ALCS Game Result: Beckett leads Sox back to Boston

Sox 7, Cleveland 1
Indians lead series, 3-2
WP: Beckett (3-0)
LP: Sabathia (1-2)
HRs: BOS-Youk (2)

SUMMARY
Another chapter was added to the brilliant season of Josh Beckett as the Cy Young front runner pitched his third consecutive gem in this postseason, handcuffing the hot Tribe batters on five hits and one run with 11 strikeouts in eight innings of work.

Boston clung to a 2-1 lead through six innings as numerous scoring chances fell by the wayside, but after plating five runs over the seventh and eighth innings to break the game open, the Sox ensured there will be at least one more game played in Fenway Park this season.

#1 STUNNER Beckett 8IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 11K
What more can said about this stud that hasn't been said during the course of this season? The man has absolutely carried this team on his back for an entire year, and his performance tonight in an elimination game is just the kind of effort that can spark a team to a come-from-behind series win.

Guess that ex-girlfriend-singing-the-anthem ploy didn't quite work out, eh Cleveland?

GAGME Travis Hafner 0-4, 2K
The man they call "Pronk" has been a major wonk for the Tribe this series. The chrome-domed slugger struck out two more times tonight, bringing his series total to a whopping 8 Ks in five games, and if he's not producing, chances of the Tribe winning are greatly reduced.

RECAP
When the stakes are high, the chips are down and the season is on the line, there may be no better pitcher in the game right now than Josh Beckett.

Strike that, there IS no better big game pitcher in the league right now than the Mr. October of the new millennium.

Beckett ran his postseason record to 5-2 with his fourth straight playoff victory, and it seems like every win is better than the last. Tonight he put his struggling team on his back and basically said if you can get me enough runs I'm gonna get this series back to Beantown.

Turns out a pair was good enough for this ace.

Unfortunately the game ended after midnight, and after a long week at work and a couple of late nights watching the games, I don't have the strength to do a complete post on this one.

I'll have to try and finish it at work tomorrow, where I will be revelling in the fact that the Indians fan in the office is going to be as nervous as Chipper Jones on Father's Day and the Stankee lover is going to have to hold off on the insults and taunts until at least Monday morning.

Hopefully I'll be back to taunting her by then.

Thanks, Josh

Read More......

ALCS Notes: Manny Being Manny infuriates Nation--again

"Why should we panic? We've got a great team. It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."--Manny Ramirez on the possibility of the Sox losing the ALCS

By now everyone has heard the latest shot heard 'round the world from the immortal ManRam, his open interpretation of what would happen should Josh Beckett and the anemic offense prove to be unable to carry the slumping Sox to the World Series, and the response in the Nation has been fast & furious

My reaction to Manny's candor: he's right.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that they've already "reversed the curse" by winning it all in '04, rendering any future postseason failures less earth-shattering, at least for the foreseeable future, or maybe it has to do with the fact that anyone who's religiously followed the club all year could easily have foreseen this collapse coming.

But whatever the underlying reason I find that his comment was nothing more than a candid observation as to what would happen should the Sox get ousted from the playoffs this evening.

Will we like it?

Obviously not.

Will be pissed off for a few days, go around snapping at our spouses and coworkers while wearing an "I hate the world" expression on our faces?

Most definitely.

But after the initial shock and aw! wears off, life will go on, and soon enough there will be that all-too familiar cry of "wait till next year" ringing throughout the Nation. And with the nucleus of the team coming back and plenty of money to spend on new additions, Manny is right in believing that if they don't get the job done this season, they will have a decent shot at try, trying again next year.

So for all those who have vilified Manny for speaking his mind, I say be careful what you wish for.

Because for a man who doesn't speak too the public very much and is often accused of having an empty head, his thoughts on this subject were right on the money.

For the record, though, let's hope "it" doesn't happen tonight.

Read More......

ALCS GM4: Sox are one step closer to elimination

Cleveland 7, Sox 3
WP: Byrd (2-0)
LP: Wakefield (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Youk (1), Papi (3), Manny (3)

RECAP
It's too late in the season and too late in the evening for my usual post, so I am going to forsake my formula for a sour recap of how the magical season of the 2007 Sox is about to abruptly end with another bitter postseason failure.

Tim Wakefield returned to action after sitting out 16 days due to a nagging shoulder/back injury, and the 40-something knuckleballer pitched his ass off for four plus innings, shutting the Indians out while making stud sluggers like Travis Hafner look like Preston Wilson.

Unfortunately fellow fastball-challenged geezer Paul Byrd was dealing just as well, baffling the Boston hitters with an assortment of actual strikes and balls perceived to be strikes by the home plate umpire, picking up where fellow afterthought starter Jake Westbrook left off last night.

And then came the fifth.

The inning was one of the sort that makes a fandom and yes even a team sit back and think "hmmm, maybe this isn't our year after all."

The Indians were at bat for 35 minutes in the fifth, and most of that time was devoted to actual hitting. When the Indians weren't slugging and blooping the ball all over the Jake, weird, freaky shit was happening to the Sox in the field.

Here's a brief summary of the bad karma carnage that took place in the fateful fifth:

-Youk bobbled and dropped a foul pop up that would have been the critical 2nd out of the inning.

-Wake deflected a potential double-play ground ball into a run-scoring, head-scratching hit.

-Former Red Sox prospect catcher Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch that wasn't strong enough to break a pane of glass.

-Casey Blake led off the frame with a monster homer, then aadded a bloop RBI single thant plated the final run of the inning

-Chubby Jhonny Peralta slammed his second 3-run homer in three games off beleagured reliever Manny Delcarmen, who gagged again in crunch time when the team needed him most.

By the time the dust settled the Tribe had sent 11 men to the plate, compiled seven runs on seven hits, a walk, a hit by pitch, and effectively put this series on life support for the staggered Sox.

Just as millions of disgusted Nation members were about to turn the gaame off and nearly as quickly as we reminded ourselves of Game 4, 2004, Boston's bats came alive in the top of the sixth with an unprecedented barrage of longballs that brought back pleasant memories of pounding the Stanks back in April.

Youk, Papi and Manny hit back-to-back-back home runs to become the first set of teammates to ever accomplish the feat in League Championship series play, and the sudden surge of runs gave hope that the slumbering Sox attack had received a much-needed jump start.

But it was merely a case of too little, too late.

After surrendering the historic homers Cleveland bounced back and set the Boston batters down meekly over the last four frames, and as the ninth inning approached I was overcome with the feeling that for this the first time all year we have have to face the fact that this talented, erratic, and gutsy group of guys just might not make it back to the game's biggest stage.

Not to go all Suzyn Waldman on you.

So its up to Josh Beckett (who else?) to salvage the season (of course) on Thursday night and in the meantime I think all of us will be pulling out the DVD of the 2004 ALCS and hoping for a reapeat performance.

Any chance of acquiring Dave Roberts for that game?

Read More......

ALCS Gm 3: Quiet bats and a mediocre Matsuzaka put Sox in 2-1 hole

Cleveland 4, Sox 2
WP: Westbrook (1-1)
LP: Matsuzaka (0-1)
SV: Borowski (2)
HRs: BOS-Tek (1); CLE-Lofton (1)

SUMMARY
The Sox slipped and fell squarely behind the eight ball tonight as Daisuke Matsuzaka failed to escape the fifth inning again in his second straight postseason start, and if not for a late homer by Jason Varitek, Boston would have had the dubious distinction of being shutout by Jake Westbrook in a crucial playoff game.

Jake Freakin Westbrook.

#1 STUNNER Jake Freakin' Westbrook 6.2IP, 7H, 2ER, 3BB, 2K, HR
Don't let the linescore fool ya, this guy was more money than Cleveland's top two Cy Young contending starters, Sabathia and Carmona, put together tonight. Although he doesn't weigh nearly as much.

Honorable mention to the amazing Kenny Lofton, who continues to defy the laws of physicality, and to the terrific Tribe bully, which notched 2 1/3 innings of no-hit, scoreless relief.

GAGME Boston offense 7H, 2ER, 3BB, 3GIDP
After scoring 16 runs on 21 hits in the first 14 innings of this series, the Sox sizzling bats have suddenly gone stone cold; Boston has scored just 2 runs on 10 hits while hitting into four double plays in its last 15 innings, dating back to the 5th inning of Game 2 Saturday night.

RECAP
Their backs are against the wall, their season is on the brink, and a half a year's worth of blood, sweat and tears could go up in a puff of smoke before anyone even realizes what the hell happened.

And it will all be traced back to Eric Gagne entering the game in the 11th inning on Saturday night, an omen that could turn out to have been more ominous than a black cat crossing your path while walking under a ladder holding a broken mirror.

On Friday the 13th.

For the second straight start high-priced disappointment Daisuke Matsuzaka lasted only 4 2/3 innings before being forcibly removed by Terry Francona; much like his performance in Game 2 of the ALDS, his outing wasn't horrible enough to classify it as a disaster, but was lousy enough to make people wonder what all the fuss was ever about regarding the promising Japanese prospect.

Unlike the last outing the Sox batters were not able to bail him out of a loss with some late game dramatics.

But the brunt of the blame for this collapse has to go to the Sox offense, which has been stymied by a slew of unknown relievers for the last two games and tonight by a perennially-injured starter with a career record of 62-62 and a lifetime ERA of 4.35.

In other words Boston got jaked by Jake at the Jake.

Sorry, but poor humor is seeping out of me like Bombay sapphire after the office Christmas party in the wake of these last two losses, as the Sox now face the semi-daunting task of taking 2 of 3 games here in C-Town just to get the series back to Boston.

Weren't we just dancing naked on Comm Ave and preparing for another trip to the World Series, revelling in the fact that the hated Stanks were falling apart at the seams while our team was playing its best baseball since early June?

Where have all the good times gone?

Like many of Matsuzaka's starts this season, his hot & cold performance ran the gamut from impressive to downright depressing.

The expressionless rookie tossed 1-2-3 frames in the first and fourth innings, striking out three batters including Travis Hafner looking to end the first; allowed two baserunners in each of the second and third innings, including Lofton's pop-fly home run that gave the Tribe a 2-0 lead; and got run from the game when he surrendered two runs on three hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a fielder's choice in the bottom of the fifth.

To his credit had he received any kind of run support he may have hung in there and willed his way to a win despite the fact that had thrown 101 pitches up to that point, but the Boston bats sang that all-too-familiar song of missed opportunities that has shadowed this team all season just waiting to strike when the team can least afford it.

In the first two innings alone the Sox squandered a pair of potential run-scoring chances that would later come back to haunt them: Big Papi (1-3, BB) grounded into a double play on a nice effort by Asdrubal Cabrera and Ryan Garko following a one-out single by Youk in the first, and then they came up empty in a bases loaded, no out situation in the second.

Manny (1-3, BB) led off the inning by drawing a walk off Westbrook, then a single to center by Mike Lowell was followed by an error on first baseman Ryan Garko that let J.D. Drew reach base, and suddenly the Sox had Cleveland on the ropes and looked to be on the verge of busting the game wide open.

Ah, not quite.

Varitek hit a meek pop up to shallow left for out number one, and four pitches later Coco Crisp tapped a weak grounder to short that went for a routine 6-4-3 double play, and in the blink of an eye a possible multiple-run inning turned into another groan-inducing disaster by the erratic Sox offense.

Lofton, the 40-year-old wunderkind who may be the biggest in-season acquisition in baseball this year, made the missed opp sting even more when he lofted (sorry again) a fly ball over Drew's head in right and off the top of the outfield wall with one on and one out in the bottom of the second, and another blunder by Boston would ensure that this was not the night for the townies.

Ortiz led off the fourth with a ringing double high off the left field wall that would have been out of most parks, except the Jake and Fenway, and with Manny and Lowell coming to bat it looked as if Boston would at least slice the Tribe lead in half.

Wrong again.

As Manny laced a shot into the hole at short, Papi inexplicably broke for third base and was pegged on the inner thigh by the batted ball, resulting in a soul-crushing out and ending any hopes of mounting a big inning with the heart of the lineup ready to hit.

To make a long and shitty story short Cleveland wound up scoring two more runs in the fifth to make the score 4-0 (although it felt like 12-0), and even Tek's two-run bomb in the 7th that finally got the Sox on the board seemed more like a token breaking of the seal rather than a full-fledged rally platform.

That's because the Cleveland bullpen has been about as untouchable as a pair of Hayden Panettiere's panties, and while the Sox pen men (Timlin, Okajima and Delcarmen) did do their job tonight, the lack of offensive support conspired to doom the struggling Sox.

And so the Nation's eyes will turn to Tim Wakefield to bail the team out of this mess in Game 4 tomorrow night, and if the offense continues to sputter again, the wise old veteran might have to throw a complete game shutout in order to ensure there will be a Game 6 in Boston on Saturday.

Read More......

ALCS GM2: Nixon burns Boston as bully implodes in 11th

Cleveland 13, Sox 6
WP: Mastny (1-0)
LP: Gagne (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Manny (3), Lowell (1)

RECAP
A see-saw affair that ended at 1:30 in the morning resulted in one of the most painful postseason losses in Red Sox history.

Original Dirt Dog Trot Nixon slapped a run-scoring single off alleged lefty specialist Javier Lopez with one out in the 11th inning, and Cleveland went on to score six more times to cap a long, cold, bizarre night at Fenway and tied the ALCS at two games apiece.

#1 STUNNER Jhonny Peralta 3-5, 3R, 4RBI, 2B, HR
The stubby shortstop was a thorn in Boston's side all night; he clubbed a three-run homer to erase a Sox lead in the fourth, scored the tying run after a leadoff walk in the sixth, and got the Tribe into double-digits when he greeted Jon Lester with an RBI double in the 11th.

Too bad he can't friggin spell.

Honorable mention for Trotter for coming through in the clutch against his former mates after sitting out most of the first two games, and to the Indians offense, which rapped 17 hits off the previously stellar Sox staff.

GAGME Eric Gagne 1/3IP, 1H, 2ER, 1BB, 1K
The man who will be forever saddled with the distinction of representing one of the worst mid-season acquisitions in Red Sox history lived up to his new reputation as a weak-armed, washed-up douchebag when he allowed a pair of baserunners and a pair of runs to start the 11th inning, cementing his status as a colossal has-been who can't get anyone out at any time ever.

Dishonorable mention to Javier Lopez for allowing Gagne's inherited problems to score, and also to Francona for having the utter stupidity to bring this piece of garbage into a tie, extra inning postseason ballgame.

RECAP
Wow.

Or maybe I should say "ow".

Because that would be the appropriate reaction to a loss that hurt pretty damn badly in an "it's only a game, not life or death" sorta way.

The Red Sox rollicking postseason party came to a screeching halt last night at Fenway as they fell to the Tribe in the frigid early morning hours after a game in which Curt Schilling couldn't make it through the fifth inning and the vaunted Boston bullpen could not get the big out when it needed to.

There will be plenty of blame to go around today, and I'm sure Francona is getting lambasted just as much as Gagne, Lopez and Delcarmen, but the truth is this loss was a team effort--nobody really played well enough to make sure the team left town with a 2-0 lead under its belt.

As I sit here after attending the Bucs game with my son today, I find that I can't even summon the strength nor the desire to post about this game. There were some fantastic highlights for the home team, like Manny and Lowell going back-to-back to give Boston a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fifth, and, well, Manny walking with the bases loaded for the third time in the series and Lowell following that with a 2-RBI single that gave Boston an early 3-1 lead...

...but for each of those pleasant memories there are at least a half a dozen horrible ones, like a shaky Schilling (4.2IP, 9H, 5ER, 0BB, 3K, 2HR) surrendering a 3-run bomb to deep left center to Jhonny Peralta to cough up that 3-1 lead in the fourth, or Manny Delcarmen allowing an RBI groundout to tie the game at six in the sixth, a blunder that set the stage for this long game's journey into late night.

Not to mention Gagne's arrival into the picture, a move that elicited stunned silence from the Faithful and after his sudden-but expected departure, caused Stephen King to begin furiously penning a new tome entitled The Day a Has-Been Closer Might Have Blown the Pennant."

As you can see there is just too much to cover and so little time, and since I'm not making a dime for any of this, I'm just gonna let you guys read what everyone else is saying about this one and take a breather for a while.

Hopefully Francona will do the same for Gagne.

Read More......

ALCS Game 2 Preview: Schill on the hill should mean 2 in the hand

Fausto Carmona (19-8, 3.06; 0-0, 1.00) vs. Curt Schilling (9-8, 3.87; 1-0, 0.00)
Fenway Park 8EST FOX

One night after the Sox newest postseason ace gave Boston an 1-0 advantage in this American League Championship series, the Sox last great postseason ace will take the mound to try to lead his club to a 2-0 lead before the series swings to C-Town on Monday.

As we all know, Curt Schilling was the star of Boston's 2004 Series-winning staff, pitching his way through excruciating pain and into the annals of baseball lore when his bloody sock became the inspiration for heroic deeds and blog titles worldwide.

This year, after a season filled with excellence (near no-no) and exasperation (the loss of his fastball, the shoulder pain that forced him to miss a month), that postseason magic returned when he twirled a terrific game in the ALDS clincher, when he allowed no runs on six hits in seven innings in a 9-1 win over the Angels.

Tonight will be Schill's biggest start in a Boston uniform since he won Game 2 of that World Series, and with a 9-2 record and sick 1.93 ERA in his playoff career, you have to think he's gonna get the job done, even though he'll be going up against Cleveland's young phenom and former closing failure, Fausto Carmona.

After Boston ended Carmona's brief attempt at becoming a closer with consecutive walk-off wins last September, the big, quiet righty rebounded to post a terrific 2007 campaign as a a starter, placing second in the AL in both wins and ERA while tossing 215 innings, good for 10th in the league.

Carmona carried that regular season success into his forst postseason start last Friday when he threw nine innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball against the Stanks in Cleveland's 2-1 victory in Game of 2 the ALDS.

So it will be the old stud vs the young buck in a battle for playoff supremacy, and I don't know about you but I'll take my chances with the wily old coyote over the wide-eyed whippersnapper any day of the week.

Even without a bloody sock.

Go Sox!

Read More......

ALCS GM 1: Sox crush Tribe behind Beckett and boppers

Sox 10, Cleveland 3
WP: Beckett (2-0)
LP: Sabathia (1-1)
HRs: BOS-None; CLE-Hafner (1)

Perfect 10: As Manny & Papi reach base all 10 times, we are left to wonder, is there no limit to what these two can do?

RECAP
Josh Beckett came one step closer to entering the pantheon of legendary postseason performers with yet another masterful victory, although this time he proved he was human by allowing a couple of runs, and the dynamic duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez reached base in all ten of their plate appearances as Boston throttled the Tribe in the opening game of the ALCS.

#1 STUNNER Beckett 6IP, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 7K
Boston's All Star ace and 20-game winner once again put his team on his back and carried them to another huge victory. He wasn't as electric as the opener of the ALDS, but he was plenty good enough to get the win tonight.

Let's face it, it's come to the point when he's on the mound, everybody expects him to win.

GAGME C.C. Sabathia 4.1IP, 7H, 8ER, 5BB, 3K
Cleveland's All Star ace failed to get out of the fifth inning as the 19-game winner was got hammered by the relentless Boston attack. The Sox scored one in the first, four in the third and then three more in the fifth against the supposed Cy Young contender, and by the time he left the game Boston was well on its way to its first ALCS win since Game 7 in 2004.

RECAP
On a night when Boston batters bludgeoned a potential Cy Young candidate like he was a rotting pinata, the talk of the town has to be the continued excellence of starter Josh Beckett.

The moody Texan, who saw his postseason shutout streak come to an end at two games, was far from the near-unhittable maestro that he was against the Angels in Game 1 of the ALDS, but there are plenty of hurlers who would think a game like this in an ALCS game was a career achievement.

For Beckett it was just another night at the office.

But besides the brilliance that is Beckett, the other big story to come out of this game is the power surge the offense is experiencing, especially the twin towers of power, Ortiz and Ramirez.

The two amigos reached base 10 times this evening, a miraculous feat for any pair of players to achieve in a playoff game against a stellar starting pitcher, but with both of these guys hurting a bit due to some persistent, nagging injuries, the accomplishment becomes all the more sweeter.

The linescores for the duo went like this:
-Ortiz 2-2, 2R, 2BI, 2BB, HBP, 2B
-Ramirez 2-2, 2R, 3BI, 3BB

As if that kind of damage wasn't bad enough, the rest of the offense would chip in eight more hits and five more walks off five Cleveland pitchers.

Professional Hitter/RBI machine Mike Lowell contributed a trio of ribbies, Kevin Youkilis notched a pair of hits and scored three runs, and late lineup insertion Bobby Kielty made sure Francona looked like a genius again when his two-run single broke the game open and drove Sabathia from the game in the bottom of the fifth.

But that's the kinda shit that happens when your team is rolling at just the right time, an occurrence that isn't experienced too often in the Nation, but one that is certainly savored (and shared) when it does.

Ironically the night that ended so splendidly began on an ominous note as Travis Hafner deposited a 1-0 pitch from Beckett into the seats beyond the Cleveland bullpen for a solo home run with two outs in the first that silenced the rowdy-yet-frosty Fenway Faithful.

But Boston tied it up in the bottom of the inning on three consecutive singles to center field by Youk, Papi and Manny, and even though Lowell grounded into a double play to squelch that rally, the early advantage disappeared from the Indians' side and the Sox soon made sure they would not get it back again.

Julio Lugo led off the third with a ground-rule double into the right field seats, was sacrificed to third by Dustin Pedroia, then stood there while Youk (4-4, 3R) drew a walk and Ortiz was hit on the jersey by a Sabathia fastball, loading the bases with one out for Ramirez.

Instead of living up to the 'GrandSlamManny' nickname my son has coined for him, the second all-time leading slammer added a new wrinkle to his sacks-packed stats: the bases-loaded walk.

Ramirez climbed out of an 0-2 hole to work the free pass from C.C., which forced Lugo in with the go-ahead run, and like the proverbial seal opening after the first piss on a night of drinking, Boston's offensive onslaught would gush forth like an undamed wall of water from there on out.

Three pitches later Lowell (1-3, 3BI, BB) squirted a shot down the right field line and that bounced just out of the reach of Franklin Gutierrez and into the stands for a two-run ground-rule double to make the score 4-1, and after Kielty was intentionally walked to load the bases for Varitek, the Captain grounded sharply to third to score Ramirez with Boston's fifth run.

And the rout was on.

Following a 1-2-3 fourth, Beckett danced into and out of trouble in the fifth when he hit Ryan Garko with a pitch and allowed a double to Kenny Lofton, but a double play and a strikeout of Gutierrez ended any hopes of an Indians rally.

Then in the bottom of the fifth, Boston busted the game wide open when they loaded the bases on a walk by Ortiz, a single to center past the diving second baseman by Manny and a walk to Lowell, setting the stage for Kielty's money shot.

Francona made the decision a day earlier to sit starting rightfielder J.D. Drew in favor of the seldom-used Kielty due to the redhead's moderate success (9-29, 2HRs) against Sabathia from his days with the Twins.

But to the delighted Nation it felt more like a deserved snub of the man who has been the biggest disappointment of the season for the Sox, well aside from Gagne of course.

Except once again Francona proved to be a budding LaRussa, a master strategist whose moves pay off time and time again, when Kielty stepped in against the Indians starter and dropped a solid single into right field to push the score to 7-1 Boston, and even though Lowell got trapped coming around second and was tagged out for the second out of the inning, with Sabathia knocked out of the game and Beckett on the mound, it was all over but the celebrating.

Tek greeted reliever Jensen Lewis with a lined double to right center to make the score 8-1, and when Cleveland got one back off Beckett in the sixth, Boston made sure there would be no comeback thoughts for the Tribe when they turned the game into an official blowout with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.

For the fourth time on the night Boston loaded the bases, this time on singles by Pedroia and Youk and a walk to Big Papi, and for the second time on the night Manny practiced patience and drew the bases-loaded walk, and then Lowell launched a sac fly to deep center to get the Sox to the double-digit mark in runs for the first time since--you guessed it--Game 7 of the 04 ALCS.

Which reminds me, I wonder what Judas Demon is doing about now?

Anyway, the 10-2 lead combined with the chilly temp was enough to get Beckett out of the game, and although Cleveland scratched a run off Javier Lopez in the seventh and then loaded the bases against piece of shit reliever Eric Gagne in the ninth to give us a little scare, anyone who was watching could only come away with one conclusion:

the best team in baseball is playing its best baseball at the perfect time of the season.

The sign in the stands late in the game said it all- "7 more wins."

Read More......

2007 ALCS News: Drew out, Kielty in for GM 1; Wake on for GM4

Due to the relative success Bobby Kielty (.310, 9-29, 2HRs) has had against Indians ace C.C. Sabathia and the brief-yet-unsuccessful showing J.D. Drew (0-3, 3Ks) has had against the hefty Cleveland lefty, Drew will be on the Boston bench when the ALCS kicks off tomorrow night at Fenway.

Many people will applaud this move, mainly due to the fact that Drew has been a colossal bust in the first year of his mega deal with the Sox and has been the whipping boy for the Nation, so I am in the minority here in thinking that this move could be one of the few that have come back to bite Francona in the ass this season.

For one thing Drew had finally started to put it together at the end of the season, batting .342 (26-76) in September with 4 homers and 18 RBIs in the month, while Kielty had a whopping 4 hits in 26 at bats (.154) in the final month.

Granted he's hitting .260 vs. lefties this season compared to Drew's .224, but Drew had 26 hits in 116 at bats vs. southpaws this season, while Kielty had 13 hits in 50 at bats; not exactly a staggering enough difference in statistics to warrant such a move.

Throw in the fact that despite his offensive woes Drew has proven to be one of the best right fielders in the league, coupled with the importance of defense during the playoffs, especially in Fenway's tricky right field, and the move seems even more odd.

As has been the case for most of the season, I hope Tito is right with this hunch. But to replace a season-long starter and above-average fielder in the first game of the biggest series of the season for a part-timer who has had slightly more success than the incumbent seems to me like a risky move at a time the team cannot afford to take too many gambles.

Who knows, maybe this hunch will prove to be golden, just like his decision to stick with Dustin Pedroia and utilizing some of his cockamamie batting orders did. But if Kielty doesn't get a couple of hits off Sabathia, or fails to make a key play in the outfield, Tito will experience the full wrath of the Nation for making a questionable decision at the worst possible time of the year.

Wake healthy and ready to go for Game 4
The back and shoulder injuries that have been nagging at Tim Wakefield over the last few weeks have finally dissipated enough to allow the team to add him to the ALCS roster, and the knuckleballer said he has every intention of taking the mound for Game 4 in Cleveland next Tuesday.

The return of the 17-game winner and grizzled playoff vet can only help a team that has already had brilliant performances turned in by two of its starters, and the great part about old rubber arm is that he would be able to pitch out of the bullpen in Game 6 or 7 if necessary, although after what happened in the 2003 ALCS, the team may be leery of soing so.

Still, there is nothing wrong with having too much pitching, as Boston has proven all year, and the addition of wake gives some insurance that should Daisuke Matsuzaka falter in Game 3 (as many expect), the Sox wouldn't have to bring Beckett back on short rest to pitch a Game 5.

The return of Wakefield gives Boston a trio of playoff vets who together have made 39 postseason appearances and have a combined record of 19-9 in fall baseball, along with an inexperienced yet talented rookie who could either throw a no-hitter or shit the bed.

Compare that to the inexperienced Cleveland starters Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd, who have made a grand total of 10 appearances with a record of 4-2 in October, and I like the Sox chances of taking this series even better than before.

Just as long as the tribe didn't re-sign Aaron Bleepin Boone before the end of the season and try to sneak him onto the roster.

Bring it on, bitches!

Read More......

2007 ALCS: Rotations are set, and Schill is No.2

In a move about as surprising as Lindsay Lohan falling off the wagon, Terry Francona announced his starters for the first three games of the ALCS, and sizzling Curt Schilling, not disappointing Daisuke Matsuzaka, will get the call to start Game 2 Saturday night in Fenway against Cleveland.

Here are the probable pitching matchups for the first three games.

GM1 @ BOS Fri 7:10 FOX
C.C. Sabathia (19-7, 3.21; 1-0, 5.40) vs. Josh Beckett (20-7, 3.27; 1-0, 0.00)
GM2 @ BOS Sat 8:21 FOX
Fausto Carmona (19-8, 3.06; 0-0, 1.00) vs. Curt Schilling (9-8, 3.87; 1-0, 0.00)
GM3 @ CLE Mon 7:10 FOX
Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-12, 4.40; 0-0, 5.79) vs. Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32; 0-1, 10.80)

Schilling tossed another postseason gem in the ALDS Game 3 against the Angles, and now owns a 9-2 mark with a 1.93 ERA in the playoffs, and with Dice K struggling with fatigue and command for the better part of the second half of the season, including his short-leash effort in Game 2 of the Angles series, it was an absolute no-brainer to give Schill the assignment.

So the way it stands right now is we've got the two best starters for each team going toe-to-toe in Games 1 & 2 over the weekend, and then Boston will turn to Dice K in Game 3 and possibly Tim Wakefield, who threw today to test his back and might be able to go in Game 4, in C-Town to begin the week.

After that it's back to the aces again, and you gotta figure if Beckett & Schill win the first two, and either Daisuke or Wake can get a win in Cleveland, then it will be up to either Beckett or Schilling to record one win to secure a spot in the Series.

Gotta love those odds.

I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but I can't help it. The Sox are peaking at just the right time after a late season swoon, the weather is starting to cool off (it was only 83 here today), and the hated Stankees and their loathsome fans are blubbering over thier third straight first round loss and the potential loss of the core of the team.

Did I mention the Stankees lost?

Speaking of that glorious topic, there was a great post today on the Awful Announcing blog about that obnoxious gasbag Suzyn Waldman and her tearful recollection on-air of Joe Torre addressing the team after choking to Cleveland last night. listen about 1/4 of the way through the audio to hear the ever-loving epitome of a homer, a woman who cries because a coach might leave a team. Even John Sterling was appalled. Priceless.

And these idiots have the nerve to call Boston fans obnoxious?

Read More......

Ding dong the Bombers are dead! Sox will play Tribe in ALCS

Don't walk under any ladders. Or step on any cracks, And for god sake, don't let any black cats walk in your path.

Because a near-unprecedented run of good fortune is afflicting Boston sports fans right now, and lord knows we don't want to do anything to jinx it.

The Cleveland Indians just knocked off the Feeble Empire by a score of 6-4 in the Bronx, winning their ALDS series 3 games to 1, setting up an American League Championship Series date with the Sox on Friday night in Fenway.

As if that weren't giddy enough news, Boss Steinbrenner had given Joe Torre an ultimatum before Game 3 yesterday: advance to the ALCS or don't bother coming back next season.

So while the Sox sit and rest, salivating over the prospect of not having to face their pain-in-the-ass nemesis for the fourth time in eight years in the LCS, New York will be worrying about how to replace a Hall of Fame manager, half the pitching staff, and likely league MVP, April Rod.

Not to mention trying to figure out how the hell they came roaring back after a horrible start to the season to own baseball's best record after May 31st, only to see four months of hard work go up in a cloud of Canadian friut flies over the course of five days.

Good luck, losers, and see you in spring training.

All together now: STANKEES SUCK! STANKEES SUCK! STANKEES SUCK!

Read More......

ALDS Result: Sox sweep Angels to advance to ALCS

Sox 9, Angles 1
WP: Schilling (1-0)
LP: Weaver (0-1)
HRs: Manny (2), Papi (2)

Two men who played a major part in the ALDS sweep share a big hug after the game. Not that there's anything wrong with that

SUMMARY
The Red Sox made it back to the American League Championship Series for the third time since 2003 with a decisive victory over the battered & bruised Angles.

Curt Schilling was his usual masterful postseason self, pitching seven solid shutout innings, Ortiz & Ramirez went back-to-back for the first time this season, and Boston blew open a 2-0 game with a 7-run 8th to defeat Los Angeles for a record-tying ninth consecutive time in postseason play.

Boston will wait for the winner of the Cleveland/New York series before beginning the ALCS at Fenway on Friday night.

#1 STUNNER Schilling 7IP, 6H, 0R, 1BB, 4K
The guy might not possess the blazing fastball or wicked splitter of his youth, but put Curt Schilling on the mound in a playoff game and good things seem to happen.

Schill won his 9th postseason game today (against 2 losses), running his record to a perfect 4-0 in division series, and notched a victory in his first postseason start since Game 2 of the 2004 World Series.

Bottom line no matter his age or the speed of his pitches, put this warrior on the mound in a playoff game and chances are he's going to will his team to a win.

GAGME Angles bullpen 4IP, 6H, 7ER, 2BB, 4K
After starter Jered Weaver kept the score close for five innings, the LA bully blew open a tight game and turned a stomach-twister into a laugher.

RECAP
What late-season swoon?

The Red Sox made the unpleasant memories and unwanted doubts created by their near-catastrophic collapse disappear entirely with a dominating three game performance over their personal playoff bitches, the Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels.

Crippled by injuries and manhandled by a superior pitching staff, the Angles went down with barely a whimper, scoring just four runs in the three games, three coming in the second inning of Game 2 and one lone run today off (who else) Eric Gagne in the ninth inning.

That's it. Four runs scored in two innings over three games.

LA also managed just 19 hits, only six for extra bases, for a .192 average and 1.3 runs/game, while Boston blasted 19 runs and 25 hits including five homers, four by the newly reformed Dynamic Duo, plus saw their pitchers compile a stunning 1.33 ERA.

Put it all together and it all adds up to another Angel ass-kicking, a tradition that of nine straight wins that started two games before the Hendu/Donnie Moore game in the 1986 ALCS, extended through Papi's walk-off sweep job in Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS and right up through Beckett's masterpiece in Game 1 of this series.

The Halos might want to petition Bud Selig to switch to the AL East or the National League to avoid having to play Boston in the playoffs for as long as possible.

Either that or just go back to sucking again, which is a distinct possibility with this band of banged-up & broken-down fossils.

The story of this series was the overwhelming advantage in pitching and offense the Sox held over Los Angeles, and today was a perfect example of that. While Schill was shutting down the depleted Angel lineup, Boston's big boppers got to work on building a lead they knew Schill wouldn't relinquish.

Early on it didn't look like the offense was clicking when Boston blew another golden scoring opportunity in the second inning as Angels starter Jered Weaver (5IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K) recorded three straight outs following a leadoff walk to Manny and a double down the left field line by Mike Lowell.

And Schill looked shaky as well, surrendering hits in each of the first two innings before working into--and out of--a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third.

Juan Rivera led off the frame with a bloop single into left, Schill struck out catcher Mike Napoli and got Chone Figgins to ground into a fielder's choice, forcing Rivera at second. Should have been end of trouble, right?

Wrong. Old friend Orlando OC Cabrera laced a single to center, and when Schilling walked Bad Vlad on four pitches, suddenly a harmless situation became dangerously explosive in a matter of minutes.

But Schill buckled down and made some terrific pitches to Reggie yes, I'm white Willits, including a fastball on a 1-2 count that Willits peeled back of home plate, and with the quickness of a lynx Captain Tek wheeled around, sprinted back, went into a classic catcher's slide and caught the ball before he hit the wall, a play that caused the Nation to roar and Schilling to utter a Papelbon-like primal scream as he exited the field--and the jam.

Not five minutes later the Sox would score the only runs they would need to close out the series, and they scored them in grand style.

First Ortiz (2-3, 2R, BI, BB) smoked a hanging 0-1 breaking ball from Weaver over the right field fence for his second homer of the series and 11th in his last 24 games, and then eight pitches later Manny, who hit his first homer since August 28th to win Game 2 Friday night, absolutely torched a Weaver fastball high, long and deep to straightaway center field, where it bounced off the faux-rock hardtop section like a gymnast off a trampoline, and just like that it was 2-0, let the champagne flow.

Believe it or not that was the first time all season Boston's dynamic duo hit back-to-back jacks. Couldn't have picked a better time, fellas.

Buoyed by the newfound lead Schill set down 9 of the next 10 Angle batters, and even though Boston botched a couple more scoring chances by hitting into a pair of double plays, as the game got later you couldn't help but get the feeling that those two runs felt like a dozen to the fading So Cal boys.

After Schill needed only 9 pitches to dispatch with three batter in the sixth, Tito ran his horse out there for the seventh, a move that nearly backfired when Coco Crisp failed to come up with yet another miraculous catch off a Maicer Izturis sinking liner to lead off the inning, a hit that went for a double despite Crisp's heroic effort.

Howie "no, I'm not white" Kendrick advanced Izturis to third with a groundout, but Schill needed just two pitches to get Rivera to pop out harmlessly to Youk at first base, and he saved his best for last when Napoli worked a full count before whiffing on a splitter in the dirt, and once again Schill exited the field with a Papelbon-esque fist pump/scream.

That lit bit of adrenaline from their veteran leader was all the fuel the offense needed to bust the game wide open; well, that and some horrid relief work by the Angles pen.

The Sox scored seven runs in the top of the 8th off Justin Speir and Darren Oliver, and onslaught that began with a leadoff walk to Lugo, follwed by a ringing double by Dustin Pedroia, and containing RBI hits by Lowell (of course), Varitek, Coco a sac fly by Younk and an RBI fielder's chioce by J.D. Drew.

When the smoke cleared the score was 9-0 Boston, and all but the West Coast contingent of the Nation was left to sneak down to the expensive seats to witness the on field postgame celebration first hand.

Hideki Okajima relieved Schill in the 8th and allowed a double and a walk before escaping the inning unscathed, but unfortunately Tito inserted Schleprock Gagne into the game in the ninth, and the washed-up shitbag immediately proceeded to surrender the only run of the day for the Angles on a double by Izturis, a wild pitch and a sac fly.

Oh well. As the final out off pinch hitter Rob Quinlan's bat plopped into Coco's glove, the Sox streamed onto the field to celebrate getting one step closer to their ultimate goal, confident in the knowledge that with the pitchers throwing the ball like they have, and with the big hitters mashing the ball at just the right moments, this team is as close to unstoppable as it has been in year.

Like three years, to be exact.

Congratulations, BoSox.

The Nation never had any doubt you guys would make it this far (wink wink)

Read More......

ALDS Preview: Sox @ Angles

Schilling (9-8) vs. Weaver (13-7)
307 EST @ LA of A Stadium

The Red Sox can wrap up their third trip to the American league Championship series in four years with a victory today, and they'll have one of the most prolific postseason pitchers of all-time on the mound to try and accomplish that feat.

Curt Schilling carries an 8-2 mark with two World Series titles, a Series MVP award and one of the most famous socks in the history of sports into this matchup in sunny Southern California, and with the way he pitched down the stretch combined with the white-hot spotlight of postseason play, look for the veteran to rise to the occasion against shaky Angels starter Jered Weaver.

Weaver makes his postseason debut this afternoon, and he'll need to perform like his big brother Jeff did for the Cardinals last season if he wants to get this series to a Game 4 on Monday. After jumping out to an 11-2 record last in his rookie year last season, Weaver has come back to earth with a spotty 2007, although he did go 3-1 in September to make his record a little more respectable.

Still, you're talking about an October greenhorn going up against a seasoned veteran of 9 playoff series and 15 postseason starts, including four games on the sport's ultimate stage, so Weaver will have to mentally as well as psychically tough enough to endure the pressure he will be under this afternoon at Angels Stadium.

Not surprisingly, the Sox will utilize the same lineup they have for the first two games (if it ain't broke, don't fix it), while Anaheim will mix things up a bit. First baseman Casey Kotchman will not play due to an undisclosed illness, although banged-up slugger Vlad Guerrero will return to right field and Juan Rivera will take over the DH duties.

Bottom line is the Sox can get a head start on resting up for the ALCS by dispatching with the Halos for the 9th consecutive time in the postseason, and with the Stanks now playing for Joe Torre's job, you can bet that series will go at least five games, giving Boston plenty of time to rest up for what will be an epic series no matter who the opponent will be.

Because as long as Boston gets there, WTF cares who they play.

Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!.

Read More......

ALDS GM2: Manny's 9th-inning bomb propels Sox to 2-0 series lead

Sox 6, Angles 3
WP: Papelbon (1-0)
LP: F. Rodriguez (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Manny (1)

Amazingly after 21 postseason homers, good for 2nd place all time in MLB, this was ManRam's first walk-off job. He made sure to admire it appropriately.

SUMMARY
Manny Ramirez put his nagging oblique injury and some earlier shoddy fielding behind him when he launched a titanic 3-run homer over the Monster and onto Lansdowne Street off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez in the bottom of the 9th to give Boston 2-0 advantage over LA in the ALDS.

#1 STUNNER Ramirez 1-3, R, 3BI, 2BB, GW-HR
He had only notched one extra base hit since returning from an oblique injury in the last week of the season, but Manny, who always had a flair for the dramatic, made sure his first homer since August 28th was a memorable one.

Indeed it was only the 5th walkoff homer in Red Sox postseason history.

GAGME F. Rodriguez 1/3IP,1H, 2R, BB, K, GL-HR
The kid called K-Rod made a name for himself in the 2002 playoffs, when the flamethrowing phenom helped the Halos win the world Series. But by trying to sneak a fastball by Manny in the 9th tonight, he might have assured his team doesn't get out of the first round in 2007.

RECAP
The Red Sox extended their postseason dominance over the Angels, beating them for the eighth straight time in the playoffs, but it took some terrific work by the beleaguered bullpen, a slew of bases-on-balls, and a fortuitious play by the son of a minority owner in order to extend that streak.

Boston stepped one win closer to the ALCS when Manny Ramirez clubbed a game-winning homer off Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but before that spectacular finish could occur the Sox took thier sweet time getting to that point as this game had more twists and turns than a Stephen King novel.

Oh, did I mention the high priest of horror was also involved in this memorable October matchup?

Daisuke Matsuzaka (4.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K) made his MLB postseason debut, and unfortunately for the Sox and the Nation, he pitched pretty much like he has for most of his inital season in the majors--halfway decent yet still not quite good enough.

The rookie righty really only had one bad inning, when he allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in the second, but it was his lack of command and inabilty to shut the sputtering Angels lineup down that forced Terry Francona to pull his #2 starter with two outs in the fifth with the score only 3-2 Los Angeles.

As a dissapointed & dejected Dice-K left the mound, he got his first taste of what life can really be like as a member of the Boston Red Sox when a smattering of boos rained down on him, a sharp reminder that a big contract, high expectations and postseason failure make for a hostile work environment in the best baseball city in America.

Welcome to playoff baseball in Beantown, Diceman.

The reason the Faithful were so upset was because another high-paid, high-profile bust, J.D. Drew, actually came through in the clutch in his first playoff game in a Boston uni, stroking a bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single off Anaheim starter Kelvim Escobar in the first inning to give the Sox an early 2-0 lead, only to have Matsuzaka blow that lead mere minutes later.

The worst part about it is that the second inning could have been a one-run affair. Dice-K allowed a leadoff walk to Casey Kotchman and an infield single to Kendry Morales but then retired the next two batters, with Kotchman scoring on a fielder's choice grounder by catcher Jeff Mathis to slice the lead to 2-1.

Except Matsuzaka had one of his patented phases when he forgets he's supposed to be an elite pitcher and allowed back-to-back doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera to give the Angles a 3-2 lead, and even though he retired Vlad Guerrero on a grounder to end the inning, the boo birds that came out for the first time in Dice's brief Boston career and reminded him that the feel-good vibes of the regular season are gone when the hardware is on the line.

The score remained that way for a few innings, with both teams committing baserunning blunders along the way, but the fifth inning brought not only Matsuzaka's departure and the Red Sox tying the game but the entrance of another Bartman-like play into postseason lore.

Matsuzaka ran into two out trouble again in the top of the fifth when he surrendered a single to Maicer Izturis and then walked Kotchman on four pitches, the last one scooting past Varitek for a wild pitch that sent Izturis to third and brought Tito out of the dugout.

Javier Lopez replaced the disgraced starter and got Morales to ground out to Lugo at short, and Boston was forced into a situation it had not been too succesful with over the last few weeks of the season--having to go to the bullpen early.

Thankfully in the bottwom of the frame the Sox tied it up when Dustin pedroia led off with a double, and after Youk grounded out, David ortiz drew the second of his ALDS-record four walks, the fisrt of his tywo intentional freebies, setting up Manny for a big RBI situation.

Cue the Twilight Zone music.

Ramirez battled Escobar, fouling off a few pitches, but it was one foul ball in particular that will be rembered for a long time to come in the Commonwealth.

As Manny's pop up soared towrds the seats, mathis raced over to the rail of the photographer's section and reached into the stands to snag the ball. Only a young kid named Danny Vinik, the son of a part-owner of the team, reached over Mathis' glove and snagged the ball first, and as Mathis swore in idsgust, Vinnick was congratulated by everyone around him, including Boston's best famous fan, Stephen King, who was seated one row behind the kid they're calling the anti-Bartman.

Given new life Ramirez drew a walk from the rattled escobar, and the bases were loaded for Boston's top RB I man and most consiustent clutch hitter all season, Mikle Lowell.

Lowell lofted a flyball to centerfield, deep enough to score Pedroia with the tying run, and suddenly the problem became how Francona was going to piece together a potential game-saving combination out of his embattled bully.

Turned out it wasn't an issue as the Boston penb reverted to pre-Gagne form, turning in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, starting with Manny Delcarmen's 1-2-3 sixth.

After Manny D. plunked Guerrero with one out in the seventh, Hideki Okajima came in for his postseason debut and got Garrett one eye Anderson on a fly ball to center and then struck out Izturis, and after he set down the first two batters of the eighth, Francona went to his closer to get the final four outs.

The last out of the eighth proved elusive as Howie Kendrick reached on an error by Lowell, stole second and third like a mouse on a trweadmill, and then Papelbon walked Juan Rivera and allowed hiom to skate to second before he fanned Figgins to end the inning, exiting the field with a fist-pump and a primal scream that said to his team let's go out and win this fucking thing.

It took a couple of innings, but in the final inning that's exactly what they did.

It all started with a leadoff single by Julio Lugo, and after Pedroia grounded him over to second, Mike Scioscia brought on K-Rod to face the heart of the Boston order.

Rodriguez struck out Youk, making him look silly in the process, and then everyone watching knew Papi was going to draw the free pass again in order to see if Manny could finally make the move backfire.

Boy did he ever.

After taking the first pitch for a ball, Manny tracked a Rodriguez heater right to his whellhouse and turned on it quicker than Mike Vick's cousin, crushing the ball high, far and deep into the Fenway night, and before he made it to home plate the entire team was there, ready to jump around in celebration of Manny's 21st postseason longball.

And so it took a number of wacky plays, a number of clutch hits, and a little intervention by a fan to get Boston to the brink of its 3rd ALCS in four years, and it will be up to Curt Schilling to puch the Sox ticket to the next round on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim.

Oh and what could make a win like this sweeter?

The Indians knocked off the Stanks in 11 innings to take a 2-0 lead in that series with help from a sudden swarm of pesky insects.

Looks like stephen King might be more powerful than we thought.

Read More......

ALDS Notes: Beckett's gem continues to impress a day later

One day after one of the most impressive postseason performances in Red Sox history, the accolades keep pouring in for the new Mr. October.

Don't believe me? here's a small sample:

"No one was quite sure who would emerge as Boston's ace entering the season. It's no longer up for debate. {Beckett} moved the ball inside and out, up and down. He located his fastball and didn't leave anything over the plate. Mike Scioscia's club had no clue what was coming."--Jeff Goodman, FOXSports Net

"Beckett was undoubtedly the last person many Red Sox fans mentioned before going to sleep Wednesday night and the first they will mention when they wake up. That kind of adoration happens when a pitcher dominates in the postseason the way Beckett dominated the Angels."--Jack Curry, NY Times

"We've seen the miracle of Curt Schilling's bloody sock in 2004. We've seen Pedro Martinez climb out of the bullpen with a strained muscle under his right shoulder blade in 1999 and pitch six innings of no-hit ball. We've seen Luis Tiant grunt, groan and sweat his mustache off on his way to a 163-pitch night in the 1975 World Series."

"Yes, there may have been more dramatic pitching performances in Red Sox postseason history. But there have been no more authoritative than Josh Beckett's four-hit shutout of the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park."--Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant

See what I mean.

But no matter how many writers have tried, there really aren't enough words to describe the masterful effort Beckett turned in last night at Fenway. it was a performance for the ages, a dominating, devastating, demoralizing evisceration of a talented playoff team, one that had it taken place in Game 7 of the World series a la Beckett's last postseason start would be considered one of the greatest postseason performances of all time.

But the way you hear the man himself talk about it, it was just another day at the office.

Among the certain Cy Young winner's attention-deflecting remarks, Josh downplayed the comparisons to that 2003 win over the Stanks in the Bronx, saying the only thing similar are the results, and the humble-yet-fiery Texan refused to accept the fact that he now will likely now be included in the group of the best playoff pitchers in the history of the game.

"I think those are all things that you should worry about when you retire."

Josh, dude, you've thrown two consecutive postseason masterpieces and are one of only three men to own three career playoff shutouts, you're about to win your fist Cy Young, were the majors only 20-game winner this season, and have just put your team on your back and said "hop on boys, I;m gonna be the horse that takes us to the promised land."

Do yourself a favor, okay: enjoy it a little.

You deserve to.

Other Game 1 Notes:

-Although I was thrilled to learn that my local cable company added TBS HD just in time for the play-in game Monday night, I must say the new MLB playoff network has not impressed.

Poor sound quality has been voiced by a number of viewers, and some of that must have to do with the terrible announcers. How we got saddled with Ted who the hell are you? Robinson and Steve Stone Age I'll never understand, but Dry & Dryer had me pining for the ear-bleeding tones of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Oh and they were late coming back from commercial break a couple of times. Look, I know it's your first time, and you gotta pimp your products, but don't pull that shit in the playoffs, guys.

-Don't forget about that other postseason hero: when David Ortiz hit his 9th postseason home run in the third off of John Lacking, it gave him at least one hit in 16 of the 18 postseason games he's played in since the start of the 2004 playoffs. Boston is 7-2 in the postseason when the big fella goes yard, and his longball matched Cap'n Tek's club record for playoff homers.

Oh, and the last time Papi faced the Halos in the postseason? His 10th-inning homer sent them packing in the 2004 ALDS and proved to be the springboard for the championship run.

-Manny Ramirez' first inning single gave him at least one hit in 21 of his last 22 playoff games. Since his return from the oblique injury, ManRam is batting .380 (8-21), but seven of those hits have been singles

-Jacoby Ellsbury got his first taste of the postseason when he replaced Manny in left field for the 9th. And in true phenom style, he made a fantastic sliding catch of a Chone Figgins liner leading off the inning just a few minutes later

-Youk joined a select group when he homered for his first postseason hit, and the slumping first baseman added a double and scored two runs. Ironically Youk's first career hit was also a homer.

-Anyone ever wonder how in the heck Reggie Willits is white and Howie Kendrick is black? We need someone to investigate this odd phenomenon.

UP NEXT: GM 2 Fri 8:37 @ Fenway
Escobar (18-7) vs. Matsuzaka (15-12) (no pressure, Diceman!)

Read More......

ALDS Game 1: Beckett decimates helpless Halos

Sox 4, Angels 0
WP: Beckett (1-0)
LP: Lackey (0-1)
HRs: Papi (1), Youk (1)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox only needed Kevin Youkilis' solo shot in the first inning to take game one of this opening round playoff series because Josh Beckett pitched what can only be described as a masterpiece. Beckett, using a bevy of baffling pitches, surrendered just three singles in nine innings, retired 19 straight batters at one point, and threw first pitch strkies to 25 of the 31 hitters he faced.

Oh, and his closest competitor for the Cy Young, LA's John Lackey, got shellacked again at Fenway, making Beckett's performance all the more impressive.

#1 STUNNER "Cy" Beckett 9IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 8K
As good as this 20-game winner has been all year, this was far and away the best performance of his season and possibly his career. I know all about Game 7 at New York in 2003, but he was just a fireballing kid then; this was a virtuoso effort.

BTW, this was his third postseason shutout, tying a major league record, and his second in a row, following that Game 7 gem. Nice.

GAGME Lackey 6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K
Granted this outing wasn't as bad as his 11-hit, 7-run meltdown back on August 17th, but with one out in the third Boston had already amassed 8 hits and a walk, and if not for a couple of fortuitous calls and a trio of double plays, this beating would have been a lot worse.

RECAP
Boston kicked off the 2007 playoffs with the best pitching performance we've seen all year from their All Star ace Josh Beckett, the kind of shut-down statement start that propels teams to series wins and sets the tone for the rest of the postseason run.

Beckett surrendered a fluke single to Chone Figgins off Dustin Pedroia's glove six pitches into the game, then didn't allow another baserunner until Vlad Guerrero lined a single to left with one out in the seventh, a string of 19 batters in a row that left the Angles players shaking their heads in disbelief and the Fenway Faithful giddy with relief.

After weeks filled with shaky play and injuries to key players followed by a late surge that netted them their first division title since '95, no one was real sure which Sox team would show up in this series.

Would it be the club that got tooled by the Angles in the first two games of a three game set in Anaheim in early August, or would it be the team that averaged more than 8 1/2 run in its six wins vs. Anaheim this season and treats John Lackey like its own personal chew toy?

Thankfully for the psyche of the Nation the answer was the latter, as Lackey's troubles against Boston (1-6, 6.27 ERA lifetime), especially at Fenway Park, where he was 1-4 with a 7.46 ERA in 7 career starts coming in, continued to bite him in the ass.

Following Figgins' leadoff single Beckett retired Orlando Cabrera, Vlad, and Garrett Anderson on a grounder with Figgins at third to escape the inning unscathed, and Youk wasted no time in getting him the only run support he would need on the night when he launched a 2-1 offering from Lackey into the Monster seats with one out in the bottom of the inning to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead.; it was Youk's first career postseason hit.

One of the major contributors to the late-season struggles reared its fugly face afterwards thought when consecutive singles by Papi (2-3, R, 2BI) and Manny were wasted when Lowell grounded out and Drew flied out, leaving both big men stranded.

Ortiz would more than make up for that missed opportunity and provide Beckett with what turned out to be a comfy cushion when he turned on a hanging Lackey curveball and crushed it into the right field seats with one out in the third, scoring Youk, who had reached on a double, and sending the crowd into a typical Fenway playoff frenzy.

One thing we know for sure: screw the knee injury, if it's the playoffs, it's time for Papi to shine.

Boston tacked on what wound up being the final run scored in the game when Manny (1-3, R) followed Papi's blast with a walk, alertly moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on yet another clutch RBI single by Mike Lowell, and even Drew grounding into a double play two pitches later couldn't get the record Fenway crowd in a foul mood.

That's because the game was actually more exciting when Boston was not at bat, and you could tell as the game went on that Beckett was turning in a performance that was nothing short of remarkable.

Not only was Becks setting down LA batters at a rapid clip, but it was the way he was doing it that made the feat all the more amazing. Utilizing a variety of pitches including his usual 97 mph heater, a nasty low-90s slider and a knee-buckling 77-80 mph curve, Beckett was not so much as pitching to the Angles hitters but pitching through them, like a brand new John Deere plowing a field of knee-high grass.

In the fourth he needed just 10 pitches to cut down the trio of Cabrera-Guerrero-Anderson again; in the fifth, after pesky Maicer Izturis managed an 8-pitch at bat before popping out to short, Beckett needed only five more pitches to retire Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick; and in the sixth he absolutely tortured Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits, getting them to whiff on 77 mph yakkers before Figgins lined out to Coco Crisp, who made a nice sliding catch to extend Beckett's streak to 18 batters in a row sent back to the bench.

By the 7th Lackey was gone, who in all fairness held on to keep the game close after those first few innings, and although Boston squandered a couple of possible scoring chances and had four calls go against them (a phantom foul tip by Kendrick, a bogus caught stealing on Lugo, and two horrible strike-three calls on Youk and Manny in the 5th), thanks to Beckett's dominance the game was all but over.

The string of retired batters ended with one out in the seventh when Guerrero fought off a sinker in the dirt and a 97 fastball on the hands and lined a single into left field, drawing a polite applause from the appreciative crowd, but Becks shook it right off and needed just five pitches to get out of the inning.

With one out in the eighth Howie Kendrick singled past Lowell and under Lugo's glove for the Angels third hit of the night, and Tito had Papelbon & Okajima ready in case Beckett began to peter out.

Fat chance. After Manny Aybar's grounder forced Kendrick at second, Beckett made pinch hitter Kendry Morales look like a Little Leaguer, running the count to 1-2 before freezing him in his place with a wicked 96-mph curve that appeared to come from left field and bisect home plate like a laser-guided missile.

The Sox went down in order against Earvin Santana in the bottom of the inning, and then all that was left was for Beckett to close the book on his third playoff shutout.

Another managerial move by Francona paid off when Jacoby Ellsbury, freshly inserted in left field for defensive purposes, made an excellent sliding catch of a sinking Figgins liner to lead off the ninth, one pitch later OC grounded out to Lowell, and after Guerrero notched his second single of the night and with Papelbon looking on from the pen and the applause rising to a deafening crescendo in the park, Beckett got Garrett Anderson to fly out to Coco in deep left center to put a cap on what will go down as yet another brilliant postseason performance for a man who is starting to make a habit of turning in such efforts.

Now Boston can relax and enjoy the off-day tomorrow, secure in the knowledge that if Dice-K can shut down this stumbling Angels lineup on Friday, the series could be all but over. And with Beckett assured of another start should it go more than three games and LA riding a 5-game postseaosn losing streak, one could almost assume that this series is done.

But we'll take it one game at a time. As long as each of the next two games are victories, we'll be alright.

Read More......

ALDS Sox Drawer: Roster, rotation, game times all set

Tim Wakefield's back keeps him off the roster for round one, Dice-K gets the start in Game 2, and best news of all--no day games!

Here's the schedule for the 2007 ALDS between Boston and the Angels.

GM1 Wednesday @ Boston 6:37EST
Lackey vs. Beckett

GM2 Friday @ Boston 8:37EST
Escobar vs. Matsuzaka

GM3 Sunday @ LA of A 3:07EST
Schilling vs. Weaver

IF NECESSARY:
GM 4 Mon @ LA 9:37EST
GM5 Wed @ BOS 8:37EST

The good news is that no games are scheduled for the early afternoon (great, no skipping work). The bad news is that Game 3, which will be started by Schill in order to give him extra rest, is Sunday at 3:07 EST, which puts it smack dab in the middle of the Pats game at Gillette against the Browns. Not like that game won't be a slaughter, especially by that time, but still, we Boston fans like to be able to enjoy both our beloved championship-caliber teams without any aggravating PIP crossovers involved.

The other big news out of the Boston camp was the announcement of the roster for the first round. Terry Francona gave the media the list of players who will be participating, and there was was one notable name that did not make the cut: 17-game winner Tim Wakefield.

Here is the entire roster:

Pitchers:

SP-Josh Beckett (R)
SP-Daisuke Matsuzaka (R)
SP-Curt Schilling (R)
CL-Jonathan Papelbon (R)
RP-Jon Lester (L)
RP-Eric Gagne (R)
RP-Hideki Okajima (L)
RP-Mike Timlin (R)
RP-Manny Delcarmen (R)
RP-Javier Lopez (L)

Starters:

C-Jason Varitek
1B-Kevin Youkilis
2B-Dustin Pedroia
SS-Julio Lugo
3B-Mike Lowell
RF-J.D. Drew
CF-Coco Crisp
LF-Manny Ramirez
DH-David Ortiz

Bench:

INF/OF-Eric Hinske
2B/SS-Alex Cora
OF-Jacoby Ellsbury
1B/OF-Bobby Kielty
C-Doug Mirabelli
C-Kevin Cash

Evidently the back injury that sidelined Wake for one start in early September, which led to fellow non-rostered player Clay Buchholz' no hitter, has flared up again, and coupled with the fact that Boston only needs three starting pitchers with the 8-day format, Wake's exclusion was understandable.

Still, the loss of a veteran of 17 postseason games who also won a career-high tying 17 games this season could come back to hurt Boston, especially if Matsuzaka or Schilling run into any early trouble in their starts. Sure Lester will fill that role, but a greenhorn over a steeled playoff veteran? Even with the memory of Aaron Bleepin' Boone lingering, I'd still take my chances with Wake over Lester.

Also, Julian Tavarez was left off thanks to a horrendous finish to the season in which he allowed 11 earned runs over his final 12 innings (8.25 ERA), including a 3H-3R-3IP stink bomb in the season finale on Sunday.

The other most notable thing about the roster is the fact that the Sox will carry three catchers, with Tito rationalizing that the extra backstop will be useful in pinch hit and late game substitution situations.

Obviously rookie spark plug Jacoby Ellsbury made the cut, and don't be surprised to see him enter very early in games depending on the score and situation. He's been to hot (hit in 23 of 26 games and batted .390 in September) and is too potent an offensive weapon not to have on the field, plus he will need to spell Manny late for defensive reasons with Manny's range still limited by his oblique injury.

The Angels also had some glaring omissions from their own roster, including overrated outfielder Garry Matthroids Jr. and always-injured starter Bartolo Colon. Matthroids has been battling patellar tendinitis in his left knee for weeks, while Colon has added an elbow injury to the lengthy list of health issues he's had in his career.

Good ole' Bartolo, the only opener you can count on him being available for is the grand opening of an In & Out Burger.

So the roster has been finalized, the rotation determined and the start times are in.

Now it's up to Josh Beckett and the Boston offense to start this series off right with a win tomorrow night, and hopefully by 3:07 on Sunday the Sox will own a 2-0 advantage, the Pats will be annihilating the Brownies 45-7, and Schill will be preparing for one more magnificent postseason performance.

Go Sox!

Read More......

Sox end season with a loss, but who the hell cares?

Minnesota 3, Sox 2
WP: Garza (5-7)
LP: Tavarez (7-11)
SV: Nathan (37)
HRs: BOS-Varitek (17)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox wrapped up the 2007 regular season with a meaningless game that ended in an inconsequential loss. Terry Francona began pulling starters midway through and used 16 position players, and Boston escaped the season finale with mission no. 1 accomplished: everyone stayed healthy for the playoffs.

The Sox finished the regular season with a record of 96-66, tied for the best record in baseball, and ended up winning the East division by two games over New York. They will open the American League division Series against the AL West champion Angels on Wednesday night at Fenway, with Josh Beckett scheduled to pitch opposite LA of A's John Lackey.

The times of the first round have yet to be determined, but Game 2 will be Friday in Boston, with the matchup likely being Curt Schilling facing Kelvim Escobar, and Game 3 will be on Sunday out in Orange County where Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his MLB postseason debut when he squares off against Jered Weaver.

Tonight the team gets to rest and let the grind of the regular season seep out of them, recharge the batteries for what should be a tough ALDS, and then after taking care of business in the opening round, start preparing for what could be the third ALCS between the Sox and Stanks in the last five years.

The regular season was fun, memorable, and historic for many reasons.

But this postseason has a chance to be one for the ages.

The drive to bring championship No. 2 of the new millennium to the Hub begins on Wednesday in what will be an electric atmosphere in the best baseball city in the world, and by this time next week we could know if another meeting with the Bombers is in the cards.

But first things first for the club. First enjoy the rally tomorrow, then shoot 18 holes or lounge around your cribs all day Tuesday, because on Wednesday the white-hot spotlight of the postseason will be beaming down on Beantown.

And there's no place else the Sox and its Nation of faithful would rather be.

Congrats, Sox, and let's kick some Angels ass.

Read More......

Game Preview: 2007 Season Finale (Sox vs. Twins)

Boston will put a cap on the regular season with an utterly meaningless game against the Twins

Garza (4-7) vs. Tavarez (7-10)
205 @ Fenway Park

The Red Sox will finish the 2007 season this afternoon at Fenway in game that carries about as much importance as a mid-March matchup at Chain O' Lakes Park.

How meaningless is this contest?

With both the East title and best record in baseball wrapped up, Boston elected to scratch scheduled starter Curt Schilling and replace him with scrub starter Julian Tavarez, a move that says as much about the Sox postseason pitching plans than the unimportance of this contest.

With nothing left to play for Schilling will be rested presumably to start Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday against the Angels, and Tito will cross his digits and pray that nobody gets injured in this game today, even if he has to pull every regular before the fourth inning.

As the hangover subsides and reality sets in, this game will give Boston a chance to sit back, relax, and asses their postseason plans. Decisions need to be made on who will make the roster and who will be left off, but by electing to begin their series on Wednesday it appears the sox will be content to bring only three starters into the first round.

Obviosuly ace Josh Beckett is the No. 1 man, and by pulling Schill today to set him up for Game 2, that would leave struggling starter Daisuke Matsuzaka to start Game 3 in Anaheim on Sunday. And with Wakefield pitching poorly the last month + and Clay Buchholz being shut down with the dreaded but convenient "tired arm" syndrome, it makes sense for Boston to use three starters for a series that will be stretched out over eight days.

So there's nothing left but the shutting down of the regular season and getting on with the postseason plans today at Fenway, and you can bet by the middle of this game all the regulars will be relaxing in the clubhouse, the Sox brass will be brainstorming their playoff roster, and the Faithful will be gearing up for the rally Monday evening at City Hall Plaza.

Like last year the Sox are playing another meaningless game on the last day of the regular season.

But this time its for all the right reasons.

Congratulations and thanks for an awesome, memorable regular season, BoSox.

Now let's get to work on scheduling another duck boat invasion come late October.

Read More......

Simply the Best: Sox win + Tribe loss gives Boston the best record

Sox 6, Twins 4
WP: Wakefield (17-12)
LP: Blackburn (0-2)
SV: Okajima (5)
HRs: BOS-Drew (11), Lowell (21); MIN-Mauer (7), White (4)

Things are going so well right now even Drew is right in the middle of the good times

SUMMARY
A day after wrapping up its first AL East title in 12 years the Red Sox secured the best record in baseball and homefield advantage that goes along with it as J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer in the seventh to defeat the Twins and Kansas City staged a late comeback to beat the Indians.

No, Papelbon didn't strip & dance on the mound to celebrate this milestone victory.

#1 STUNNER J.D. Drew 3-4, 2R, 3BI, 3B, HR
The ridiculed right fielder continues to smash out of his season-long slump just at the right time, drilling three more hits tonight, raising his average to the highest point its been at since mid-May, and helping people forget about his post game celebration no-show after last night's division-clinching win.

GAGME The Cleveland Indians
All their pitchers had to do was keep lowly K.C. from scoring any runs and then let the powerful Tribe offense lead the team to victory. Instead Jake Westbrook surrendered three runs in the first inning, the offense got shut down by a host of horrid Royal relievers, and the bullpen surrendered the best record-losing run in the bottom of the eighth.

Not exactly a clutch performance on the eve of the postseason. But thanks, though.

RECAP
He might not have been there for last night's maniacal & hysterical post game celebration, but J.D Drew did his part to ensure there would be another, perhaps more subdued, fete tonight when he blasted a three-run homer to help lead the Sox to the best record in baseball.

So what if he didn't get to see Papelbon in his Under Armor, coated in champagne & beer and acting like a pledge at a kegger, in person last night?

By now it's been well-documented that Drew left the park following last night's game due to family concerns (pregnant wife, healing son; if there's one thing we have learned about this quiet, quizzical player it's that he is a family man first and foremost), but with the support of his teammates and a blazing hot bat, Drew continued to play a major role in the Sox late-season resurgence.

The right fielder is batting .393 in his last 18 games and has raised his average from .252 to .270 (as in $70 million...?) in that time, and he was directly involved in most of the scoring action tonight.

After Sox starter Tim Wakefield (7IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, BB, 2K, 2HR) spotted the Twins a 2-run lead on a pair of solo homers--a leadoff job by the ancient Rondell White in the third and a one-out shot by catcher Joe Mauer in the fourth--Drew ignited the Sox first rally with a solid triple to deep center field, then scored on a single by Kevin Youkilis (3-4, BI) to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Wake, who once again wasn't sharp by was good enough to earn his first win since August 25th, allowed RBI singles by Brian Buscher in the fifth and Mauer in the sixth to run the Minny lead to 4-1, but then Sox MVP Mike Lowell (2-4, 2R, 2BI) launched a solo shot to open the sixth to slice the lead in half, and after Wake set the Twins down in order in the seventh, Boston mounted a comeback that put an exclamation point on what has to be considered a spectacular regular season.

Coco Crisp led off the frame with a single to left off Twins reliever Nick Blackburn, and after Alex Cora followed with a single to move Crisp to second, Lowell negated a Manny strikeout with an RBI single to left, his 120th ribbie of the season, setting the stage for Drew's dramatics.

Drew battled Blackburn to a full count before depositing a fastball into the rightfield stands for his third homer in his last eighth games, and he rounded the bases to a rousing ovation from the Faithful, it felt as if this team is finally where we had all hoped it would be at this time of the season:

clicking on all cylinders.

On the heels of the news the Tribe had lost, Boston announced that Curt Schilling will not start the season finale tomorrow, fueling speculation that he will be the starter for Game 2 of the ALDS vs. Los Angeles of Anaheim, and you can expect a patchwork crew of position players to take the field for what has turned out to be an absolutely meaningless game on Sunday at Fenway.

And boy doesn't it feel good?

It's been a long, up & down road to this point, and hopefully the best is yet to come.

Enjoy football this Sunday.

After all, the Sox have given the Nation the gift of its first lazy Sunday in a long time.

Read More......

AL EAST CHAMPS! Sox win first division title since '95

Sox 5, Minnesota 2
WP: Matsuzaka (15-12)
LP: Slowey (4-1)
SV: Papelbon (37)
HRs: BOS-Papi (35); MIN-Morneau (31)

SUMMARY
The Boston Red Sox ended the 10-year stranglehold the New York Stankees held on the American League East, first by knocking off the Twins at Fenway and then by watching Baltimore come back to defeat the Stanks in 10 innings, and for the first time since 1995 the Red Sox can call themselves division champs.

#1 STUNNER Daisuke Matsuzaka 8IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K, 2HR
Although there was no shortage of candidates for this one, Dice-K's effort stands out as reason number one why Boston clinched the division tonight. He held the Twins scoreless for six inning while the Boston offense built a big enough lead, and even though he falteres a bit in the seventh, he still gave the club a much-needed quality after a month of disappointing outings.

GAGME Mariano Rivera 1IP, 3H, 3ER (NYY vs. BAL)
I know, he didn't play in this game. But if he hadn't blown a three-run 9th inning lead against the Orioles, people wouldn't be dancing down Comm Ave in nothing but their skivvies right now.

Thanks again, Mariano. What, no tip of the cap?

RECAP
So I didn't get to see most of this game, and I found out the Stanks lost well after the fact, but who the hell cares, because I still get to say

THE RED SOX ARE THE AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST CHAMPS, BABY!

Sorry, I just got done watching Dick Vitale on the USF football game.

By the time I got home from work and then coaching my son's LL game, this one was just about in the books. I came in just in time to see Dice-K surrender his only two runs of the game in the seventh, and then I got to watch Big Papi blast another homer run in the 8th, Matsuzaka bounce back with a three-batter eighth, and finally Papelbon close the division-clinching win out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

And now the Sox have the satisfaction of knowing that despite a late-season slide that saw the Stanks slice a mammoth lead into a minuscule margin, despite numerous costly injuries and a couple of untimely slumps, Boston has weathered the baseball battles of the 2007 season and come out as the best team in the best division in baseball, with a chance to end up with the best record in the game.

And as I get ready to hit the sack hard in a few minutes, I'm sure my dreams will be filled with visions of champagne showers, giddy grown men acting like kids, and Jonathan Papelbon dancing around the Fenway infield in nothing but his Under Armor and a pair of goggles.

Enjoy it tonight, boys.

Soon enough it will be time to get back down to the business of winning another meaningful title.

Read More......