Looks sort of like the typical war protester only post-bath.
Posted on 09/30/2005 7:32:46 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
Compared to last October, this weekend's scenario probably doesn't seem all that bad to the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.
Down one game with three to play, the Red Sox will try to stage another dramatic comeback against the archrival New York Yankees when the teams open their big series at Fenway Park.
``It's going to be three Super Bowl games,'' Boston's Kevin Millar said. ``Whoever set the schedule this year is a genius.''
Last season, Boston became the first team in major league history to overcome an 0-3 deficit in the playoffs, rallying to take four straight from New York in the ALCS to capture the pennant.
The Red Sox would go on to win their first World Series title since 1918 by sweeping St. Louis, putting the Yankees in the unfamiliar position of waiting until the next year for revenge.
The Red Sox held the Yankees off for most of this summer, hoping to win their first AL East title since 1995. However, Boston, which has finished second to New York in each of the previous seven years, squandered its advantage, and enters the weekend one game out.
Things could have been considerably worse.
The Red Sox trailed Toronto 4-1 in the sixth inning Thursday night while the Yankees were cruising to an 8-4 victory in Baltimore.
However, Manny Ramirez belted a two-run homer before David Ortiz fortified his MVP candidacy by belting the tying homer in the eighth and driving home the winning run with a single in the ninth, giving Boston a 5-4 win and plenty of momentum heading into the weekend.
``The best thing that ever happened to this team was winning this game tonight,'' Ortiz said. ``Everybody was on their toes.''
While the Red Sox split four games with the Blue Jays, the Yankees took three of four from the Orioles, giving themselves a small cushion heading into this do-or-die series.
``It'll be unbelievable. It's always a playoff atmosphere when you play the Red Sox,'' said Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, who belted a first-inning, three-run homer Thursday.
``It will be a lot of fun.''
A less consequential race will also be taking place during the series as Ortiz and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will go head-to-head for the MVP award. Both players boast eye-popping numbers, but the winner may ultimately be decided by who takes the division this weekend.
``That's how you win an MVP -- getting into the playoffs and winning the World Series,'' Ortiz said this week. ``All I want to do is get into the playoffs one way or another.''
Rodriguez agreed.
``I think the focus is on the team. I think a nice side note behind that is, obviously, the MVP race,'' he said. ``No question, front and center right now is the Yankees vs. Boston.''
If the teams finish in a dead heat after Sunday, a one-game playoff to determine the division champion will be played at Yankee Stadium on Monday.
Both teams are also still very much alive for the wild card. The Yankees also lead Cleveland by one game. The Indians will conclude the regular season with three against the AL Central champion Chicago White Sox.
If the Red Sox, Yankees and Indians finish tied, New York will play Boston on Monday, with the loser heading to Cleveland for a one-game playoff to determine the wild card.
After Yankees rookie Chien-Ming Wang squares off against veteran left-hander David Wells in the series opener, Randy Johnson and Tim Wakefield will meet Saturday followed by Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling in Sunday's regular season finale.
This is the first time the Red Sox and Yankees have battled for the division down to the wire since 1978, when light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent homered to win a one-game playoff and send New York to the postseason.
The pennant came down to the final two games of the season in 1949, when Boston brought a one-game lead into Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won both to reach the playoffs and begin a dynasty that claimed 14 AL pennants and eight World Series titles in 16 years.
Before that, you have to go back to the 1904 season, when Boston met the New York Highlanders in a doubleheader on the final day of the season. Boston won the opener to take the pennant.
``You sit there and you say at the start of the season that the best team wins after 162 games. And now you're down to the final three,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said. ``We all know what the situation is. ... To think that it's come down to a handful of games to decide what 157 couldn't decide, that's great for baseball -- but not too good for my stomach.''
Updated on Friday
Reminds me of the way I felt the night before a big test in school. (Which I was always unprepared for)
How does a guy with 90 rbi's, 30 hr's and an awsome on base percentage hurt the team?
I think you're like 25th in payroll.
On a purely crass level of base self-interest, the Indians have one excellent way to get into the playoffs: a sweep by SOMEONE in Boston. In that scenario, the Tribe could lose 2 of three and still get the wildcard.
Nonetheless, my heart is with the Red Sox.
Bucky Dent-- just another guy with a lucky homerun.
That's what I love about the Indians and Mark Shapiro: look at what they've accomplished (on a blue-collar budget and S&H Greenstamps)!
"He's ba-ack."- Babe Ruth (The Curse Of)
Oh you love it! This is what we wait for all year; it would be very boring if the season ended with Yanks or Sox running away with title.
Astros need to win tonight and the Nats need to beat the Phils so the Rocket doesn't have to pitch tomorrow and can rest that hamstring for the Braves.
I didn't know that Ohio had a crack problem.
When the Yankees were winning championships in the late 1990s, they put together teams with home-grown talent, good chemistry, and aging veterans who played their roles perfectly. The championships came to an end when they departed from that format and tried instead to put nine All-Stars on the field every game.
Here's another
Yep. You're right. Aaron Boone, JAG-- just another guy.
No one special to us. Not anymore.
Take care of tonight. Then, we have Pap available for Saturday or Sunday. We do have Timlin fresh, if need be, tonight. The first two innings are big for Wells. He has a 4.97 ERA in the first inning alone this year. He has to figure out where the zone is and then he pounds it.
Yep. Bud Selig is orgasming over things turning out so that this weekend is meaningful.
I went to that game. The horror ... the horror ...
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