While wondering if the Sox could beat the Twins if it came down to it, and I have very serious doubts, I just have ask how on earth the Twins let Nathan throw A-Rod a 3-1 fastball. Period. I'm not even going to get into the shitty location as it's just a function of the high-risk pitch selection. In that situation you simply have to avoid letting Arod beat you with a worst-case scenario (as occurred). And he's Arod for chrissakes - obviously he's sitting there mentally screening scenarios of himself parading around the bases - he's sitting dead red. Throw something that gets you some downward movement and try to get him to put it on the ground; if you walk him, you walk him, and you move on and try to hold them to one run facing worse players. If Nathan is insisting on throwing that pitch somebody needs to go out there and talk him down. If Mauer called it, well, my estimation of him has been hit. This kept me awake last night. Just brutal.



Note: this is nearly an exact duplicate of the chart of the pitch Papelbon threw him for the late gamer against the Sox. Good times.

You may be right ASF. It would be a kinder blow. I chalked it up to the fact that he looked like he was about to blow a blood vessel at any minute. That dude was clenched up tighter than a homophobe in the Castro.