The License Plate Said Fresh...

...And it had Dice-K in the mirror. This time, it's for the money. Boston, stand up.

He's a revolutionary new product that's hitting the market after much anticipation. He's been field tested on a surface level, but the true sample of a new product happens soon after the official release; it happens when the ultimate consumer finally gets his hands on it and sees what it can do. Sure, the split-squad lineups that "The Monster" has faced in spring training will tell you that he's functional and can offer value for the money but they're merely product testers. Not to mention, all of those guys are impartial anyway. Today...this time...it's for the money.

For the Red Sox and their fans, they're (we're) the one kid in the neighborhood whose parents actually could afford and gave in to the request for the hottest toy on the market that everyone wanted. And tonight, all of our friends are coming over to play it for the first time. They've been talking about it rabidly for months and months, offering fanatically fantastic versions of what they think it'll be like, yet none of them have the foggiest idea of the truth. Yeah, this toy was released in Japan several years ago but a buzz is only a buss until it's full blown hysteria that's actually tangible. What will they all think? Will it be like every time the new version of Madden or NBA Live comes out and it takes a few games before you actually declare that yeah, this thing is the shit? Maybe it'll be like Grand Theft Auto, wherein you know it's sick the first time you play it but over time and hours upon hours of use, it becomes shelved somewhere between Double Dribble and Dig Dug. Here's to hoping that Dice is my Tetris.

Onto what we know as of right now: Red Sox 7, Royals 1. Beckett wasn't sharp, but he did what he needed to do to give the team the opportunity to win. For the number of changeups he left up in the zone, there were equally as many follow-up knee-benders that had me saying "that's your spot...get that shit down". As Remdawg consistently pointed out, you can get away with that when it's the Royals and when it's David DeJesus. Come April 20th, that pitch is on Landsdowne and someone's calling Giant Glass for a windshield replacement.

Overall, last night's game was a bit of a mixed bag. When's the last time trusty Mike Lowell made two errors in one inning? But errors are quickly forgotten when you have damage control. When's the last time the guy in the 5-slot really made a guy pay for being careful with Ortiz and Ramirez? Now, I know what you're thinking; none of this is worth talking about until there's consistency. But it has to start somewhere, and I can't think of a better place to start than with JD Drew. He's gonna get it done in the field and he certainly is capable of getting it done at the plate with consistency. And I would like nothing more than for my Trot wound to heal up nicely with little to no scarring. As of right now, the bleeding has stopped and it's scabbing over nicely.