Papelbon’s dance of jubilation in Denver doesn’t seem too long ago, but here we are again.  I will add, not a moment too soon, because this winter absolutely sucks.  Last night, at 7:15 PM Eastern Time, I was watching the Red Sox on NESN, with a cold Harpoon IPA in my hand and a raging erection in my pants.  The Patriots had an outstanding season, the Celtics are in the midst of one, and yet, last night was the happiest I’ve been since, well…October.

A couple of observations.

To my untrained eye, Twins sophomore hurler Kevin Slowey looks promising.  He was slapped around, yielding back-to-back home runs to Kevin Youkilis and Jason Varitek (save it for the season, big guy!), but he was featuring a sneaky ~93 MPH fastball, a pitch which should yield results when utilized with his excellent control.

Hideki Okajima’s “out pitch”, the hybrid split finger which brought the American League hitters to their knees in 2007, looked good in the few times it was thrown last night.  Jerry Remy noted that the team plans on budgeting Okajima’s usage a bit differently this year, to prevent the burn-out issues that occurred last September.

One guy to watch in Pawtucket this season is catcher George Kottaras.  The 24-year-old has a .900 OPS on the road in 2007, and a meager .211 BABIP at home (indicating an imminent upward correction in his offensive numbers).   Kottaras had a HR and a double last night, as he looks to recapture his status as a MLB catching prospect.

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