Sox Rout Giants, Honor Roberts and Whiteside

Last night Boston finally got a number in the win column. I know my continuing complaining about Boston not winning is falling on deaf ears for those of you that aren’t a fan of my team. When losing every year to the Yankees for the division crown is as sure as spring training, you’re just waiting for that turning point when the Yankees overtake the Sox and don’t look back.

Fortunately for my sanity (at least for one day) the Sox took a game back from the Yanks and increased their lead in the AL East to eight and a half games. Dustin Pedroia and JD Drew came up big for the Sox last night. Placing them 1-2 in the lineup paid huge dividends as the Sox rolled to a 10-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Drew went off for three runs and three RBIs and finished the night batting 3-for-4. Pedroia was 5-for-5 with two runs, a homer and five RBI’s. Julian Tavarez is making his case to hold down his starting job with his performance last night. After the seventh inning was completed he received a huge ovation from the Fenway faithful. He out dueled Giant’s ace Barry Zito for his fourth win of the year.

Giant’s veteran centerfielder Dave Roberts received a hero’s welcome during his first at bat last night in the top of the first inning. The night’s first ovation lasted nearly a minute. Roberts was responsible for the stolen base and the spark that put him in position to turn in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. This was no doubt the turning point before the popular turning point of the series when David Ortiz hit the game winning walk off two run home run in the bottom of the 12^th in Game 4. If Roberts doesn’t pinch run for Kevin Millar and doesn’t score in the ninth, I’d still be bitching about an 88 year drought and the Curse of the Bambino would live on. I’d say the guy deserves it, even though he only played half the season coming over with Mark Belhorn to the Sox in the Garciaparra trade and was only really a bit player. That just went to show that all 25 guys played key roles that year. From Damon and Schilling down to guys like Roberts mattered on that ’04 team.

The Sox also took a moment of silence before the game to honor former Boston Globe writer and African American journalist pioneer Larry Whiteside. “Sides” got his start in Kansas City (the city in which I reside) at the Kansas City Kansan and was a trailblazer for black journalists across the nation. He created the “blacklist” to help sports editors across the country hire quality black writers. Aside from helping his peers and his distinguished career covering the Red Sox at the Globe for thirty years, he wrote for the Milwaukee Journal and covered Henry Aaron for ten years starting in 1963 and covered the civil rights movement of the late Sixties. The man earned the respect of everyone he covered in Boston, and I know he’ll be missed greatly by the city of Boston and Red Sox Nation in general. Ever since I’ve been reading local articles from the World-Herald and the Globe, I’ve been reading not only his more recent work but his work from his considerable great past. Just like Joe Castiglione is a staple on WRKO, and the fact that it would be hard to imagine anyone else calling the game on the radio, so was Whiteside to the Globe. A part of the Red Sox died this week, but his spirit will no doubt carry on.