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Who was right Ramirez or the ump: Go with Manny »
April 20, 2008
By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON _ Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia spent most of the day sitting on a water cooler in the corner of the dugout while his teammates fell behind five runs to the Texas Rangers today at Fenway Park.
Pedroia had been given the day off by manager Terry Francona since he has played in all 19 games of the regular season. Make that all 20 games now because Pedroia delivered a pinch-hit RBI-double that tied the game and he later scored the eventual game-winning run en route to a 6-5 victory over the Rangers.
“It was a good game, a good win,” said Pedroia. “I was just trying to get a pitch out over the plate. I know (Rangers reliever) C.J. Wilson throws real hard, so I didn’t try to pull it because he would jam me. I ended up getting a pitch where I wanted it and hit it well.”
The Red Sox were in the midst of a comeback and were down a run in the eighth inning when the No. 4 spot in the order came up. Usually Manny Ramirez is locked into the clean-up spot, but he was ejected in the second inning for arguing with the home-plate umpire. Joe Thurston, who replaced the slugger in left field, was 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch. He was scheduled to come up with two outs in the eighth, but Francona elected to give Pedroia an at-bat.
It worked.
He lined an RBI-double to left-center field that scored David Ortiz from first base to tie the game at 5-5. Boston then loaded the bases before Sean Casey drew a bases-loaded walk, providing the eventual game-winning run.
“That guy is an absolute gamer,” said Casey. “You’re proud to say he’s your teammate. You feel he’s going to come through every time; he has the presence about him. He’s fun to play with and fun to watch.”
The Red Sox have now won four in a row.
“It’s just how we drew it up,” said Francona with a roll of his eyes. “We didn’t have the lead for very long, but we seemed to get it at the right time. There’s something to be said for just plugging away and some good things happened. Actually, some great things happened.”
Part of what the manager was talking about was the play of Pedroia and rookie infielder Jed Lowrie.
Francona also called Pedroia’s pinch-hit at-bat the game-changing play, saying he’s the right guy to have in that situation.
“He has the perfect mentality for everything,” said Francona. “He just likes to play. He’ll play at 11 o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock at night. He doesn’t care.”
The manager was also very impressed with the way Lowrie has handled himself since his call up from Pawtucket. He went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, one RBI and two runs scored. Overall, he’s now hitting .417 with three doubles and five RBI in five career major-league games.
Francona is always careful with his words when it comes to rookies no matter how much of an impact they have early in their careers in Boston. He’ll say “Let’s not put them in the Hall of Fame just yet.” That statement hasn’t been used, yet, when talking about Lowrie, but everyone has been impressed with his abilities.
Lowrie is a true professional in every sense of the word. The versatile infielder was called up from Pawtucket on April 10 to replace Alex Cora, who was placed on the DL with an elbow strain. Lowrie has now played second, third and short for Boston and has contributed in a big way every game he’s played.
“To get an opportunity like this, especially at the beginning of the year, you want to do well,” he said. “I’m not trying to impress everybody. I’m just going out and playing my game. You can try too hard sometimes, and I’ve had to learn to stay within myself and that’s part of the development process.”
Casey, who has been playing first on a regular basis since third baseman Mike Lowell was placed on the DL with a sprained left thumb, will have Monday off. Kevin Youkilis will shift back to first and Lowrie will play third.
“He has a great glove. He has a great bat. He’s a great kid,” said Casey. “He can play anywhere. You can tell the guys who have it – he has it.”
The future was on display today with the effort and ability in which Pedroia and Lowrie delivered.
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 6:37 PM | Permalink
