BOSTON, MA - MAY 31: Adrian Gonzalez #28 of the Boston Red Sox walks back to the dugout after striking out to end the game on May 31, 2011 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Boston Red Sox 10-7. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Let's just say it was the Plate Appearance that launched a thousand blog posts, the At Bat that opened Magic Johnson's checkbook, the quarter-billion dollar face off.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE MLB VIDEO OF THE FINAL ADRIAN GONZALEZ AB IN A BOSTON UNIFORM.
With the tying run on base and representing the winning run, Boston 1B Adrian Gonzalez swung out of his shoes three times at the offerings of Angels closer Ernesto Frieri. He swung and missed to end the game just before the stroke of midnight. It was the final swing of his Red Sox career and the final swing of the game as it recorded the third out of the bottom of the tenth inning.That final out of the game sealed a three game Fenway Park sweep by the Angels and, while it might not have been the first domino, it was the biggest up to that point to smash down on the destiny of two franchises. And yet other teams are affected. The Angels will face the Gonzalez-free Chowds in Anaheim middle of next week, so the postseason gets impacted in little ways around the league.
Most massive of all is the impact this has on the Dodgers for the remainder of 2012. Don't be so sure this is a slam dunk improvement. A healthy Carl Crawford and A-Gon in 2013 might be priceless, but Josh Beckett's mediocrity might actually be more of a negative in the media vacuum that is Southern California. Without a throng of bad-breathed print reporters rubbing up against his pecs in a cramped little 1912 locker room, will Beckett actually feel ignored and act out? L.A. has Zankou chicken with which Beckett can destroy a locker room's chemistry.
Recall the last Chowd-bot who came out to L.A., Derek Lowe, promptly dumped his loving wife and shacked up with a hoochie Hermosa Beach sports reporter. No it wasn't Helene Elliot, it was one of the infinitely replaceable clone Barbies that swallow their way to the middle of old mainstream sports broadcasting these days, but the point is that Chowds cannot handle the glory and temptation of SoCal. From the desert to the sea, East Coast goons do not know how to live like gods, something you and I master before breakfast each Southern California morning.
Who knows, who cares? The Red Sox have money to spend on the free agent market a year too late to get Albert Pujols and the Dodgers just took on Pujols salary condensed to payout over six seasons instead of ten. In fact, the first shoe to drop after the bombshell trade is this analysis by the SBN Dodgers' blog TRUE BLUE L.A.: Looks like THE BROOKLYN BLUEBALLS WILL BE PAYING A LUXURY PAYROLL TAX IN 2013!!!!


There are 69 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.