Some thoughts from the Yankees-Red Sox game Thursday night:
-- The game was nearly four hours long, coming in at 3:52. About an hour of it was interesting. Basically, the Chamberlain-Smoltz matchup/disaster, plus the Pedroia plunking in the 8th. (You think Josh Beckett will have something to say about that on Friday?)
-- The game was so long, I was hearing calls for umpire Derryl Cousins to widen his strike zone to actually encompass the entire plate. With a strike zone like that, even Yuniesky Betancourt could have drawn a walk.
-- *The game was so long, John Smoltz had surgery, underwent rehab and returned to watch the final three innings.
*This is not true, but might be something to consider.
-- Speaking of Smoltz, it may be time to pull the plug, and he knows it. “I’m not doing it right now. I’m a big enough man to stand up here and say I’m not doing it. Time may not be on my side if this continues. I’ve been here before, but not like this.”
-- I know Jorge Posada was one of the heroes and all (3-for-5, one mammoth 3-run homer), but how could he not slide on that play at the plate in the second inning? He was tagged out easily while sort of gently bumping Victor Martinez. If you remember, Posada was the guy who helped create the Derek Jeter legend by tagging out a non-sliding Jeremy Giambi in the 2001 playoffs. Talk about not learning from history.
-- Not sure if he was praising the Yankees, ripping Yankee Stadium, or a little bit of both, but Terry Francona said: “That’s an unforgiving lineup in an unforgiving ballpark.”
-- In going 0-for-5, David Ortiz played as if Saturday’s press conference is weighing on his mind.
-- Lost in the shuffle: Casey Kotchman hit a two-run home run in his first start for Boston, and Kevin Youkilis played passably well in left field.
-- If you Twitter, you can often find me there at @bharks.
