Random Thoughts from Fenway

I was lucky enough to catch Friday's Red Sox - Orioles game at Fenway Park with my brother Mike and his friends (the opening ceremony of Mike's bachelor party). A few thoughts on the game, the teams, and the experience:

• First, before actual the actual game, I was distressed to find that the program of the game that I had purchased lacked a scorecard. Actually, I was only "distressed" at the start because keeping score is one of my favorite things to do at the games, but I soon moved into "outright pissed off" territory later in the day because the game was ridiculous, and thus would have made for a fun scorecard. Mostly because it makes absolutely no sense to make a baseball program without the scorecard, because that's probably why people by them in the first place.
• Moving to the game, I have a question: when did Nick Markakis become a legitimately terrifying hitter? We all knew he was a pretty good hitter, averaging .300, 20 homers and 90 RBI in his career. But for some reason, I never felt safe when he was up on Friday. Mostly because I had good reason to, as he terrorized the Sox, going 2 for 4 with a walk and hitting the grand slam to cap Brad Penny's 2nd inning meltdown. After the first inning, the only out he made was another ball launched into center that was caught by Jacoby Ellsbury in the triangle in center (I assume, because where that was the only place on the field we couldn't see in the right-center field bleacher). Which leads to...
• ...the fact the the Orioles, all of a sudden, have the makings of really potent offense. The first hitters in their lineup especially: Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, Markakis and Aubrey Huff are all dangerous, especially if you believe that Jones has finally turned the corner and become a legit threat. But then you factor in Melvin Mora's return from the DL and Matt Wieters' eventual callup (which might be sooner then later, since Gregg Zaun has been ghastly to start the season), and suddenly the 2009 Orioles' offense looks exceptionally potent.
• All of the above, of course, is mitigated by the fact that the Orioles still have no pitching at all. In case anyone is wondering why no one's noticed Baltimore's hot start to the season, it's probably because everyone realizes that their pitching will collapse on itself down the line. Against most teams, being down seven runs before the second inning means you're going to lose. Against the Orioles, me and my group were trying to figure out exactly how the Red Sox would get momentum back and who'll hit the home run that dd it (turned out to be Jason Bay). Jeremy Guthrie, who apparently qualifies as an ace nowadays, ended up coughing up 4 runs and the Sox ended the second inning only down three, and knowing that they can easily outlast Baltimore in a battle of the bullpens. And Guthrie was the best starter the O's have, in front of Japanese import Koji Uehara and a parade of journeymen. Really, when they've given up more runs than all but one team in the league, it's hard to take a team's chances seriously.
  
• Most distressing thing I noticed at the game, besides the program scandal: David Ortiz. Papi went 0 for 4, with a three strikeouts and a sac fly being his sole moment of glory in the game. But even that line fails to tell the story of how bad Ortiz looked during the whole game. There is something seriously wrong with his swing, and it's hard to tell if he'll ever be the same again. He's going to be better than the miserable start that's he's having, but honestly, I can't think the Red Sox at this point wouldn't view .260, 25 homers and 85-90 RBI out of Papi as a success. Whether or not it's realistic...
• Most reassuring thing about the game Friday: the fact that the Red Sox are still a very potent offensive team even with Ortiz's struggles. Despite Papi and Kevin Youkilis, who has offically cooled off of his monster start, putting up an 0 for 8 in the 3-4 spot in the lineup, the Sox still scored 10 runs on 12 hits, in their pest offensive performance of the season. J.D. Drew's line in particular was impressive: 2 for 2, with a home run, a triple, and three walks, always getting on base and getting driven in somehow. Dustin Pedroia's 3 for 4 performance hopefully means that his slump is over, and the same goes for Ellsbury's 2 for 5.
• One thing that can't be mentioned enough is how impossibly good the Red Sox bullpen is. They come in in the fourth inning following Penny's miserable performance, and shut down the O's for the rest of the game, only allowing an inherited Penny runner to score on a double by Markakis. Going back to Wednesday's game in Oakland, the Sox pen has only given up one run in 16 2/3 innings, though of course, that one run was a game-loser. It was mentioned that the pen had the chance to be really good this year, but it looked downright untouchable Friday.
• The one exception in the Sox pen? Lefty Javier Lopez, who probably won't make it through the full season with the Sox. How little confidence do the Sox have in him? He's only allowed to face lefties (obviously), to come in if all other options have been used (like Wednesday, when he gave up the game winner after the Sox pen held solid for 10 innings) or if the better options are being saved for later in the game, like Friday. After Manny Delcarmen gave the Sox 2 2/3 innings, Terry Francona went to Lopez to face lefties Markakis and Huff, with the bases empty and only needing one out to end the inning. Ten pitches later, Lopez was pulled to showering boos after allowing both men on via a 5 pitch walk and a base hit, a situation defused by Ramon Ramirez, who only needed one pitch and got the win for his efforts. To quote one of Mike's friends (can't remember which one at the moment), "Ramon Ramirez, where have you been all my life?"
• There is nothing - NOTHING - like experiencing the final innings of a close game in Fenway. First, the crowd is always into it, as "Sweet Caroline" works its magic to give the stadium a rush of energy heading towards the final innings. And then there's Jonathan Papelbon, the insanely intense closer who captures that energy perfectly and uses it to finish his victims for the day. The sheer number of flashbulbs that go off with every single pitch alone shows you just how electric he is. He got the save in Friday's game, striking out the final batter and sending Fenway into hysterics.
• So to finish up, how do I feel about the Sox right now? Going into the game, I was fairly confident they could win at least three of the four games with Baltimore this weekend. After it, I feel that there's no reason they can't sweep the O's out of Fenway, because this was probably the best chance the Orioles' will have to win in Boston in a while, and they coughed it up. As for the division, the Sox's struggles are mitigated by the fact that the Yankees and Rays are also around .500. Toronto at 8-4 has looked good, but they're entire strategy is built upon hoping their young hitters instantly mature and endlessly praying that Roy Halladay doesn't get hurt, so I'm skeptical. I'd feel better about the Sox if Big Papi could hook up to the Rejuvenation Machine - SOON - but I feel better now than I did yesterday.