Wow. I didn't think the Sox has a chance tonight after Lester didn't have it and they were down 5-0. Somehow, with the help of rookie Jonathan Van Every's game-winning home run in the 10th, they pulled it out. Youkilis wasn't in the line-up - or Drew. Carmona pitched great most of the game, with his nasty changeup making Sox hitters look bad.
I think the Red Sox have good karma right now. If they can win all these games now -- without Ortiz hitting as he can -- they're bound to get better.
I remain concerned about both Ortiz and Papelbon. I've seen - as you have - Ortiz fail to get his bat around on fastballs that he has belted in the past, and, you have to wonder how long that slower bat speed is going to last. Tonight, in his last at-bat against Jensen Lewis of the Indians, he fouled off an 89 mph fastball on the outside corner that I swear he'd have hit easily the past few years. There have been many, many, many pitches like that in this short season -- when he's simply not swinging the bat with the same quick snap he's had in the past. He also just does not seem to watch the ball as long as it comes in toward the plate.....as if he knows his batspeed is slower -- so, he must commit to his swing earlier.
If his bat does not get faster within two or three weeks, I'll begin to really believe his wrist is still not healthy OR his skills are, perhaps, diminishing in sudden fashion for a mysterious reason at the age of 33.
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