Don Drysdale used to take a shortcut to an intentional walk...hit the batter. Grant Balfour comes in to face J.D. Drew with men on second and third and nearly beans him.
Ron Darling says, "we know Balfour's not trying to hit him." I'm not saying he threw at his head, just that he wasn't particularly concerned about hitting Drew either.
Daisuke Matsuzaka has pitched brilliantly threw seven, but has been on the bench for 'ever' in the eighth, with pitching changes, wildness and high pitch counts.
The defense tonight has excelled with only Carl Crawford's inability to snag Kevin Youkilis' hooking line drive standing out as a 'catchable' moment.
What will Terry Francona do in the bottom of the eighth? Matsuzaka didn't look like he was headed for the showers. Whatever one thinks of Matsuzaka (33 wins in two years, including a Japanese pitcher record in the US), he's not afraid to take the ball. I'll guess that he leaves Matsuzaka in for one baserunner, but only the shadow knows.
Whatever the Sox do, they shouldn't even think about any kind of retaliation.
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It's amazing how Francona can seem to sniff out beneficial changes to the Lineup. Who would have thought that Dice K would pitch so well and so far into the game. I was figuring that he did this to get the Bullpen in figuring he did'nt need them that much in Beckett's game. Looks like we got a great bonus.
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