FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Operative description of the day:

As the seats began to fill up you could tell that Red Sox Nation would be out in force. Although parts of the stadium were surprisingly sparse, a vast majority of those in attendance were clad in Sox red which outnumbered Orioles Orange by easily a 10-to-1 ratio, and many of the orange folks were the elderly ushers and security personnel who are employed here at the stadium. The Boston backers even got in a prerequisite “Yankees Suck” chant in, although the timing of it, trailing 9-2 in the top of the eighth inning of a split squad road game was curious.

Another highlight was being able to hear the dulcet tones of MASN’s Gary Thorne coming past the partition separating the print media box from the TV booth as he called the game for the Orioles home network back in the Capital District. Hysterically, he also nearly was blasted by a foul ball, just feet to the right of where I got hit on Tuesday. I felt the impact from the back wall of the adjoining box.

Also on the weather front the rains came in the form of a very light shower at gametime, but then the storm clouds passed to the west, leaving the stadium bathed in sunlight for most of the contest.

As for the game, what seemed like it was going to be a pitching duel got out of hand in the bottom of the eighth when Boston starter Julian Taverez ran out of gas, giving up five runs with two outs in the inning. The Orioles  bats stayed hot for the rest of the game and although they outhit the Red Sox by only three, they outscored them by 10 for the final score of 12-2.

GOOD IMPRESSIONS:
His team may have gotten clobbered but outfielder Brandon Moss was a star at the plate, going three for four with an RBI and a double to left center off of starter Jeremy Guthrie that was absolutely scorched on a line. With an approach similar to that of former Sox star Trot Nixon, Moss is now batting .368 in the spring and is someone to keep an eye on for a callup once Drew gets hurt later this year.

Guthrie was in total command during his three innings, surrendering just two hits and a walk. He also struck out two. The only ball struck well against him was Moss’s two-bagger as he changed speeds and threw strikes, getting the ball up however, six of his nine outs came in the air.

Aubrey Huff is a forgotten man since he landed in Baltimore but he had a good day, blasting a long home run into the teeth of the wind. His drive cleared the bleachers in right field and bounced towards the picnic area, traveling at least 385 feet through the air.  That doesn’t sound too impressive, but with the wind blowing like it was, it was a monster.

Another Miami Hurricane, Alex Cora, was on top of his game today too. Boston’s utility infielder played a flawless shortstop, making difficult plays look routine, wile going two for three with and RBI with the bat.

Red Sox reliever Danny Kolb, yes that Dan Kolb who once was the Brewers closer got out of a jam by retiring his first batter, Nick Markakis, on strikes while coming out again, throwing a perfect seventh with another K.  
 


BAD IMPRESSIONS:
Last season’s mop-up man, Kyle Snyder didn’t help his cause at all today, giving up five earned runs in three innings in relief of Julian Tavarez. With at least 15 major-league ready arms in camp, the former Royal can ill afford to be as ineffective as he was today, especially in a situation that he would commonly be asked to perform during the regular season.

Veteran outfielder Bobby Kielty is also looking to secure a big league job, but he took the collar going 0 for 4.

Catcher Dusty Brown got a hit but his first two at bats were ugly, the hit where he had his bat sawed off by Guthrie, another in which he hit a weak check swing grounder to shortstop Luis Hernandez.

Sidearming relieve Chad Bradford was getting his pitches up in the strike zone and was hit hard, giving up two runs in one inning of work. For someone with a successful track record like him, you shouldn’t be worried.
 

MIXED IMPRESSIONS:

Third baseman Melvin Mora hit a massive fly ball down the left field line that started 40 feet in fair territory but was blown by the strong wind foul by 10 feet, eventually coming to a stop at third base of the Orioles practice field beyond the left field fence. For you counting at home, that was about 450 feet with the roll. Two pitches later Mora hit a ball into the right-centerfield gap for a double, proving again that he’s a professional hitter. Mora now has eight RBIs already this spring.
However Mora was also involved in one of the weirdest plays of the day when he hit a ground ball to short with one on in the first but his left spike slid out from under him and he was thrown out on a double play while still laying in the batter’s box.  

Fantasy non-factor Luis Hernandez had a sacrifice fly on a ball to right that he couldn’t have hit any farther, however he’s known for his glove and committed an error, both mental and physical, on an easy ground ball. He nonchalantly threw to first base too high, pulling first baseman Kevin Millar off the bag. With Freddie Bynum and Brandon Fahey waiting to steal that spot, he can’t afford to make bad plays like that.

Tomorrow for my finale I’ll be catching the Cardinals one last time as they play host in Jupiter to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then it’s back to the cold where I’ll be counting the hours until opening day.