I stayed-up to watch the Red Sox - Rays game on Sunday night.
The game lasted 5 hours and 44 minutes!!
It was tied 0-0 until the 16th inning.
Dustin Pedroia, mercifully, singled with two outs in the top of the 16th inning to drive Josh Reddick in from third base.
The longest 1-0 game ever was 24 innings between the Mets and Astros in 1968. Thank God they didn't go for the record!
This game started with gems from both starting pitchers. Jeff Niemann went
8 innings, allowed 2 hits and fired 10 strikeouts! Josh Beckett went 8 innings, allowed 1 hit and fired 6 Ks!
The Rays used 9 pitchers. The Red Sox used 6.
This game had some great highlights: Rays manager Joe Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez were ejected by plate umpire Chad Fairchild during the 11th inning, Marco Scutaro popped-up and threw his bat - almost hitting Rays' catcher Kelly Shoppach...Scutaro was served some high & inside chin-music his next at-bat, Josh Reddick made an awesome, leaping catch on the wall to save a run...but the player of the game was Dustin Pedroia - and it showed - his uniform was covered in dirt. Pedroia made two outstanding plays - robbing Casey Kotchman of a hit with a diving play in the 4th inning...then stealing a hit from Reid Brignac in the 6th. Pedroia, also, accounted for 3 of Boston's 5 hits on the night!
The Red Sox beat the Rays 1-0...
Beckett was rockin' the rally cap...
Pedroia showed-up for work...
It was another HOT day in Motown for the Tigers - White Sox series finale on Sunday.
Gametime temperature was 90 degrees.
The Tigers avoided being swept again...rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat the White Sox 4-3.
Detroit scored 3 runs in the 6th inning and Carlos Guillen hit the tiebreaking RBI single.
White Sox starter Phil Humber was feeling the heat...
Ever since I inducted Amanda McCarthy into the Hot Baseball Wife Hall of Fame, last week, I've been following her husband's team, the Athletics, a bit more closely.
I don't watch much AL West baseball - mostly because of the late start times. But I loved the Oakland A's of the early 1970's! Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter and my favourite - Reggie Jackson. Three World Series Championships in-a-row...1972, '73 & '74!
That team had it all!!
In more recent years the A's have become renowned for their ability to have
on-field success despite maintaining one of baseball's lowest payrolls.
The Yankees 2011 payroll is $201,689,030. The A's payroll is $66,536,500.
Current Oakland GM Billy Beane has become synonymous with utilizing sabermetric principles to run the Athletics in a cost-effective way. Beane's method of cost-saving management was chronicled in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis.
The Moneyball movie is supposed to be released in September. Brad Pitt plays the role of Billy Beane. Jonah Hill plays Peter Brand - a pseudonym for Paul DePodesta (current VP of player development and scouting for the New York Mets), who, in 1999, was hired as assistant to GM Billy Beane. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Art Howe - who managed the A's from 1996 - 2002.
I can't wait...
But, like usual, I digress...the A's brought out the retro uniforms on Sunday and absolutely CRUSHED the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California of the Pacific Rim.
The throwback threads worked for Conor Jackson - who thought he was Reggie Jackson - and cranked his first career grand slam to help Oakland beat the Angels 9-1...
It was 80's weekend so MC Hammer threw out the first pitch...
So, I will be featuring the A's for a few more days because they're coming to Detroit for a two-game series against the Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
...And, while I'm ranting about the A's, they seem to always be Ground Zero for Hot Baseball Wives. While researching the background of Hall of Famer Amanda McCarthy, I stumbled upon the beautiful wife of A's outfielder David DeJesus. The former Kimberly Iliff...
Kim DeJesus & Amanda McCarthy...
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