2007 American League Champions

Sweep the ALDS in 3 games, then survive a grueling 7 game battle against a division champion to take the American League pennant. That was the script in 2004, and now again in 2007. The Indians were as good as we thought, just in different ways than we expected. Neither Sabathia nor Carmona were worth a damn, but everyone else compensated. They never rolled over, they just ran out of bullets at the end. Ultimately, Cleveland wasn’t outplayed so much as they were outpitched, and there is no shame in that. I tip my cap to a very talented and deserving Cleveland Indians team.

This Red Sox edition is a tough, focused, professional bunch. They have some similarities to the 2004 team in their defensive and offensive balance, but this team has a bunch of young kids and rookies (including two veteran rookies from Japan) who give it a completely different character. It doesn’t appear to be the collection of wingnuts of 2004 vintage. There are no “idiots” like Millar, Damon and Cabrera. Instead, there are the tough as nails kids: Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonathan Papelbon, alongside a core contingent who were present in 2004 (Ortiz, Ramirez, Youkilis, Varitek, Schilling, Wakefield and Timlin), plus key contributors who know exactly how to handle the bright lights of October (2003 WS and 2007 ALCS MVP Beckett and Mike Lowell) and our new Japanese pitchers, without whom we couldn't have won game 7, or even gotten to it (Matsuzaka and Okajima).

But like the 2004 team, they play exactly the same way whether they’re sweeping the Angels or fighting back from an ALCS hole on the road. Everyone chips in. In game 7, Ortiz and Manny were invisible offensively, but Dustin Pedroia was the man. In game 6, it was J.D. Drew. In both games 6 and 7, Kevin Youkilis homered. If all the weapons contribute, this Red Sox team is not going to be beatable. Even if some of them just take turns, as happened Saturday and Sunday nights, it’s good enough to get them to the World Series.

Bring on the Rockies!

ALCS: Ready for a Game 7

As stated in previous posts, in October, it’s all about pitching. A freak performance from J.D. Drew notwithstanding, the stories of game 6 were the reappearance of Curt Schilling’s legendary October pedigree and Fausto Carmona’s inability to be even remotely effective. Not that Drew and everyone else didn’t do a great job, but the Royals could have hit Carmona tonight. I’ll say it again: in October, it’s all about pitching. Boston has had it in games 1, 5 and 6. Cleveland had it from the middle of game 2 through game 4.

Seeing J.D. Drew hit tonight was a wonder (3 for 5, 5 RBI, a grand slam HR). Youkilis is locking in again. Pedroia’s getting good swings. Lowell has been solid, of course. The lineup has looked good since game 5. If everyone shows up offensively tomorrow night, and Dice-K pitches effectively, game 7 could be great fun, and cap another phenomenal comeback. If, however, Matsuzaka and Jake Westbrook both pitch the way they did in game 3 at Jacobs Field, we will be left to ponder what could have been. Here’s my concern: Dice K has had one quality start since the beginning of September. Tomorrow night would be a dandy time for another one.

When the ALCS started, I predicted Boston in 7, and I’m going to stick to it. I’d love to see a Red Sox – Rockies matchup and see if Colorado truly is for real. They played great in the NLDS and NLCS, but seriously, the Phillies and Diamondbacks weren’t exactly great measures of competition. Neither of them would have made the playoffs if they were in the American League. I still insist that this ALCS will determine who wins the World Series, which makes tomorrow night that much more momentous in my book.

Game 7's are the great spotlights of sports. Pull out the cliches. This one is for all the marbles, win and move on or lose and go home, do or die. No matter how you describe it, the best part of tomorrow night: it's at Fenway Park.

ALCS: On Josh Beckett

What Josh Beckett is doing in the post season is more than simply impressive. He isn't just silencing the Indians after dominating the Angels, and he's not merely winning key ballgames. He's putting himself into rarified company. So far in this postseason, Beckett is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA, 26 K's and 1 walk in 23 innings. He's holding opponents to a .181 batting average, and his 2007 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is a laughable 0.61. Those are numbers you'd be hard-pressed to duplicate in a video game. Beckett's all-time postseason numbers are 4-0, 1.78, 73 strikeouts, 13 walks in 65 2/3 IP. These aren't just good numbers, they compare with all time post-season stats for Sandy Koufax (3-1, 0.95, 61K/11BB), Bob Gibson (2-1, 1.89, 92/17) and the estimable Mr. Schilling (8-2, 2.23, 111/23). This year's ALDS and ALCS performance by Beckett is also augmenting what will almost certainly be 2007 Cy Young numbers (20-7, 200 IP, 3.27 ERA, 194 K, 40 BB, and a WHIP of 1.14)

As we sit today, pondering how Curt Schilling may add to (or detract from) his glittering postseason numbers at Fenway tomorrow night, it's worth noting that Josh Beckett has joined him in an elite class. Remember, Beckett is already a World Series MVP. Combine that with 2007, and we're witnessing the blossoming of a talent that stands up quite nicely alongside the primes of the great money pitchers of the last few generations. One other point to remember, for those who say "Sure, but how long can he keep this up?": Josh Beckett will turn 28 next May 15.

ALCS after Game 4

Things we know now about the Indians:

• The starting pitching is plenty good enough
• Their bullpen is better, especially the setup guys
• The lineup is very balanced and patient
• Their ability to get key 2-out hits is scary
• They’re playing like they can smell the World Series
  

Things we know now about the Red Sox:

• Nobody other than Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell can be counted on to produce
• It’s all about pitching in October, and
• The bullpen is back to its mid-summer shakiness
• Eric Gagne still sucks, and can’t be in the game with less than an 11-run lead
• Of the starters, only Josh Beckett has gotten through the 6th inning.
• The last man I want at the plate with the game on the line is J.D. Drew
• They don’t look like league champions, (though the 2004 Red Sox looked worse, and were facing a 3-1 deficit with games 6 and 7 in New York)
  
  Other important things we know
• Tim McCarver is just as annoying as ever
  “Can you BELIEVE David Ortiz is swinging away with a 3-0 count? That’s just extraordinary!” No it isn’t, you pinhead. He’s done it consistently for the past few years.
• If someone doesn’t figure out a way to control the Rockies, it might not make any difference
  

2007 ALCS Preview

This is a damn good Indians team, and it should be a helluva series. Don’t assume that the Red Sox are going to do to Cleveland what they did to the Angels. Remember, the team that just finished rolling over New York tied with Boston for the best record in the league. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona are the best 1-2 punch going right now. Sizemore, Hafner, Martinez, Garko and Peralta are all hot at the same time, and of course both Trot Nixon and Kenny Lofton have seen October before. If I had a vote for Manager of the Year, I’d give my second place vote to Eric Wedge. The 2007 Cleveland Indians are not a fluke.

That said, the Red Sox have never been in better shape all year. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez have never been both healthy and on fire at the same time all year – until now. This creates a much more frightening lineup. Defensively, this is among the best teams in Red Sox history, with as many as five legitimate Gold Glove candidates (Crisp, Drew, Youkilis, Pedroia and Lowell). Nobody in baseball calls a better game or handles a pitching staff better than Jason Varitek. The starting rotation in the ALCS will match up almost evenly with the Indians. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 0-0 score in the 7th or 8th inning of game 1 (Sabathia vs. Beckett).

You can go down the rosters, and see mirror images of each other. The only significant difference between the two teams that jumps out at me is experience. Many more members of the Red Sox have been here before, including three of the four starting pitchers. Most importantly, Terry Francona won’t be intimidated. Experience matters, and given a team that knows what to expect vs one that’s living in the crucible for the first time, I’d lean toward the veterans. Schilling, Beckett and Manny have all been World Series MVP’s. Of the Indians, only Trot Nixon, Paul Byrd and Kenny Lofton have even been to this point before.

I’ll take the Red Sox over Cleveland in 7 games.

Goodbye to a classy foe

I’ll address the ALCS in another post, but first I want to say something about the ongoing drama of Joe Torre’s status as Yankee manager. Although there had been persistent rumors earlier this summer that George Steinbrenner was suffering from extreme senile dementia, it appears that rumors of Steinbrenner’s demise were greatly exaggerated. And if that’s the case, it’s a terrible shame. If Steinbrenner is indeed still in charge, and his words to the Bergen Record are true, Steinbrenner is going to make sure that Torre is made to pay the consequences.

Joe Torre will walk the plank because George Steinbrenner is still the same shortsighted, arrogant prick he always was. By now, everyone knows the story. Torre, a former MVP and 9-time all star, took a Yankee team that had only sniffed the playoffs once in 14 years and led them to 12 consecutive playoff appearances, 9 American League championships and 4 World Series titles.

After all those years, amassing the 2nd best record in the history of Yankee skippers, I think 2007 was far and away his best job. This year’s Yankee team was dead and buried after the first two months. Their rotation was in tatters, the bullpen exhausted. The lineup looked old and creaky. And they made it to the post-season anyway. He had a bullpen of worthless nobodies, and a starting rotation held together with stickum and sunflower seeds. The Yankees managed to hold off the Tigers and Mariners and win the wild card. In the first series they went up against the Indians, who were tied for the best record in the league. They ran out of gas against the Indians, but they never would have appeared in Jacobs Field in October if Torre hadn’t gotten them there.

Joe Torre didn’t sign Roger Clemens, Brian Cashman did. Joe Torre didn’t force Jason Giambi to take steroids and ruin his career. Against the Indians, Joe Torre didn’t cause the Yankees to strike out 35 times and force Jeter, Posada, and Matsui to combine for a only 11 hits in the division series. The players lost the series. The Yankees were out-pitched, out-hit and outclassed by a vastly better team. Clemens was old and hurt. Mussina was just plain old. Alex Rodriguez was barely better than worthless.

And very possibly the classiest man to ever wear the uniform will be unceremoniously dumped. As a Red Sox fan I’m thrilled. The Yankees are going to SUCK for the next few years. ARod is gone. Posada, Rivera, Giambi, Clemens, Mussina, all will be history over the winter, many of them jumping ship in part because their leader will have been dumped. This will be great for the Red Sox, but as a baseball fan, I’m nauseated.

Farewell, Mr. Torre. You were always a class act, and you’ll be missed.

ALDS Game 3: Checking out early from Hotel California

In 2004, David Ortiz completed a sweep of the Angels in the AL Division Series with a monster homer at Fenway. Today, Big Papi got things started in the fourth inning with a monster home run off Jered Weaver at Angel Stadium. After that, it was Manny’s turn to take Weaver deep. Although it was only 2-0 at the time, the game was over that fast. The 7-run 8th inning was just piling on. Curt Schilling put all his skills on display today. He didn’t have great stuff, especially early on. In the first couple innings he was a little wild within the strike zone, though he never allowed the Angels to score. It helped that Los Angeles / Anaheim / SoCal couldn’t get men on base, and therefore couldn’t move them over, much less get them in. Schill did his job, and once again cemented his reputation as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time.

In retrospect, it’s clear that we faced the Angels at the right time. They were tired, banged up and playing at much less than full strength, but that’s what happens after a long, tough season. You work with what you’ve got. The Red Sox were just flat out better, period, full stop. No different than Colorado vs the Phillies and Arizona vs. the Cubs. Tonight we’ll see if it’s going to be four sweeps in four division series.

I have a friend who is a member in good standing of the BBWAA. When it comes time for voters to consider Curt Schilling’s resume for Cooperstown, what he accomplished when the calendar read “October” should be exhibit A. Great players become even better when it matters most. (a point of particular note to Alex Rodriguez)