Tuesday, August 30, 2011

PawSox @ Red Wings - Quick Hits

I had the opportunity to see the visiting PawSox tonight at Frontier Field. Some quick impressions:

- J.D. Drew was extremely comfortable at the plate in his rehab assignment. He singled in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th and looked very professional. There's something to be said about an established Major Leaguer who rehabs and acts like he cares and J.D. certainly fell into that category tonight. He was replaced in the bottom of the 5th by Nate Spears.

- Kevin Youkilis' back looks fine. DHing tonight for the PawSox, he hustled from 1st to home on a Ryan Lavarnway double in the 5th and showed the same kind of effort and intensity that we have grown accustomed to in Boston. Youk was 1-4 with a BB and was pinch run for in the 9th.

- Will Middlebrooks' throwing accuracy from the hot corner was shaky. The youngster had 2 throws go astray but Lars Anderson made great plays on both to save potential errors.

-Jose Iglesias could prove to be a very valuable defensive replacement for the Red Sox if he gets the call. He's so smooth at short and it looks effortless.

- Starting pitcher Greg Smith, an oft forgotten piece in both the Dan Haren to Arizona and Matt Holliday to Oakland deals, got battered around by a mediocre Rochester lineup. Smith let every baserunner bite him on the scoreboard. Very tough night. His final line: 5IP, 6H, 6ER, 3BB, 3K.

- The difference tonight was Rochester's ability to capitalize on their chances. The PawSox had 15 hits and drew 2 walks but were responsible for 3 double plays to kill rally opportunities.


I'll be live blogging for tomorrow's 7:05 Pawtucket @ Rochester clash. Check in for live updates or follow me @Thomas_Saucke

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