The Sox had an unbelievable game in Texas on Thursday night, with some great highlights, but much of it was overshadowed by a brewing bullpen controversy. Jonathan Papelbon was money out of the bullpen, which left Sox fans happy, but also wondering why Tito went with Papelbon instead of Keith Foulke to start the ninth inning. I’m not much for pitching controversies – or any controversies that involve the Red Sox, for that matter. In my mind, if Tito thinks Papelbon is going to get three outs for the Sox in the ninth, he should feel comfortable going that way. But one has to wonder what this means for Foulke. Was this a permanent move on Francona’s part? If not, should it be? Papelbon was bringing some serious heat (he even impressed the totally biased Rangers’ announcers I watched on the satellite), so one has to wonder if he is our new closer?
All of the above is what has people buzzing, but what almost went overlooked was the stellar debut of one Josh Beckett. He was FANTASTIC!!! Darn it was fun watching him pitch. I couldn’t have cared less about this guy when he was with the Fish, and the only exposure I’ve ever really had of him was when he beat the Yankees in the World Series. But this first look at him in a Red Sox uniform made me very optimistic for the rest of 2006. Beckett was fired up, pumping his fist on several occasions after getting the third out of an inning. He’s a competitor, and he’s got serious stuff. This guy is the real deal, but I suspect we already knew that. It’s just nice to see it proven, and proven in a tight, well-played game.
The Sox 2 runs came on a 2-run homer from one Trot Nixon, which hopefully sets a tone for him this season. I’d love to see him tear off a career year. Scoring ahead of Trotter was Manny Ramirez, who walked in what was the only positive thing he’s done so far in 3 games. I’m not raising any alarm flags here, but I just expected “Manny Being Manny” to come out of the gate strong. He’ll be there when it counts, though.
