I'll never feel remotely bad for a professional baseball player who has won two World Series titles and made more money in his life than I can ever imagine.
Regardless of that fact, it was a funny feeling to see how well Josh Beckett pitched last night against the Tampa Bay Rays. Beckett (6-2), who has morphed into the AL's top pitcher, threw a one-hitter (his first shutout in almost two years) as the Red Sox (40-27) won 3-0 over the Rays (36-32) at Tropicana Field.
However, who knows how many miserable souls tuned into the baseball game while the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup Final in 39 years and put up their highest ever rating on TV.
Beckett lowered his AL-best ERA to 1.86, walking none and striking out six in what has to go down as one of the best starts of his life.
Reid Brignac had the lone hit for Tampa Bay, an infield single in the third, so there was never any intrigue of a no-hitter even though Beckett ended up almost getting a perfect game in the process.
Jeremy Hellickson (7-5), who looks about 12-years-old, matched Beckett until the seventh inning. After a triple by Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) and an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run bomb for his 10th homer of the season. It just got over the fence in left field, providing Boston with all the runs it needed. Hellickson allowed three earned runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Clay Buchholz and David Price duel tonight in the series finale. With no basketball or hockey left, the eyes of the sporting world in America turn to MLB. It makes sense to pay attention too since the summer weather is finally here.
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