Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Rotating Rotation

There has been a change made by Terry Francona in the postseason pitching rotation. Daisuke Matsuzaka, orginally slated to pitch games two and five (if necessary) but then moved back to game three behind Curt Schilling, has been slid into the number two spot once again. Here's what the Red Sox pitching coach had to say.......

"We know that starter No. 2 is also going to be called upon in Game 5, if that situation does arise," pitching coach John Farrell said. "I think Daisuke's last performance closing out the regular season was a main contributor to that. And he has not faced the Angels to date, and we feel some of the unknown might be in favor of the pitcher at this point.
"I think there were signs leading up to the last start that he was making the necessary adjustments to get back to his approach that he used pretty much in the first three months in the season. I think it was a huge step, particularly for his own confidence."

Peter here, and yes, Daisuke was on top of his game that fateful day. And it IS a plus that the Angels have not seen him yet this year. Now as long as he sticks to the selection of pitches that worked for him in his first half of the season, echoed in his last start. Daisuke, don't shake off 'Tek! Josh Beckett will go against Angel ace John Lackey in games 1 and 4 (if necessary). It all starts tomorrow evening in the place of our dreams, Fenway Park. The Sox and Angels will play Game 1 on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Game 2 on Friday at 8:37 p.m., and Game 3 on Sunday at 3:07 p.m. The entire series will be televised on TBS, whose Hi-Def feed (ch. 198, for those of you in the area) was JUST added to my cable lineup yesterday. Perfect timing, Comcast!

Changing subjects, I've mentioned numerous times in the past month that tonight is a very special night for the city of Hartford, and for me too. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band open their 2007-08 World Tour right here at the Hartford Civic Center. The new album MAGIC is also released today. I was lucky that I was able to grab a ticket for the show, for 16,679 seats sold out in 15 minutes. But I'll be there for my 56th Bruce concert. That goes back a long, long way, for I first saw a scruffy, somewhat short bearded guy and his musical pals in 1974. His sheer incandescent energy instantly made me a Bruce fan supreme, and tonight cannot come soon enough. My review and the Hartford Courant review will appear right here, bright and early tomorrow. Here's what the Boston Globe had to say about the new album....

".......obviously, Springsteen has forgotten his roots and has become mired in a greasy pool of self-indulgence.
Don't you believe it.
I've listened to Magic twice this evening. There are echoes of Bruce's recent past, his middle years, and most definitely his roots. Put plainly, the record flat-out ROCKS. Walls of sound. There are grinding guitars, pounding drums, ghostly keyboards, piano, glockenspiel, snarling guitar solos, harmonica, melodies galore, cool vocal harmonies ... and Clarence. The BigMan. The longtime friend. The anchor. Bruce's singing on Magic takes some interesting turns as well, with swooping melodies pitted against a few very different song structures. While listening to "Girls In Their Summer Clothes," I scribbled down "...I've never heard Bruce sing like this before."
Magic ends with the hidden track "Terry's Song," a heartfelt tribute to his longtime friend Terry Magovern, who passed away at the end of July. One line brings into focus the many reasons why I love this music, and why music in general is so important to me: "Love is a power greater than death."

Peter here, and love IS all that, and more. Everyone, my wonderful readers all, enjoy your Tuesday, October 2nd. I know I will! And click on the title of this post for more on game two starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. And remember........"SHOW A LITTLE FAITH, THERE'S MAGIC IN THE NIGHT." Always and forever. I promise.

5 Comments:

At 10/02/2007 10:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I heard about the schedule/pitching at Rally Monday! The suspense til tomorrow's game builds!

 
At 10/02/2007 1:33 PM, Blogger Ian said...

Have fun at Bruce tonight

 
At 10/02/2007 3:31 PM, Blogger Peter N said...

Thanks Ian! I know I will! And Carol, my thoughts turn to the Sox tomorrow....tonight, it's Bruce...ALL BRUCE. Great to hear from both of you!!

 
At 10/02/2007 8:11 PM, Blogger laura said...

Hope you're enjoying the show!

A little reprieve before we start the tense nervousness that is October.

 
At 10/03/2007 7:58 AM, Blogger Peter N said...

Laura, thanks, on this Wed. morning. I hope you can read my morning post, post-concert, voice nonexistant, but happy BEYOND words!
GO SOX!!

 

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