Pedro Martinez Number Retired, Sox Give Up a Boatload of Runs (Again)

Posted on July 29, 2015 in Game Recap

The above video is the entirety of Pedro’s retirement ceremony before last night’s game. It is so choice. If you have the time, I highly recommend watching it, or at least having it on in the background while you work.

It’s pretty cool to see one of your favorite players growing up have his number retired. It definitely makes me feel old, but it is also somehow validating, like I have more ownership of the team’s history now. Before last night looking up at those retired numbers every home game was great; I certainly knew my Red Sox history, and I felt proud of those guys, that they were “our guys,” but obviously they didn’t make me feel the same kind of way that they made my dad’s generation feel. When I was a kid I always hoped that my childhood favorites would be up there some day (Mo Vaughn, Nomar, Manny), but it only works out for an extremely select few.

Coming of age during Pedro’s prime was such a blessing (#blessed) that it was only really possible to appreciate it in retrospect. When you’re a 7-17 year old sports fan there is almost literally nothing more important to you than the success of the teams you root for, and I got to see the greatest pitcher of all time in his prime. Not only that, but he helped end an 86 year World Series drought, and Pedro’s number 45 hanging above Fenway will forever symbolize not only his individual dominance, but also the new winning era of Red Sox baseball that he ushered in. I’m sure one day my kids will ask me who #45 was, and I’ll try and fail to explain what it was like to be in the ballpark for a Pedro start or how it felt when the curse was finally broken; they’ll love Pedro like I love Yaz and Ted Williams.

The Game:

Pedro Martinez Day at Fenway started eerily similar to the game on Monday a.k.a. We’re Officially Selling Day. Wade Miley bottomed Joe Kelly‘s start yesterday and surrendered 5 runs before the Red Sox came to bat.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Pablo Sandoval had an oppo taco, bringing the score to 5-2.

In the top of the sixth, one of the strangest plays I can remember took place. Mookie Betts made a terrific running catch on the warning track, took two steps, and then sort of jumped up on the right field wall to break his momentum. Unfortunately he wasn’t successful in this, and he flipped over the wall and into the bullpen. He landed awkwardly on his back/neck and the ball popped out while he was on the ground in the bullpen. First and foremost, I hope Mookie is okay. He had to come of out of the game after this happened and was being evaluated for a concussion. Second, after a lengthy review, this was ruled a two-run homerun for Jose Abreu. Apparently the rule is that the player must maintain control of the ball until his momentum stops, or he voluntarily takes it out of his glove. Watching that play live, I think everyone agrees that that’s a catch. He maintains control all the way up until he hits the ground in the bullpen. He takes two steps, and definitely makes a “football move.” But it seems like the umps ruled correctly.

Lefty said he should’ve just run into the wall, but I think as Carlos Beltran, Torii Hunter, Shane Victorino, and countless other outfielders can attest, that doesn’t always end the way you want to, either.

So what certainly looked like and felt like a great catch by Mookie to end the inning, ended up being a two-run homer and an exclamation point on a poor outing my Miley. To be fair, Miley had settled down after the five-run first and looked like he was going to end the 6th having surrendered nothing further and give his team a chance to win the game. But these are the 2015 Red Sox, and luck never seems to be on their side.

Justin Masterson relieved Miley and didn’t fare too much better, surrendering two runs of his own. Jeff Samardzija shut down the Sox lineup from the 2nd to the 8th, but ran into some trouble in the 9th. The Red Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and down 6 runs, but Napoli grounded into a double play, cutting the lead to 9-4, but killing the rally.

Notes:

-Pedro is the first Red Sox pitcher to have his number retired. Think about that. The Sox had a guy named Cy Young pitch for them once upon a time. (The Sox clubhouse staff still hasn’t given out Roger Clemens’ #21 since he left, but it’s not officially retired).

-That thing Hanley does when he fields the ball and watches the runners for 10 seconds before throwing it in is really getting old.

-Why the hell does Geovany Soto throw the ball back to the pitcher like this?

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