I've been hearing and hearing about the amazing 2011 Boston Red Sox, who rebounded from a 2-10 start to become one of the most exciting Major League Baseball teams in recent memory, but I haven't seen much of them. Because I'm often either up early in the morning or out late at night for work, I haven't been able to watch much baseball this season, but tonight I had some free time and turned on the first game I could find, a Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins prime-time on ESPN.
I think these TV deals are made before the season starts, but I wouldn't be surprised if the fanfare of the Red Sox early in the season made this presentation possible.
When I turned the game on, the bottom-dwellers (this year) from Minnesota were leading Boston 2-1. After two innings, the Twins had turned on 45-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who is seeking his 200th win, with outfielder Jason Kubel bombing a home run and superstar catcher Joe Mauer ripped an RBI double, and Twins starter Scott Baker was mowing down the amazing Red Sox, retiring seven in a row and upping that strikeout total to 6 against arguably the best lineup in professional baseball.
By that point, the commentators were all over the Red Sox, muttering about a team performing sluggishly after a late-night trip to Minnesota after a tense series with the rival Yankees. Highly-paid outfielder Carl Crawford bobbled a fly ball in left, shortstop Marco Scutaro botched a hard grounder, and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia looked silly misjudging some of the floating knuckleballs.
But in the top of the sixth inning, with the score 5-1 Minnesota, it all changed, and I got to see the show that is the 2011 Sox. Crawford led off the inning with the 110th triple of his big league career. Adrian Gonzalez notched his Major League-leading 92nd RBI of the year with a fly ball to left. Former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia ripped a single up the middle. Then David 'Big Papi' Ortiz smashed a 438-foot drive into the right-center-field stands, making it 5-4. Just a few pitches later, Saltalamacchia slapped a ball 420 feet down the right field line, and trotted around the bases while Ortiz raised his fist in friendly salute.
Now this is just one inning, against a fourth-place team, but the Sox are still showing me the spectacle they are. Wakefield is suddenly toughening up, striking out two last inning. Now there are two on, no out, with Crawford at the plate...
I'm anticipating some excitement from the most exciting team in baseball circa 2011.
The world over, Red Sox Nation has a smile on its collective face.
Note: Atlanta 2B Dan Uggla just reached on an infield single to short in his game against the Florida Marlins, upping his personal hitting streak to 29, the second-longest hitting streak of the 2011 MLB season (Andre Ethier of the LA Dodgers had 30).
