Late Night With J.D.

Another game going into the wee hours of the morning and another Red Sox victory. Last night's (actually today's) hero was none other than J.D. Drew. He hit an absolute bomb off of K Rod in the ninth to break a 5-5 game. Sox had jumped out to an early lead in the first on Drew's rbi double and Jason Bay's three run homer. Dice-K pitched well enough to win. The middle relievers (Okajima, Masterson) kept the damage to a minimum and Paplebon was rock solid again.

A huge win for the Sox. We now turn to Josh Beckett to close this series out on Sunday.

Some observations:

• Interesting move by Francona bringing Papelbon into the game in the eighth with the tying run on third with no outs. I did not think it was the right move. File this under "Exhibit J" in the "This is Why Francona is the Manager of the Red Sox and I'm not" dossier.
• Each divisional series has a team up 2-0. My most surprising is the Dodgers. They have dominated the Cubs. Sox fans can definitely feel their pain.
• The team with the best shot of coming back from a 2-0 deficit is the very same Cubs. Harden and Dempster (or if they go to Lily in game 4) can get them back to Wrigley Field.
• The Angels have been no Angels in the Outfield. Matthews loses one in the lights in game 1 and Hunter drops one in game 2. Also, there were a couple of balls that they have not gotten the best breaks on that could have been caught. Juan Rivera did not look fleet of foot.
• Speaking of Torii Hunter, he pulled a Milton Bradley by turning his knee arguing a close call at first base. Makes you wonder how Dave Henderson was able to land without hurting himself after celebrating his game tying homer in game 5 of the 1986 ALCS. For those keeping track, Game 4 of that series was the last time the Angels have beaten the Sox in a playoff game. Twenty-two years and eleven games later they are still searching for that last out.
• Youk's play in the ninth going into the stands was tremendous.
• Papelbon has been automatic in the playoffs. Seventeen consecutive innings without allowing a run.
• In 2002 the Angels won a World Series. That was six years ago. Enough with the Rally Monkey!! It was stupid then and is now officially idiotic. Fans bringing stuffed monkeys to a baseball game is not good. Maybe the Sox should have Millar show up in the eighth inning of game 3 and he can do his Cowboy Rally Dance. Knowing Millar, he would probably do it for a ticket to the game.