First off, here are the specifics: David Ortiz is going to start at first base, leaving Kevin Youkilis and his OBP near .700 on the bench. Jon Lester returns to start Game 4, his first game since the final throws of the regular season. And Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury will try to follow up on one of the most dominant performances by rookies batting 1-2 in the order since, well, just about ever.
The Red Sox are a win away from a World Series title. Jon Lester could close out it tonight, and there’s little doubt he knows what’s at stake.
Oh yeah, the Sox can win the World Series with a victory, too. Probably worth mentioning.
With last night’s impressive outing from Daisuke Matsuzaka, hit-and-miss evening from the bullpen and savior act by the Red Sox bats, Boston moved within a win of its second title in four years. But despite all the good things that happened, the win also exposed the Red Sox for problems today. The bullpen is taxed, proven by Hideki Okajima suddenly becoming hittable, at least by Matt Holliday. And in a strong pride factor for Colorado - this is a team that DOES NOT want to get swept - and the Rockies should be favorites tonight.
Of course, that doesn’t take Lester into account, or Colorado starter Aaron Cook, for that matter. Both are former cancer victims, recovered to continue impressive careers. Lester has youth and a left-handed approach that differs from all the other starters the Rockies have seen from the Sox. Cook, meanwhile, has moxie but has not pitched in well more than a month. Try and get your head around a prediction from that matchup. Who knows what’s going to happen?
Then again, who ever knows what’s going to happen? Who saw that performance from Ellsbury and Pedroia coming? Good, sure. That good? Come on.
It was almost as hard to see a 3-0 lead coming too, which should give Sox fans a good feeling entering tonight. As always, that hardly means a win tonight and potential sweep is going to happen. But it has to be a good feeling.
We’re at that point in the season, the one where a single win ends it all, makes the difference between glory and purgatory, ultimate merit or the sudden mediocrity afforded to teams sent back to the pack to wait for 2008.
Let the record show that in each of the last six times such a game has presented itself, from Game 5 of the ALCS on, the Red Sox have come out on top. But perhaps because of their precarious start in the championship series, they may understand better than any other team that they can’t allow a dangerous Colorado team off the mat in Coors Field tonight.
Boston is on the verge of an incredibly special accomplishment, a second title in four years, moving into the elite air of the Yankees as the only organization to earn multiple titles in such close proximity over the past decade plus. Some writers are already saying they are on the verge of supplanting the Yankees as the AL East’s dominant power, likely a bit premature at the moment, yet still an evolving and intriguing possibility.
What’s equally significant is that Boston could win a second title and keep so much of the identity it forged in 2004, when it mounted the most miraculous comeback in sports history to steal the World Series from the Yankees and, shortly thereafter, the Cardinals. Their backs were firmly against the wall, with breaks falling to the Indians left and right, and yet they rallied, won, then won at home to send Cleveland back to Lake Erie.
A new generation of Sox players has found itself tested in the playoff crucible alongside David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, long the team’s most reliable options. Again, this supporting cast has proven dangerous and effective and - in the case of newcomers Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury - lethally efficient.
Into this spotlight dances a young, enigmatic starter with a chance to close what his forebears have started. When Jon Lester, he of wins and no decisions across 17 straight starts, takes the hill tonight with a chance to come full circle, from a cancer diagnosis just more than a year ago to a World Series start and, he hopes, a title. They’re that close. One good performance away. Lester got rid of jitters in Game 2 of the ALCS and rebounded to pitch admirably in Game 4 of that slate. Of course, the fact that he’s pitching at all is admirable, but he won’t hear any of it.
Instead, he wants to focus on his start. In fact, that’s all any of the Red Sox will say at the moment. They want to keep focused. They’ll need to. The last team that lost a bit of that, whether you feel it was the 2004 Yankees or 2007 Indians, never reached the finish line they could see so clearly.
This team can see it ahead, it’s just a long, strong game away. Still.
Like the ALDS and ALCS, we jumped on board with Red Sox Monster to be part of a Red Sox World Series roundtable, joining Red Sox Monster publisher Dan Lamothe (who kept his picks separate in a private podcast) and Red Sox Stats’ Guy’sMike Colluci.
Without further ado, here’s the the full roundtable piece on the Monster, with my direct answers below as always.
1. One of the appealing things about the World Series is that teams that rarely meet get the chance to go head-to-head. Break things down for me, will you? Where do the Sox have advantages in your eyes, and conversely, where can the Rockies exploit the Sox?
The relative anonymity of players on opposing teams is always part of the novelty that makes the World Series so fascinating. Still, with the advent of interleague play, that’s been mitigated some, never more so than this year, when the Sox and Rockies actually DID play each other back in June. We all know how that turned out (Rockies took 2 of 3 … in Fenway), and that series kind of started both the Red Sox’ and Rockies’ long string of regular season mediocrity.
Still, what we saw in that series is only slightly relevant to the World Series. Consider the fact that Boston has different spots throughout the lineup (Youk was still bouncing around and Pedroia hadn’t moved to leadoff yet, let alone Ellsbury), while Troy Tulowitzki was still struggling with expectations and half the Rockies rotation was still being groomed in the minor leagues.
So, if we look at this World Series with a new slate, it seems to shake down like this: 1) The Red Sox lineup looks more formidable, particularly coming off an overall pasting of Cleveland for three straight games. 2) The Red Sox bullpen is more battle tested. Colorado got by in the NLDS and NLCS with long outings from their starters before the entrance of the wet-shirted Manny Corpas (check YouTube for that terrific splash before his entrance in Game 1 against Philly). But the Sox lineup is likely to be a lot more patient than either Philly’s or Arizona’s. 3) Josh Beckett looks like a significant upgrade over Jeff Francis in Game 1 (or over anyone else, for that matter), but after that the pitching looks almost like a push.
2. Obviously, one of the first things that will come up in any preview of this series is the way the Rockies exploded against Boston in June, taking the last two games in a three game series with a combined score of 19-3. Is there anything we should be alarmed about those losses, especially since Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling lost them? Or should they be considered isolated incidents?
As stated above, they seem more like isolated incidents. Certainly the Beckett start shouldn’t be too concerning. Schilling’s is more frustrating. With his penchant for dropping gopher balls in that loss, there’s no telling if Colorado could do the same thing again. Meanwhile, the lone Boston winner from that series - Tim Wakefield - isn’t even on the roster. Go figure, and call it a scratch.
3. Talk about the Rockies lineup a little bit, if you would. What strategy should Boston be using to deal with it? Who scares you in that lineup, other than the obvious answer (Matt Holliday’s regular season: .340, 36 HR, 137 RBI, SLG .607)?
Todd Helton is still terrifying, and if you have any doubts about it, check out his power numbers, particularly slugging to left field. Meanwhile, there’s good speed at the top of the order (see Taveras and Matsui) and Tulowitzki has been an absolute terror in the second half. That, of course, doesn’t even take Adkins into account, so there’s enough fear to go around. The leadoff tandem of Taveras and Matsui alone is enough reason to be happy Wakefield isn’t starting a game in the series (his ERA at Coors Field is another compelling one, but hey, we’ll stick with the speed).
4. Put yourself in Terry Francona’s shoes for a minute. How do you handle losing the designated hitter position during Game 3-5? Who should sit? Also, who do you think will sit?
This is perhaps the most brutal decision Francona has to make. Clearly, you can’t take Ortiz out of the lineup in the playoffs. Ever (unless you have a lead in the eighth or ninth inning, and you take him out for a defensive replacement). That leaves Youkilis and Lowell to platoon at third. Youkilis is on such a tear that it hurts to take him out of the lineup, but Lowell has better power, more RBI on the year and more experience at Coors Field. Put those two factors together, and it all seems to even out, doesn’t it? So, if we were Francona, we’d play the hot hand. If Youk is still batting .500, you’re not taking the man out of the lineup. If Lowell hits a homer and three doubles in Games 1 and 2, he’s your man. Now, here’s the real X-factor: What about Youk in right field? He played there down the stretch last year, and clearly you’d rather have Youk in the lineup than JD Drew, all recent heroics and solid hitting aside. Now, I don’t think Francona’s drastic enough to actually make that move, but it’s worth pointing out nonetheless.
That being said, it says here that Francona plays Lowell in Game 3, then checks his career numbers against Cook before deciding for Game 4. If they’re good, Mikey goes again. If they’re not, Youk comes in. And Papi stays in throughout, without question.
5. Alright, one last time: prediction time. Who ya got? It should be noted that no one has picked against the Sox in one of these roundtable discussions yet…. which means no one has been wrong yet, either.
Let it be known that it is EXTREMELY hard to pick against the Rockies the way they’ve been playing. They’re so hot it feels like they could melt right through the Colorado snow. And right now, everything manager Clint Hurdle touches seems to turn to gold. That being said, moving Aaron Cook into the starting rotation for Game 4 seems like a true twist and gamble. Why shake up the rotation now, when you’ve been rolling? Meanwhile, Terry Francona’s willingness to leave Wakefield off the roster, likely in favor of second-year rookie Jon Lester, should be applauded. It’s hard to leave a veteran and heart-and-soul guy like Wakefield off, but it’s clearly the right move with his health and track record.
Why am I prattling on this way? Because I think the series is so close that it could swing on two small decisions like that (conversely, who Francona plays at third in Games 3 and 4 could have the same affect). Game 1 is a must-win for the Sox, and - like the ALCS - I really think Game 2 is the key. If Boston wins the first two, they’re going to win this series. If they split, it could be trouble.
So what’s going to happen? Uggghhh, this one is brutal to predict. That being said, I’m going Sox. In six. Schilling closes it out. I think Beckett will win Games 1 and Game 5 in Colorado setting the stage. But like the ALCS, I wouldn’t be even slightly surprised if the Rockies walked off with this one, even though Boston clearly has a more balanced and complete team, with the regular season record as ample evidence.
I’m perfect in the playoffs so far, so here’s hoping that continues for one more round. Otherwise we’re in for some painful postmortem. Here’s hopin’.
Paps isn’t just a world class closer, he’s a world class partier, too.
The Red Sox exploded for the ALCS crown. They didn’t just win, they took a close game and blew it up to the tune of a nine-run victory. And five of those runs came from Boston’s newest favorite son, Mighty Mite Dustin Pedroia.
Manny knocked in the first run, but that was it from the big boys, Ramirez and Big Papi. The rest came from Pedroia, sudden star Kevin Youkilis. And naturally, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon was there to close the door.
Of course all of this is to overlook the job done by Daisuke Matsuzaka. He wasn’t great, but was pretty close through the first three innings. The fourth and fifth were shaky, a run given up in each, but the Dice-Man flexed everything he had in the first three, striking batters out with high heat, darting cutters and a screwball that almost looked gyro-ish.
Now, as Sox players prepare to recover from a night when they all deserved their own Rachel Boston, they have a moment to breathe before what is almost sure to be a very chilly World Series. And guess who’s starting Game 1 Wednesday?
Yes, there is a gorgeous actress named Boston. We didn’t make it up. Check her imdb page here.
That’s right, Mr. F-bomb himself: Josh Beckett. Time to dial up the drama. Again. But let’s finish the celebrating first shall we?
How else can you describe last night’s Game 6 throttling of the Indians? A 40 year-old starter who showed up to spring training bigger than a blimp came through with a gutsy, seven-inning performance. The most maligned man in Boston hit a first inning grand slam and tacked on another RBI in his second trip up. Even Eric Gagne pitched a perfect inning.
J.D. Drew got a full swallow of redemption in the first inning last night.
Indeed, for all involved - especially Curt Schilling, J.D. Drew and Gagne - Game 6 was a true redemption song. And by singing that tune, the team added a sudden swing to the 2007 ALCS, forcing it into a do-or-die Game 7.
With plenty of doubts swirling around the starters for both teams, it was the old man pitching next to the sea who proved sturdy in the pressure-packed postseason game. Where Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona stumbled, forcing his manager Eric Wedge to lift him in the third inning, Schilling strode confidently on, getting out of a nasty third-inning jam after allowing the first two batters to reach, then watching his teammates erupt for six more runs that truly put the game away.
It was exactly the kind of performance that Sox fans used to expect of Schilling, a playoff prima dona of the highest degree, but a showman who’s always known how to turn his tricks at just the right time. Now, after a Game 2 stumble, it appears he may have hedged his bet right again, coming through at home when Boston needed it. With a similar crap shoot of Game 7 starters - Red Sox and Rising Son ace Daisuke Matsuzaka is determined but has been shaky while Cleveland’s Jake Westbrook has been feast or famine - momentum is firmly on Boston’s side. They have a bullpen that is fully rested and loaded for bear. They have a lineup which has seen its bottom half awaken, to the tune of 12 runs from the likes of Drew, Lugo, Dustin Pedroia and the recently promoted Jacoby Ellsbury. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz combined for only one hit Saturday night, which just seems to indicate they could explode Sunday.
And, just to add another ace in the hole, they have Josh Beckett mentally ready to pitch in relief on only two days rest if needed.
All of those things could become major factors in Game 7, and any factor could swing the entire series. The pressure is finally even, and Boston doesn’t seem to be feeling it. Yet.
If that trend holds on for one more day, there may be a whole handful more days in the season, and they’re the best ones to have.
That’s what Cleveland gets for trotting out one of Josh Beckett’s former girlfriends, just one among many in a group that could grow after yet another impressive postseason win last night.
Danielle Peck is a looker, but her former boyfriend was the one breaking hearts last night.
What happened on the banks of Lake Erie last night was more than just survival. It was a case of salvation for the Red Sox, a second life heading back home, needing two straight wins at Fenway to advance. While that may seem a mightly troubling task ahead, it’s significantly more palatable than what faced the team heading into the evening, when Boston needed a Beckett win just to make sure they’d see the inner confines of Fenway Park this year.
And the credit for that goes to, not surprisingly, Beckett himself.
Another eight innings with just one more run. That with the brimstone battle between himself and 86 year-old Kenny Lofton, who just fired Joshie up even more, if anything. From there out it was a perfect storm. David Ortiz hit like he has so many times in clutch playoff situations. Manny remained peeved that his first inning single, already being called the longest one-bagger in baseball history, wasn’t a homer and Dustin Pedroia’s shots finally started finding open grass. By the time it all settled down, Jonathan Papelbon was pitching the ninth of a very comfortable, 7-1 win.
Now, as Josh can go back and enjoy a little more of Ms. Peck’s time, the Sox shift their attention to Curt Schilling, needing the one-time postseason star to be one again. Will he come through? Hard to tell. His outing in Game 2 was anything but sterling, yet his reputation precedes himself.
That matter is for another day. Last night was all about Beckett, who got the best of Cleveland and the two-hearted Danielle Peck with another outing for the books.
Go ahead and breathe Sox fans. At least for a day.
In the middle of the current maelstrom over Manny Ramirez’s posing, preening and sudden desire to sit down at fireside chats with the media is an interesting subplot: Is it possible that all the hubbub and distraction could actually help the Red Sox?
Keep striking poses Manny. It can’t hurt as long as you’re hitting.
We know, it seems very out of place, and the sheer possibility that a player saying it’s not a big deal if his team wins or loses actually helps his team seems ludicrous. We get it. But we’re still not willing to say that it’s all a bad thing.
In fact, we’re ready to say that it’s helping, as strange as that may seem.
Think about it this way: At the moment, Manny is the entire focus of Red Sox speculation. There’s no more talk about Kevin Youkilis’ botched foul pop catch or Tim Wakefield’s horribly unfortunate inability to spear a shot targeted for Dustin Pedroia, eventually costing the Sox outs and runs Tuesday night.
Instead of all the negative reaction to those moments and their striking lack of execution, all the attention is on ManRam, all the time. And if we’ve learned one thing over the years, it’s that no measure of attention can dissuade Manny from being Manny. Hell, Yankee legend Reggie Jackson was on the radio this morning saying that Manny called him last night asking about where to refurbish a classic car. Clearly Manny’s not dwelling on all the attention. The guy is going to hit, no matter what kind of typhoon is swirling around him.
Think about it: After talk two and three days about Josh Beckett’s back, how much hype has focused on that heading towards tonight’s game? That’s what we thought. And how much talk is about Pedroia’s snippy quotes to the media after Game 4? During the season those shots would have started a serious Fenway brushfire. Now? Small potatoes compared to Senor Talkative over at the other locker.
So let him keep talking. And maybe he’ll even get to keep talking while playing baseball for a while longer. At the moment, it can’t hurt. That’s for sure.
Things went swimmingly the last time Schill faced the A’s. The first time in the Fens? Not so much. Here’s hoping he goes 2 for 3 with O-town this year.
Let’s face it, there’s no place the Sox would rather be right now than at Fenway Park. Even Tampa Bay, where they took 2 of 3 again to stop the bleeding and regain at least a modicum of positive trajectory. Tonight, Curt Schilling steps back to the mound to face the team he nearly one-hit in one of the most masterful games of controlled execution in recent memory.
Of course, tonight could be a different story. Or maybe not. Like the last time Schilling faced Oakland, the Sox have been reeling, struggling to find any offense, often letting down decent pitching efforts in the process. Lately, the lineup has looked like a pair of reliable on-base guys at the top - rookies Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia - Big Papi, who is starting to round back into form at just the right time, Mike Lowell, who continues to out-produce his career statistics, and then a whole bunch of crap. Coco Crisp hasn’t done anything particularly notable since returning from back spasms. Julio Lugo continues to provide intermittent sparks, but little else. In fact, only captain Jason Varitek and - get ready to be shocked - J.D. Drew have provided any substantive offense in the second half of the lineup during Boston’s struggles.
That makes for an interesting comparison with Oakland’s stretch lineup, a group that includes Sox-killer Eric Chavez, the surprising and surging Jack Cust and, well, a whole lot of crap. They don’t even have the unreliably potent bat and temper of Milton Bradley. For proof of the potent temper, check this.
So, will Schilling return off extra rest tonight and put up the kind of triumphant performance he mustered out at “Enter Bland Corporate Sponsor Here” Park in Oakland early this spring? Or will he put up the kind of solid starts he’s had the last three times out, when he’s thrown five-plus solid innings, slipped a bit in the sixth and then been rocked in the seventh?
Good questions all, and only one man - if that - knows. Here’s hoping Schilling lets us in on a good secret rather than a bad one. If he does, the entire point of winning these games at home down the stretch will be a sort of place-holding mental masturbation anyway.
After all, if Boston can’t beat the A’s at home, far removed from the playoffs as they are, then how are the Red Sox supposed to beat the Angels or Indians?
And tonight, the great Boston resurrection continues?
Dice-K’s been in better moods at earlier points in the season.
Good question right? Last night the Sox got through Tampa Bay’s best starter and still escaped with a win, thanks to your future AL Cy Young winner Josh Beckett. Not only that, they also got some keen help from the team that spent the better part of the last week trash bagging them: Toronto. The Blue Jays beat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, and they spent a full 14 innings doing so, wearing out some of the pinstripe bullpen in the process. Including Joba the Piglet.
Not a bad way to start a weekend.
Still, that extra game buffer will mean nothing if Boston blows game two tonight. The mercurial Japanese national treasure is back on the mound, and his very appearance will underscore just how unpredictable he may be for the rest of the year. Before his last start against the Yankees - a significant and strong outing eight days ago - Dice-K had five consecutive woeful starts, each looking more tired than the previous. Then last week he looked like vintage Dice, tossed either his best or second-best outing against the Yankees this season, and seemed destined for a win.
Of course, we know what happened after that.
Tonight he gets a significantly easier lineup, though it’s one he’s struggled with before. In fact, that up-and-down line graph is a true theme for the game, as Tampa starter Andy Sonnastine has gone through similar issues against the Sox this season.
So which starter shows up with his good stuff? And which lineup comes through with big hits tonight? The Sox looked like they were on a mission last night. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury looked like MVP candidates, not rookies. Big Papi blasted a shot that was remiscent of the past three years. Mike Lowell looked like, well, Dr. Double with more power, which he’s done in leading the team throughout the second half.
Did the Sox use up their entire quota of clutch hits last night? Will Dice-K be able to overcome the stigma of traveling through international customs in a Teletubby costume? While Manny Ramirez remember that he still plays for the Sox and make a guest cameo, as if he was on a mid-90s sitcom or a new late-night MTV show hosted by Will Smith that’s a direct rip-off of Wild N’ Out?
Did that last question even make any sense? The answer to the last two questions is no. But the answers to the first two are much more significant. Now comes the time where we figure out what they are.
Or, if you’re on the other side of the pond, it’s time to watch Dice in his other role, as LaLa. Either way, enjoy.
Boy, that win took long enough, didn’t it? Why didn’t the Red Sox just think to pitch Josh Beckett earlier?
Kylie Minogue would constitute a nice change from a slump, no? So would a Josh Beckett win, as last night proved.
That, of course, is a joke. Though two more Red Sox losses, and a preemptive Beckett start on short-rest might not have been such a jocular exaggeration. As it stands, however, Boston finally won, the Yankees finally lost, and for a night at least, all was right in the AL East universe.
Really, it was a bit like coming off a long nightlife slump after the end of a long-term relationship. Sometimes it takes a few months before someone can get back on the horse. And the last week of losing made for one tall horse.
Somehow it seems rather appropriate that a cocksure Texan - all puns intended - would be the one to mount the horse, doesn’t it? Beckett’s been known for brash reactions when turned down by women at bars, but his reactions were all confident last night in becoming the bigs’ first 20-game winner. By giving up just a single run through six innings, Beckett dropped his ERA back down below that of fellow top Cy Young contender C.C. Sabathia - Beckett’s is 3.14, Sabathia 3.89 - and almost single-handedly got his team back on the winning track.
OK, single-handedly is quite the exaggeration. A couple bombs from Big Papi didn’t hurt, and neither did another night from Mike Lowell, and two more tremendous hitting performances from youngsters Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.
All-in-all, it made for a huge Florida night for the Red Sox. A huge Florida night for Beckett, who’s known to have a few of those, dating back to his days in a Marlins uni. To think that he’s hitting those marks again now, and that he’ll get a chance to in the postseason again. Well, at least we know the Sox have one thing going for them.
