He may have just turned 42 yesterday, but Randy Johnson proved he can still pitch. And his timing couldn’t have been better as he and the usual Gordon/Rivera combo combined to hold the Red Sox to three hits. The Unit went seven innings and gave up uno hit and he struck out eight in a good old pitching dual. Tim Wakefield had his whiffleball going as he also gave up only three hits. Unfortunately for him, one of those was a solo shot by Jason Giambi in the first inning.
I wonder if Giambi will get some votes for MVP?? Probably a few but not as many as he deserves because he’s overshadowed by A-Rod. He’s put together a solid season when nobody really expected much from him though. That .445 OPB is pretty impressive (unless you’re comparing it to some guy named Bonds).
Friday’s game was also nice. It started out as a back and forth affair, but the Red Sox crappy fielding caught up with them. Edgar Rentaria’s throw right into the ground in front of him was priceless. I liked David Wells, when he was a Yankee, and it’s nice to see he’s no longer lights out at Yankee Stadium anymore. A-Rod hit his 41st homer and Matsui and Jeter connected on a nice relay to gun down Jason Varitek at the plate. Unfortunately, Jorge Posada has been out since then because of it.
Yesterday was the downer and it was on Fox’s game of the week. Curt Schilling shut us down and the Red Sox jumped all over Shawn Chacon. Giambi homered (so today’s was his second straight day with one) and Bernie Williams had an RBI single.
The Indians play tonight and they’re riding a six game winning streak. Hopefully the Twins can cut them down tonight. I hate to say it, but the Indians are on ESPN tonight, and I’m actually interested. I think it’s a first. We’re three back of the Red Sox so the division title is still within reach. Oakland lost, so that gives us a little bit of breathing room seeing as how they tied us this weekend.
The next two weeks are huge, and we play some bad and/or mediocre teams. This week we have to get revenge against the D-Rays. Then we have six against the Blue Jays and eight against the Orioles (who have been about as bad as you can get in the second half). All that leads into a three game season ending series in the shit box against the Red Sox.
I like our chances.
