Needed Bounce Back
Ok, I promise I won’t spend this post second guessing Francona, even though I know I wouldn’t be a lone. I will say, however, that last night’s win, especially against Lilly, was fairly important for the Sox for a number of regions. The next 19 games are number crunching games, how many can we win to eliminate the Yankees and win the division? In addition, the team needs to get their confidence up.
Arroyo didn’t throw great or awful, and he didn’t deserve to have 5 ER tacked on to him last night. Foulke is still, unfortunately, finding his form. But, if we can win games until he does, we’ll be in a good place assuming he actually gets to that point this season.
Papelbon on the other hand has been instrumental for the Red Sox this late-season. Last night was no different. Earning his first MLB victory with a very dominating performance. I like watching this kid pitch. His stuff is explosive and his confidence and poise is second to none. I hope he gets the chance to help out the team more, and I have confidence that he can.
Tonight, like any of these remaining games, is big in the fact that it cuts into the hopes and chances of the Yankees for the divisiion. How great would it be: final 3 games at Fenway and the Sox only need to win one to eliminate the Yankees from a playdown? Or better yet, those games won’t even matter… 