A weekend of Fenway baseball merriment ended with Barry Bonds just where the Red Sox wanted him -- on deck.
Was he itching, festering, and just plain begging to get another shot at Hideki Okajima? You'd sure like to think so.
"We've had him since '93, and that was the first time I've ever seen him locked up like that," said Giants general manager Brian Sabean, referring to Saturday's game-deciding, five-pitch, five-takes, see-ya-later punchout with two on and none out in the eighth.
"Never seen him guess wrong three times," Sabean marveled. "Two and oh, he guesses fastball and gets a hook. Next pitch, guesses hook and gets fastball. Next pitch, he guesses hook again and gets fastball. Takes three straight strikes, and they were all strikes. Never seen anything like it."
That was clearly the highlight of a very nice Red Sox weekend. But it wasn't the end of Mr. Okajima's contributions. Summoned by manager Terry Francona after Omar Vizquel led off the ninth inning of yesterday's 9-5 conquest with a single, he routinely dispatched Dave Roberts (called third strike), Randy Winn (fly to fairly deep center), and Ray Durham (routine fly to center), leaving Mr. Bonds on deck. Unless the polarizing Giants slugger undertakes a pursuit of 800 homers and thus relocates to the American League as a DH next season, he has likely seen Hideki Okajima for the one and only time in his career.
(And, yes, I have considered the possibility of an '07 World Series Sox-Jints re match. Ain't gonna happen.)
Or, let's put it this way: One of these teams might very well be playing in late October, but it is not going to be the San Francisco Giants.
I'm not officially calling anything. No way I'm putting my hand on that stove. But the fact is there is no reason for anyone to feel anything but good about the 2007 Boston Red Sox as they head out for a nine-game jaunt to Atlanta, San Diego, and Seattle.
Yes, there were questions about the Yankees, and now they're being answered. They're getting like 120 runs a day and their starting pitchers are going deeper into the game. They are, in other words, playing up to their $200 million potential. But they did spot their major rival that 14 1/2-game lead, and that counts for something. Did someone out there think the Red Sox were going to win the division by 20 games?
It sure seemed like a good weekend to me. The Red Sox won two with offense and one with pitching. They needed a big game from Daisuke Matsuzaka and they got it. Sooner or later, he is going to just lock in and then the real fun will start.
"The real positive," submitted Alex Cora, a man of exceptionally sound judgment, "was the left fielder. Everyone's been talking about the weather. The last two days, it's been hot, and he's looking pretty good up there."
