Random Thoughts: ALCS Game 2 Edition

-Probably my favorite part of the night: the Dan Wheeler glove shake! Even though I have watched numerous Rays games during the season, I never noticed the Wheeler glove shake until now. Anyone else notice this? Wheeler comes to the set, which is followed by a vicious glove shake to which Wheeler then resets and then throws the pitch. How cool is that? Not too mention that Wheeler was pretty darn good last night (3 IP).

-When was the last time we saw a second baseman as good as Dustin Pedroia? He can do it all. And seriously, when was the last time we had this many good 2b? In addition to Pedroia, we have Ian Kinsler, Chase Utley, Dan Uggla, Brian Roberts. That's a pretty amazing list considering how difficult it is to find a good 2b. I'd still take Pedroia over all of them for my money.

-Kevin Youkilis is immensly talented and plays a phenomianal 1b and 3b (dude can probably win a gold glove at both positions), but Youk, the beard's gotta go. That thing is fuggly.

-One thing that is evident when you watch the Red Sox play is their depth. Mike Lowell goes down, Kevin Youkilis fills in. JD Drew goes down, Coco Crisp comes in. Julio Lugo goes down, Jed Lowrie comes in. And to top it all off, Mark Kotsay can play multiple positions with seamingless ease. The Sox are deep, very very deep.

-For all you Sox fans out there, who would you have wanted out there in the 11th inning? The ghost of Mike Timlin, or Paul Byrd and his 84 MPH fastball? Hindsight 20/20, I would've gone with Byrd.

-Evan Longoria has officially joined the status of "if I'm starting a team, this guy could/should be my first pick." Also joining the group, Dustin Pedroia.

-If Jacoby Ellsbury gets on base just once yesterday, the Red Sox definitely would have won. Yes I know, that's sort of a bold statement, but the Sox 2-5 hitters went a combined 9-19 with 3 HR and 5 BB. That's very very impressive.

-How many times have we seen a team score 8 runs while having two hitters go 0-6 (Ellsbury and Kotsay)? Again, very impressive.

-If the Rays are going to keep winning, they are going to need a productive Scott Kazmir. With that said, the Red Sox cannot win without a productive Josh Beckett. The Rays have enough pitching (bullpen/Edwin Jackson) to cover for a mediocre Kazmir, while the Sox do not. Beckett is still their key to a championship.

-David Price=stud. It's impressive enough to watch a 23 year old throw 95 MPH, but Price's composure is tremendous. Even though he has only been in the bigs for a few weeks, Price was never rattled last night even after walking JD Drew. This guy will be an absolute terror in the AL East for the next 10 years.