Fenway Park can be a harsh mistress, especially playing host to this edition of the Boston Red Sox. With its kooky dimensions, rabid crowds and offensively-gifted home team, baseball's oldest ballpark can wear out a team and leave it's bullpen huddled in a corner crying.
This was the classic series in which both teams came out feeling a little unfulfilled. Yes, the Jays came away from the weekend with the series win, but they can't be totally satisfied - not after blowing a 4-0 lead in the second game. Having worked Boomer Wells to perfection for four innings, they let him off the hook and let him work into the seventh, when they could have been feasting on the soft underbelly of the Red Sox bullpen.
The final game had more than its share of drama. Pulling Roy Halladay with a 4-run lead after 101 pitches was a terrific move, but when Scot Schoeneweis closes out the game, clearly not everything has gone according to plan. The ninth inning was a reminder that no lead feels safe in Fenway. Well, okay, maybe 15-2.
With a week to go before the All-Star Break, the Jays stand just 5 behind a clearly-flawed Red Sox team. With no Pedro and a questionable Schilling, the AL East is anybody's race.
Perhaps the most satisfying thing to come out the weekend was the 8-3 record the Blue Jays now sport against Boston. Perhaps, in a reversal of recent years, the Sox will start to look at the Jays as that team they just can't beat.
Some other notes from the weekend series:
Credit Gibbons for not stubbornly "dying with his closer." Clearly, Batista wasn't fooling anybody on Sunday.
What happened to the Red Sox closer? That 5.82 ERA is Foulking ugly. Ok, sorry.
If Shea Hillenbrand is ever looking to change his number, I suggest 6-4-3.
Johnny Damon has a serious shot at Joe DiMaggio's hit streak if he plays enough games at Fenway. Boston's scorekeeper credited Damon with a double on the hard chopper that skipped off the glove of John MacDonald. Yes, it was a bad hop and a tough play. That's why it's called MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball. When did this emotional element enter into scorekeeping?
Forget Derek Jeter, Gregg Zaun should be the face of baseball. Nobody seems to play harder or appreciate his spot more than the Practically Perfect (Former) Backup Catcher.
It's only 41 at-bats, but it's great to see John Olerud batting .390 with just one strikeout as a Red Sox. His next homer will be career #250, he's two doubles from 500, and he's still a potential Hall of Fame candidate.
With Reed Johnson's little Fenway tear, his OPS is creeping toward the .800 mark, especially impressive since his batting average is down from its usual level.
It was nice of Tom Candiotti to try to credit Matt Clement's newfound success to the mystical powers of Jason Varitek but, in fact, Clement's 2005 numbers are almost exactly the same as those he posted with the Cubs. That does represent some improvement, since he's now pitching in the AL, but the only number showing significant improvement is Clement's winning percentage, which has jumped from .409 to .818.
Forget Cesar Izturis' All-Star selection, Russ Adams is still out-hitting him, and looking more comfortable every day. Felipe Lopez, on the other hand, is having a superb season - just 4 years worth of headaches in the making.
Would it be easier just to change Aaron Hill's name to RBI Double?
