two runs. Lowell and Ellsbury each batted in two, and Lugo and Varitek each batted in one. Pedroia extended his hitting streak to twelve games, Crisp stole second, and Ellsbury was caught in a rundown on his way to third. But what impressed me more than the 7-0 win, the out-hitting of the Yankees, 11-5, and the lack of Boston errors was Boston’s manufacture of runs (the slumping Jeter’s error in the first resulted in a run for us and ten more pitches thrown for Pettitte). Defensively, the Red Sox also sparkled (Drew caught a fly off Posada literally at the wall). If the Red Sox were down, they didn’t show it. We played our game and we’ve already shortened our deficit behind the Rays.
For their part, the Yankees looked absolutely pathetic. They did nothing offensively and hit into three double plays. According to Johnny Damon, putting on pinstripes comes with a lot of pride, and he was thoroughly embarrassed by the way his team played because apparently that’s not the way a 26-title franchise should act. Well, grow up and welcome to the new age. Your time is up. Unlike Yankee fans, we don’t expect to get by on the glory days of the past for the rest of our lives. Boston isn’t like New York, where “26″ is the first thing anyone says in a baseball conversation. No, in Boston we like to start each season with a clean slate and win, regardless of what we did in the past. I mean, come on; do you honesty expect the 26 to help you now? I honestly felt like I was watching us play a Minor League team in an exhibition game or something. New York looked totally lost and out of their league.
And I’ll say this for Boston broadcasting: Michael Kay, Ken Singleton, Al Leiter, and John Sterling don’t hold a candle to Don Orsillo, Jerry Remy, Dave O’Brien, and Joe Castiglione. New York broadcasting is totally weak, not to mention the fact that there was a substantial crowd of Red Sox fans in attendance last night. Speaks volumes about both fan bases, doesn’t it?
In short, these are the Red Sox we all know and love. And these are the Yankees we all know and love. It’s good to see that everyone is slowly finding their way back to their proper places; the Red Sox on top, and the Yankees somewhere down at the bottom. If we keep this going, we’ll be all set. Count on that. Smile, Red Sox Nation; we thoroughly, utterly, totally, and completely trounced the New York Yankees!
