– The train keeps on rolling, as this win was very similar to the last two. Jake Peavy gave them a solid outing, Addison Reed picked up a save and of course, Youk drove in another run. This team is firing on all cylinders now.
– Zach and I had a conversation during the game about Jake Peavy. It seems like it’s an absolute joke that he is not on the all-star team, but if you look at the guys currently on the team, it’s hard to take anyone off of it that’s there. You could make a case for Peavy being on there just as much as any of those guys, but you could also make a case for anyone of those guys just as much as Peavy. It’s unfortunate that Jake is just the odd man out.
– AJ, however is a different story, and he continued his already career year tonight with another home run. Hawk said early on this year that his swing is more compact, and he is right on. The secret behind his power this season is that his swing is much shorter. He seems to be swinging harder too, giving him more bat speed. Usually, you see guys who swing that hard take the tradeoff of more home runs for more strikeouts and a lower average. It’s amazing that AJ’s been able to increase the power, yet keep the K’s and the average at relatively the same level as they have been for him in the past.
– Addison Reed struggled a bit tonight, and I think it’s because he’s been used quite a bit lately. Over the past few weeks, the Sox have had a lot of save opportunities, and tonight was the third straight game Reed was used in. With the all-star break in two days, I wonder if Reed will go tomorrow in a save situation even with throwing all three days prior. One thing’s for sure, Reed probably needs the all-star break more than anyone in the bullpen.
– Dayan Viciedo has been really impatient at the plate lately, even more than usual. He was again tonight, swinging at bad pitches early on in the count. I’ve received some inquiries about changing something up in left field, and I couldn’t be more against that. Look, Viciedo is what he is at this point in his career: a streaky, all-or-nothing guy. A week or two on the bench or in Charlotte won’t magically give him a grasp of the strike zone. With that, it’s all about repetition, and if he can hold his own at the MLB level while learning that, it’s a win-win.
– The Blue Jays did some really silly things tonight. Brett Lawrie tried to do some sort of Rajon Rondo type pass by flipping the ball to Rajai Davis in left field, giving Alexei Ramirez a free pass to third base. We saw Edwin Encarnacion mistake a double play ball for a game of running bases with a tennis ball, as he pegged Konerko. Plus, we saw Aaron Laffey try to make a sliding web gem in front of the mound when all he had to do was simply pick up the ball and throw it to first. It just seemed like defensively, Toronto was a circus act tonight, and it’s sloppiness in the middle of the game gave the Sox some needed momentum.
It’s Gavin Floyd opposing Ricky Romero tomorrow, who the Sox regularly make look like Cy Young. Romero has given up 16 runs in his last nine innings of work though, so the Sox may be catching him at the right time. However, Floyd always scares me in warm weather at home, as it’s not a good mix of things for the type of pitcher he is. I’m expecting a slugfest tomorrow.
