Wednesday’s Links – Moving On Up

Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com

Well, that was the first game this October that I’ve really been stressed over. Exciting stuff, but man, my heart was going a mile a minute.

• A trial by fire. That’s what this Rays series has been to the Red Sox, and even though tougher opponents await, the tensest moments have already gone by. (For Red Sox fans, the worst is past)

• There wasn’t just one hero from Tuesday night’s game. So many guys stood out in that hard-fought win. It was truly a team effort. (It started with Peavy, ended with Uehara, and Sox had so many standouts in between)

• He’s not a flamethrowing left-hander, but Craig Breslow doesn’t need to be when he’s sitting down the best opposing hitters in order. He’s solid reliable, and damn good. (Craig Breslow leads way)

• You wanna know how I know Xander Bogaerts is gonna be good? Because he’ll do things like last night, where patience at the plate was the deciding factor. (Bogaerts shows poise beyond years in Game 4)

• A renaissance at 38-years-old. That’s the best way to describe David Ortiz‘s greatness at that ripe old age, an age where most players are either retired or part-timers. (‘Appreciate what you see’: The late-career excellence of David Ortiz)

• This is probably the only blemish on last night. It ended on a botched hit and run, but oh well. Stolen base records are curious things. (Boston’s incredible stolen base streak gets snapped, sort of)

• Buster Olney is very wary of the Oakland A’s. So wary that me says the Red Sox should be worried about playing them in the ALCS. (Buster Olney On M&M: ‘You Don’t Want To Play Oakland’)

Things like this just happen, right?