CENTER FIELD :: [Insert "Master"-related Pun Here]

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[Insert "Master"-related Pun Here]

It is entirely too early to rejoice and hail Mr. Justin "Too Tall" Masterson as the savior of the lackluster bullpen... but I'm going to do it anyway.

All Hail the 'Pen Prince!

He's Master-ful! The Master of his domain! He's the bullpen's Master-of-arms! He Master-fully handled the Mariners! [Insert your own pun on a derivation of "Masterson" here.]

In his first outing from the bullpen, the 'Pen Prince went for 2 2/3 innings. Even better, he pitched a perfect 2 2/3 innings. In a game that ended up going deep into extra innings, PP's masterful (ahem) long relief was a necessary component of the victory. And for that, Justin Masterson has earned himself Baseball Boyfriend of the Day honors. Tito Francona was pretty taken with him as well:

"I think that's the guy we hoped we'd see," Francona said of Masterson. "That was electric. The ball came out of his hand (well). He had poise. You're not going to jump up and down for the future (yet), but that was exciting.

"There was no reason to take him out," Francona continued when asked about the length of Masterson's outing. "I don't think we'd say we look that far ahead (in any game), but with his effectiveness, we weren't going to rush him out of there."

Pen Prince's fellow pitchers aren't going to skate by unmentioned.

Starter Clay Buchholz is the newest disciple of The Jason Varitek Workout, and decided to show off his ass-over-teakettle skills last night while trying to flash some leather in the third inning.

And Clay wasn't the only pitcher that failed to deliver Gold Glove-caliber defense. Jonathan Papelbon had a hell of a time trying to field a little bloop dribble hit by Jose Vidro in the 11th inning. And Mike Lowell is not going to let Papelbon off easy.

"You know, he and [Josh] Beckett think that they should get a Gold Glove, but they stink," said Mike Lowell. "Paps whiffed at that ball twice. First, it would have gone foul. Then I don't know if he kicked it, spit on it, kneed it, or whatever. That one, I want to see a replay - because that was terrible. I don't think he'll ever talk about a Gold Glove again."

"Pitchers always say they can hit and they can field and they get their chance and they screw it up. It's like me saying I can go on the mound and start getting guys out, although I went 9-0 in high school with a 1.74 ERA."

Nice way to work in that stat line there at the end, Mikey.

Comments (7)

[ Adam ] says:
on July 24, 2008 12:40 PM

speaking of gold glovers. Lowell definitely deserves the gold glove this year. No Chavez playing, and I don't want to hear anymore about Adrian Beltre....Lowell shouldve won it in 2006. Crisp shouldve won it in 2007. Bad job outta the voters

[ mouse ] says:
on July 24, 2008 2:34 PM

I do so love Mike Lowell's wit, especially when he's busting on his teammates.

Masterson sure was impressive. The break on his 2-seamer yesterday was beyond ridiculous.

[ jules ] says:
on July 24, 2008 2:39 PM

Masterson is just what we need: a long reliever who can get the job done. His nearly 3 innings was a huge factor in the W last night.

Great quote by Mikey. ha.

[ julia ] says:
on July 24, 2008 4:48 PM

Does anyone else get the feeling that Masterson has a really sarcastic sense of humor that he is juuuuust able to rein in? When I watch him being interviewed it seems like he's two seconds away from saying something inappropriate, at all times.

[ Jennifer ] says:
on July 24, 2008 5:47 PM

I only get that feeling when he's talking to Heidi "I know nothing about baseball" Watney. Like when she asked him if coming from the pen was easy. He started to laugh, cleared his throat, and gave a polite answer.

Otherwise I just think he's this incredibly funny guy. Maybe a bit dry in his humor, but I can't picture anything inappropriate coming from his mouth.

I was reading some article, and Paps seems pretty taken by him too. Went on and on about how J-Mast made all the right pitches at all the right times, etc, etc. It was pretty awesome.

Fielders, our pitchers are not. Especially Clay, whose legs I suspect are growing too fast for him to handle. He hasn't quite caught up to his height.

[ Karen ] says:
on July 24, 2008 9:10 PM

As much as I do love Paps, he did screw that up. He looked like he had been drinking.
I love the Heidi Watney comment. I do wonder if she was only hired for her looks. I find it amusing watching her interview Mike Lowell. She blushes a lot, and looks like she is thinking I want you.

[ Kourtney ] says:
on July 24, 2008 10:06 PM

God, that would have been AWFUL coming from anyone but Mikey Lowell, but it was awesome, just awesome... Yeah, I think Heidi does want him... Oh yeah, and she IS useless!

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