Borrowed the screen grab from Surviving Grady.
Broadcasted by NESN
A lot of times, sports are filled with many small moments that add up to something larger. Sometimes, something happens that eclipses all of those little moments and you can point to it as a defining moment of a season. For me, a few of those moments happened in the Red Sox game versus the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
It was a hard day for members of Red Sox Nation. Kevin Youkilis suffered a thumb injury that ended his season. They were staring up at the Yankees and Rays and facing an even wider gap between them and post season contention. And after a late inning rally the night before just wasn't enough, everyone was feeling a bit down on our boys' chances. And then... well. Two of my favorite moments of the season happened.
Mike Lowell, who has been the subject of umpteen trade rumors and has spent most of the 2010 season riding the pine, was put in to fill Youkilis' spot at first base. He had a number of pretty amazing defensive plays, but the biggest moment was when he his a 2 run homerun on the first pitch he saw to put the Sox ahead in the second inning. I mean, we've all seen the movies. The aging player who many people doubt it healthy enough to keep going comes in and is the hero. We saw exactly why he was the World Series MVP in 2007 and I for one am glad that Mike Lowell is still around. He plays hard and has been infinitely classy about his situation this year. I was so, so happy for him. And the way his teammates greeted him in the dugout after his HR, you could tell they were too.
The other defining moment was the bench clearing after Willis threw behind Beltre. There had been some beaning by the Red Sox pitchers, and later the Indians threw behind David Ortiz in an at bat later in the game. I guess the Indians have missed Beltre being a human wrecking ball this season, against opponents and his own teammates, so they didn't get the memo that he is one bad ass mother.. well, you get the idea. Both benches clear and then came the memorable line by Don Orsillo:
"Things appeared calm until Beckett arrived."
Josh Beckett was a man possessed. He had Trot Nixon-esque craziness in his eyes and it really makes me wonder exactly what Shelley Duncan said to him to make him go off. But frankly, I don't really care. I saw all of our guys, even the injured ones barely off of crutches coming out to settle the score. Everyone was fired up and you could tell they have not written off their chances yet, even if they have to bring every single guy up from Pawtucket.
In spite of the slow start and in spite of the freakish rash of injuries, the Red Sox have not given up and they have not given in. They are sacking up, cowboying up, and putting on the foil. After all of the hardships, they are only five games back, and as 2004 proved a Wild Card spot is all you need. Let's do this.
It was a hard day for members of Red Sox Nation. Kevin Youkilis suffered a thumb injury that ended his season. They were staring up at the Yankees and Rays and facing an even wider gap between them and post season contention. And after a late inning rally the night before just wasn't enough, everyone was feeling a bit down on our boys' chances. And then... well. Two of my favorite moments of the season happened.
Mike Lowell, who has been the subject of umpteen trade rumors and has spent most of the 2010 season riding the pine, was put in to fill Youkilis' spot at first base. He had a number of pretty amazing defensive plays, but the biggest moment was when he his a 2 run homerun on the first pitch he saw to put the Sox ahead in the second inning. I mean, we've all seen the movies. The aging player who many people doubt it healthy enough to keep going comes in and is the hero. We saw exactly why he was the World Series MVP in 2007 and I for one am glad that Mike Lowell is still around. He plays hard and has been infinitely classy about his situation this year. I was so, so happy for him. And the way his teammates greeted him in the dugout after his HR, you could tell they were too.
The other defining moment was the bench clearing after Willis threw behind Beltre. There had been some beaning by the Red Sox pitchers, and later the Indians threw behind David Ortiz in an at bat later in the game. I guess the Indians have missed Beltre being a human wrecking ball this season, against opponents and his own teammates, so they didn't get the memo that he is one bad ass mother.. well, you get the idea. Both benches clear and then came the memorable line by Don Orsillo:
"Things appeared calm until Beckett arrived."
Josh Beckett was a man possessed. He had Trot Nixon-esque craziness in his eyes and it really makes me wonder exactly what Shelley Duncan said to him to make him go off. But frankly, I don't really care. I saw all of our guys, even the injured ones barely off of crutches coming out to settle the score. Everyone was fired up and you could tell they have not written off their chances yet, even if they have to bring every single guy up from Pawtucket.
In spite of the slow start and in spite of the freakish rash of injuries, the Red Sox have not given up and they have not given in. They are sacking up, cowboying up, and putting on the foil. After all of the hardships, they are only five games back, and as 2004 proved a Wild Card spot is all you need. Let's do this.
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