Game Three Notes

I worked the game last night for MLB.com which was certainly an experience in and of itself and too strange to relate here. So instead here are a couple thoughts on the game itself...

Here we go again. Right off the bat it seemed that the Rockies were in for a long night when Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia got hits on balls that weren't well-struck to say the least. Josh Fogg was fortunate to get out of the jam after striking out David Ortiz and going to 2-0 on both Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell.

Poor Decision. The top of the third was fraught with poor decision making it seemed. After Ellsbury doubled Pedroia put down a bunt that for some reason Fogg decided to let Yorvit Torrealba field. Having to come so far towards the mound Torrealba had no chance to get Pedroia at first. Clint Hurdle then went too long with Fogg and allowed him to pitch to Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek before unintentionally-intentionally walking Julio Lugo. It was clear at this point that Fogg simply didn't have it and would have to be taken out shortly regardless. Given that the season was hanging in the balance I would have expected a strikeout pitcher to be up in the pen.

At the time the only thought I could conjure up as to why he would still be in the game is that his spot was coming up first in the bottom of the third. Even so, with Cory Sullivan in centerfield and two potential centerfielders on the bench, Hurdle could have and should have opted to double switch then and there (something he ended up doing the next time around the order with Ryan Spilborghs). But after the Daisuke Matsuzaka single he was pulled for Franklin Morales anyway who retired Pedroia for the final out. What was perplexing was that, now down 6-0, Morales was allowed to lead off the bottom of the third. Although he's a good hitting pitcher and he pitched well in his 2.3 innings of work the game situation dictated that no outs from this point forward could afford to be wasted.

Formualic. When Matt Herges came in to the game in the seventh he disposed of the Sox hittrs on three strikeouts and 13 pitches inducing four swinging strikes. Despite his success and that with the game now at 6-5 and the prospect of extra innings, Hurdle opted to follow his formula to the letter and bring Brian Fuentes into the game. That it didn't work out doesn't really matter, at the time it seemed like a questionable move.

Good Umpiring. Both contentious calls last night (Ramirez getting called out at the plate and Varitek thrown out at first by Troy Tulowitzki) were called correctly by the umpires.

Bad Luck. Although the Red Sox are the stronger team and would win perhaps around 70% of the series against the Rockies if one could play it over and over again, once again the Rockies got a taste of what the Phillies and DBacks experienced in the previous two series. Three defensive plays, one by Cory Sullivan on a sinking liner to his right, one by Troy Tulowitzki on a Coco Crisp liner up the middle, and the other by Brad Hawpe on a ball down the right field line, were an eyelash from being caught. Meanwhile, pinch hitters Jeff Baker and Willy Taveras both hit line drives that were caught by Sox infielders.