Dogs Walk off With a Win

Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth. The Portland Sea Dogs and the Connecticut Defenders are tied at two. At bat is Boston's top prospect - one of the top 10 or 15 in all of baseball this year according to most - slugging first baseman Lars Anderson. The crowd is on its feet. The biggest pitch of the night is on its way. Anderson cocks his bat and.....

watches it miss the strike zone! Ball four! Sea Dogs win!

OK, so it's not the most clutchiest-sounding finish for such a dramatic situation. A grand slam certainly would have made (what was left of) the crowd go much more nuts than it did. But a win is a win, and the finish illustrates one of the reasons Anderson is so highly regarded - his patience at the plate. Sure, he's a big strapping kid with lots of power, but there are lots of those kinds of players out there. Anderson realizes that you don't have to hit every pitch out of the ballpark to win games. He's not afraid to take a walk, and this combination of on-base skill and pure power are what sets him apart from the rest. He's 21 years old and already in AA. He's got a bright future ahead of him.

Good seats still available

Also impressing last night was 22-year-old center fielder Josh Reddick. Reddick isn't as big as Anderson, and he's more athletic. Reddick is also much more aggressive at the plate. Contrary to the Red Sox organizational philosophy of being patient at the plate, Reddick rarely walks. However, he has a sweet swing, hits the ball squarely and has surprising power. Reddick was 4-5 with a double and a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 8th. Reddick also has good speed, which enabled him to leg out an infield single with two outs in the 9th, helping to set up Anderson's heroics. Reddick's legs also enabled him to track down a long fly ball off the bat of Connecticut's Bobby Felmy in the sixth inning, saving extra bases.

The Sea Dogs got some good pitching as well. Starter Adam Mills gave up two runs over the first five innings, but he was extremely efficient in throwing only 56 pitches. Also efficient was reliever Richie Lentz. After allowing the aforementioned deep fly ball by Felmy, Lentz overpowered the next five Connecticut batters with his blazing fastball. He recorded five strikeouts while throwing only three pitches out of the strike zone. Reliever Chris Province collected the win by allowing only one baserunner to reach (on an error) over the last two frames.

Top pitching prospect Junichi Tazawa enjoys the Portland weather while charting pitches.

Though it was the second game of the season, the crowd was of the typical April Friday variety, with about 3,000 in attendance. Fortunately the weather was warmer than I expected, with temps in the mid 50's at game time and mid 40's by the time the final run scored. Here's hoping the mild air is the norm this spring!