Old friends

I would have settled for this:

(photo: MLB.com)

but the Dustin and J.D Show was an added bonus.

Despite Perdoia's home run in the 1st, I thought we were screwed when Papi got thrown out of the game, which just shows you how much I - or indeed any of us - know about baseball. The ejection was bullshit on two counts: 1) it didn't look like a third strike and 2) it was clear that the umpire had his finger on the trigger as Papi walked back to the dugout and was just waiting to pull it. As Jerry Remy said: "C'mon on...." Having said that, Papi is always bitching about calls, and I'm surprised he doesn't get thrown out more often, so I guess we can chalk this one up as a balancing of the karmic scales.

What kept the Sox in the game and allowed our #1 and #2 hitters to basically run the show, was yet another great performance by Julian Tavarez (complete with fielding signs and a bowling-ball out at first). I've said I before, but it bears repeating: this guy has kept us in more games than we had a right to expect. Despite going up against opponents' aces left, right and centre, he has done a great job. There are a lot of star players on the Sox roster, many of whom have performed well so far, but if there's a ballot for Red Sox MVP for the first half of the season, my vote goes to Jools, if only for the complete turnaround from last season.

Viva El Yo-Yo!

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Obsessive Anal-Retentive Game Counter: 53