Speaking as if he’s been here before
Some of the highs and lows of watching Angels-Red Sox Game 3:
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Say hey
“Welcome to Boston, Massachusetts, and day baseball from Fenway Park,†said play-by-play man Don Orsillo, who just happens to call a lot of games from Boston since he’s the Red Sox’s regular play-by-play guy.
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Say what?
As it was being explained by analyst Buck Martinez that Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon “painted the outside corner†in the ninth inning against Gary Matthews as a strike was called, PitchTrax showed the ball was practically out of the batter’s box. Martinez recovered nicely by quickly adding, “Or near the vicinity.â€
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Replay this
Boston catcher Victor Martinez leaned into the stands and caught a foul ball despite chest-bumping a fan in a blue jacket who also wanted the ball. As Martinez turned back toward home plate, the nervy fan slapped Martinez on the back as if to say job well done. Not cool, blue-jacket guy.
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Replay this II
Both the sight and the sound of Bobby Abreu’s shot off Fenway’s Green Monster. Cameras tracked the entire flight of the ball, a microphone picked up the solid thunk sound the ball made when it hit the wall and cameras went back to catch the little-kid joy on Abreu’s face.
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Sharp shot
Angels first base coach Alfredo Griffin in the first inning giving Abreu an emphatic “stop, stop, stop†sign when Boston’s Kevin Youkilis missed a pickoff throw and Abreu looking right at Griffin and go, go, going to second base. Kids, the coach isn’t always right.
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Before & after
When a game starts at 9 a.m., you get little pregame chatter. That’s not so bad. And Torii Hunter is so clearly the leader of the Angels. He’s the go-to guy for practically every postgame interview.
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Not in the box score
Orsillo and Martinez sounded skeptical when talking about how the Red Sox had flown immediately back to Boston after Game 2 on Friday while the Angels waited until Saturday. It is the way Angels Manager Mike Scioscia always does things, they said. But they said it with that tone your mom uses when she repeats your promise to do homework.
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And another thing
The tone of this final game seemed all about the Red Sox. It was about the Red Sox having a history of impossible comebacks, about the Red Sox owning the Angels in Boston, about the Red Sox hitters, about the impenetrable Papelbon. The game sounded like a Red Sox home-cast.
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Go beyond the scoreboard
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