Masterson's effort wasted by horrid penmenshit

Angels 7, Sox 5
WP: Saunders (4-0)
LP: Delcarmen (0-1)
SV: Rodriguez (9)
HRs: BOS- Ortiz (4); LAA-Napoli (5)

SUMMARY:
A brilliant major league debut by AA starter Justin Masterson went for naught as a quintet of Sox relievers combined to cough up the lead and blow what should have been the kid's 1st big league win.

SUPERSTAR: Masterson 6IP, 2H, 1ER, 4BB, 4K
When a kid from Double A pitches this well against one of the best offensive clubs in the AL, you'd expect a slew of experienced MAJOR LEAGUE relievers to be able to nail down the win for him. Guess not.

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): Boston bullpen 3IP, 7H, 6R, 5BB, 3K
Javier Lopez got the ball rolling when he allowed the only two batters he faced reach base in the 7th, and then Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, David Aardsma and Julian Tavarez followed suit as none of them could keep the Angels off the basepaths or the scoreboard.

RECAP:
Welcome to the major leagues, Justin Masterson.

You've heard about The Show from your fellow draftees who've already made the big club, sniffed what it's like to face veteran hitters in the spring, and hoped and prayed one day you would get your chance to shine on the major league level.

And when you finally do get your chance, and you shine brighter than most 23-year-old AA hurlers have in the past, a bunch of major league relievers rain on your parade by fumbling away what should have been the first win of your career.

That's the part of baseball that you don't envision when your preparing for this moment as a kid in your backyard.

Today's matinee at Fenway went from odd to awful in the span of about 15 minutes as the Angels took the third and final game of the series in a game that swung so abruptly from one side to another you'd have sworn the playing field was populated by politicians and not ballplayers.

Masterson, starting in place of Jon Lester, who started in place of Daisuke Matsuzaka last night, was simply spectacular in his debut. The rangy righty surrendered 2 hits and made just one mistake, a 1-1 pitch that Mike Napoli hit into the rightfield seats, in 6 innings while making a slew of clutch pitches and nifty plays in the field.

But after throwing 95 pitches and with the Sox leading 3-1, Francona decided it was time to remove the youngster let his experienced pen men steer his victory into the garage.

Unfortunately the band of 'oh, brothers' missed the garage and drove directly into the wall. At full speed.

As I said the game had an odd tone to it from the start. Boston loaded the bases in the 2nd inning with no outs on a bloop base hit by Manny, a walk to Youk and a single by Jed Lowrie, yet they only scored one run, on an RBI groundout by Coco Crisp (2-4, R, 2BI, 2SB).

While Masterson, who was sent back down to Portland after the game, was confounding the Angels batters with his fastball and sinker, Boston scratched out a couple more runs in the 4th off LA starter Joe Saunders (6IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K), and there was more oddity involved.

Crisp, who returned to the lineup after missing 8 games with a pulled hammy, hit a wind-swept ground rule double to center to drive in Youk, who had walked again, and then Kevin Cash followed with a wind-swept ground rule double to center of his own to almost the exact same spot to score Coco.

The game also featured two Angels outfielders colliding to drop a pop fly by Manny; Youk crashing into the tarp attempting to catch a foul pop; and passed balls, errors, missed tags and numerous wind-aided plays that combined to turn the contest into Circe de Fenway.

But things were going so well for Boston that not even Napoli's leadoff homer in the 5th could dampen the spirits of the Faithful.

Masterson escaped a potential jam in the 6th when he walked Vlad Guerrero to lead off the inning but then induced Garrett Anderson to ground into a double play, and he finished his afternoon by striking out Torii Hunter on three pitches, exiting the field to a much-deserved standing ovation.

And that's when the good times came to an abrupt halt.

Six straight batters reached base in the 7th off three Sox relievers, the first two off Lopez, the next two off loser Manny Delcarmen, and the last and biggest blow, a liner to center by Gary Matthroids Jr (3-5, 3BI - please check his urine!), off Hideki Okajima that plated two and gave the Angels their first lead of the game at 5-3.

Oki did finally retire three batters in a row in impressive fashion to end the inning, but that only makes you more pissed when you think "why the fuck couldn't he have done that when he first came in?!"

Making matters worse David Aardsma, who has slipped lately after a strong start, gave up a run in the 8th and Tavarez surrendered the 7th Angels run in the 9th, and both runs would prove costly.

That's because David Ortiz slammed a 2-run shot with two outs in the 9th to pull Boston to within two at 7-5, but then K-Rod came in to close it out, and when Manny's deep fly didn't get wind-blown or dropped but was caught by Hunter in center, the Angels had a come-from-behind win of their own.

And a talented kid from the minors got a taste of what it's like to be a major leaguer for a day.

I bet next time he's up he asks to pitch the whole game.

RECORD: 15-9
STREAK: L2
LAST 10: 7-3
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
UP NEXT: Fri at Tampa Bay 705 Wakefield vs Garza

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Game Preview Angels @ Sox GM3

Saunders (3-0, 2.15) vs. Masterson (NR)
Game 3 of 3
1:35PM Fenway Park

The revolving rotation continues as Sox tap AA pitcher Justin Masterson to start today

The come up, they go down. And the "who's gonna start?" wheel spins 'round & 'round.

With Sox starters being scratched two days in a row Tuesday and Wednesday Terry Francona and the Boston brass have had to scramble to realign the rotation and provide fill-ins for Josh Beckett (stiff neck) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (flu.)

On Tuesday PawSox righty David Pauley made his first major league start start since 2006 and didn't exactly set the world on fire (4.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, HR), and last night Jon Lester moved up a day to replace the ailing Matsuzaka, and those results were less than stellar (5IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 1K, 2HR) also.

Today the team will try something completely different, calling upon Double A hurler Justin Masterson to fill the empty spot in the rotation made by Lester pitching a day ahead of schedule.

Masterson, a 23-year-old who was Boston's 2nd round draft pick in 2006, will use his large frame (6' 6") and heavy sinker to attempt to baffle the hot-hitting Angels, who have racked up 12 runs and 24 hits, 12 for extra bases, in two games against Boston.

Although this will be Masterson's first major league start, he has lit it up at Portland (19IP, 2R, 14H, 23K, 5BB), and the combination of his specialty pitch and the fact that the Halos have never seen him could give the youngster an advantage Pauley and Lester did not have.

At least that's what the team and the Nation are hoping.

To make room on the roster for Masterson the team sent Craig Hansen, who was called up yesterday afternoon and ended up taking the loss last night when he surrendered a 6th inning home run to Casey Kotchman, back to Pawtucket.

The move to bring up Masterson allows Francona to keep his rotation in tact for this weekend's series against the Rays. Tim Wakefield will start the opener here tomorrow night, followed by Clay Buchholz on Saturday, and if all goes well, Beckett will take his regularly scheduled turn on Sunday. (Fingers crossed)

In other illness/injury related news, Jason Varitek will sit out the 5th straight game today as he's still recovering from the flu, and with Wakefield throwing tomorrow night, Kevin Cash will accomplish the ultra-rare feat (in the Tek era) of starting for a full week.

Coco Crisp, who has been nursing a bad hammy, will make his first start in a week today against Angels' lefty Joe Saunders, and Kevin Youkilis is back in the lineup after sitting out last night's game with a stiff back.

After today's getaway matinee the Sox should have most of their regular lineup back intact for the series at the Trop, but in the meantime they will have to rely on replacements and kids like Masterson to patch the holes created this week.

No pressure, kid. It's just the first place defending World Champs you're playing for.

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No comeback tonight - Sox finally lose

Los Angeles of Anaheim 6, Sox 4
WP: Garland (3-2)
LP: Hansen (0-1)
SV: Rodriguez (8)
HRs: BOS- Ortiz (3); LAA- Kotchman (6), Matthroids Jr., 2 (4)

SUMMARY:
Ravaged by illness and injury, the undermanned Sox tried to stage another come-from-behind win, but Boston couldn't stave off the relentless Angels, who scored runs in six separate innings to hand the Sox their first loss in seven games.

Superstar: Casey Kotchman 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HR
He's had big homers in each of the last two games, but unlike last night, when his solo shot merely tied the game, tonight's 6th inning blast off Craig Hansen wound up being the game winner.

The Biggest Loser: Hansen 1.2IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
The youngster was called up earlier in the day to do one thing - get batters out. Allowing game-winning homers after your team has scratched & clawed to tie the game up is not part of that equation.

RECAP:
Once again the Comeback Kings tried to swipe a victory from the jaws of defeat.

But after going to that well about a dozen times this season, they finally found the spring had dried up.

Facing deficits of 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 and 4-2 thanks to a shoddy start by Jon Lester, Boston fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th inning on a 2-run homer by David Ortiz, only to see the fruits of their labor washed down the drain when Kotchman's homer off Hansen gave Anaheim the final lead they would need to salt this one away.

I know, I know, they say all good things must come to an end.

But that stupid saying doesn't make the end hurt any less.

The worst part about this game isn't the fact that Boston lost - I mean with the clubhouse resembling the #4077th and the grounds crew installing a revolving door on the mound, a defeat in the near future was inevitable - but it was how they lost that was so frustrating.

I would rather they suffered a good old-fashioned woodshed beatdown than lose the game, and the six game win streak, in the manner they did tonight.

As I mentioned, Lester (5IP, 9H, 4ER,2BB, 1K, 2HR), who was forced to start on 3 days rest for the first time in his career when Daisuke Matsuzaka came down with the flu, was magnificently mediocre in his 5th start of the season. He was hit early (1 run in each of the first 3 innings), he was hit hard (2 homers by Gary Matthroids Jr exited the ballpark - please check his urine), and he was hit often (at least 1 hit allowed in each of his 5 innings of work), yet he was off the hook for the loss when Papi's homer landed in the first row of seats in right field.

At that point I think every member of the Nation assumed okay, they came all the way back to tie it, this win's in the bag now.

You know the old saying about assuming, I, ah, assume?

With the game tied at four and Lester having gone the requisite five, Francona called on callup Hansen, the fireballing righty who along with Delcarmen, Lester and Buchholz is projected as a key future piece of the staff. Although he was making his first appearance in the bigs since 2006, all he had to do was set the Angels down for an inning or two and let the Boston batters do the rest.

And he did just that - except for one big hit allowed.

After retiring the first two batters in the 6th, Kotchman, the former Seminole High standout whose father owns a baseball academy down here, deposited a 1-0 offering from Hansen into the right field seats to give the Halos a 5-4 lead, and even though Hanson went on to get a few more big outs, the damage, as they say, was done.

To make any chance of a comeback that much harder, Mike Timlin, who continues to look every bit of a 42-year-old reliever with 1000+ games under his belt, gave up a huge insurance run in the 9th, and when Frankie K-Rod Rodriguez trotted out for the bottom of the 9th with a 2-run lead, it was okay for the fans who made up the 400th consecutive sellout at Fenway to head for the exits.

Yes it was a disappointing way to end the streak, but considering how many players are hurt or sick, the loss wasn't all bad. In fact there were quite a few positives to take away from this one, such as: every member of the team except JD Drew registering at least 1 hit; Julio Lugo (9 gms) and Dustin Pedroia (12 gms) extending their hitting streaks; Ortiz racking up his 15th RBI in the last 8 games; and Sean Casey recording 2 more hits and yet another double.

Plus the game was played in under 3 hours!

But as I said before, just because the good times had to end doesn't mean we have to like it.

I guess you could say we've been spoiled, but a team that finds a different way and a different player every day will do that to a fanbase.

At least we don't have much time to dwell on it - day baseball tomorrow, time to start a new streak. If only we could figure out who's going to start...

RECORD: 15-8
STREAK: L1
LST 10: 8-2
AL EAST: Up 2 1/2 gms
UP NEXT: Thu vs. LAA 135 Saunders vs. ?????

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Game Preview: Angels at Sox GM 2

Garland (2-2, 4.81) vs. Lester (1-2, 5.06)
Game 2 of 3
705 Fenway Park

Daisuke Matsuzaka won't start due to the flu

For the second straight night the Red Sox starter has been scratched from the lineup just hours before his scheduled start.

Last night Josh Beckett had to bow out when a neck spasm flared up unexpectedly. Tonight the situation isn't as dire, but does put the Sox in a bind regarding the rotation for the next few games.

On top of that item Francona got word earlier that Kevin Youkilis, one of the league's hottest hitters, will not be in the lineup because of a sore back that he incurred while making a play at third base in last night's 7=6 Boston win.

Ay yay yay!

The flu that is going around the Boston clubhouse had claimed numerous players and personnel, with captain Jason Varitek set to miss his third consecutive game because of it. Now Dice-K, the American League co-leader in wins (4), and 2nd in strikeouts (28) will have to miss his 5th start, and that puts Terry Francona in a tough spot regarding the rotation.

For tonight Jon lester will move up a day and get the start against Anaheim's Jon Garland, and Beckett is scheduled to start Sunday down here against Tampa. But who gets the nod tomorrow and Friday has yet to be determined.

Francona could move Tim Wakefield from Friday to Thursday, but he absolutely slaughteres the Rays at the Trop, so that option seems highly unlikely.

The more likely scenario, according to the Globe, would be bringing up recently demoted reliever Kyle Snyder for a spot start, or double promoting AA prospect Justin Masterson for a one game audition.

Either way the situation around the Fens is not so hot right now, 6-game win streak or not.

You've got Tek, Delcarmen and Dice-K ailing, Youk, Coco and Beckett stiff, Lowell and Cora on the DL and no starter for tomorrow night.

No worries, though, as we know whoever is in that lineup will do everything in their power to keep the winning streak going.

Even if it means staging another dramatic, late inning comeback.

NOTES:
-Happy Birtday, Tito: Francona celebrated his 49th birthday yesterday, and his club gave him the only present a major league manager could ever ask for- a win!

-No sophomore slump: Don't look now, but the Little Big Man, Dustin Pedroia, has climbed all the way to the top of the American League in batting (.364), thanks to an 11-game hitting streak in which he is hitting a scalding .477 (21-44) with 9 doubles, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored.

-Ex-Sox shortstops: there's an intriguing and enlightening article about former Sox shortstops Edgar Rentaria and Orlando Cabrera on ESPN.com today. It seems that the products of soccer-crazed Colombia have less than an amicable relationship, for reasons rooted in national pride and bitter jealousy. It's a good read for Sox fans especially.

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Repeat after me: Sox comeback to win. Again

Sox 7, LA of A 6
WP: Timlin (2-1)
LP: Oliver (1-1)
SV: Papelbon (8)
HRs: BOS- Ellsbury 2 (3), Youk (2); LAA- Kotchman (5), Mathis (3)

SUMMARY:
Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Boston Red Sox came back from a substantial deficit midway through the game and put together a late-inning rally against the opponent's bullpen to pull out another come-from-behind victory.

What's that? Okay, I'll stop now.

Superstar(s): Pedroia & Ellsbury 7-10, 4R, 3BI, 3 2Bs, 2HRs
Ellsbury (3-5) started the scoring with a first inning home run, and Pedroia (4-5)ended it in the 8th when he doubled in Jacoby, who'd reached on a bunt single, from first base for the deciding run of the game.

In between Ellsbury slammed another homer that gave Boston a 6-5 lead, and Pedroia ripped two more doubles as the two combined to give Boston a potent dynamic duo at the top of the order.

The Biggest Loser: Jered Weaver 5IP, 10H, 5ER, 0BB, 4K, 2HR
He's beginning to resemble his big brother Jeff more and more every year, and not just in the looks department.

Staked to a 5-1 lead after four Weaver fell apart by the 5th, surrendering four runs and the lead and wasting an opportunity for his team to get off the schneid vs. Boston.

RECAP:
Three or four games ago I said I was running out of ways to describe these comeback wins. After this one tonight I might have to take a creative writing class just to keep up with these guys.

Trailing 5-1 after spot starter David Pauley couldn't seem to retire the Angels in the first four innings, Boston mounted a methodical and businesslike comeback, scoring once in the fourth and three times in the fifth to tie the game before they kicked into late game heroics overdrive a few innings later.

It says something about your team when they shrug off a four-run deficit like it was nothing to worry about, confident in their ability to both score plenty of runs and not wilt when the pressure would crush lesser squads.

And that something is that this is yet another potential championship-winning ballclub.

In all fairness to Pauley, he did the best he could under the circumstances. Called up to potentially start just in case an ailing Beckett couldn't go, he was first told they wouldn't need his services but then management quickly reversed that decision when Boston's ace showed up at the ballpark with a stiff neck and was scratched.

Facing one of the top offensive teams in the league and making his first ML start since 2006, Pauley (4.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR) was a bit over matched. Handed a 1-0lead courtesy of Ellsbury's 1st career leadoff homer, the young righty gave it right back in the third when he surrendered three straight hits, a walk, and after two outs, a 2-RBI single by Garret Anderson that gave Anaheim a 3-1 lead.

In the next inning the pesky Maicer Izturis walked with one out, stole second and
was driven home when catcher Jeff Mathis (2-4, 2R, 3BI) homered over the Monster to give LA of A a 5-1 lead.

But rather than panic the Sox just blew on their nails, spit in their palms and said, okay, time to go win this one.

In the bottom of the 4th singles by JD Drew, Kevin Cash, starting his 3rd consecutive game for the ailing Varitek, and Julio 'En Fuego' Lugo cut the Angels' lead to 5-2, and the deficit was erased in the 5th when Ortiz singled in Pedroia, who had doubled, and Youk brought Papi home with his 3rd homer of the season that evened the score at 5 and brought the Fenway Faithful to their feet.

The crowd got even more raucous when Ellsbury hit his second homer of the game with 2outs in the 6th off reliever Darren O'Day to give Boston aa 6-5 lead, but Julian Tavarez gave the nation reason to worry when he gave up back-to-back singles by Chone Figgins and Gary Matthroids Jr to start the 7th.

Tito called on Hideki Okajima, who hadn't pitched in a week due to a stiff neck of his own, to the mound, and after getting Vlad Guerrero (0-5, 2K) to fly to right, Oki retired Garrett Anderson and Torii Hunter to escape the jam, much to the delight of the nervous Nation.

The euphoria was short-lived, however, when Oki surrendered a solo homer to Seminole High's Casey Kotchman to lead off the 8th, and now with the score tied again, Boston would have to go into comeback mode to pull this one out.

Not a problem for a team that had already won 10 such games this season.

Ellsbury got the winning rally started against former Sox reliever Darren Oliver when he dropped a gorgeous bunt single in the Bermuda triangle between the pitcher and 1st & 2nd basemen, completing his rare trifecta of homering twice and recording a bunt single in the same game.

Scott Shields then relived Oliver to face Pedroia, and the little big man greeted him with a lser double down the third base line that scored Ellsbury all the way from first with what turned out to be the game winning run, and the comeback was nearly complete.

All that was left was for Papelbon to come in and slam the door, and throwing 100mph cheese, that's exactly what he did. Not having pitched in a couple of days, Paps ripped off one blazing fastball after another, fanning Matthroids and Guerrero before getting Anderson to pop out to end the game, and the Sox' 11th comeback win of the season was complete.

And while it's nice to know the team is capable of such late game heroics, it would be nice to have an old fashioned wire-to-wire win now and then.

You know, just to keep the heart rate down.

For the fans, not these ice water-in-the-veins assassins.

RECORD: 15-7
STREAK: W6
LST 10: 9-1
AL EAST: Up 3 gms
UP NEXT: Wed vs LA of A 7PM Garland vs. Matsuzaka

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Series Preview: LA of A Angels @ Sox

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (12-8) at Red Sox (14-7)
3 game series

Game 1 Tuesday 705
Weaver (1-3, 3.72) vs. Beckett (2-1, 5.12)
Game 2 Wed 705
Garland (2-2, 4.81) vs. Matsuzaka (4-0, 3.14)
Game 3 Thu 1:35
Saunders (3-0, 2.15) vs. Lester (1-2, 5.06)

What to watch for: rematch of the 2007 ALDS
The Sox and Angles have become familiar foes these last few years despite playing on opposite coasts thanks as both of Boston's championship runs have begun with ALDS sweeps of the Halos.

Who to watch: Torii Hunter .319/4HR/11BI/12R
The newest, and most expensive, addition to the potent Angels lineup. Hunter brought his solid hitting and stellar defensive play to the West Coast from Minnesota when the Angles signed him to a 5-year, $90 million contract in the off season. He's already made one hightlight reel, game saving, home run-robbing catch this season, and his prescense in the lineup provides extra protection for Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson.

Preview:
The series hasn't even started yet and already the Sox have been beset with bad news.

Tonight's scheduled starter Josh Beckett was scratched from the game due to a stiff neck. According to the Globe, the injury popped up out of nowhere and the team is not sure if it will cause Becks to miss his next start.

PawSox righthander David Pauley, who made 3 starts for the parent club in 2006, will make his first start in the majors since June 11th of that year when he spells Beckett tonight.

On top of that bitter pill Boston will also be without the services of Jason Varitek for the second straight game and Manny Delcarmen, who are both suffering from flu like symptoms (aka the flu) and will not be available tonight.

So as the team is riding high on the 4-game sweep of Texas, winners of 9 of their last 10 games, they will have to take on one of the best teams in the American League without their top starter, catcher and valuable set up man.

Who smells another come-from-behind win?

Anaheim won't be shedding any tears for Boston, though, as they have been without their top 2 starters, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, for the entire season so far and have been booted from the playoffs 2 out of the last 4 seasons by the Sox.

That alone should give tonight's starter Jered "don't call me Jeff" Weaver extra motivation to beat Boston, and if that doesn't do it how about the fact that the Sox lit him up for 6 runs in 4+ innings last August in Fenway, then defeated him in Game 3 of the ALDS to complete the sweep.
Assuming Weaver is able to best the youngster Pauley, the next two pairings should even out. Matsuzaka will take his AL best 4-0 record to the mound against the artist formerly known as Jon Garland tomorrow night, and then on Thursday the enigma that is Jon Lester will oppose pleasant surprise starter Joe Saunders for Anaheim.

The series figures to ve a high scoring one anyway, with Boston and LAA 1-3 in the AL in runs scored and 1-2 in batting average. Look for both bullpens to be busy early and often in this one, and with Boston scoring 5+ runs in each of the last 9 games, Anaheim's pen men best be up to the task or it could be a repeat of the comeback kings again.

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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)

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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!.

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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.

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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!)

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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.

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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!

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Halos split series as Boston bats go silent

Angels 3, Sox 1
WP: Saunders (7-1)
LP: Tavarez (6-9)
SV: Rodriguez (31)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
On a glorious afternoon at Fenway the Sox got a quality start from Julian Tavarez, a solid debut from Bobby Kielty, even a three-K 9th from Eric Gagne, but still couldn't defeat the Angels as Joe Saunders stymied the Boston batters to run his record to 2-0 vs. the Sox this season and the Angels earned the split.

#1 STUNNER Kielty 2-3, BB
Not only did the former flaming redhead notch base hits in his first two at bats, his homer-robbing grab of a Casey Kotchman drive in the 1st inning kept the Sox in the game.

Nice way to start your career in Boston. Like the new 'do much better, too.

PAN's FAUN Kyle Snyder 2IP, 2H, ER, 2K
After relieving Tavarez in the 7th, Snyder worked his way into trouble (runners at 1st & 3rd and no outs), then nearly got out of the jam but he threw a wild pitch which allowed the critical 3rd run to score.

RECAP
I had a feeling the day was gonna turn out like this.

Actually I thought it would be a lot worse; I expected Tavarez to give up 4-5 runs, but I hoped the Sox offense would be able to produce that many as well.

But for the second time in three weeks L.A. starter Joe Saunders (7.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 7K) shut down the potent Boston offensive attack, limiting the Sox to just six singles and a pair of walks in 7 2/3 innings of work.

The most frustrating part about this game was that after a slight setback in the first inning, when he allowed his only runs on the day, Julian Tavarez went on to have his best start for Boston since tossing seven shutout innings against the Braves in Atlanta on June 20th.

Curiously the game was delayed a bit when Tavarez (6IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K) took a little longer than expected to enter the game from the bullpen.

From what transpired in the first I'd say he should have stayed out there a little longer, because as soon as Julie started throwing real pitches, the Angels took advantage.

The first three L.A. batters reached base when Chone Figgins led off with a single to left center, Orlando Cabrera walked and Vladdy (1-3, RBI) hit a sharp single to left to drive the speedy Figgins home from second.

Tavarez got Garret Anderson to fly out to deep center field, with O.C. taking third on the appendage of Coco Crisp, and then fan favorite Gary Matthews got him home with a fielder's choice grounder to deep short.

Just like that the score was 2-0 Angels, and judging from the less-than-full house at Fenway, many local diehards predicted such a beginning.

Those who arrived late missed the early indoctrination of Bobby Kielty into Sox lore just two pitches later, though.

Casey Kotchman, who had four hits in the series opener, scorched a 1-0 offering from Julie high & deep into the air in right, and without the skilled J.D. Drew out there it looked like the score was about to bloom to 4-zip.

But the once Carrot Top-coiffed Kielty got a bead on the blast, streaked in and timed his leap to expertly pick the ball before it went over the bullpen fence, a play that left Kotchman scratching his head, Kielty grabbing his torso in pain, and the Faithful who were in attendance showering him with a Fenway ovation.

Welcome to a real baseball city, Bobby.

The former A kept the applause coming when he singled in his first at bat to put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the 2nd, but Saunders buckled down and got Coco and Lugo to fly out to squelch the threat.

In the top of the third the emotions generated by the best two teams in baseball playing 7 hard-fought contests in the last three weeks boiled over when Tavarez grazed Cabrera with his first pitch with one out in the inning.

O.C. tried to play it cool by taking a page from the Gerald Ice Williams "slowly remove my gloves, then get real pissed" book of brawls, but he quickly started jawing with the nonplussed Tavarez, and both teams gave a token benches-clearing effort while asking "what the fuck was that about?"

Evidently Julie had accused O-Dog of stealing signs while on base in the series in L.A earlier this month, and the brushback/grazing was a little message from Julie to say "don't fuck with me."

I'm sure Papi patched things up after the game by taking them all out for a few Mojitos.

More importantly was how Tavarez settled down after the outburst and despite walking Guerrero, induced Anderson and Matthroids into rally-killing groundouts.

Things stayed quiet for the next few innings as both starters found their groove, and you got the feeling that if Boston could just get Saunders out of there and get to that rattled Angel bullpen, the game, like the other three in the series, could turn around in a hurry.

Except that plan backfired when Boston went to its pen first and once again allowed a key run to score.

Kyle Snyder, whose last outing was the three-hit, three-run debacle in Baltimore a weel ago, took over in the 7th and continued to regress, allowing Kotchman (2-4, BI) to reach on a deep double to center and Sox killer Maicer Izturis on a single to right, sending Kotchman to third, setting up a potential game-killing rally.

But Snyder caught a break when new Sox backstop Kevin Cash nailed Izturis trying to steal second, and one pitch later a called strike three on a check swing by Ryan Budde had the beleaguered reliever on the verge of escaping the jam.

And then he bounced a pitch in the dirt about six feet in front and to the right of Cash, easily scoring Kotchman with the the ever popular insurance run, and suddenly it became that much harder to comeback again.

A two out single by Ortiz (2-4, R) in the 8th finally chased Saunders, and when Scot Shields came in and gave up a walk to Manny and a Wall-rattling RBI single to Lowell, it looked like the comeback kids were back in business.

Until Drew pinch hit for Kielty and stared at strike three, and every fan in the place thought "why are we paying that guy $70 mill and the other the league minimum?"

More groans followed when the horror show that is Eric Gagne rumbled in from the pen to pitch the 9th, and when Anderson singled on his first pith of the inning, the boos reigning down on him were of the variety normally reserved for Stankees and reviled ex-Sox.

It only got worse when Kotchman hit a hard hopper that bounced off Pedroia's chest for a single, but then suddenly Gagne did a miraculous and cliched thing--he turned the jeers into cheers by striking out the side, including Izturis and Budde swinging to exit the field in style.

Welcome to Boston, where if you perform, we love you.

That would be it for the cheers on the day, though, as Francisco Rodriguez came in and set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, including a pair of K's of his own, and the Halos escaped Beantown with a split of what could have been a 4-game BoSox sweep.

Ah well, at least the roadie opens in St. Pete.

NOTES:

-Boston lost despite outhitting L.A., 7-6

-Youk, mired in an awful 5-34 (.147) slump, went 0-4 with three Ks

-Fine me?: a quote by Tavarez regarding the plunking of Cabrera will certainly incur the wrath of the MLB. "I say if you are doing it, to stop doing it because I will hit you..." is how Julian explained the how the beaning beagn with a sign-stealing accusation in Anaheim. Paging Bud selig...

QUOTES:

"I was going after the ball. I wasn't focused on the wall."--Kielty. Alright, enough already, we love you!

"I don't know if he was just trying to throw inside but I just took it personally." Cabrera on Tavrez. To which Julie responded "lighten up, Francis."

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Game Preview: Angels @ Sox GM4

Saunders (6-1, 3.50) vs. Tavarez (6-8, 5.12)
Fenway 205

Well it was fun while it lasted.

A shellacking of Lackey, a late-inning comeback (followed by a closer-imposed meltdown), and a grand slamming of Jered Weaver all made for some thrilling highs and one seriously depressing low against the Angles this weekend.

But it could all end with a thud today.

Boston is forced to tap Julian 4 innings, no mas Tavarez to start the finale of the four game set in order to let Tim Wakefield start tomorrow down here at the Trop, aka his personal highlight house, and also to give the other starters an extra day of rest after an especially taxing week.

The end result means that the Boston offense will need to produce a lot of runs to offset Julie's predictable wildness if they plan on winning this series, especially considering Jonathan Papelbon probably won't be available today, and according to Tito in the Globe today, that could mean...

...can't go there, almost gagned up my coffee.

The task of defeating the resilient Halos will be even harder considering L.A. will have the advantage of throwing impressive young lefthander Joe Saunders vs. the Sox.

Saunders, who lost his last start in Toronto following six straight wins, recorded one of those victories against Boston a two weeks ago, when he allowed four runs and 8 hits in 5 1/3 innings of work of a 10-4 Angels win

Lefties are hitting a paltry .200 off the 26-year-old southpaw, and he's keeping batters to a .233 batting average away from the Mouse House, two stats that don't bode well for the BoSox.

One lefty who will not start for Boston today is J.D. Drew. Instead, again from the always-reliable Globe, recent acquisition Bobby Kielty will make his Boston debut.

Kielty was released by the A's a few weeks back and signed to a minor league deal by Boston, all with the intent of bringing him up as soon as they dumped Whiffy Mo.

Now that Pena is adding to his legacy of potential in D.C., the Sox brought up the 6-year-vet to fill the role of reserve outfielder on the bench. Although he's batting just over the Mendoza line, his experience and maturity in dealing with his role should prove valuable coming down the stretch.

To make room for Kielty the Sox sent Jacoby Ellsbury back to Pawtucket (man that Pawsox shuttle is getting a workout this weekend!)

Another new face in the lineup will be catcher Kevin Cash. He was brought up on Friday after Doug Mirabelli injured a calf muscle in Game 1 of the doubleheader, and the vet will give Tek a much-needed couple of days off after he caught 26 innings in the last two days.

They say Cash has experience catching a knucleball, and we'll find that out as he will also get the start tomorrow at the Trop.

But for today the Sox better have some gas left in the tank to defeat the hungry Halos, because two things you can count on happening today: Tavarez will be gone by the sixth, and Tito won't hesitate to use you-know-who again in the lattter innings.

Here comes the coffee!

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Bullpen meltdown costs Sox shot at DH sweep

Angels 7, Sox 5
WP: F. Rodriguez (5-2)
LP: Gagne (3-1)
HRs: LAA-Matthews (16)

SUMMARY
For six innings the Sox looked dead in the water, held scoreless by Earvin Santana, until a late comeback gave the team hope. But Manny Delcarmen surrendered two runs in the 8th, and after Boston bounced back with four in the bottom of the inning, Eric Gagne coughed up three in the 9th for another demoralizing loss.

#1 STUNNER Santana 6.1IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 5K
The struggling starter was called up before the game for his first start in a month, carried an ERA over 6.00 into the contest, then shut down the Boston offense for six plus innings.

PAN's FAUN Gagne 1IP, 3H, 3ER, 33P, BS, L
MotherfuckingcocksuckingCanadianbaconlovingSethRogenlookingwashedupdouchebag can go back to fucking Texas, California, Canada or anywhere they want his sorry, goateed, flabby, floppyhaired, goggle-eyed ass!

Nation, we must unite in producing a curse that will prevent this man from ever taking the mound in a Boston uni again!

SUMMARY
What the fuck just happened?

In the blink of an eye a potential banner day in Beantown was washed away in a flood of fortuitous base hits and faulty pitches, and before anyone could even register what they had witnessed, the Sox split a doubleheader that just minutes earlier it looked like it was destined to sweep.

That's what happens when the so-called best bullpen in baseball suddenly goes all Amy Winehouse, wasting another solid start by Josh Beckett and turning a feel-good come-from-behind win into the kind of loss that sparks fights with spouses and causes beer intake to rise dramatically throughout the Nation.

Label it alcoholic spousal abuse, brought to you by Eric Effin Gagne.

For the third time in a week and seemingly the umpteenth time since he first donned the Boston uniform three weeks ago, Gagne imploded on the mound and coughed up a Boston lead, blowing a save for the second time since Sunday and erasing what could have been one of Boston's biggest wins of the season.

All while Jonathan Papelbon sat in the pen and watched.

Look, I know Tito wants to be careful with the closer, and he did throw 22 pitches in the opener, but would his arm really had fallen off if he came in to close this one out?

After all, it's not every day this club comes back in a big way in the later innings against a quality club like the Angles, let alone with the chance to hang a doubleheader sweep on the second best team in baseball.

The ironic part about the whole thing is that for most of the evening it looked as if Boston was going to go down without a fight, barely able to scratch out a hit let alone score a run off suddenly stingy spot starter Santana.

The former Angel ace had been battered so badly this season that he was put on the AAA shuttle back in July after a dismantling at the hands of the Devil Rays, and was only brought back today to fill in due to the double dip.

The 24-year-old did more than fill in as he held Boston hitless for 4 1/3 innings while his mates built a 2-0 lead thanks to some key hits and ghastly fielding by Julio Lugo.

Beckett (7IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 8K) worked out of a two on, two out jam fueled by Lugo's bobble of an Orlando Cabrera grounder in the first inning, but Anaheim touched him for a run in the third when Cabrera singled and Vlad Guerrero, who was a beast in this game, doubled deep into the left field corner for a 1-0 LA lead.

After misplaying another ball that was fortunately scored as the first ML base hit for rookie catcher Ryan Budde, Lugo's third miscue of the game would come back to bite Boston & Beckett in the sixth.

Guerrero (3-5, 2R, 2 2B, 3B, 3BI) hit a routine grounder to lead off the inning that Lugo bobbled & butchered for his 6th error in his last 13 games, and after Garret Anderson singled him over to third and Gary Matthroids struck out, Sox killer Maicer Izturis dumped a single into right that scored Vlad with the unearned run, and Boston trailed 2-0 after six.

Meanwhile Santana was pitching like his namesake, Johan; Boston's first hit of the night was a bloop single by J.D. Drew in the 5th, and even though Lugo tried to atone for his gaffes with a solid double to the triangle in the 6th, Santana retired Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia to escape the frame unscathed.

But things would finally change in the 7th as Boston scored a run on a single by Papi, a double by Drew (2-4) and after Justin Speier replaced Santana, an RBI groundout by Mike Lowell that cut the deficit to a manageable 2-1.

Then came Bullpen Meltdown #1.

Manny Delcarmen got the call to replace Beckett in the 8th and immediately turned the close game into what seemed like an impossible dream.

His line looked like this: Guerrero triple on 1st pitch, Anderson sac fly 2 pitches later, Matthroids 2-run homer three pitches later.

Six pitches, three runs, and that 2-1 lead was now 4-1 with Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez waiting in the pen.

Time to pack it in?

C'mon, it's the fucking Sox.

In the bottom of the 8th Boston staged one of those 2004-esque comebacks, an aspect of their game that had been sorely lacking so far this season but one that has started to reappear lately.

And just like '04, Big Papi was right in the middle of the action.

Reliever Scot Shields retired Eric Hinske to start the inning, then proceeded to walk Lugo and Ellsbury and allow a solid single to Pedroia to load the bases.

As Coco came in to run for Pedroia, Rodriguez entered the game for the Halos in hopes of recording the rare 5-out save.

No tonight, K-Rod.

With Ortiz standing at the plate Rodriguez uncorked a wild pitch that (barely) scored Lugo from third and advanced the other runners up a base, and on the next pitch Papi (2-4, 2R, 2BI) scorched a double to the left centerfield gap that brought Ellsbury & Crisp home to tie the game, and suddenly the park was rocking like it was 2004 again.

One pitch later Manny laced a shot down the third base line that rattled around the corner long enough to score Papi with the go-ahead run, and at this point everyone watching thought, shit, it is 2004 again.

Alas Drew grounded out and Lowell flied out to end the rally, but the damage was done, and all Boston had to do was record three quick outs and the sweet double header sweep was all theirs.

Except instead of the menacing glare and 97 mph heater of Papelbon on the mound, the Angels saw the roly-poly 92 mph Cheez Whiz of closer-turned-clown Gagne staring at them from behind befuddled, bespectacled eyes.

Exact excerpt from my notes: Gagne's on for the save. Oh shit.

Things started off badly when pinch hitter Reggie Willits took Gagne to 13 pitches before finally flying out, and I couldn't help but think if he needed that many tosses to retire Reggie freaking Willits, we're in trouble.

Things got worse as Gagne followed that adventure by walking pinch hitter Casey Kotchman on five pitches, and then the proverbial wheels fell off, and the worst part about it was it was like witnessing a car crash in horrible, super-slow motion.

Chone Figgins singled to right, sending pinch runner Manny Aybar to third, and O.C. needed just two pitches to rip a single to left that scored Aybar to tie the game; by the time Vlad crushed a 2-run double two pitches later , the boos were cascading down so hard on Gagne you'd have sworn they were yelling "Yooooooooouuuukkk".

Interestingly enough the next two big plays would involve Youk, who replaced Hinske to start the 9th: he speared a liner by Anderson for an inning-ending double play, then was tossed, along with Tito, for arguing a strike three call on a ball he foul tipped in the bottom of the inning.

So an afternoon that began with so much joy came to a bitter conclusion, but at least we know that the next time Gagne takes the mound we can just turn off set and go about our lives, secure in the knowledge that this man will probably never have a quality outing in a Boston uniform.

Unless they're playing the D-Rays.

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Game preview: Angels @ Sox GM2

Santana (5-11, 6.22) vs. Beckett (15-5, 3.24)
Fenway Park 705

Having failed at securing a win by starting ace John Lackey against rookie Clay Buchholz in the opener of this double header, Mike Scioscia now faces the dubious prospect of sending scuffling Earvin Santana against the leading Cy Young candidate in th AL to try and gain the split.

Nice try, dickhead.

Instead of treating all the fans of major league baseball to an All Star matchup featuring two of the best pitchers in the game, Scioscia decided to start Lackey in the first game, most likely to freeze Buchholz and perhaps scare the kid into coughing up an easy win in Game 1.

Then the Boston batters played whiffle ball with Lackey's lacking stuff in the first inning, racking the 15-game winner for 2 singles, 3 doubles a triple and a homer in a six-run 1st, and the plan backfired on Scioscia with all the intensity of a '76 Buick.

Now the Angels must pin their hopes of a split on a guy who's star has fallen farther than Lindsay Lohan's, a former phenom who has shuttled back & forth to the minor leagues this season as he tries to figure out what happened to his once-great game.

And he'll have to figure it out against a man who has got his mojo back after suffering through his one rough patch of the season.

Beckett has been spectacular in his last two starts, allowing just 3 earned runs in 15.1 innings of work while striking out 17 batters and walking just two in winning both games, this following a stretch when he lost 4 out of 6 contests after jumping out to an 11-1 start.

Santana, meanwhile, got rocked by the Rays in his last start on July 17th, surrendering 14 hits and 7 earned runs in six innings, prompting an immediate trip back to AAA.

Now he'll have to prove himself against the best team in the majors, a team riding high after the afternoon delight enjoyed in the opener.

Welcome back to the bigs, Earvin.

The only negative for Boston to come out of the opener is the fact that Doug Mirabelli will have to go on the DL due to a strained calf muscle. This move forced the Sox to bring up former Rays & Jays backstop Kevin Cash, who will not make it to Fenway from Ottawa in time to spell Varitek in the nightcap.

As expected Buchholz was optioned back to the PawSox following his victory in Game 1, and speedster Jacoby Ellsbury will be in the lineup for Game 2.

Now word yet on the status of Whiffy Mo Painful, who is expected to be moved soon.

(**UPDATE: In all the confusion I missed the announcement that Boston did in fact unload, err trade, Pena to the Nationals for a bag of balls and two tickets to a Wizards game. Sorry for that oversight, and Whiffy Mo, thanks for the memories, what few there were.**)

Whew!

Now that I've got that all out of the way, it's already time to start the second game.

Lots of excitement surrounding the club today.

Let's hope Becks can give us even more reason to smile.

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