The Mets are the first interleague test of the season thus far, and the Red Sox have already passed regardless of the outcome of tonight's game. The Sox won the first two games of the NL East dominating Mets by a combined score of 19-6. Terrific pitching performances from Lester, and Beckett. The bullpen has been great and with 19 runs in 2 games, it's pretty safe to say the offense has been doing great.
Last night saw the return of Pedro Martinez to the Fenway mound. He was not Vintage Pedro, at all. His head seemed out of it and few of his pitches were sharp. Perhaps he was overwhelmed by emotion, perhaps he was intimidated by the Sox lineup, perhaps he is still a bit off due to his hip injury. Maybe all three of those things combined. Whatever the cause, he didn't look good and the Sox jumped on him.
Thankfully, Sox fans did not jump on him as easily. Fans gave him a standing ovation several times. On his way to the bullpen, on his way back, and on his way to the mound. The Pedro haters and suspected racists at BostonDirtDogs are proclaiming it the "Quietest Standing Ovation in History." To be honest, I've heard louder ovations, but never a louder one for a player on another team. Also, how many standing O's did he get? Four or five? Pretty damn good if you ask me.
BDD is also claiming that the standing ovation was orchestrated by Red Sox brass by showing a highlight reel of Pedro Martinez moments. I guess Luchino and Henry probably went around Fenway bribing people to cheer for him to, Barabbas style.
Pedro got cheered because he was a great player for us for 7 years. His exit wasn't the most graceful, but compared to players like Damon or Clemens or Vaughn, it was relatively clean.
The Sox send 201 game winner Curt Schilling to the mound to face 286 game winner Tom Glavine in a battle of two of the great veteran pitchers in the game. I think the Sox can get to Glavine a bit, and Schilling might be able to keep the Mets bats silent.
