Really, Curt Schilling just had to prove he still had it, huh?
Curt Schilling proved that he still has big playoff performances left in the veins. Now he gets to prove he’s got more in Game 2 Saturday.
With Red Sox Nation still buzzing over an ALDS sweep and overwhelming sense of shaudenfreude over the latest Yankee collapse, there was actual news to be made Tuesday, when Terry Francona announced that Schilling, and not Daisuke Matsuzaka, would start Game 2 at Fenway Park.
It’s an interesting shift. Dice-K didn’t pitch badly in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Angels, but he did have some serious rocky moments. The bullpen got involved earlier than wanted, and against a much more balanced lineup like the one Cleveland throws at a pitcher, it’s doubtful the Dice-man would have even lasted the 4 2/3 innings that he did.
That being said, some of what seemed to make Schilling’s dominance Sunday in Anaheim was predicated by the Angels’ big park. That should help Dice-K, too, but Schilling seems to gain so much from pitching in bigger parks than Fenway. He’s not the strikeout dominant pitcher he was when he came to Boston, that much has been proved over and over again. Still, isn’t that supposed to be who Dice-K currently is? Sure, he gives up some contact, but he gets lots of strikeouts, and most of his contact comes on hits that are bloops to the outfield or liners through the infield.
Schilling, meanwhile, gives up an even higher quotient of SSS’s (Schilling Solo Shots) in Fenway than he does anywhere else. The friendly confines have a hard time holding a lot of the fly balls that are long outs in places like Anaheim and, possibly, Cleveland.
Now, with all those prior things being said, we’re definitely not going to say that Francona is making a bad call in the shift. Schilling was absolutely masterful Sunday, dominating the Angels and looking even better after he got an early lead. It was the kind of postseason performance that has becoming vintage Schilling over the years; you just got the feeling that the game was over and won in about the fourth inning. That’s a great feeling.
Similarly, Dice-K has performed better on the road than he has at home throughout stretches of the year. By taking the pressure away from a Fenway start, it’s possible that he’ll settle earlier, avoid the first and second inning contact and cruise through a few innings, a luxury not afforded him against the Angels.
Will any of this happen? Who knows. But at the moment, it seems like a good idea. And right now, let Francona pull the trigger when he needs to. Worked well in round one, don’t you think?
It’s an easy equation really. Win two games, and the Red Sox get the Angels in the first round. Lose out, or drop three of four to Minninniesota, watch the Yankees take three of four, and play Cleveland.
The ability to use Dice-K more than once in a five-game series would be a big advantage for the Sox, no?
As much as it might seem like the second scenario bodes equally well for postseason success, the Red Sox do NOT want to go into the playoffs limping as the Wild Card. Here’s why.
1) If the Sox can finish with the best record in the AL - and the best in the majors by defunct - they get to pick when they start the playoffs. No biggie, right? Wrong. Should the Sox elect to open the playoffs next Wednesday, they would get a five game series in which they could pitch only their top three pitchers. That’s Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and Daisuke Matsuzaka, with Beckett and either Schilling or Matsuzaka going twice, if necessary. That’s a big advantage, regardless of opponent.
2) Despite the fact that the Red Sox won the season series with Cleveland, the Indians are not the team to be tangling horns with right now. The Tribe has cruised through September, sweeping reigning AL champ Detroit out of the playoffs during a remarkable hot streak. The biggest two factors in that push have been C.C. Sabathia, i.e. Monsieur Beckett’s primary competition for the AL Cy Young, and second-year star Fausto Carmona. Wait, that Fausto Carmona? The one who gave up back-to-back walk-off hits to the Sox a year ago? The same. And if you watched him pitch against Boston earlier this summer, you know the difference between his two incarnations. No one wants any part of the Sabathia-Carmona double, particularly if you have you beat Carmona twice to advance. Yikes.
3) As much as final records serve as relatively bland trivia facts in the big scheme of things, they do have a significant impact on momentum headed into the playoffs. And let’s be completely frank, no one wants to cruise into the postseason on the brink of a meltdown. That’s the exact precipice the Sox appeared to be on a week ago, but they’ve since turned a corner behind a strong Schilling start and a patchwork outing from Jon Lester, Kyle Snyder and co. A good finish against Minnesota, a team which is finally grounded but suddenly playing like the ocntender they traditionally are, would be a great test heading into the playoffs. And the sooner the Sox can clinch the division, giving regulars a chance to rest as a result, the better.
Is any of this make or break to reach the World Series? Definitely not. After all, while Cleveland may look like the nightmare matchup at the moment, Anaheim is the team that keeps Yankee fans awake at night. Nonetheless, so much of the playoffs is about a team finding the easiest road possible. Remember 2004, when the Sox swept the Angels to set up a fully rested ALCS against the more entrenched Yankees? We all know how that turned out, and anyone who says the Yanks weren’t breathing fumes a bit in Game 7 doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
C.C. Sabathia may be a crooked-hat chunker, but he’s having an almost transcendent year for the Indians. That’s as good a reason as any to not want to play them.
So here’s hoping for a nice tidy conclusion, rather than another epic, drawn out, down to the wire race for a division title. Otherwise so much of the aforementioned three advantages will wash away like a flotilla of leaves in a September shower.
After a rain out, it’s always hard to read how the next day’s matchup will go. Which pitcher warmed up more? (Answer: Josh Beckett) Which pitcher is less likely to be phased? (Answer: Josh Beckett) Which pitcher will be more affected by a late night before an early afternoon start? (Answer: Josh Beckett)
Beckett: More than ready to go.
What do you get when one guy is the answer to all those questions? We haven’t the slightest.
Beckett’s proved malleable to changing situations in the past - a rain-delayed Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, perhaps? - but no one really knows what to expect from Jon Danks on a short turnaround. For that matter, does anyone really know what to expect from Danks yet, period? We didn’t think so.
In fact, that could be a significant advantage for the ChiSox this afternoon. The White Sox have definitely seen plenty of Beckett. The Red Sox have seen very little of Danks. Advantage? Danks.
So how can we break down a game that is so thoroughly out of its intended context? Try a little bit of roster breakdown. The Red Sox will role out this lineup, assuming that they don’t substitute anyone (cough, cough Dustin Pedroia, cough) back in at an early morning meeting:
Alex Cora, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Oritz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Bobby Kielty, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Coco Crisp, CF
Julio Lugo, SS
A couple notes from that prospective group jump out: 1) Bobby Kielty gets the start to face a lefty, which is equal parts endorsement of the job he’s done early in his acquisition and condemnation of $14 million a year albatross J.D. Drew’s inability to hit lefthanders himself. 2) There’s more speed in the turn of this lineup than any other, with Ferraris Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo passing the torch to Alex Cora at the top, assuming that Pedroia doesn’t slip back in, of course. (Random gratuitous author’s note: Has anyone else noticed that Pedroia looks like a 42 year-old manager of a Motel 6 when he’s not in his uniform? He stumbled out on the field in shorts and a warm up shirt last night and looked one pack of Camel Reds short of a character in a Vincent Gallo movie. It was truly eerie.)
Jermaine Dye: The Red Sox wanted him, but the Yankees will be cheering his bat for the next three days.
So, will those changes be enough for a big win, with the Yankees back in the same time zone at reeling Detroit? We’ll see in a few hours. After all the rain delays last night, it’s about time.
And boy, do we mean kid. Can anyone else remember a pitcher looking as young as Clay Buchholz? He’s like a ginat, over-sized 13 year-old kid brother with filthy stuff. Filthy.
That was evident in the stares Buchholz got from Gary Matthews Jr. (where were the steroids chants Beantown? Come on! Forget Bonds, this guy got caught with shipment receipts!). His change up was devastating, his fastball had late life and his curve was effective. In short, Buchholz came as advertised.
Wily Mo Pena is a National. Thank God. We were all sitting on the edge or our seats about that, right?
Did he have significant hiccups along the way? Sure. Would J.D. Drew be covered in tar and feathers if the Sox hadn’t put up their offensive explosion? After that first inning error, he probably deserves it.
Of course, the aforementioned offensive explosion in the bottom of the first, of which Drew’s triple was a capstone, came at a pretty significant cost. Doug Mirabelli’s calf injury has him out of the night half of the doubleheader, and potentially more. As Mirabelli continues to find new ways to disappoint, the setback sent the Sox scrambling, with Theo Epstein eventually calling up Kevin Cash from Ottawa and delaying the activation of outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury until at least tomorrow.
Why Cash instead of more highly touted catching prospect George Kottaras? That has everything to do with the knuckleball. Cash has been catching career AAA knuckleballer Charlie Zink in Pawtucket for a couple of years, so his experience, as Mirabelli calls it, “catching a fly with a pair of chopsticks”, will be put to use should Dougie hit the 15-day DL.
Of course, that will allow Jason Varitek to avoid knuckleball duty, which is key to the success of the rest of the Sox staff. And ‘Tek’s mental health, for that matter.
It’s also not known what longer term implications of the catcher move will have on the potential arrival of Ellsbury. While Fenway Park was juiced for his return trip last night, it’s unknown whether it will be he or the other man rumored to be headed to Fenway - former A’s corner man Bobby Kielty - who gets the call up. We’re betting on Ellsbury over here, with Kielty eventually moving back up with September call-ups and then stealing a postseason roster spot to pinch hit.
Of course, that all assumes the Sox make it that far. If and when they do, they’ll be missing their favorite wild dog. The coyote was shipped to Washington just before Buchholz’s activation, where Wily Mo Pena should get more consistent at bats and an even worse park in which to try and hit home runs.
Josh Beckett goes tonight, which would be a good time for him to become the first 16 game-winner in the bigs. Let’s see if he can go where John Lackey has boldly failed just hours before.
Of course, that leads us to the moral of our story: Now is the optimal time to purchase your discounted Wily Mo t-shirts from the Souvenir Store on Yawkey Way. We’re sure that there’s plenty available. Until then, buckle up for a glorious Josh Beckett start. You know Varitek is. Afterwards, lets all hope he just slides right into a bathtub full of ice. Ouch, 17 innings of catching will do that to you.
Today could be a truly seminal moment for the Red Sox, with the departure of a man who was to star in the Hub coinciding with the arrival of two supernovas in full development.
Jacoby Ellsbury is just one major draw in today’s day-night home doubleheader against the Angels.
Barring a shocking development, we have seen the last of Wily Mo Pena in a Red Sox uniform. The utility outfielder with hardly any utility has been stuck in a backlog of outfielders, behind more productive and well-rounded players with larger, long-term deals. It’s been clear that his future in Beantown wasn’t long in the offing for a good two months, but that didn’t get him moved at the trade deadline. Since then he’s been a light headache and a nuisance, saying that he wants to play and should have been trading, then backing off the statement and claiming it wasn’t a demand. All in all, he’s been an unabetted disaster.
That’s quite a contrast to the player who will take his place in the second half of the day-night doubleheader with the surging Angels, ace center field prospect Jacoby Ellsbury. The part-Navajo speedster from Oregon has bounced back from a groin injury in AAA to hit .412 with a 12-game hitting streak. It’s hard to keep numbers like those out of the major leagues.
Fittingly, Ellsbury was an instant fan favorite in his earlier call-up to the bigs, grabbing cheers for undaunted hustle - he scored from second on a passed ball!! - and well-rounded defense and slap-hitting. Let’s face it: The guy hits like Johnny Damon. He runs like Johnny Damon. He fields like Damon … with a better arm. Most intimidating of all, he even looks a little like Damon. It’s truly eerie.
As excited as fans will be to see Ellsbury back in a lineup, they may be even more excited about the much-heralded debut of Clay Buchholz in the opener. The diminutive fireballer has more strikes than any other minor leaguer, and his start comes with as much excitement as any in recent memory. Certainly, last year’s Jon Lester debut comes to mind. But Buchholz has more of a power arm than Lester does. He runs over batters with his fastball, then pulls out a nasty curveball and a change up that keeps batters guessing. He’ll have his work cut out for him against the Angels lineup and John Lackey, but a number of fans are sure to be confident of his success, before he even gets started.
Clay Buchholz is ready and rarin’ to go. Watch out, this could be the start of a whole new era.
Understandably, Buchholz and Ellsbury are all the talk of the Hub. But as much as the spotlight may be rotating toward two new subjects, it’s departure from another is a stark realization of the failure of a trade. While Bronson Arroyo has drooped into true mediocrity in year two in Cincinnati, Wily Coyote has been a true disaster for the Sox. For better or worse, that ends this morning.
What do you get with two teams who have split the first two of a three-game series? That’s right everyone … the rubber match is on.
We know Curt and Shonda know how to mug on a red carpet. We’re hoping he still knows how to pitch in a gray uniform.
OK folks, here’s how the big game in Baltimore - seriously, when was the last time you thought about a game in Baltimore being a big one - shakes out: the Red Sox roll out Curt Schilling (raise your hand if you knew his middle name was Montague!), only 6-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 16 starts.
But take a look at Schilling’s season, and it’s clear that ERA is significantly inflated by his two starts immediately after the aborted one-hitter, when his shoulder was strapped on with duct tape and his fastball was cruising in towards the plate like an ‘88 Olds in Del Boca Vista.
And who does the Big Schill have in the other dugout? The epic Steve Traschel, of course! And by epic, we mean very, very, very, very slow. Very slow. Forget about taking a toilet break during a Sox half of the inning, you could go to Home Depot and Boston would still be batting. If you combined a Traschel start with a weather delay, you might even end up with the first game that lasted longer than 24 hours. At least the first one that didn’t take place in a mythical novel by W.P Kinsella.
So what should Sox fans legitimately hope for? On top of a Yankees setback against Cleveland, of course. Well, by the sixth inning the Sox should be getting to Traschel, assuming they don’t fall asleep at the plate. If they can pull that off with Schilling allowing fewer than three SSS’s (Schilling solo shots), Boston should be in good shape. If they can’t, well, then they probably deserve to drop a game.
Unfortunately, they can’t really afford to drop any more borderline games. So, a vintage Schilling would be a very nice addition, particularly with Tampa Bay matchups against legitimate stud pitchers Scott Kazmir and Jamie Shields. And those come against Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester. Aye aye aye.
Allright Schilling, let’s see what you got amigo. How ’bout heat. Heat would be good right now.
Allright, now it’s time to cut out the question marks and crap. It’s time to win Josh.
Now you need to pitch the way the Red Sox thought you would when the shipped one of the game’s most highly touted shortstop prospects - now reigning NL rookie of the year Hanley Ramirez - and a pitcher to Florida to get you and albatross contract (which luckily turned out to represent Mike Lowell).
Now Boston needs you to pitch with control and an edge, to pitch with dominance in the midst of pressure-packed baseball in the middle of a pennant race.
Because now this is a pennant race.
It’s hard to fathom just how much additional pressure has landed on the shoulders of Beckett and co. since the All-Star break, with the Yankees shaving half of the team’s divisional lead off into the trash can. It’s hard to imagine what has to be going through his head as he takes the mound this afternoon, coming off a solid outing after a pair of frustrating losses. It’s hard to imagine what the big power ball righty was feeling as he watched the bullpen deteriorate into, well, Baltimore’s bullpen, in last night’s loss at Camden Yards.
But there’s a bottom line here, too: It doesn’t matter what he was feeling. All that matters is that he wins. After all, that’s what he was brought to Boston to do, especially in games like these.
OK Josh, my boy. How about we consider the last outing a mulligan. Just a one-start vacation. Sound good?
It does to Sox fans. After dominating most of the season, Josh Beckett was the recipient of awful luck for two starts, the second a complete game, 1-0 loss to Fausto Carmona (Fausto! You just want to say that name like a Seinfeldian villan, don’t you?).
Josh could use a strong start to prove he’s still on track.
That was no big deal. The last start was. The Sox really could have used a win. Instead, they got a game in which Beckett gave up five runs. On a whopping nine hits. To Baltimore.
Ouch. Puts a little damper on the 13-5 record and 3.49 ERA, doesn’t it?
That’s why Sox fans need it to be a blip on the radar screen, a simple one-time slip up. That’s why Sox fans need a big Beckett win on the road in a place where they’ve needed all the help they can get.
Of course, they need all this because it’s impossible to count on Curt Schilling remaining the team’s ace coming off the DL. His rehab has been impressive, sure. Let’s see how the Anaheim game goes tomorrow before we crown him our once and resurgent ace. Really, the Sox could use Beckett to become that guy right now first, and let Schill hit his typically dominant stride heading to October.
If that happens, Boston will have not one, but two clutch LCS and World Series pitchers, both of whom are legitimate aces. That’s almost impossible to counter.
That has to be the feeling among Sox brass this afternoon, who surreptitiously swept down and snatched up Eric Gagne from the Rangers before the deadline, stealing him away from the Yankees and Mets, both of which were in hot pursuit, among others.
Someone start getting a hat dirty, Eric Gagne is coming to Beantown.
The deal was first confirmed by NESN, just after Gagne agreed to waive his no-trade clause and become a second set-up man for the Sox (along with Hideki Okajima, obviously). The bearded-Canadian once known as “Game Over” for his Cy Young brilliance as a closer has a 2.16 ERA with a 2-0 record and a whopping 16 saves as the Rangers closer, impressive numbers considering how few chances for saves he’s had with the awful Rangers, and the fact that he shuttled with the now-injured Akinori Otsuka as the team’s closer.
Now, the bad news. On the way out are Kason Gabbard, David Murphy (meh, not such a big deal) and a 16 year-old prospect named Engel Beltre (who?). The loss of Murphy is no big deal, as the outfield prospect clearly had no long-term future with the team and it’s ever-present outfield logjam. And we have absolutely no idea who the hell Engel Beltre is. Look, the kid is 16. He should be a high school sophomore. Who knows if he’ll ever be anything. If he eventually is, props to the Rangers.
As for Gabbard, Stiffler will clearly be missed. But can you blame the Sox for shipping him? After the last round of starts, combined with upside and his emotional comeback story, it seemed clear that Jon Lester was going to stick as the fifth starter. That meant that a Curt Schilling return would key a Gabbard demotion to the pen or - perhaps - Pawtucket.
Then, consider the future. Could Gabbard have earned a spot in the rotation circa 2008? Sure. But he would have had to beat out either Lester, the surging Clay Buchholz and even Justin Masterson, the latest hot name on the team’s minor-league circuit. And that, of course, is assuming Schilling doesn’t re-sign, and that the Sox don’t add another starter, both of which are always distinct possibilities with Theo Epstein and co.
NOW, for the deal that didn’t happen, and perhaps may be just as important: Jermaine Dye.
Sox: No dice on Dye.
The White Sox outfielder has a no-trade clause to block a move to Boston, and he made it clear that he wanted to be an everyday player if he went anywhere. Both of those considerations may have been factors in Dye retaining his current zip code, but another was Boston’s reluctance to part with Manny Delcarmen. It’s an interesting juxtaposition: the Sox were willing to ship a young lefthanded starter, but weren’t willing to move a young power reliever. That, of course, speaks to just how important power arms are in the bullpen; you just can’t get enough of them. With Mike Timlin’s shoulder ailing, the acquisition of Gagne means the team has two strong right-handed options before going to Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon. That’s a nice luxury.
Now, whether a team which has to rely on Eric Hinske and Wily Mo Coyote as the top bats off the bench can score any runs for those set-up men to matter is another question, and it’ll be a very good one down the stretch. Unless we learn two hours from now that Dye actually did agree to the trade and it just beat the wire.
Here’s hoping …
For what it’s worth, here’s the AP’s Gagne story:
CLEVELAND — With Eric Gagne finally pitching like his old self following two elbow operations and back surgery, the Boston Red Sox agreed Tuesday to acquire the reliever from the Texas Rangers, who also unloaded first baseman Mark Teixeira to Atlanta in a seven-player swap.
Gagne, who has a limited no-trade clause, was asked to give his consent to the trade Tuesday afternoon, a person familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not yet been made.
Unidentified major league sources told NESN that Gagne agreed to waive his no-trade clause and agreed to serve as the team’s set-up man.
Once one of baseball’s premier closers, Gagne was to join a Boston bullpen that already has two All-Star relievers: closer Jonathan Papelbon and setup man Hideki Okajima.
But the Red Sox, who entered Tuesday leading the AL East by eight games over the New York Yankees, didn’t want to take any chances of blowing their big lead and acquired Gagne to bolster the back end of their bullpen after consecutive implosions last weekend by Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen.
Boston was to send left-hander Kason Gabbard as part of a package to the Rangers. Also reportedly included in the deal were outfield prospects David Murphy and Engel Beltre.
Milwaukee, clinging to its NL Central lead, also had been interested in obtaining Gagne.
At times he’s been a superstar. At times he’s been mediocre. But no matter what, Daisuke Matsuzaka has been interesting.
The Kaibutsu has had plenty of hype, and he’s reached it in a lot of different categories, good and bad.
For a pitcher who entered with enough hype to nauseate two different countries, Dice-K has a lot to live up to. At times he’s done it. He dazzled in a complete game shutout of Detroit. His mastery of San Francisco and Barry Bonds at Fenway was nearly as entrancing.
But for all the positives and gains, there have been the shaky starts. The four-run nightmare innings. The moments when his butt waggle and comforting nod at Jason Varitek can’t bridge what seems to be a much larger misunderstanding between his hand and a baseball that still feels a little too large.
His record speaks to his new reality. Matsuzaka is 12-6. That’s a .666 winning percentage for those of you keeping track at home, and he pulls a decision in most games he starts because, well, he tends to keep chucking pitches out there when he starts. Despite claims of concern from agent Scott Boras and what might be construed (and definitely has been construed in the Japanese media) as minor coddling from Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell, he still seems to reach the mound expecting to hit 100 pitches and then keep firing every time he’s on the mound.
So far the adjustment to a five-man rotation hasn’t really been a huge speedbump. The adjustments in off-day workouts were rocky, but since have made him look almost over-prepared. He seems to be reaching a comfort level. The question becomes whether that’s comforting because of his success in overcoming the cultural and physical baseball differences between the U.S. and Japan, or whether that’s a concern, because his current incarnation isn’t quite Nolan Ryan meets Greg Maddux, as he has envisioned himself.
You think you can handle the pressure? You think you can handle the hype? You think you can handle this idiot parodying your existence? Welcome to the world of Dice-K my friend.
Today, Matsuzaka gets a one-time American wunderkind: former Mets uber-prospect Scott Kazmir. Kazmir has had a hit-and-miss season at the Trop, but he has one very consistent career truth: He owns the Red Sox. Today, he’ll try and own Matsuzaka, too.
That means that today will be a good chance for Dice-K to show just how comfortable he is. It’s a chance to show he can dazzle his way down the stretch.
It’s a chance to show that he will be an ace when his team needs him. Here goes nothing.
