Sox vs Sox; The Hawk Lives!--Peter

Well, the Bosox came to Chitown yesterday hoping to duplicate their series against the Chisox of a year ago, when they went through them like a buzzsaw, outscoring the Pale Hose by a combined score of 49-6. Well, at least in the first game this year, it wasn't to be. Falling behind 4-1 even though Lester was pitching, they tried to come back for a win in the 9th, picking up a quick trey on Dusty's homer, but ultimately falling 5-3.

Tonight was different. The Diceman was pitching and quickly set the tone. Although he gave up a single run in the 5th, the Sox quickly matched it in the very next inning. Then, while Dice rolled through the Chicago batters like a hot knife through butter as inning after inning passed by, the Hubhose lineup awoke.

Tied 1-1 entering the 7th, they tacked a four spot on the board. With the sacks jammed, Dusty did what he did best. He hit and drove in the tie breaker. That brought Papi to the plate, bases still jammed. Now, Papi, other than his first couple of games back from the DL, hasn't done much with the stick. He's sort of gone into a mini replica of the start of his season, entering tonight's game at 5-30 and a BA of just .240 since his return. Tonight he served notice that that was over. As part of a 3-5 evening, he came to the plate in the aforementioned bases loaded situation, took a swing and drove one off the wall in distant center clearing the bases. The only question until it finally dropped out of the atmosphere was whether or not it would clear the wall.

Ellsbury finished off the Sox scoring in the 8th with his third hit of the evening. Driving the ball on a nearly flat line, Jake put his 7th homer of the year into the cheap seats. He also has recently shown all the signs that his prolonged midseason slump is a thing of the past. Tonight's three knocks are just the latest confirmation of that.

Other multi-hit Sox were Lowell and Youk, each collecting a deuce. In Lowell's case, it ended an 0-17 drought that had seen his BA drop to .270.

As far as the Diceman was concerned, tonight was his longest outing of the year. He finished eight innings, allowing just four hits and three free passes, a WHIP for the game of less than 1.0. His season ERA dropped back below 3 as well, now 2.90. He was followed in the 9th by Jenn's favorite, Timlin. Mike looked pretty good for the entire inning--except for one pitch. Facing a certain first ballot future Hall of Famer, Jim Thome (a former teammate of Manny in Cleveland--was that a lineup or what!?), he fired a fastball that was supposed to move across the plate and out of the zone. It started across the plate and then, as if it had a mind of its own, stayed there--right in the middle of the plate about belt high. There are some batters you don't offer that pitch and location to--ever. Thome is one of them. He did exactly what he has always done in that situation. He swung and deposited the ball deep into the bleachers, ending a flat bullet-like trajectory from the plate to the seats.

As the winning Red Sox walked off the field just one batter later, Timlin and Tek were obviously in deep discussion over that pitch, Timlin clearly not satisfied over giving it up, and Tek just as clearly discussing the details and providing a proper degree of encouragement to his pitcher lest the memory hurt him in a more risky situation in the future. Just one of the many non-statistical ways that Tek is so valuable to this pitching staff and this team.

Now, the Hawk! You have to be of a certain age and experience to even know who the Hawk is--from a Red Sox point of view. The White Sox play-by-play announcer for over twenty years now, he was, in his playing days, a fearsome slugger, onw who could turn a game or series around with a single swing of the bat. Arriving at Fenway after Tony C was nearly killed by a fastball in 1967 in the late stages of a pennant race they eventually won (there were no divisions and no playoffs then--first in each league went to the Series), Ken Harrelson was grabbed by the Sox for the late season push after Conig went down. He responded with a vengeance and stayed in Boston for a few more seasons, his hitting and out there personality making him an instant favorite at Fenway. In 1968, he was on the cover of SI, as much for his fashion style as his bat, and led the A.L. in RBI's for the season.

Well, tonight I was watching the game on Chicago's WGN TV network and heard the announcer comment on an easy catch by a Bosox outfielder about a "can of corn". The expression goes way back to the early days of the last century when an easily caught fly was called a can of corn due to its similarity to a grocery store clerk snaring a can of corn from the top shelf of the display in the store. I hadn't heard the phrase in many years and wondered who the announcer was. Much to my pleasure when he signed off the end of the broadcast, Ken Harrelson, The Hawk revealed himself. Thanks for the memories, Kenny!