In two words, David Pauley. Watching this kid walk out to the mound in Yankee Stadium, with only a single start under his belt, after suddenly getting the call-up from the double-A ranks - and pitching a veritable GEM against the Yankees?! How could anyone feel bad? Yes, they lost a close one, and that sucks. But when you think about the fact that only one fielding gaffe, or 6 further inches tacked onto a blast from Manny Ramirez, would have sent that game into extra innings, you can't feel bad.
For those who watched the game last night, you would have seen Pauley sit Giambi and A-Rod down every time they came up - putting up a pair of 0-fers. Throw most rookies out there and they're messing themselves. Hopefully the momentum and the preparation carries Pauley into this weekend's start against the Rangers with some better luck and some heavier bats to back him up.
A final note about the Sox pitching staff: We all know Jonathan Papelbon has risen to the "Stud" plateau already. He's still a rookie. Manny Delcarmen's been called up a bunch of times already - another rookie. Last night Craig Hansen gets the phone-call to join them in New York, and this weekend will probably bring John Lester's first major league start. The pitching staff's age has been seriously skewed as of late, and Bostonist, for one, is excited about it.
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