Maybe "League of United Red Sox Nations" is more appropriate? To the two Japanese pitchers who effectively iced Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS, along with Jonathan Papelbon's additional 2 innings of shutdown ball. The presence of Far Eastern baseball is stronger than ever in Boston, and I can't imagine what this is all like for the Okajima and Matsuzaka.
Two pitchers coming over from a 6-team league in Japan, having never seen the tenacity, vigor and sheer electric power of a playoff crowd at Fenway Park...much less a 7th and deciding game of the ALCS to vault the winner into the 103rd World Series against the National League champ Rockies. Daisuke was as good as he needed to be and just barely that. He pitched into and out of jams several times, allowing the Indians to sniff the lead, but never quite realize it. He was aided by that occasional gem from Manny in left. He was aided by the invaluable brain and experience of Jason Varitek behind the plate. And ultimately, he was aided by an offense that eventually exploded like it should have in he early going against Jake Westbrook. As they say, better late than never, right?
My confidence in Okajima is absolutely unwavering. I have as much in him as I do in Papelbon, and that is something that I never thought would even be a embryo of a thought back in Spring Training. It's his ability to never let up against a hitter that amazes me the most. He'll get down 2-o in a count and spot an 89mph fastball on the inner half of the plate, and then get a swinging strike on absolute junk. Then the advantage is gone from the hitter and field is even again. Advantage: Okajima. Every time. He appears to be fearless out there, no matter what he comes into. I'm looking forward to his continuing efforts in a Sox uniform, in the World Series and into next season. 2 years, 2.5 million dollars? I'm sorry, what? 41 Okajima's would equal one Daisuke. That's some shit.
3 comments:
The thought of Dice-K pitching his off-speed junk in Denver's thin air...yikes.
You going to any of the games?
You're welcome for the compliment slutbag. Lets go Rockies. NoCal is ok. Class is not great. Ill try to post soon. Rit.
I think we tend to forget that, when a pitcher has a great game, the man partially (if not mostly) responsible for this great effort is the guy behind the plate! When Jason Varitek calls for a particular pitch, and the man on the mound hits that spot, we all tend to think "Man, what a great pitch!", and praise the pitcher. Don't forget that it's the guy behind the plate, wearing all that equipment, who knows the hitter and what he can do on a particular count, and therefore, calls for a pitch that the batter isn't expecting. My vote for the "unsung hero" of the Red Sox, Jason Varitek.
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