I had the pleasure of personally watching Edwin Jackson make what just might be the best strut in baseball out to the mound multiple times yesterday. The day was foggy but the result was clear: Jackson has some great stuff. He went 8 full innings striking out 13 and walking only Ray. The Rays offense has been pretty anemic since the season began but that doesn’t make the outing any less impressive. With only 1 run allowed, the offense didn’t have to work too hard. That’s not to say that they didn’t do their share. Despite Adam Dunn’s best efforts to talk himself back into the starting lineup, the Sox opened up the season on the South Side by scoring a pair in the first against David Price sans their DH. Contributions came from enough places that Carlos Quentin decided he could relax a little bit. He took a walk and got plunked (the first of many I’m sure) en route to a hitless day.
I know I put the caveat out about the offense and the competition that we were facing. It looks like pulling off a pair of wins in Cleveland might not be as easy as it seemed.
In related news, the Sox will face an officially Manny-less Rays within minutes of this writing. After failing his 2nd MLB drug test, ManRam has opted to retire rather than facing the music, which comes in the form of a 100 game suspension. It’s a little bit sad to see the Manny show depart from baseball. His hitting obviously dwindled over the last couple of years but a lot could be said of his entertainment value. To think that he and Pedro Martinez were on the same team for a stretch seems a little surreal while looking back. Those are 2 characters that really never got too old for me to watch.
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