World Series GM 3 Preview: Matsuzaka meets the Mile High City

Game 3 @ Colorado 825EST FOX
Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-1, 5.65) vs. Josh Fogg (2-0, 1.13)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Colorado-
1. Kazuo Matsui 2B
2. Troy Tulowitzki SS
3. Matt Holiday LF
4. Todd Helton 1B
5. Garrett Atkins 3B
6. Brad Hawpe RF
7. Yorvit Torrealba C
8. Cory Sullivan CF
9. Josh Fogg P

Boston-
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B
3. David Ortiz 1B
4. Manny Ramirez LF
5. Mike Lowell 3B
6. J.D. Drew RF
7. Jason Varitek C
8. Julio Lugo SS
9. Daisuke Matsuzaka P

As the Series shifts top the thin air out West the Sox, who hold a comfy 2-0 advantage after winning the first two games at Fenway by a combined score of 15-2, will look to their prized, pricey free agent acquisition from the Far East to get them to a near-insurmountable 3-0 series edge.

But the venue and landscape aren't the only things changing with the teams set to play the next three contests in the National League park over the next three nights.

The biggest adjustment to either lineup is the removal of the blazing hot Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis (.396, 4HR, 10 RBI in the postseason) in favor of playoff legend but balky-kneed David Ortiz. The dilemma for Tito over the last few days has been which player to sit with the DH unavailable in Denver, but evidently four years of historic homers and walk-off hits won out over a couple of weeks of blistering the baseball all over the yard.

Other major adjustments include the ascension of un-intimidated rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who began the postseason on the bench, graduated to starting in place of the injured & ineffective Coco Crisp and batting 8th & 9th, to leading off the first road game of the series.

The loss of Youk enabled Francona to move the equally scorching Dustin Pedroia to the 2-hole behind Ellsbury, giving the club a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the order before hitting the terrific trifecta of Papi-Manny-Lowell in the middle.

The Rockies, meanwhile, have some lineup changes of their own heading into the first World Series game at home in franchise history.

First, Colorado manager Clint Hurdle benched struggling leadoff man Willy Taveras (.120, 4 runs scored in postseason) in favor of rookie Cory Sullivan; Kaz Matsui will fill the leadoff spot while Sullivan takes Taveras' place in center. Hurdle aalso moved Rookie of the Year candidate Troy Tulowitzki and his .212 playoff average to the two-hole in hopes of sparking both himself and his team.

But the story of the game, which could lead to an offensive explosion for the dormant Rocks, is going to be the play of Daisuke Matsuzaka. The erratic rookie came through in the clutch when the Sox needed him most, tossing 5 innings of 2-run ball against the Indians in Game 7 of the ALCS, but his roller-coaster ways can't give the nation or the Sox brass much confidence that he will easily master the tricky ways of Coors Field.

He will be opposed by six year veteran Josh Fogg, the dogged Rockies starter who has overcome numerous injuries to become the emotional leader of the Colorado pitching staff. In the postseason he has pitched 10 innings of one-run ball, logging his first playoff win in Game 3 of the NLDS against the D-Backs.

So the focal point of the series now becomes the ability of the third and fourth starters to keep the scores low and gives their clubs the chance to come away with a win. If Matsuzaka can use the atmospheric abnormalities to his advantage, maybe he can go longer than five innings like he'd logged in his last three playoff starts.

And maybe the Sox offense will come back to life after being shut down in Game 2 by rookie righthander Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies bullpen.

All I know is that with this revamped lineup Boston should be able to score some runs off the fragile Fogg, and if Dice can prevent the reeling Rockies from doing any major damage, we'll be one step closer to a second consecutive Sox World series sweep.

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World Series GM 2 Recap: Schill on the hill worth 2 games in hand

Sox 2, Colorado 1
Boston leads series, 2-0
WP: Schilling (3-0)
LP: Jimenez (0-1)
SV: Papelbon (2)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
One night after clubbing 17 hits and scoring 13 runs the Sox offense was stymied by hard-throwing young Colorado righthander Ubaldo Jimenez. Boston notched just six hits and a pair of runs, but the way Curt Schilling and the bullpen pitched tonight, it was good enough to defeat the frigid Rocks.

Schilling was Maddox-esque in tossing 5 1/3 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball. The effort not only earned him his 11th career postseason win, but completed an eerie parallel to the 2004 Series, when Schilling pitched his team to victory in Game 2 against St. Louis en route to Boston's sweep of the Cardinals.

Deja vu all over again anyone?

Let's hope so.

#1 STUNNER Boston pitchers 9IP, 5H, 1ER, 2BB, 10K
When Schill got into a spot of trouble (2 on, one out) in the 5th, Hideki Okajima came in and retired the next two batters to escape the jam, and he went on to hurl 2 1/3 innings of no hit ball, striking out four Rockies.

After fanning the first two batters in the 8th, Papelbon relieved Oki and allowed an infield single to Matt Holliday before picking him off first, then he tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to nail down his first ever World Series save.

No word on whether he did another Riverdance in celebration.

GAGME Colorado offense 5H, 1R, 2BB, 10K
You know your team is in a heap of offensive trouble when it has only managed 11 hits and two runs in two games, and 8 of those hits have come from three players.

Tonight all of the "damage" was done by 3B Garrett Atkins, who had four of the Rockies five base knocks, while the rest of the team was a horrid 1-25 on the night.

Are we sure this is the team that won 21 of 22 games coming in to this series? Oh yeah, that streak happened against National League competition.

RECAP
He came.

He pitched.

He won.

Again.

Curt Schilling, the Nation's favorite blogging postseason hero, added another clutch win to his already impressive playoff resume in what may have been his final performance in a Boston uniform. The veteran righty, who has had to rely on guile, guts and location at this stage of his career rather than adrenaline and high octane, deftly maneuvered through the Rockies lineup like a surgeon navigating a patient's interior, escaping a few mini-jams while holding the Rockies to a measly four singles.

Following another stirring rendition of the National Anthem, this time by Boston's beloved velvet-voiced balladeer James Taylor, things didn't start off too well for Schill when he hit the first batter of the game, Willy Taveras, with a pitch that barely grazed the speedy centerfielder's batting glove.

After getting Kaz Matsui to fly out to center, Schill fell asleep on a ground ball by Matt Holliday (4-4) that went off Mike Lowell's glove and careened into short left field. As Lowell fired the ball back to third to try and get the streaking Taveras, Schill got a late start to the bag, and not only was Taveras safe at third, but Holliday made it all the way to second on a sloppy play that did not epitomize the Sox effort so far in this series.

Todd Helton brought the run home with an RBI grounder to Youk that gave Colorado its first lead of the series, but that just like the previous game, that single run would be the only one to cross the plate for the Rockies all night.

Unlike last night it would be a while before Boston's batters could catch up as the fireballing Jimenez (4.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 5BB, 2K), a wafer-thin 23-year-old who has appeared in just 17 games in his career, baffled the Sox over the first three innings, allowing only three baserunners on a hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks.

But Boston would get on the board in the fourth, and it was thanks to some heads-up baserunning by the Sox that allowed them to tie it up.

Manny popped out to lead off the frame, then Mike Lowell drew a walk from the often erratic Jimenez, who throws 100 mph heat but sometimes can't control where that missile is going. The smoking hot J.D. Drew followed with a single to right field, and the heady Lowell, who saw that Brad Hawpe was kind of nonchalantly playing the ball, broke for third and beat the throw to the bag by a nose.

One pitch later Cap'n Tek blasted a fly ball to deep center to score Lowell easily, and although the game was only tied at one, for some reason it felt like the Sox had already won it.

How's your own medicine taste, suckers?!

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World Series GM 1 Result: Sox hammer Rox as Beckett wins again

Sox 13, Colorado 1
Sox lead series, 1-0
WP: Beckett (4-0)
LP: Francis (2-1)
HRs: Pedroia (2)

RECAP
The Red Sox postseason express steamrolled right through the formerly blistering hot Colorado Rockies, setting numerous team and MLB playoff records in this win as the offense racked up 13 runs on 17 hits while ace Josh Beckett came one step closer to completing one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history, notching his 4th win of this postseason.

Beckett shut the Rockies down on six hits and a run over seven innings while fanning nine batters, including four straight to begin the game, and the Sox exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning to end the Rockies playoff win streak at seven games. Boston extended its Series winning streak to five games.

Every starter except Jacoby Ellsbury had at least one hit for Boston while everyone but RBI king Mike Lowell drove in at least one run. Boston also walked eight times, three times in a row with the bases loaded in the fateful fifth, and mashed a World Series record-tying 9 extra base hits.

Oh, did I mention that they also set an MLB record for margin of victory and runs scored in a series opener?

Now that's what I call a team of destiny.

One down and three to go.

#1 STUNNER Beckett 7IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 9K
We are running out of superlatives to describe what the terrific Texan is doing this season.

Though not as dominant as in some of his other starts, Beckett was impressive for the way he relied on his fastball for most of the early part of the game, then mesmerized the mentally-mismatched Rockies with a knee-buckling curve later in the outing.

20-game winner. All Star game winner. ALCS MVP. {Cy Young.} {World series MVP.}

Pretty nice list of accomplishemnts, huh?

GAGME Jeff Francis 4IP, 10H, 6ER, 3BB, 3K, HR
This guys is supposed to be their ace? Bahahhahahahahahahahahahahaha!

RECAP
Another night, another link complete in the Josh Beckett championship chain.

Beckett took his phenomenal season to a whole 'nother level, treating the pressure of the ultimate postseason series like another sandlot scrum by mowing down the Rockies hitters like British locals infected with the Rage virus, earning his second World Series win in the process.

But as good as Beckett was, his suddenly resurgent offense was even better. For the third consecutive game and fifth time this postseason the Sox scored at least ten runs, and over the last four games Boston has outscored its opponents by a score of 43-6. The beauty of the barrage is that the contributions are coming from every member of the lineup, not just the Big Three of Papi, Manny and Lowell for a change.

The game began under a steady drizzle as the muted crowd watched the great John Williams conduct a stirring rendition of the National Anthem, capped off by a flyover that was hard to see against the dimly lit skies but roared through my surround sound loud enough to rattle the knick-knacks on the shelves.

Shortly after that the ass-kicking began.

Beckett wasted no time establishing his dominance when he started the game off by fanning the first three Colorado batters, Willy Taveras looking and Kaz Matsui and Matt Holiday swinging.

With Beckett's stamp of awe-inspiring authenticity already firmly placed on the game, the offense wasted no time in making sure their horse had enough runs to work with so he didn't have to pitch another shutout in order to get another postseason win.

Dustin Pedroia took care of that potential problem when he nailed Jeff Francis' second pitch of the game off the top of the Monster for a momentum-building home run, and Boston's little dynamo became just the second player in World Series history to lead off a Fall Classic with a homer.

And to think fans were clamoring for his benching early in the season.

The equally hot Kevin Youkilis followed with a scalded double to deep left center, and after Papi's groundout moved Youk to third, Manny knocked him in with a solid single to left over heralded rookie SS Troy Tulowitzki's glove for a lightning-quick 2-0 Boston lead, and juts minutes into the game Boston had all the runs Beckett would need to wrap up another playoff win.

Beckett began the second by striking out Todd Helton for his fourth straight K, a feat olast accomplished by the great Sandy Koufax in 1963, but then he proved he was human by allowing the first (and only) Rockies run on a pair of Wall doubles, a towering scraper by Garrett Atkins and a liner off the scoreboard by Tulowitzki to slice the lead to 3-1.

But the Sox struck back with a single run in the bottom of the inning when Papi drove in Youk, who had walked, with a double over Tulowitzki's glove to push the lead back to three, and things remained that way until the bottom of the fourth.

After Beckett escaped a potential jam (a one-out double by Helton) by fanning the next two batters to end the top of the fourth, the Sox struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, both runs scoring with two outs, a method of scoring that Boston would employ for much of the rest of the game.

Papi () began the rally with a 2-out single to right, then Manny doubled into the right centerfield gap to set up second & third for Lowell. After Francis intentionally walked the RBI king to load the bases, Captain Clutch ripped a double over Tulowitzki's head (that kid better get a ladder) to score both Manny & Papi, and with a 6-1 lead and Beckett on the mound, even the most ardent Rockies supporter had to realize that this one was all but over.

Just in case those bandwagoners didn't get the message, the Sox exploded for seven runs in a 34-minute fifth inning that featured six hits, four walks including three with the bases loaded, and served as a warning to the Colorado team: we don't care how hot you were coming into this series, you're not playing the pussy National league anymore, and this is how we roll here in Beantown.

Saddled with a 13-1 lead after the carnage ended, Tito chose to leave Beckett in to rub it in Colorado's faces, and the righty responded with two more scoreless inning before giving way to Mike Timlin in the 8th.

By then the rain had stopped and the partying had begun, and after the final three outs were recorded by none other than Eric Mop Up Man Gagne, instead of drenching themselves further with more champagne, the all-business Sox set their sights on Game 2, when a rookie hurler will go up against Mr. Curt Schilling before the Series shifts to the West.

By then the Sox should be up 2-0, and we should all be able to get ready for another parade, rain or shine.

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World Series Game 1 Preview: The Beckett Experience continues

Game 1 Starters 830EST FOX
Jeff Francis (2-0, 4.86) vs. Josh Beckett (3-0, 1.21)

Lineups:

COLORADO-
1. Taveras CF
2. Matsui 2B
3. Holiday LF
4. Helton 1B
5. Atkins 3B
6. Hawpe RF
7. Tulowitzki SS
8. Torrealba C
9. Spillborghs DH

BOSTON-
1. Pedroia 2B
2. Youk 1B
3. Papi DH
4. Manny LF
5. Lowell 3B
6. Varitek C
7. Drew RF
8. Lugo SS
9. Ellsbury CF

The Sox continue their quest for postseason glory tonight when calm, cool and accolade-collecting Josh Beckett takes the mound tonight to open the 2007 World series against the Colorado Rockies.

Beckett is putting together one of the most impressive postseason resumes in MLB history, continuing his run of dominance that began with a World Series MVP performance in 2003 with the Marlins and could end with a bookend trophy when this series is all done.

In three postseason starts the ace has allowed a mere 13 hits and three runs in 23 innings, and he's fanned an astonishing 26 batters while walking only one during that time. he's simply having one of the best postseasons ever.

His mound opponent will be Rockies "ace" Jeff Francis, a guy who won 17 regular season games this year but had an ERA over 4.00 and who wasn't even in the league when Beckett destroyed the Stanks' title dreams in '03.

Ironically--and I say that because this stat has absolutely no bearing on this game whatsoever, yet analysts and announcers keep pointing to it as a meaningful fact--when these two clubs met back in mid-June at Fenway as part of interleague play, Francis was the winning pitcher while Colorado hung Beckett's first loss of the season on him following 9 consecutive wins in a 7-1 Rockies victory.

In that contest Beckett allowed a grand slam to Garrett Atkins and a solo shot to MVP candidate Matt Holliday as the probable Cy Young winner allowed a season-high six runs on 10 hits in five innings. Francis, meanwhile, threw five innings of shutout ball, scattering 7 hits and holding the scorching Boston lineup in check.

But like I said, that game and that whole series for that matter means nothing when these clubs take the field tonight.

Beckett will be just as focused and determined as he has been all season. Boston, which has clubbed 70 runs in seven postseason games this year, should pick up right where they left off against the Indians on Sunday night, while the rusty Rockies will most definitely feel the effects of an 8-day layoff combined with the blinding glare that comes with being at the center of the international media spotlight.

In other words my money's on the Sox laying the foundation for a second consecutive series sweep as Beckett all but ensures his name will be engraved on another MVP trophy as the Sox win convincingly in Game 1.

NOTES: Jacoby Ellsbury, a 24-year-old kid with just 166 major league at bats, will get the nod to start in Game 1 in place of the slumping/ailing Coco Crisp. Crisp injured his ankle making the game-ending catch in deep center in game 7 against the Indians, and that combined with his putrid .161/2R/2BI postseason performance has led Tito to start the electrifying rookie...rain is forecast for the Greater Boston Area tonight, so we could be in for another lengthy, late-night postseason ballgame if there are any extended weather delays...Francona announced rookie Jon Lester will pitch Game 4 in place of injured starter Tim Wakefield

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World Series Preview: Why the Sox will win it all

With all the previews, breakdowns and analysis floating around the series, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.

5 Reasons why the Sox will win the World Series:

5.) Pitching
The Sox have studs like Cy Young lock Josh Beckett, playoff prince Curt Schilling, scary closer Jonathan Papelbon, and devastating setup men Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen. The Rockies have the stable of Josh Fogg, Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook as starters and one-year wonder Manny Corpas closing.

'Nuff said.

4.) Experience
Boston has been to the playoffs three of the last four years, has three World Series MVPs on the roster (Beckett, Schilling and Manny) and play more "must win" games over the course of the season than any team other than its mutual "must win" opponent, the Stanks.

Colorado players had a grand total of 18 meaningful October games under its belt before this season, all by outfielder Willy Taveras, and the longest-tenured player in team history, first baseman Todd Helton, had never sniffed a postseason at bat until two weeks ago.

Some will say all that goes out the window when the games are on the line, but you can't tell me a team full of seasoned playoff vets doesn't hold a decided advantage over a team of "happy to be here" greenhorns.

3.) Balls
Boston is home to some of the more fiery fans in the US, and its baseball team is a fair representative of that F-you mentality. From the little second sacker who could, Dustin Pedroia, to the intimidating presence of Schill, Papelbon & Beckett, to the bat rack-busting exploits of Kevin Youkilis, no team possesses more hard-headed hotheads than Boston.

That bulldog-like approach helped them chew up the soft Angels and softer Indians, and it should also help propel them past the so nice they're gross Rockies.

2.) Money
The Red Sox brass has compiled one of the best teams money can buy while Colorado has a budget that would barely cover the expense of negotiating for Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Boston has a payroll of approximately $143 million including 4 players who make over $12 million a year (Manny, Papi, Drew, Schill), while the Rox have a mere $54 million invested in their merry band of Rocky Mountain, topping out with Helton's $16 mill for 2007.

I know they say money can't but you love, but $154 million sure as hell better buy you a team that can beat a band of bargain-bin castoffs.

1.) Destiny
I know, I know, the team that has won 21 of 22 games would appear to be riding a magic carpet all the way to World Series-winning glory, but that meteoric rise began a mere five weeks ago; Boston has been destined to win the title this year since before the season started, by outbidding the New York teams for Daisuke Matsuzaka, by jumping out to that phenomenal 14 game lead, by balancing above-average pitching with an explosive, well-balanced offense, and by staying on the path to glory despite numerous obstacles, staunch opposition, and by avoiding that lingering inbred propensity for choking when the games matter most.


As you see, when you lay it all out scientifically like this, there really is only one choice to hoist the championship trophy this season.

And that team doesn't eat Rocky Mountain oysters for midnight snacks.

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2007 World Series Preview: Rockies @ Red Sox

Colorado Rockies (90-73)
vs.
Boston Red Sox (96-66)

-GM 1 Wed Oct 24 @ BOS
-GM 2 Thu Oct 25 @ BOS
-GM 3 Sat Oct 27 @ COL
-GM 4 Sun Oct 28 @ COL
*GM 5 Mon Oct 29 @ COL
*GM 6 Wed Oct 31 @ BOS
*GM 7 Fri Nov 1 @ BOS

After 172 games filled with gasp-inducing highs and groan-inducing lows, chock full of meteoric rises and near-catastrophic falls, and a season in which the motto at the beginning of the year was 'World Series or bust', the Sox have finally reached their preferred destination.

Now we'll find out if their journey will be a bust.

Boston will take the field for its second Fall Classic in four years Wednesday night, a feat that has practically deified the once-vilified Terry Francona, and no one seems to mind that its opponent won't be a traditional baseball power like the Braves, or a team with a longstanding tradition and legion of adoring fans like the Cardinals, or even a box office draw like the Barry Bonds-led Giants.

Instead the small-market, bandwagon driving Rockies will put its 21-1 hot streak, 14-years of history and month and a half of loyalty on the line when the two best teams in the majors square off for the right to be called the 2007 champs.

Wonder which team has the advantage?

The Rockies were hotter than a California wildfire when the postseason began, winners of 13 of its last 14 regular season games to force a one-game playoff with San Diego, and then they stole a breathtaking play-in game from the stunned Padres to make it to the big dance for the first time since 1995.

Since then the Rox have reeled off 7 straight postseason wins, first grabbing three quick wins against the hapless Phils, then by blowing the doors off the over achieving Diamondbacks, and here they are just a month removed from sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in to the verge of pulling off one of the most improbable runs of all time.

Only thing standing in their way is a motivated, determined, focused and most important experienced Boston team.

The Sox have weathered every kind of storm this season after jumping out to a huge division lead just two months into the season. A second half swoon nearly cost them a shot at their first division title in 12 years, but a late sure propelled them to the postseason for the third time in the last four years.

But after dispatching with their personal playoff bitches, the overrated Angels, in three games in the ALDS, the season-ling sporadic performances of the pitchers and batters haunted the Sox in the ALCS against Cleveland.

That inconsistency, especially an inane inability to push runs across the plate in key situations, caused Boston to fall into a 3 games to 1 hole against the pesky & talented Tribe.

But just like Stella, Boston got its groove back just in time to, running off a 30-5 run-scoring blitzkrieg in the final three games of the series to send the Tribe packing and make it back to the Series for the first time since that magical 2004 season.

And here we are.

No matter what everyone thought at the beginning of the season, it's still hard to believe that after an 8 1/2-decade drought, Boston could bring the title back to Beantown for the second time in less than half a decade.

Or it could suffer another monumental collapse of historic proportions.

Either way the Sox have given the Nation everything it could ask for in 2007: scintillating pitching performances (Beckett, pick one; Schill's near no-no; Bucholz' actual no-no), epic offensive exploits (four consecutive homers; 5-run 9th inning comebacks; Youk hitting an inside-the parker), and eye-popping defensive gems (Coco Crisp every game; J.D. Drew's back-breaker; Eric Hinske's gravel-scraper).

Now all it needs to do is complete its primary objective.

That's not too much for a title-hungry Nation to ask for, is it?

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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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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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