Cait Higgins, Sox SuperfanBaseball has officially begun, and it’s great to be back! Unfortunately, it didn’t start off the way we Sox fans had hoped. Buehrle getting shelled in the second, us being ripped off by the umpires, and ultimately losing the game.
Let me start with the good: Jim Thome! How about that. Two homers, two runs each in consecutive at-bats. I love it. If we weren’t down when he hit the second one, it would have been such a great accomplishment. He was the first Sox player to hit two HRs on Opening Day since Sammy Sosa back in ‘91. Also, it was so great to see Thome hand it to the Indians (especially Sabathia). AJ had a pretty solid game. He had some great at-bats and was awesome, as usual, behind the plate.
I think a big WELCOME BACK needs to go to Joe Crede as well. He had an excellent game defensively, and had a real nice, solid hit. I am so so so so so happy we didn’t decide to trade or dump him before the season started. As much as I like Josh Fields and think that he will eventually turn into an everyday player, I don’t think he is quite ready to step into Crede’s cleats.
Finally, I was proud of my team coming back from a 2-7 deficit. It was nice to see us gather some offense and get behind our pitcher. I really hope that this isn’t the Mark Buehrle we see all season, and I am pretty confident it wont be. Overall, I was more worried about how the game was umped rather than how we played.
The BULLPEN!!!! The bullpen was so solid today. It was amazing. I know I shouldn’t get too excited or count my chickens before they hatch, but we could be pretty well off if they perform like that. Masset and Logan deserved a standing ovation. 
Let us now focus on the bad: Orlando Cabrera’s almost lazy two plays at shortstop to cost us 6 runs. A gold glove shortstop can’t get the ball out of his glove fast enough to turn a double play? A gold glove shortstop can’t stop a one hopper, even if it takes a funny bounce? Unfortunately, those plays turned out to have the worst possible outcome.
Buehrle getting shelled in the second inning. Like I said before, I’m not really worried about it.
The Umpiring crew was a travesty to Major League Baseball. They flubbed THREE calls against us today. There was no way that Garko was on the bag after AJ’s hit. Shoppach never tagged Crede, nor did he ever touch the plate. Wouldn’t have been such a big deal if we weren’t TIED with BASES LOADED. And, what happens on the very next play? Thome hits one right to the second baseman who steps on the bag. Cabrera is out, but the Umpires feel the need to call interference on the play and end the inning. Hmmm… it was strange to see that, since the Indians pulled a move that was even more intentionally trying to break up the double play. He knocked down Cabrera, who was got up gingerly after being tackled. It was strange that they didn’t call interference on that play. If the umpires didn’t miss those two huge calls, we would have been winning. And, even if Dotel gave up those three runs, our worst case scenario would have been a 10-10 tie ballgame. But, anyone who watched knows that that would have been fleeting, because of Jermaine Dye’s homer in the 9th, to put us up 11-10 and let Big Bad Bobby Jenks come in to finish the job. But, alas, it finished 7-10, bad guys. We’ll just have to go out and get them on Wednesday.
I always like to look on the bright side. I’ve got two things to consider: The Cubs also lost (oh, how I loathe the Cubs…) and there are 161 games left before the playoffs.
Until next time, Sox fans!
