Looking Back at Week 1 for the Sox

Before I get into the Sox opening week, there's a few things I feel need to be mentioned:

First off I would like to welcome Johnny Drama, Turtle, E, Vince, and Ari back into all of our lives. I think I speak for all of us when I say I cannot wait to see where you take us over the next 8 weeks. Also, congratulations to Drama for the pilot. No doubt it's gonna be huge.

A special thanks to all the boys for FINALLY getting me to see Grandma's Boy, which cracked my Top 5 All-Time Funniest First Time Viewings joining Saving Silverman, Wedding Crashers, Tommy Boy, and 40-Year old Virgin. Could not have been any happier with Grandma's Boy, and it's seriously making me consider getting metal legs even though I know it's a risky operation.

Another welcome back, this time to Andy. We all knew you would graduate from anger management the same way you graduated from Cornell....on time (I know only like 10 people got that joke, but luckily all 10 read this blog).

Congratulations to Zach Johnson for fending off a surging Tiger Woods on Sunday to win the Masters. Sad to say that this won't be remembered as the Masters that Zach Johnson won, it will be remembered as the Masters that Tiger broke a 5-iron on a tree on 11, dropped a ball onto the green from 195 yards out that hit the back end of the green a good 50-60 feet away and rolled back to within 5 feet of the hole to set up an eagle for Tiger. No doubt, those two highlights will be running for much longer than Johnson's final putt.

And now that all of that's outta the way let's talk about the Sox.

After a disturbing Opening Day in Kansas City, the Sox went on to finish the week at 3-3. Schill looked awful in the opener, but last night threw a great game against a solid Texas offense. Looks like the motivation of losing his spot as the ace to Beckett or Dice-K could be what the big fella needs to get in gear.

Speaking of Dice-K, what an awesome debut. Dice threw 7 innings, struck out 10, and gave up 1 run. More importantly, he just looked like he'd been there before. This didn't look like any rookie performance. Someone please just hand him the Rookie of the Year Award now and save us 6 months.

The 3-4 combo of Papi and Manny struggled this week, but that won't last long. Ortiz actually looked like he found his swing in the Rangers' series finale with the 2 homeruns. I'm pretty sure the first one only made it about 10 feet off the ground might have cracked a few ribs on the poor guy standing in it's way. Manny shouldn't be too far behind.

For those who didn't hear, Jon Lester threw 4 innings last week for the Single-A Greenville Drive, had 5 K's and hit 96 mph on the gun. The plane ticket to Logan is already purchased, it's just a matter of when we will see Lester back at Fenway. That should be a nice little boost for the staff.

J.D Drew looked great in the first week. He hit .391 and drove in 2 runs, made a great catch in the gap on Opening Day, and looks like he should clean up any leftovers that Ortiz and Manny happen to leave on the table. But J.D., some advice; don't expect to hear too many cheers at Fenway during the home opener. You're playing great, and living up to expectations, but the bottome line is this: your wearing Trot's number and playing on Trot's piece of land. Eventually we'll come around, but it's gonna be a while. And when Cleveland visits Boston later this year if I were you I'd just take the day off unless your hitting well over .400 because there's no way in hell you'll be getting the same reception as Mr. Nixon when he comes home.

And finally let's give it up for Jon Papelbon. Unbelievable performance in the Rangers finale. Came in with the bases loaded and one out in the 8th and slammed the door shut. Pap made Michael Young look like Greech on a wiffleball field with three 95+ mph fastballs. So glad the Sox office realized Pap belongs out there when the game is on the line. And I know there were all the concerns about his arm not being able to hold up in September, but believe it or not I think there's training programs that would probably get his arm in the right shape to handle it. There have been some amazing advances in physical training over the years. Just ask Barry Bonds, he's over 40 and in the best shape of his life and it's all natural.

The sight of Papelbon with the ball in his hand in the 9th is going to become the most relaxing vision in Boston real soon. He's a lock. He's got the intensity of Eric Gagne and the poise of Mariano Rivera on the hill. He'll blow the 96 mph gas right by you, then break off a splitter and get you chasing. There's nothing that fazes this kid out there. He's like Danny Noonan on the 18th in the Caddy Tournament when everyone starts shouting 'NOONAN' as he's lining up his final putt. He's Bird in the 4th quarter. For a comparison that hits even closer, he's Papi in the 9th with runners on.



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