Dragnet Frantic Fens: Indians at Sox

Make no mistake, this is the big one.

Hey Manny and Papi? You paying attention? This is the dude Curt needs you to hit. And hit him hard, and early, if possible. Gracias amigos.

After last night’s latest edition of “Josh Beckett is a playoff badass”, the Red Sox have the Indians right where they want them, at home, with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

But if Cleveland and suddenly sensational ace Fausto Carmona can pull out Game 2 tonight, the dynamic of the rest of the ALCS could swing drastically. The Sox are sending longtime postseason stallwort Curt Schilling to the mound, which should increase their chances of shutting down Cleveland’s balanced lineup for a second straight night.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that if the Big Schill can’t do that, Cleveland will suddenly emerge from Boston with a significant upper hand heading back to Lake Erie. While that doesn’t necessarily herald the entrance of bad things, it would put additional pressure on the back of Daisuke Matsuzaka before Game 3, and probably just as much pressure on the still-recovering Tim Wakefield in Game 4. Dice-K has a couple things going for him heading into his start. He was brilliant last time around in Cleveland, he was solid despite struggling to locate his pitches in Game 2 of the ALDS and his postseason resume - at least on a global level - is still pretty sterling. Despite all of that, it’s virtually inarguable that the absolute last thing he needs is more pressure before his start.

Here’s hoping that Schill and the Gang (seriously, how many band names could we come up with that start with Schilling’s name? The possibilities are endless) are up to the task for a second-straight game tonight. While Boston is still floating on Game 1 euphoria, Game 2 is much more important than some may currently think.

– Cameron Smith