Posted on 10/12/2007 12:34:23 PM PDT by GraniteStateConservative
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Bobby Kielty, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Coco Crisp, CF
9. Julio Lugo, SS
NOTES: This is the first time since the start of the three division era that the two LCS series have each matched the two best records in their league (96-66). Computer baseball sim Imagine Sports/Diamond Mind Baseball ran the 2007 ALCS 1,000 times, and the Red Sox won 59% of the time. If the Red Sox won game 1, they won the series 72.5% of the time, and if Cleveland won, the Indians won 59% of the time.
This is certainly not the same comeback team we had in 2004. The Red Sox' bats have gone ice cold, and they have to face Sabathia (and possibly Carmona) again. They couldn't even get anything going against substandard pitchers like Westbrook and Byrd. Schilling, Dice-K and Wakefield only lasted 4.2 innings. The usually reliable Delcarmen looked like GagMe tonight.
Oh well... Still, there's one great joy for me: NO YANKEES IN THE WORLD SERIES!
See ya on Thursday night...
lol gg
They stil have to win 4. 3 games in a row is not insurmountable. Sox win game 5, watch out.
I agree with you and the host on WEEI tonight (John Rish)
said same thing: this is not the same comeback team
as in ‘04...most of Sox lineup just isn’t hitting because
Tribe has good pitching —or maybe the bats have indeed
gone cold vs. so-so pitching (still game 5 could go Sox’
way—Beckett!) Also agreed on Yankees not being in WS!
I do have friends in Cle. and they’ll feel great if
Tribe goes all the way. I would cheer for AL in WS
of course no matter what though a tip of the cap
to the Rockies, too. Who the heck would have predicted
Tribe-Rockies or Sox-Rockies in WS?
There's a large element of luck in the game off baseball. Cleveland still has to win 4.
2/3 of the Sox’s starting pitching performances have been substandard as well. I say that Wakefield’s misplay on the liner up the middle was his undoing. He certainly would not have done any worse than Delcarmen. The Sox relied upon two 40+ pitchers who missed several starts this year due to injury and a Japanese pitcher who is one notch above a rookie and has clearly hit a wall physically and mentally and simply refuses to listen to his coaches and catcher. The Sox have no effective middle relief either. They have guys you can go an inning or perhaps give you 30 pitches but that’s it.
Going into a series against a team with 2 stud starters and two serviceable starters with plus middle relief pitchers, which side would you want to be on?
Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no!
We get Beckett going tomorrow night against the 10.88 2007 postseason ERA-having CC Sabathia (16.62 ERA against us alone). Then, we have Schilling at home in Fenway, where the Red Sox can score runs, against a guy who has a 9.00 ERA against us in the ALCS and has now pitched 228 innings this year after pitching only 74 2/3 innings last year. Then, we have what we worked hard for all season-- Game 7 in Fenway for all the marbles, with Beckett available out of the pen (and Wake for what would likely be 3 strong innings-- because that's what he was for 3 innings last night, with no hits allowed and 5 Ks).
After last night, there is still baseball to be played and we have our champion on the mound. We have the Indians right where we want them.
We're not dead. We're alive. Alive!
Wishful thinking, I’m afraid. With Francona reluctant to tinker with the line-up, I have no faith at all that there’s going to be fire in anyone’s belly on Thursday night. Beckett’s going to have to keep the Tribe to two runs or less in order to have a chance at winning the game.
The bottom of the order is still killing us. I hope this is a reminder to Theo for the atrocious free agent signings of JD Drew and Julio Lugo, and the utter disappointment Crisp remains to be. I called the Drew fiasco, he’s a slug wherever he’s been.
Dice-K is also going to be an over-priced hype - as he looks to be intently proving himself to be. Even if you can snag the next two games, Dice K will be waiting in the wings to blow a game 7.
To continue your movie metaphor theme, Josh Beckett is Obi Wan Kenobe (our only hope). Apart from Manny, Big Papi, Youk (and maybe Veritek), the Sox couldn’t hit a beachball with a fungo bat right now.
Francona’s stubborness is becoming a real drag. What would it have hurt to put in Kielty and Ellsbury last night to try and wake up the team? If it’s okay to hook his starter in the 5th inning then it’s okay to shake up the line up. Too many guys have not pulled their weight for whatever reasons. Hey, it may or may not make a difference but at least he could say that he did what he could do and made moves when possible. None of us would fault him for that.
Let Theo eat the blame for Drew since it was his bright idea. Kielty at least plays with some passion.
The real disappointment in my mind is Schilling. He came to camp fat and out of shape, he didn’t put the offseason work in and didn’t develop another pitch to go along with a declining fastball that he knows he couldn’t throw by people any longer. When you can’t throw 94-96 with a splitter then you need to develop a cutter/2 seamer or a change up to support your fastball and split.
LOL! Well, I sure hope I'm wrong on my prediction.
Did you see the post-game show on NESN last night? Even RemDawg and Dennis Eckersley weren't very optimistic about the Red Sox' chances to make it to the World Series... They were also mystified why our bats have gone cold (not a good thing in facing Sabathia and Carmona again), and why Ellsbury hasn't been in the lineup. They did support Francona's decision to use Wakefield last night, though. The usually-reliable Manny Delcarment just killed us last night... looked like GagMe in disguise.
I agree. I hope that Theo the Boy Genius has been "enjoying" the fruits of his labor during these past few games - heck, since the All Star break...
Yup. If anyone here is betting on the outcome of this series, I certainly wouldn’t put any $$$ on the 2007 Red Sox... Sadly, I think they’re toast.
Rish strikes me as kind of a Red Sox "company man"... I'm surprised he's not totally optimistic that the Sox will still win the World Series. Back in August/September or so, when the Sox started to lose their big lead over the Yankees, he was confident all would be well if only Schilling could get his act together. No mention of Dice-K's downslide, nor Drew's, Youk's, Coco's, Lugo's and Tek's struggles at the plate.
I'll be cheering for the Tribe as well in the WS, although the Rockies are a very likeable team as well. I'm just so damn glad the Yankees are out of it! Here in CT, we're on the Red Sox/Yankees "Mason/Dixon line". The last thing I need surrounding me here are thousands of arrogant Yankee fans with their newly-updated "Got Rings?" t-shirts.
Is that John Kerry on the table?
What happens is when the games are on WRKO OR on WEEI,
John Rish does the post game wrap up. If WRKO: you tune
to WEEI to hear him do a talk show called “Red Sox Review”.
If the game’s on WEEI, stay tuned; the show is on WEEI
either way.
He started to get a little snippy with a caller last night who dubbed Francona “Francoma” and asked him to refer to the manager by his real last name.
I’ve been screaming for Ellsbury to be in the line-up. He’s a spark for the team and sure can hit. It’s infuriating that Fancona isn’t playing him.
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