Paco is a Sneaky Pepper

The Red Sox had a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st Thursday night in Toronto. But the Blue Jays had loaded the bases, with one out, and slugger Frank Thomas at the plate. Tim Wakefield had a 2.11 ERA coming into the game, but was off to a bit of an inauspicious start. Wakefield fell behind 2 balls/0 strikes, before coming back to strike out Thomas for the second out. Then, in an instant, the inning was over. Catcher Doug Mirabelli fired a pickoff throw to 1st, where 1B Kevin Youkilis tagged out baserunner Troy Glaus, to complete an inning-ending double play.

That was pretty much it for the Blue Jays right there. Wakefield faced the minimum 18 batters over the next six innings, allowing only one measly single to Vernon Wells, who was retired when Wakefield induced Glaus to hit into a double play. Wakefield used his fastball much more than usual, at least 25 of his 93 offerings were his 78 MPH heater. His ERA is now 1.78. The Jays couldn't hit any of the Sox pitching last night, finishing with only five hits in the 8-0 loss.

The Sox bats had no problem with Jays ace Roy Halladay, who had one of the worst outings of his career. Halladay threw five innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eleven hits. The Sox jumped to a 8-0 lead after 4 innings, with a three-run HR from Mike Lowell being the key blow. Kevin Youkilis (3 hits), J. D. Drew (2), Manny Ramirez (2), and Alex Cora (2) all had multiple hit games.

All that was left at that point was to see what kind of wackiness Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo came up with. Remy had Wakefield-like stuff, commenting on the official scorer ("Does he think he's at the Kentucky Derby with that hat?"), and the sneaky methods that Paco employs in the Pepper mascot races in Toronto. Jerry and Don also found an interview with a fan who saw Ted Williams play, in person, "many times" hilarious, as the fan's hair almost blew away. Don said, "It was windy", between chuckles. Jerry did that wheezing laugh for a few pitches, before suddenly fully composing himself mid-sentence. Very impressive recovery.

Also very impressive is the pre-game show for Friday's game, which I am watching right now. Actually, this may very well be the best pre-game show ever. Yes, that's right folk(s). EVER. It definitely merits a separate post.