WIN #2: DICEK DOMINATES; UMPS COMPARE BOOGIE SIZE, IGNORE TEKS HOMER

Dicek was on yesterday in a way we haven't really seen since the beginning of last season when he single-handedly slayed the Royals in KC. Actually, it took him until the second inning after giving up a right field dong to Jack Cust (of the Minor League Custs) to start dealing, but deal he did, striking out tons of the batters he faced (I don't have the numbers in front of me - I think he K'd 9) before getting close to 100 pitches and being removed by Terry Francona, who probably wouldn't approve of this run-on sentence.

Still, it was good to see him pitch that well, in light of Beckett and Schilling getting hurt (though hardly equally) and especially in light of the way he pitched in Japan. We can only hope that this signals the beginning of an extended stretch of quality pitching, rather than an isolated outing.

Youuuk also had a banner day, getting three hits including a triple that maybe, probably should've been caught by Emil Brown in left. Brown backed up to the wall and then leapt but the ball traveled just over his glove, caromed off the wall and back towards the infield allowing the ever speedy Youuuk three bases.

An odd play was Jason Varitek's two-run-homer-turned-one-run-double in seventh. The ball hit above the yellow 'homer' line above the out of town scoreboard. Balls that hit above that line, again, like Tek's, are homers, balls below remain in play, but four umps on the field and not one of them saw the ball hit above the yellow line. Makes you wonder what it was they were looking at.

Ump #1: "Man, this sure is a great booger... I hope I don't ever have to throw it away..."

Ump #2: "Hmmm... did I leave the stove on? Naw... well...? Noo... well? Hmmm..."

Ump #3: "Theres Johnson staring at his boogers again."

Ump #4: "Wow! Tek really got into that Oh! An eastern yellow-breasted robin!"

MORE FUN WITH TOM GORDON'S ERA

I did a little research and believe it or not, the number 135 is a few other things besides Tom Gordon's ERA. 135 is:

• a highway that goes through Topeka, Kansas.
• an astrological aspect called a "sesquiquadrate," meaning when two planets are 135 degrees apart.
• the name of standard 35mm film.
• the number of prime numbers between the number 1,000 and the number 2,000.
• the year King Espander took the thrown from Menander I in the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Thats 135 BC.
• high enough that there is not a corresponding element on the periodic table.
• 200 less than the 335 years war, which lasted 335 years.
• 35 years longer than the hundred years war, which lasted 116 years.
• the number of people killed in a truck bombing in Bagdad on February 4th.
• the number of different kinds of PCDFs (no, I have no idea what a PCDF is).
• the number of thousands of dollars which will be required to buy a flying saucer house in Tennessee. Seriously: http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/03/21/tennessee-flying-saucer-house-sells-for-135k/
• is CXXXV in roman numerals.

IN LIEU OF SOMETHING BETTER...

I.e a Red Sox game...

The Red Sox were on hiatus last night, waiting in Oakland for yet another Opening Day ceremony,so I made a point of watching some non-Red Sox Opening Day baseball. If yesterday was any indicator, an exciting season is in front of us.

I didn't get to watch all day (unfortunately), but I did flip around after I got home from work, and there seemed to be a large number of firemen setting fires in the later innings.

Maybe the most enjoyable moment was the utter predictability of watching Eric Gagne reprise his role as Game Destroyer Extraordinaire by blowing a three run lead to the Cubs in the ninth inning. The Cubs and Brewers went into the ninth tied 0-0. Cubs phenom-turned-injury-waiting-to-happen-turned-injured-turned-closer Kerry Wood took the mound and promptly gave up three runs. Then the Brewers Manager (Ned Yost?) sent in the team's newly minted $10M closer, Gagne, who proceeded to give up, in succession, a hard single, a four pitch walk, and a three run homer. Mission accomplished!

Then the Cubs gave the lead and the game back in the tenth.
The Cubs weren't the only team to come back only to lose. The Tigers came back from one run down to KC in the eighth inning to send the game into extra innings, only to lose in the eleventh inning. Neither of those games can approach the gut-wrenching-ness of the Phillies/Nats game however.

The Phillies were down 6-2, but came back to tie the game. (When I turned on the game it was 6-6.) Going into the top of the ninth, Phils manager Charlie Manual turned to soon-to-be-ex-closer Tom Gordon. Gordon out-did even Gagne by giving up five runs in the ninth while only recording one out. (For those of you scoring at home, that puts Gordon's ERA at a well-beyond-Gagne-esque 135.00.) Gordon was, rightly, yanked from the game and to my amazement, wasn't even booed on his way back to the dugout. The fans in Philly must have been in too much shock.

I didn't get to watch any of the Pirates/Braves game, but the Braves came back from a 9-4 deficit scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Then gave up 3 in the in the top of the twelfth, then scored two in the bottom of that inning before leaving the tying run on base.

Hopefully the Sox win tonight 12-0, but at this rate, I wouldn't bet on anything.