Yes, it happened again. 

The Red Sox offense rolled over and played dead for yet another sub-par lefty.  This time, the benefactor of the generosity was Kei Igawa, the Japanese import for whom GM Brian Cashman paid a fortune in December, and has been getting lit up like Chernobyl by the rest of the league (7.84 ERA entering the game).

Of course, I’m not really being fair. Some credit is due to Kei Igawa, who actually did look good, especially against the left-handed hitters.  Watching J.D. Drew wave haplessly at Igawa’s slider gave me flashbacks of Trot Nixon trying to hit against Barry Zito.  Igawa did not leave many mistakes out over the plate, and he didn’t have the monstrous control issues he’s had in his other starts.

I had a very bad feeling when Jeff Karstens left the game in the first inning.  While the Pinstriped Ones had not caught a break in quite a while, they definitely got one when a line drive took Karstens out of Joe Torre’s list of options.  Let’s face it, their luck was going to turn eventually.

I have to tip my cap to the faithful fans at Yankee Stadium who gave Igawa a vibrant standing ovation as he left the mound in the 7th inning; I’m sure they’ve been behind him all the way.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I’m sure this is just a temporary thing, and I’m as patient as the next guy, but:

The pitching matchup for tomorrow’s rubber game is not a favorable one:
Julian Tavarez vs Chien-Ming Wang.

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