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Dragnet Thunderdome: Sox vs. A'sby Cameron on March 25 at 12:42AM | comments (0)
[ comments (0) ] [ BallHype ] And so it begins. As of 6 a.m. EST, the Red Sox begin defense of their seventh world title. They do it with arguably the greatest Japanese pitcher of all-time on the mound, in Japan, against a team three time zones closer to Tokyo time. They do it in a gigantic dome that appears almost indistinguishable to Minneapolis' Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, except, of course, for the gigantic ferris wheel outside.  They open their defense with a lineup that is largely unchanged - here's the starting batters and pitchers - against a team in flux. But they do so without the man who almost unilaterally pushed the team back to a world title as validation of a trade that brought him to the northeast a year earlier, a man who was cheated out of a Cy Young award but earned a much greater prize: A World Series ring.But perhaps most significantly, they open away from Fenway Park. Far away. And they won't be getting back to Kenmore Square anytime soon. That's why these first two games against Oakland are so important. It's not about whether or not Boston can start 2-0 and keep that momentum going for the rest of the season, it's about whether Boston can start 2-0 to buttress a rough opening stretch when they'll also have to travel to Oakland - to finish the four road games against the A's - and Toronto before finally reaching their home opener, when they get a reprieve from the road with games against - brace yourself here - the Tigers and their No. 7 hitter, who happened to be in the race for the NL batting crown last year. That's followed by five games with the Yankees and two with the Indians, which all just attest to the fact that Boston needs to get off to a good start. So, will the Sox take a significant step toward a potential repeat this morning? Or will the start be more of a crawl out of the gate? Sit back, grab a slice of toast with some jam and a big mug of coffee. The ride begins now. |
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