Bailey's Daily!
This is Bailey's Daily Blog site to complain, compose, give utterance to, or just plain wax poetic. I am, if I may say, an adorable, sweet, TALENTED, 4 1/2 year old Beagle (that's 32 in people years who was rescued from Zell Miller's and Saxby Chambliss' South Georgia!). I love the Red Sox, my mom, gramdma's cooking, ice cream and playing in the dog park! I am learning how to email and blog with no opposable thumbs! IT'S BLOG-GONE FUN! WOOF!:)Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Sox Win 5-3 over Detroit - Big Night for Mirabelli and Halama
DETROIT -- It was one of those seemingly innocuous moves that a manager makes over the course of a 162-game season. Red Sox manager Terry Francona, thinking it would be good to get slugger David Ortiz a night of rest, inserted backup catcher Doug Mirabelli as the designated hitter for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.
The result? Anything but innocuous. Mirabelli crushed a grand slam to left field with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, overturning a 2-1 deficit with one mighty swing.
That was the big hit the Sox needed in a 5-3 victory over the Tigers. It was the third grand slam of Mirabelli's career, and the fourth hit by the Sox this season.
"Dougie is a pretty smart hitter," said Francona. "He really pays attention to what's going on. He got the one pitch that he could do something with and look at what he did. He has that ability. The at-bats will only help him. He's a big part of what we do. It's going to help him, which will end up helping us."
While it certainly would have made great fodder for Francona to play this off as one of those hunches that former Sox manager Joe Morgan was famous for, the truth is that he put a lot of thought into the move, from both a short- and long-term perspective.
Mirabelli was off to a slow start at the plate and needed some more at-bats. This was an ideal situation with the Sox facing a lefty and the fact that Mirabelli is also scheduled to catch Wednesday with Tim Wakefield pitching.
"That was the thought about it from the beginning," Mirabelli said. "Not only was it a good time to get a rest, but I'm going to play [Wednesday] against another lefty. The more at-bats you can see and get under your belt, the more confident you're going to feel at the plate."
Speaking of confidence-builders, John Halama got one of his own in this one. Thrust into the rotation with both Curt Schilling and David Wells on the disabled list, Halama came up large in his first start of 2005, going five innings and allowing four hits and two runs while picking up the win. This performance was a perfect demonstration of why the Sox acquired Halama in December. He can thrive in a variety of roles and has the perfect demeanor to bounce from one role to the other.
"He knows how to pitch," said Francona. "He can add and subtract [speeds], he can locate. He doesn't get flustered. He's a pro. He's been a pro, he'll be a pro. And he'll give you some really good outings."
The result? Anything but innocuous. Mirabelli crushed a grand slam to left field with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, overturning a 2-1 deficit with one mighty swing.
That was the big hit the Sox needed in a 5-3 victory over the Tigers. It was the third grand slam of Mirabelli's career, and the fourth hit by the Sox this season.
"Dougie is a pretty smart hitter," said Francona. "He really pays attention to what's going on. He got the one pitch that he could do something with and look at what he did. He has that ability. The at-bats will only help him. He's a big part of what we do. It's going to help him, which will end up helping us."
While it certainly would have made great fodder for Francona to play this off as one of those hunches that former Sox manager Joe Morgan was famous for, the truth is that he put a lot of thought into the move, from both a short- and long-term perspective.
Mirabelli was off to a slow start at the plate and needed some more at-bats. This was an ideal situation with the Sox facing a lefty and the fact that Mirabelli is also scheduled to catch Wednesday with Tim Wakefield pitching.
"That was the thought about it from the beginning," Mirabelli said. "Not only was it a good time to get a rest, but I'm going to play [Wednesday] against another lefty. The more at-bats you can see and get under your belt, the more confident you're going to feel at the plate."
Speaking of confidence-builders, John Halama got one of his own in this one. Thrust into the rotation with both Curt Schilling and David Wells on the disabled list, Halama came up large in his first start of 2005, going five innings and allowing four hits and two runs while picking up the win. This performance was a perfect demonstration of why the Sox acquired Halama in December. He can thrive in a variety of roles and has the perfect demeanor to bounce from one role to the other.
"He knows how to pitch," said Francona. "He can add and subtract [speeds], he can locate. He doesn't get flustered. He's a pro. He's been a pro, he'll be a pro. And he'll give you some really good outings."
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