Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Down 3-1

Well, I'm not quite sure what to say at this point. Schilling, Matsuzaka, and Wakefield haven't given the Red Sox enough innings, the 6-1 hitters have been dreadful, and anytime you let the opponent score seven runs in an inning twice in three games, well, you're in trouble. Tonight, there were a few bad breaks to start the seven-run fifth which could have changed everything, but Wake and Delcarmen couldn't pitch around them. Sometimes you just get the feeling that it's not your year, or your series, or whatever, and it's hard for me to shake that feeling now.

Still, not to sound too much like Kevin Millar here, but they've got Beckett going Thursday (this off-day is going to be BRUTAL), and if he can get them back to Fenway, then anything can happen. But a lot of things need to go right for them to pick up the win in Game Five, not just getting a quality start. Pedroia, Varitek, and Lugo have to take some pitches and actually reach base every once in a while. Kielty (starting against Sabathia, although he should have started against Byrd), needs to prove he's worth the roster spot. And Crisp not only needs to prove that he's worth starting over Ellsbury for the rest of this series, but next year, too. It's quite literally a make-or-break game for three or four Red Sox hitters.

They hit Sabathia in Game One (and so did the Yankees in the ALDS), so if they're ever going to get the offense going again, this is the time. But they've had trouble with Byrd, Westbrook, and Borowksi already in this series, so my expectations are tempered. Honestly, at this point I'm just hoping that their season doesn't end - I'm not ready for anywhere from four to seven games of Rockies-Indians, followed by winter.

One more thing I need to get off my chest about these playoffs: I really wish Manny Ramirez would at least jog after he belts a no-doubter home run. It's one thing after you hit a walk-off to give your team a commanding 2-0 series lead; it's quite another when you're trailing two games to one and you hit a solo shot to cut the deficit to four runs in the sixth inning. Plenty of neutral fans have plenty of (good) reasons to hate the Red Sox already - they don't need another.

1 comment:

Warren said...

One more thing I need to get off my chest about these playoffs: I really wish Manny Ramirez would at least jog after he belts a no-doubter home run. It's one thing after you hit a walk-off to give your team a commanding 2-0 series lead; it's quite another when you're trailing two games to one and you hit a solo shot to cut the deficit to four runs in the sixth inning. Plenty of neutral fans have plenty of (good) reasons to hate the Red Sox already - they don't need another.

He probably thought he just hit a grand slam with his team down three. That wouldn't surprise me.