Manny Del's Big Day Out

So they lost. But, despite that fact, it was a really good game.

Beckett was pulled before he even started because of back spasms. Apparently, the pitcher's mound gave way a little bit when he stepped on a particular spot and he slipped. It was kind of amusing to hear the radio folks freak out about it-you'd have thought he had somehow gotten a compound fracture in his arm and there were bits of bone sticking through his skin from the way they reacted. I tell you, it was doomsday.

Delcarmen got the start instead and did really well. He went two innings without giving up a hit. Timlin was up next and he also went two innings. He threw eleven pitches in his first inning and didn't give up a hit. In his second inning, he gave up a double to Hanley Ramirez but also struck out two and caused Jeremy Hermida to line to right (which Kielty caught), leaving Hanley on second.

Hansen allowed two runs in the fifth. The first pitch he threw was a ground ball to center. He struck out his second batter but in the process of doing that he allowed the runner to steal second base. The next batter also managed to connect with the ball and a bad decision by Ellsbury led to the runner moving up to third. With runners on first and third, the next batter hit a ground ball-they got the force out at second but a run scored. With two outs and a runner on first, Hansen walked the next batter. The next batter (Hanley Ramirez) hit a single and another run scored. Hansen caused the next batter to ground to short and they got their final out of the inning.

I thought that Hansen started out the sixth inning well enough. He struck out the first batter and caused the second to ground to short for the out. He walked the next batter and was pulled.

He was replaced by Craig Breslow, who did really well in his inning and a third. He faced five batters in the game today. He struck out three of them, walked one, and the last one hit a ground ball to third for the easy out. It was a really nice performance.

The pitcher in the eighth inning was Lee Gronkiewicz. Gronkiewicz performed badly the other day but redeemed himself, somewhat, today with a 1-2-3 inning. The last pitcher they brought into the game was Michael James. He played at AA Portland last year and didn't do very well today (but what else would you expect, right?) He got his first batter out, then gave up a home run, walked his third batter, then gave up a home run, he got the next batter out, then gave up a double (Hey! He's getting better!), then finally got the last batter out.

Offensively, Ellsbury started to live up to his hype. He had three hits this game: a single, a double, and a home run. So, his home run wasn't against the world's greatest pitcher and his double was really a single that he just happened to be able to out run-it's still an improvement. (I'm not being too harsh, am I? I like the kid. I do.)

I imagine that Coco's groin may find itself miraculously better tomorrow. I'm under the impression that Coco is the intelligent sort-the kind of person who hides his intelligence to make other people feel more comfortable-but a smart guy, nonetheless. He can tell the lay of the land; he knows how things work. Ellsbury's big advantage over Crisp was that he could hit. So far this spring, though, the poor kid hasn't been able to hit anything. So Coco gets a good start to the year, then "injures" his groin, and then "Ouch! I have a toothache. I need a root canal." All the while he's lying in wait, like a spider, as Ellsbury sucks at the plate. Perhaps, I'm making him out to be a little too Machiavellian. (I mean it all in jest, of course. By all accounts, Coco is a good guy.)