Well, the Sox lost their first televised game (at least on basic cable) against the Twins. I didn’t even realize that today’s game was being broadcasted until I turned on the TV and happened to catch the first pitch. Anyway, here we go:
1. Today’s matchup: The Sox vs. Santana… Johan Santana that is, one of the best pitchers right now in baseball.
2. The starting pitcher for the Sox was John Danks who was making his major league debut. Other than the 3 runs he gave up in the 4th inning, he was quite impressive.
3. For several innings after the 4th, the WGN scoreboard going into commericals stated that the score was 0 – 0.
4. On a full count, it’s always amusing when a batter watches the last pitch, assuming that it’s a ball, yet the plate umpire calls it a strike. Embarrassing. Even more embarrassing when there are two outs, and the batter is already trying to take their base, while the defense is running towards the bullben.
5. I’m starting to recognize several routines from Sox batters when they’re up to bat. Before each pitch, Thome likes to extend his bat from his body, pointing it towards center field. Konerko spits into the palms of his gloves and rubs them together for extra friction.
6. The camera angle for close up’s on right-handed batters showed two girls that held up small, hand-written signs. One of them said: Happy Easter. The other: Hello Sarah. After nine innings, I think Sarah’s got the message.
7. The Easter bunny entertained the crowd with the Robot Dance.
8. A ten year old sings “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch.
9. The second televised Sox homer is once again provided by Juan Uribe.