Back in February, I wrote an article on the unknown Spring Training non-roster invitee Darnell McDonald. It was entitled, Watch Out for Darnell McDonald and is a overview of McDonald’s past experience and talent. The newest addition to the Sox roster burst onto the scene with 2 gigantic hits in Tuesday night’s comeback, walk-off win and immediately endeared himself to Red Sox fans everywhere, whether you knew his name because you read my blog (shameless, I know) or you had no idea who number 54 was when he walked into the batter’s box.
With both Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury on the 15-day DL, the Sox are in need of a spark from their bench and their newly called-up guys like Darnell McDonald and Josh Reddick. The flat and boring Sox got a lift yesterday from the two new faces in the clubhouse and their back-up outfielder, Jeremy Hermida, as the three combined for 6 of the 7 RBIs in the 7-6 victory. The only other RBI was from struggling catcher Victor Martinez, who had 3 hits on the day in his effort to make up for his inability to throw out a single Texas base-stealer.
If indeed history repeats itself, this win will spark better play in all facets of the game for the Sox. It could not come at a more crucial time either, because after being swept in a 4-game series by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox had fallen 6 games back in the division. With a Rays loss last night, they gained a game and are beginning to point their season back in the upward direction as long as the pitching staff can hold down the opposing offense.
Wakefield should be looking over his shoulder, because after a few poor outings in a row and Dice-K scheduled to make his final rehab start in the minors today, he may be the odd man out. The Sox won no thanks to Wake, who allowed 6 earned runs on 7 hits and 5 BBs in 6 innings. The pairing of Wake and V-Mart also resulted in a franchise record 9 steals for the Texas Rangers, which is a serious problem going forward. V-Mart needs to work on his throwing accuracy and when that is coupled with 50+ mph pitches, it gets ugly.
Mark April 20th on your calendar as the day Darnell McDonald burst onto the Red Sox scene and the day the Sox season turned around. In October when we look back, Tuesday will compare to the Alex Rodriguez/Jason Varitek fight in July of 2004. It will be the moment the team became reinvigorated and the season began to take on an importance for each and every player. We can only hope I am right and the end result is the same. Cross your fingers.
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