ALCS Live Thread: Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox

10-12-07

[GraniteStateConservative]

Game 1 @ BOSTON:

WEATHER:: Forecasts for tonight predict that the rain will cease enough to get the game in, certainly. It should be cloudy, with temperatures dipping to the mid-50s.

Starting Pitchers

C. C. Sabathia (19-7, 3.21 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (20-7, 3.27 ERA)

Game 1 LINEUPS

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
3. Travis Hafner, DH
4. Victor Martinez, C
5. Ryan Garko, 1B
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Kenny Lofton, LF
8. Franklin Gutierrez, RF
9. Casey Blake, 3B

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.

[misterrob]

He is but the ump was still wrong.

Youk screwed that inning by waving at an outside pitch and trying to flip the bat around.

[Red Steel]

If the Sox end up losing by one run, they was robbed.

Francona should play this game under protest.

[big'ol_freeper]

You are right. And the ball Manny hit was out of the park.

[GraniteStateConservative]

[#1CTYankee]

"It didn’t matter in the end since Lowell made the final out. That ball was out. Manny didn’t run all out but the umps missed that call."

True enough, when I played legion ball and before that you had better run out every ball, let the ump's work it out latter.

[misterrob]

Come on!!!!!!!!!! The yellow line is the HR mark in that park. If it clears the line then it’s out.

[mylife]

I aint buying it.

It literally was still in play

[Red Steel]

Not if the ball is determined a HR, and if it falls back into the area of play, it’s still a HR.

[NeoCaveman]

Come on!!!!!!!!!! The yellow line is the HR mark in that park. If it clears the line then it’s out.

And that's the issue, it did not clear the yellow foam part of the wall. Couldn't have been any closer, though.

[GraniteStateConservative]

[Hemingway's Ghost]

If the ball lands in the park it is still in play

End of story

Not even hardly. You can hit the ball 500 feet to straightaway center at Fenway Park, hit a light tower, and have the thing bounce back onto the field. Tater. You can hit certain catwalks at Tropicana Field, have the ball bounce back on the field---tater.

Where the ball ends up is meaningless. It's whether or not it goes over the fence, and Manny's ball plainly went over it by hitting on top of it.

[Red Steel]

Manny is SUCH an idiot...

But he has a sweet bat. ;-)

[mylife]

Its like darts. you hit dead center on the wire while shooting a bulls eye and it bounces out, it aint a bulls eye.

At least in baseball its still in play

[big'ol_freeper]

With all due respect you are either blind or don't understand the laws of physics.

If a ball is hit over the wall it will bounce up. If it is hit off the wall it will bounce down. That is physics. The ball bounced up, therefore it was over the wall, which is a home run. The umpires screwed the pooch.

[misterrob]

Wrong. Why do they have the yellow line? It’s what determines whether or not a ball is in play.

[mylife]

Not the same thing. It hit on the delineating line.

The laws of physics tell you it did not clear the fence.

You gonna argue with Einstien?

[mylife]

Bounced up AND BACK

[Hemingway's Ghost]

And that's the issue, it did not clear the yellow foam part of the wall.

Of course it did. The ball was coming down as it hit the wall. If it hit had hit the face of the wall, it would have bounced downwards, and remained in play. But it bounced upwards, meaning it hit on the top of the wall.

There's no way a ball that hits the side of the wall bounces straight up in the air like that.

[mylife]

I’d worry about this inning

[Red Steel]

Red Sox got two on lets see if the can keep out the DP, no outs.