Kissing New York Sisters Has Never Felt So Good

What's the best way to break out of a losing streak? That's easy: A win. Well, what's the second best way?



A tie?

That's right folks, you know you're wrapped up in Spring Training baseball when teams are allowed to tie. Add to that the fact that the Sox were taking on the Mets, and you end up with that clever WMYM header above. And no, WMYM doesn't have any personal experience with said filandering. WMYM doesn't even have any sisters in New York.

That being said, the incredibly un-American conclusion of a 1-1 tie was a surprisingly fulfilling result from Monday afternoon's little dust up for three major reasons: 1) it wasn't a loss, 2) Jon Lester was absolutely outstanding and 3) He lived up to Johan Santana for the Mets.


Yes, it happened: Jon Lester pitched against the man he was nearly traded for. And amazingly, he lived up to every bit Santana could throw at him. Both starters went four innings and gave up just 4 hits. Lester had a walk, but he also struck out 5 Mets, one K more than Santana managed against the Sox.

Making the afternoon more enjoyable were thoroughly solid outings from Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez - yes, the lefty specialist back from the grave - both of whom worked an inning with a single hit. The downside, again, was Craig Hansen, who is rapidly appearing to be an almost unsalvagable proposition. He only gave up one hit, but not surprisingly it went deep, which inflated his ever-ballooning spring ERA to a whopping 13.50. To say that he's starting on the Pawtucket shuttle is a significant understatement.

As for the bats, Jacoby Ellsbury continues his renaissance, right on cue with expanding injury problems for Coco Crisp. The incumbent center fielder was scratched from batting practice and the Mets affair with a nagging sore groin, and his return was listed as open ended. And not the good kind of open ended. Just as trade rumors begin to circle around him, the cereal man seems to have hamboned his way into sticking around. At least unless Epstein can steal from the Cubs for a gimpy center fielder whose best assets are his speed and athleticism. Yeah, WMYM can't see it happening either.

And then there is the catching prospect phenomenon. If anyone understands how not one, but two Sox catching prospects would rack up the best Spring Training batting averages - all while logging significant playing time, mind you - we'd love to learn how. Not only is George Kottaras hitting a legitimate .625, he's joined there by the more under the radar Dusty Brown, whose similar .625 makes Kevin Cash's seat in Pawtucket more than just hot. Both are toting slugging percentages above 1.000, which is enough to make Jason Varitek feel like his bargaining strength is eroding under his feet like the sand on an Ogunquit beach.

Needless to say, that duo is a trend that could bring a lot of smiles to Sox fans' faces in the coming years. Or maybe months. Who knows. If they keep hitting like that, almost anything's possible.

Except supplanting Dougie, of course. You don't just release a divine ballplayer from a roster. It just doesn't happen.

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