So what\'s the verdict, did Joba throw at Youkilis intentionally?
On one hand, Joba had great control all night (so good that the inside corner actually expanded all the way to Mike Lowell\'s belt buckle in the ninth inning), and he has thrown at Youkilis twice before.
On the other hand, it was a 1-0 game, and Youkilis was the leadoff man in the seventh inning with All-Star caliber player Mike Lowell (Joe Crede, my ass) and All-Star MVP J.D. Drew batting behind him. Thus, putting him on base intentionally would be pretty stupid.
But, on yet another hand, the count was 2-0, and Joba could have figured that he was better off walking him then giving him a pitch to hit (of course, the Yanks lucked out big when the ball over Youk\'s head happened to hit the bat for strike one).
And of course, maybe the pitch just slipped and this is a huge coincidence. You never know.
Or.... maybe Joba\'s just smarter than the rest of us, and he realizes that the Sox/Yanks feud needs a jumpstart. Sadly, it\'s the American League, and Joba can\'t just catch a fastball between the numbers in his next at-bat against Boston to settle the score.
Either way, looking forward to two more tight games this weekend, with the Sox hopefully picking up a couple wins to keep ahead of the Yanks and in step with the Rays (who are at Kansas City and likely taking at three out of four).
