What Oddities Did You See Today?

One of my favorite things about baseball is the everyday occurrence of something that you 'never' see. No, I don't mean umpires reversing a safe or out call after an argument, or owners in the counting house, I mean real baseball oddities. And if you watch even casually, every game has something that you never see.

Sure, there are the easy "passed balls as a bunter distracted the catcher", and the Jeffrey Maier "armed robbery", not to mention the Sausage races. But I'm more interested in the 'subtle' not the profane.

For example, in the Sox game today, the "there you go again" play was Kevin Youkilis being forced out at third base on a line drive 'single' to left. With Youk on second and J.D. Drew at first, Jason Bay ripped a liner that Carl Crawford trapped, surrounded, and quickly nailed the runner at third. All of which is why Crawford is one of the best left fielders around.

As to the game today, a few quick observations:

• Josh Beckett was masterful, with no-hit kind of stuff
• But Jason Varitek was 'man of the match' behind the plate and at the plate, with a pair of liners and a home run
• It looks like Justin Masterson comes out of the box as the premier setup guy
• The Rays' double steal on the first pitch from "Bull" Masterson was a thing of beauty
• The defense on both sides was excellent
• Kevin Youkilis ran well despite his foot problems
• Evan Longoria is a beast
• We won't see Carlos Pena putting on the Golden Sombrero (four Ks) too often

And as previously discussed, the Quality Start is a useful statistic with about a 70 percent win rate!

RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score 3

I don't know about Varitek being 'man of the match' just because he hit 2 outs hard and a homerun. He was good, but Beckett went 7 with 10 Ks, 2 H, and 1 run. That was the top performance of the day, bar none.

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RomiezzoLegend

253 days ago

Score 1

I definitely agree with you on that one. V-Tek was definitely one of those guys I feel is at least "trying" to improve. According to an article on mlb.com, Francona said he was getting some power back as well as doing well at the plate in terms of contact; well, he can't do worse, can he?

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score 0

Becket is the sole reason they won.

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score 0

Sole reason? Youkilis, Pedroia, Papelbon, Varitek, Masterson had nothing to do with it?

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score 0

Do I type in stutter?

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score -1

No, but you didn't back up your assertion either.

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Sj-hypocycloidAll-American

253 days ago

Score 1

Oddities? The Phillies scored. Does that count?

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

253 days ago

Score 0

"We won't see Carlos Pena putting on the Golden Sombrero (four Ks) too often" - So you say you haven't watched many Rays games, eh?? I hate guys that strikeout a lot but for some odd reason, I can live with Pena's Ks. 1) he makes up for them when he DOES make contact - often and 2) unlike what seems to be most big swing and miss players, Pena has a sweet freekin' glove to compensate a little... (that's right I'm looking directly at you, Adam Dunn)

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