Last night's opener was a game of role reversal. The speed & timely hitting of the Red Sox brought down the high-flying Angels in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Did I mention Jon Lester? The trio of Lester-Masterson-Papelbon shutdown the Angels offense & outpitched Lackey & Co.
Here's my takeaways from last night.
1. Jacob Ellsbury is back offensively. He is money in the outfield too. Coco doesn't make that catch in the 8th with his glove on the left hand. Baseball is a game of inches.
2. Big Papi got a big RBI in the 9th by hitting one through the shift. That may settle him down for the rest of the series.
3. Jon Lester is the Sox ace, at least for the rest of the post-season. He & Varitek had a great game plan that kept Angels' hitters off-balance the whole game. He threw cutters & curveballs in hitters' counts 2-0, 3-1, 3-2. That's confidence.
4. I take Jason Bay over Manny any day. Bay looked horrible in his first 2 AB's against Lackey, but drives the ball out of the park in his 1st post-season game. Nice adjustment.
5. Jed Lowrie recovered after a costly error to make several nice plays & chip in a hit. His first playoff game is out of the way now & he too should settle in.
6. Mike Lowell should not be playing. I applaud his tenacity, but his running ability is non-existent. I'm surprised that the Angels did not bunt a few balls down his way to test him. He did make a big putout when Guerrero thought he was Ellsbury & was out at third on a dumb running play.
The Sox showed their experience last night as a playoff tested team. I bet all the experts who picked the Angels are re-thinking their pick.
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