You know what I liked best about this SWEEP OF THE FRICKIN' RED SOX? The fact that the A's did virtually everything right in the three games, from hitting to pitching to defense to Geren's strategic moves, but rarely got lucky and never seemed to be playing above their heads. They simply outplayed the Sox in every aspect of the game.
And what I particularly liked about today's game (perhaps even more than the Spartacust HR giving the A's some breathing room in the 7th right before Geren yanked him for D) was seeing Joe Blanton right himself at the end of a wobbly 5th inning -- and then throw a dominating 6th, finishing a game more strongly than he started it for the first time this season that I can remember. Then Geren made the smart decision to take Blanton's strong finish and put it in his pocket, bringing Foulke on to start the 7th.
Hopefully, this is the start of Cupcakes turning things around. Wins in general, and wins at home, I find pretty meaningless. Joe overcoming his own wildness and hittability mid-to-late in the game, though -- that was really great to see. Truth be told, I actually wasn't worried about Blanton after the first inning: the Ortiz HR was the result of missing his target by about 2 inches, and Manny simply has Blanton's number.
The pitching (both Blanton and the 'pen) and D were both outstanding today (especially, regarding the latter, a couple sterling plays by Ellis on a swirling popup and on the game-ending DP) -- and those really contrasted with the indifferent play of the Red Sox.
All in all, a hugely satisfying game, and a hugely satisfying weekend. And I'd encourage everyone to log in early tomorrow morning for more off-day satisfaction courtesy of Blez.
