Comeback kings reign again as Sox head back to Series

Sox 11, Cleveland 2
Sox win series, 4-3

WP: Matsuzaka (1-1)
LP: Westbrook (1-1)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (1), Youk (2)

The Boston Red Sox overcoame another seemingly insurmountable ALCS deficit to capture the American League pennant for the 2nd time in four years, and Game 1 of the World Series will be played Wednesday night at Fenway.

I repeat, Game 1 of the World series will be Wednesady night at Fenway.

I, like much of the Nation, am in no condition to properly recap this one, but in a nutshell here's what happened:

-Boston scored single runs in each of the first three innings, but also grounded into double plays in three of the first four frames, keeping the game close

-Daisuke Matsuzaka made the early 3-0 lead hold up with five solid innings of work, allowing two earned runs on six hits with no walks and three Ks

-Dustin Pedroia was the star of the game with three hits including a homer and five RBIs, and Kevin Youkilis was right behind him with a three hits and two ribbies including a mammoth 2-run homer

-Numerous costly miscues and unlucky breaks on Cleveand's side seemed to doom the Tribe from the start, including bad bounces, bad calls, and menatl and physical errors

-Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon combined for four innings of scoreless relief, with Paps coming in with two on and no outs in the eighth and escaping that jam and then going on to close out the win in the ninth

-Boston broke open a 5-2 game one inning after Kenny Lofton failed to score from second on a double when the Sox scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth, the big blow being Youk's Monster shot that made the score 11-2

-Josh beckett won the ALCS MVP award for his brilliance in Games 2 and 5, the latter of which allowed the Sox to make it to this glorious Game 7.

The Sox won the last three games of the series by a combined score of 30-5, and now will face the hottest team in baseball, the Colorada Rockies, in a World Series that will feature everything from a huge contingent of Japanese media to the probability of snow flakes on the field during the games.

But who the fuck cares about that now.

The Red Sox did what many people thought they could do and just as many were hoping they couldn't.

Let's just bask in the glory for tonight, and enjoy a couple of days of gloating before we have to actually think about winning another series.

(Like we really gotta worry about the friggin Rockies)

Congrats, Bosox! Mission nearly accomplished

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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

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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."

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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!

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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?

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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!

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