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Excitable Beckett; what to watch for tonight

As Josh Beckett recovered from a shaky first inning to pitch a gem in his Red Sox debut, his fiery side came more and more into the open. There was Beckett, pumping his fist and screaming with satisfaction after two key strikeouts. Curt Schilling even got into the act from the dugout after Beckett got Michael Young to end the seventh inning -- putting a close to Beckett's outing. If Beckett continues to wear his emotions on his sleeve, it'll be interesting to see how American League hitters react. This is the same guy, after all, who late in spring training almost got into a tangle with the Phillies' Ryan Howard over perceived showboating by Howard.

Poor fielding and bad relief pitching did in the Yankees last night. The Yanks allowed six unearned runs in blowing a 4-0 lead against Oakland. The final was 9-4. Johnny Damon was not called for an error when he let Milton Bradley's triple soar over his head to lead off the eighth inning, the score tied 4-4, but he certainly misplayed the ball. New set-up man Kyle Farnsworth looked awful, throwing a wild pitch, walking a batter and grooving a fastball that Frank Thomas crushed for a three-run double to put the game away.

Of course, the man Farnsworth replaced in New York, Tom Gordon, wasn't much better in his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. Gordon, whom the Phils hope to remake into a closer this year, gave up the go-ahead run to the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth inning and took the loss.

If the forecast for tonight's PawSox opener at McCoy Stadium is too chilly for your taste, you might want to check out Pedro Martinez's first start of the season. His Mets play the Nationals at 7 on ESPN. Barry Bonds may actually hear some cheers today when his Giants play their first home game, at 4:05 against the Braves. You can catch the game on TBS.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments 1