WS 4: Red Sox 4, Rockies 3

The Red Sox lineup remains the same:

Red Sox                Rockies
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF    Kazuo Matsui, 2B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B     Troy Tulowitzki, SS
David Ortiz, 1B        Matt Holiday, LF
Manny Ramirez, LF      Todd Helton, 1B
Mike Lowell, 3B        Garrett Atkins, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF          Ryan Spilborghs, CF
Jason Varitek, C       Brad Hawpe, RF
Julio Lugo, SS         Yorvit Torrealba, C
Jon Lester, P          Aaron Cook, P

***

Jon Lester / Aaron Cook

If you are worried about Lester starting -- though at this point, why are you worried about anything -- consider that Colorado is pinning its post-season hopes on a guy who has not pitched in a game since August 10.

WS 3: Red Sox 10, Rockies 5

Red Sox - 006 000 031 - 10  15  1
Rockies - 000 002 300 -  5  11  0
  
Red Sox lead series 3-0

For the first time in World Series history, two rookies had at least three hits each in a World Series game. Ellsbury went 4-for-5, with three doubles, two RBI and two runs scored, while Pedroia was 3-for-5, with one double and 2 RBI.

Lowell singled twice and drive in two runs, Lugo doubled and walked twice, and Matsuzaka knocked in two runs with a single in the six-run third.

Colorado closed the Red Sox's lead to 6-5 in the seventh when Holliday blasted a three-run home run to dead center of Hideki Okajima's first pitch. Jeemer then allowed a single, but got three straight outs to end the threat. Boston answered with three of their own in the top of the eighth -- with one out, Lugo walked, Coco Crisp singled, Ellsbury doubled in one run, and Pedroia doubled in two more.

Jon Lester takes the hill tomorrow night as Boston goes for its second straight World Series sweep. ... (Did I just type that?!!?)

***

We have oatmeal:

Red Sox                Rockies
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF    Kazuo Matsui, 2B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B     Troy Tulowitzki, SS
David Ortiz, 1B        Matt Holiday, LF
Manny Ramirez, LF      Todd Helton, 1B
Mike Lowell, 3B        Garrett Atkins, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF          Brad Hawpe, RF
Jason Varitek, C       Yorvit Torrealba, C
Julio Lugo, SS         Cory Sullivan, CF
Daisuke Matsuzaka, P   Josh Fogg, P

It's been "a gorgeous day in Denver, with temperatures probably in the mid-50s".

***

Daisuke Matsuzaka / Josh Fogg







(I'm/We're out at one of the anti-war demonstrations being held today throughout the US and Canada. Back around 6 PM.)

WS 2: Red Sox 2, Rockies 1

Rockies - 100 000 000 - 1  5  0
Red Sox - 000 110 00x - 2  6  1
  
             IP  H  R BB  K  BF PIT
Schilling   5.1  4  1  2  4  22  82
Okajima     2.1  0  0  0  4   7  28
Papelbon    1.1  1  0  0  2   4  16

Well, I stand up next to a mountain
I chop it down with the edge of my hand

The Rockies took a quick 1-0 in the top of the first when Curt Schilling's fourth pitch grazed Willie Taveras's left hand, Matt Holliday's line drive glanced off Mike Lowell's glove and rolled into foul terriroty, and Todd Helton grounded out to first.

Boston tied the game in the fourth: Lowell walked, hustled to third on J.D. Drew's single to right (he reached base four times in four trips) and tagged and scored on Jason Varitek's fly to center. The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead with two outs in the fifth: David Ortiz walked, Manny Ramirez singled to left and Lowell doubled into the left field corner.

Holding that 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth, Schilling had trouble getting loose and surrendered a single and a walk with one out. Terry Francona did not mess around -- now in full playoff mode, Tito pulled the trigger earlier than he normally would during the season. G38 was at only 82 pitches, but it was time to summon the members of the Black Pearl.

Hideki Okajima got Garrett Atkins on a grounder to Kevin Youkilis and the runners moved up to second and third. But Brad Hawpe was overmatched -- swinging at strike one, looking at strike two and swinging at strike three. Crisis averted.

Jeemer needed only 11 pitches in the seventh: Troy Tulowitzki popped to right, Yorvit Torrealba grounded to short and Ryan Spilborghs struck out looking. In the eighth, Okajima struck out Taveras looking and Kaz Matsui swinging. With four outs remaining, Francona went to Jonathan Papelbon.

On an 0-2 pitch, Holliday smashed a line drive past Bot that Dustin Pedroia dove and gloved behind second, but he had no play. No matter. Bot immediately picked Holliday off first, catching him napping by some two or three feet to end the inning. In the ninth, Snuffer struck out Helton, got Atkins to line out to Jacoby Ellsbury in center and he fanned Hawpe.

And so the Red Sox are two wins away from another World Series championship. It feels inevitable -- and easy -- and fun.

***

Lineups:

Rockies               Red Sox
Willy Taveras, CF     Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kaz Matsui, 2B        Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Matt Holliday, LF     David Ortiz, DH
Todd Helton, 1B       Manny Ramirez, LF
Garrett Atkins, 3B    Mike Lowell, 3B
Brad Hawpe, RF        J.D. Drew, RF
Troy Tulowitzki, SS   Jason Varitek, C
Yorvit Torrealba, C   Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Ryan Spilborghs, DH   Julio Lugo, SS

The bottom of the lineup returns to its usual form -- with Drew at #6 ahead of Varitek and Ellsbury back at #8, with Lugo at the bottom.

BP's Joe Sheehan believes that Coco Crisp's "knee injury is a convenient cover for the fact that 2008 has come early in Boston. Ellsbury is this team's center fielder right now".

Over their last four games -- three must-wins and the opening game of the World Series -- the Red Sox have outscored their opponents 43-6. They are also the first team in baseball history to score 10+ runs in three consecutive post-season games.

Keep it going.

***


Ubaldo Jiminez (4.28, 112 ERA+, Game Log) / Curt Schilling (3.87, 122 ERA+, Game Log)

Schilling is pitching on four days rest for the first time since September 10.

WS 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1

Rockies - 010 000 000 -  1  6  0
Red Sox - 310 270 00x - 13 17  0

Josh Beckett was the shit once again (7-6-1-1-9, 93). Dustin Pedroia hit a home run to start the first inning -- the first rookie in World Series history to do so -- and J.D. Drew added a two-run double to give Boston a quick 3-0 lead.

Beckett relied almost exclusively on his fastball for the first four innings -- 39 of his first 40 pitches were heat ranging from 95 to 97. He had excellent control. He set up Todd Helton with a 12/6 curve for strike two in the second inning before getting him swinging at a fastball and his 0-2 off-speed pitch to Matt Holliday in the fourth was tapped to third.

Nine consecutive Red Sox batters reached base with two outs in the fifth -- three doubles, two singles and four walks, including three straight bases-loaded walks -- that pushed the lead from 6-1 to 13-1.

So ... Boston's last four games: 7-1, 12-2, 11-2, 13-1. Four wins by a combined score of 43-6!

And:

First team in postseason history to score 10+ runs in three straight games

13 Runs = New World Series Game 1 record

12 Runs = Largest margin of victory in World Series Game 1 (11: White Sox 1959 and Atlanta 1996)

Tied World Series record with nine extra-base hits (Pirates 1935)

The final half-inning, courtesy of Eric Gagne:


***

Lineups:

Rockies                 Red Sox
Willy Taveras, CF       Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kaz Matsui, 2B          Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Matt Holliday, LF       David Ortiz, DH
Todd Helton, 1B         Manny Ramirez, LF
Garrett Atkins, 3B      Mike Lowell, 3B
Brad Hawpe, RF          Jason Varitek, C
Troy Tulowitzki, SS     J.D. Drew, RF
Yorvit Torrealba, C     Julio Lugo, SS
Ryan Spilborghs, DH     Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
  
Jeff Francis, P         Josh Beckett, P

***





Jeff Francis / Josh Beckett



***

Powerful Mojo:

ALCS 7: Red Sox 11, Spiders 2

AL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

W L L L W W W

Cleveland - 000 110 000 -  2 10 1
Red Sox   - 111 000 26x - 11 15 1

Red Sox in elimination games since 1999 -- 14-3.

With the season on the line, Boston = money in the bank.

***

Lineups:

Pedroia, 2B      Sizemore, CF
Youkilis, 1B     Asdrubal, 2B
Ortiz, DH        Hafner, DH
Ramirez, LF      Martinez, C
Lowell, 3B       Garko, 1B
Drew, RF         Peralta, SS
Varitek, C       Lofton, LF
Ellsbury, CF     Gutierrez, RF
Lugo, SS         Blake, 3B

Grab your laptop and join us in comments during the game!

***

Jake Westbrook / Daisuke Matsuzaka

At 4:32 AM, Gehrig 38 typed:

It's as on as it can possibly be. ...

Dice-K:

I don't know if the term 'switched on' is the right term or the right way to describe, but I am all on for [tonight].

Bot:

They made a mistake in waking a sleeping giant over here in this clubhouse ... You just don't do those kinds of things. You wake a sleeping giant? There's gonna be some consequences and repercussions, that's for sure.

Win.

ALCS 6: Red Sox 12, Spiders 2

Spiders - 010 000 100 -  2  6  2
Red Sox - 406 000 02x - 12 13  0

Did you know that J.D. Drew is on fire? No? ... Where the hell you been? ... You better start taking notes.

Everything went down as smoothly as the pre-game shot of Jack Daniels. Boston leads the series 3-3. Tomorrow night's winner gets to host the Rockies in WS 1 next Wednesday.

The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning (singles from Peewee and Yook and a walk to Flo). Manny struck out swinging and Lowell flied to shallow right. Another squander? ... Drew said "Eff that" and belted a 3-1 pitch to deep center that landed near the camera platform for a grand slam! 4-0!!!And that mega-dong was all the run support Schilling and the bullpen would need. Drew finished the night 3-for-5, with two run scored and five RBI.


But the Sox' hitters, being the polite and generous men we love, scored six more times in the third. Eleven men came to the plate; Lugo bopped a two-run double into the left field corner and Ellsbury, Drew and Youkilis all had RBI singles.


Aaron Laffey pitched 4.2 innings out of the Spiders' pen (Carmona (2-6-7-4-2, 63) did not last very long) and, according to Joe Buck, kept the score respectable. :>)

Eric Wedge called on Joe Borowski for the ninth. The closer (aka Duh Gas Can) threw 22 pitches to eight Boston batters and allowed three hits, two walks and two runs. ... Shame we won't see him tomorrow.

Schilling was fantastic (7-6-2-0-5, 90), although Buck and McCarver sought to portray him as teetering on the edge of falling apart for most of the night. I can't imagine many viewers were buying their lies.

Javier Lopez needed eight pitches for a perfect eighth and Eric Gagne set down the Spiders on nine pitches in the ninth.

Everyone will be available in Game 7 tomorrow night.

***

Lineup:

Pedroia, 2B
Youkilis, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Lowell, 3B
Drew, RF
Varitek, C
Ellsbury, CF
Lugo, SS

***

Dustin Pedroia is glad to be back at Fenway:

Yeah, it's good. We don't have to play with those stupid towels. Stuff waving around. I'm tired of that. It's good to be back here. I'd like to see some Rem Dawg signs or whatever they call them. I'm excited, man.

Pro Watch: Bill "I Give Mariano Rivera The Night Sweats" Mueller will throw out the first pitch!

Curt Schilling, on tonight:

What [2004 ALCS Game 6] does for me ... I went out against a Yankees lineup in '04 that was as good an offense as I've ever faced, and I was basically pitching on a broken foot with a lot less stuff than I have now and I gave up one run over seven innings. There's no excuse for me not to be able to go out tonight with what I have now and, if I can execute perfectly, I can pitch as good, if not better. ...

I'm scared to death to not do well tonight, but I'm also very cognizant of the fact that that fear is something that has always driven me and always pushed me. ... I don't think there's too much pressure or too little. It's just reality. We put ourselves in this position, and I helped put us in this position.

Eric Wedge, on Fausto Carmona:

He has such a great arm and such great movement on his pitches. You know, sometimes when he does try to be a little bit too fine, the ball is going to run off the plate a little bit. What he needs to do is be aggressive with these guys, stay on the plate, run it off when he needs to, but be able to work it both ways.

Pitching coach Carl Willis:

In going back and reviewing the video of the game, there were pitches that Fausto made hitters swing at throughout the course of the season. But I think, again, the Red Sox being a very disciplined and obviously veteran lineup of professional hitters, they laid off of a lot of pitches that other clubs at times swing at. But I would say that early in counts, he was a bit fine, and he needs to trust that sink on the plate.

Carmona:

Yeah, I was trying to be a little fine. ... I've got to make sure I'm not going to leave any pitch down the middle of the plate. I was thinking just a little too much.

David Ortiz believes the media deliberately twisted Manny Ramirez's comments to create a story where one did not exist:

Everybody knows what Manny means, but people like to flip things around and that's why he is the way he is. ... He doesn't talk, and that's the reason why. People always try to misunderstand the reason why. People always try to misunderstand what the guy says.

Anyone else think the picture on the front page of this morning's Globe looks a little too much like a grave site?

Dan Tobin, Bugs & Cranks:

Three in a row? It's all the Red Sox know how to do.

Soxaholix:

Fercrissakes, let the real Indian get out there against the Wahoos.

Benari at Away Team:

Um, Mark? Your name is Shapiro. SHA-PEER-O. I know it, you know it, our Rabbi knows it.

***

Fausto Carmona / Curt Schilling

Facing post-season elimination, the Red Sox did what they usually do -- win. They are 22-11 (.667) all-time in such games.

The golden right arm of Josh Beckett and the reemergence of the bats (or the beginning thereof) forced the Spiders to pack their bags for a weekend in Boston.

It's time for Schilling to add a third legendary October performance to his Red Sox resume.

One.

One game. One win. That's all.

Not two.

One.

Tonight.

ALCS 5: Red Sox 7, Spiders 1

Red Sox - 101 000 230 - 7 12  1
Spiders - 100 000 000 - 1  6  1
  
Beckett: 8-5-1-1-11, 109

Beckett was absolutely amazing tonight -- everything we could have hoped for -- near Pedro-esque in his ability to toy with the Cleveland hitters! Along with a fastball sitting at 95-97 all night long, he also used a devastating 12-to-6 curve that made more than one Spider look like a fool. In the post-season, he now has a BB/K ratio if 1/26.

A Yook dong gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first, but Cleveland tied the game in the home half. Sizemore doubled, moved to third on Cabrera's single and scored on Hafner's GIDP. After that, only one other Cleveland batter touched second base -- and that was in the ninth inning against Jonathan Papelbon.

Manny was robbed of a two-run dong to right-center in the third, but he did get an RBI out of it -- Boston led 2-1. They held on and broke it open with two in the seventh -- Pedroia double, Youilis triple, Ortiz sac fly -- and three in the eighth -- three walks, an error, a bunt single and another sac fly.

So it's back to Boston for Game 6 and G38 on Saturday night.


***

Manny: I'm a bad, bad man, man ...
Josh: [must ignore, keep staring straight ahead]

Kevin Youkilis:

I feel like we're going to win and take it back to Boston and play another day. When you see something's that never been done before, you can believe in anything.

Jason Varitek:

There's a faith. It's like being able to come back late in a game. You have people that have done it, the team has done it, and done it on different occasions. You should have confidence that it can be done.

Mike Lowell:

We just have to win [tonight].

Yerry Francona:

Just play the game that's in front of us.

Jacoby Ellsbury:

This team is so loose. That's baseball. We happened to lose three in a row, but we could just as well win three in a row, too. ... Even though we're down, I still think we're set up pretty good.

Yook also echoed Manny Ramirez's thoughts:

You have to have the same mind-set every day in big games. You can't change things. You can try to make adjustments pitch to pitch, but you can't change your approach ... You have to stay calm and collected and you have to have fun. You have to have that energy flowing and be excited to go up there.

***

Josh Beckett / C.C. Sabathia

One. One game. One win. That's all.

Not three, not two.

One.

Tonight.

It's pretty clear.

ALCS 4: Spiders 7, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 000 003 000 - 3  8  1
Spiders - 000 070 00x - 7  9  0

Now we get the pitcher's duel. For 4.5 innings, anyway.

Then Blake banged a solo dong and about an hour later, it seemed, Cleveland had sent 12 men to the plate against Wake and MDC, scoring seven runs on seven hits.

The Red Sox charged right back -- making ALCS history when Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez hit back-to-back-to-back home runs. But that was it for the bats. The Red Sox managed only one more base runner in the final three+ innings -- and he was erased within two pitches on a double play.

Off-day Wednesday and then it's Beckett/CC on Thursday.

All we got to do is win three games. ... Last two at home, with Andrew Daisuke bringing the MFing hammer.

Red's got his battle gear on already:

Let them stoke their fires and crank their music and point at us and laugh as we were forced to the back of the bus. We sat and watched and observed and absorbed and kept quiet. And when the time was right ...

One game away from elimination? F@#k that noise. We prefer to think of you guys as three games away from elimination.

***

Tim Wakefield / Paul Byrd

Wakefield has not pitched in a game since September 29, although he did toss a 77-pitch simulated game last Tuesday.

Spiders v Wakefield and Red Sox against Byrd (I wouldn't mind seeing Lyndon tonight, but Coco is 5-for-11).

Curt Schilling:

We haven't had our backs against the wall all year, until now, because during all that panic stuff about the division at the end of the [regular season], we were never in danger of missing the playoffs. We're down, 2-1. I think this is our first true character test, given our lead all year.

Ortiz, rating how his right knee feels on a scale of 1-10:

Zero. ... This is a do-or-die situation. I've got to put whatever behind me. If I keep thinking about my knee, my knee, my knee, it's only going to make it worse. We don't have that much room that we can be thinking about it. ... Unless I can't get out of my bed, I've got to keep on playing.

In addition to a strong start from Wakefield, the bats need to show up. Half the lineup is still in a trance: Varitek and Pedroia are both 4-for 25 in the post-season and Drew is 5-for-22. Against Cleveland, Julio Lugo is 2-for-11 and Crisp 3-for 12.

Damn, wasn't it just a few days ago this team looked like it was set to steamroll through the playoffs? Varitek will sit tonight in favour of Doug Mirabelli, who hasn't had an at-bat since September 30 and only 10 ABs since August 17.

So we need bats and six good innings from Timmeh, then we have Beckett and Schilling kicking off a best 2-of-3 with the last two games at home. I like the sound of that, so ...

ALCS 3: Spiders 4, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 000 000 200 - 2 7 0
Spiders - 020 020 00x - 4 6 1

Varitek's two-run home run to center in the seventh gave me hope, but after that, Red Sox hitters -- including Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez in the top of the eighth -- went 1-for-9 (a weak infield single from Lugo). (box)

Matsuzaka's line was not all that impressive (4.2-6-4-2-6, 101), but he wasn't that bad. He did not get several calls on the corners -- Brian Gorman's tight strike zone did not play to his strengths. (He did not speak with the media after the game.)

Lofton hit a two-run shot in the second and the Spiders added two more in the fifth. With one out, Blake lined a single to left. He went to second on a wild pitch and Sizemore walked. Cabrera singled past Pedroia's dive to center and Blake scored. Hafner's grounder up the middle was gloved by Peewee, who made a fantastic play running to second for the force and throwing across his body to first. But the throw was a hair too late -- and Sizemore scored.

Westbrook escaped trouble early. In the second, Manny walked, Lowell singled and Drew reached on Garko's error at first. Bases loaded, no outs. But Varitek popped out to shallow left (no chance to tag) and Crisp grounded into a 6-3 DP.

Ortiz lead off the fourth with an opposite field double, but was erased when he started towards third on Manny's grounder and the ball hit him in the left thigh. Manny got credit for a single, but Westbrook (6.2-7-2-3-2, 104) retired Lowell and Drew on grounders. With the Sox chasing his sinker, Westbrook had only three of his 20 outs in the air.

With one out in the sixth, Youkilis singled. Ortiz was ahead 3-0 when he fouled a pitch off to left (very surprising to see him swing in that spot). He took the next pitch for ball four. With two on, Westbrook fell behind Manny 3-0. His next pitch was inside and high -- clearly a worse pitch than balls 2 and 3 -- but Gorman called it a strike. The pitch should have loaded the bases and brought Lowell up as the potential tying run. Instead, Manny fouled off two pitches, then grounded into a double play.

(An almost identical call went against Crisp in the seventh. After Varitek's home run, Crisp got ahead 3-1. Again, Westbrook threw ball four, but it was called a strike. Crisp eventually struck out. In fairness, Boston did get a few calls as well, mostly notably a called strike two for Timlin against Garko in the fifth that led to a strikeout that stranded two Spiders.)

Against Borowski in the ninth, Lowell (b) popped to first, Drew (ffbf) flew to center and Varitek (bcbcfbfff) popped to third.

***

Daisuke Matsuzaka / Jake Westbrook

If Matsuzaka has good control of his breaking pitches, and he and Varitek don't suddenly decide to throw a ton of fastballs, he should be fine. Dice:

"Having watched Beckett and Schilling start in the previous two games, perhaps Beckett was more successful in holding their lineup to fewer runs. But I personally feel that I can learn more from the way Schilling pitched."

Boston cannot lose the ALCS: Cool!

Game thread is at ThreadSox tonight. I'll be taping the game and watching it Tuesday morning.

(*: Or Dragons, if you prefer.)

(Picture found at Baseball Musings)

***

I recently googled "Buffyvision" -- look what came up first!

ALCS 2: Spiders 13, Red Sox 6 (11)

Spiders - 100 311 000 07 - 13 17 0
Red Sox - 003 030 000 00 -  6 10 0
  
ALCS tied 1-1

After Kevin Youkilis lined out to center in the bottom of the ninth with Jacoby Ellsbury carrying the potential winning run at second, Boston had their best hitters up in the bottom of the tenth. But against Tom Mastny, David Ortiz (bbcb) grounded out to second, and Manny Ramirez (bb) and Mike Lowell (cb) both flew out to right field.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth and tenth (throwing 36 pitches), so Eric Gagne began the top of the 11th. He fanned Casey Blake, but gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and a walk to Asdrubal Cabrera. Terry Francona brought in Javier Lopez to face Trot Nixon. Dirty Hat lined a single to center, scoring Sizemore and breaking a 6-6 tie that had stood since the sixth inning. After a wild pitch made it 8-6, Victor Martinez was intentionally walked and Ryan Garko singled in another run. Jon Lester took over. Jhonny Peralta's double made it 10-6 and after a second out, Franklin Gutierrez's three-run dong to deep left made it 13-6.

Facing Joe Borowski in the home half, J.D. Drew opened with a single and Coco Crisp singled with one out. But Julio Lugo grounded into a 6-4-3 game-ending, series-tying double play. Time of game: 5:14.

Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. Lowell also had a two-run single in the third.

I figured the teams would split the first two games, and they did, though this route is a bit tougher to take. Still, I cannot fault Francona's bullpen management at all.

Cleveland's trio of Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt and Mastny shut down the Red Sox when it counted, allowing only one baserunner in the 6th through 10th innings.

***

Lineups:

Grady Sizemore, CF        Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B      Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH         David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C        Manny Ramirez, LF
Ryan Garko, 1B            Mike Lowell, 3B
Jhonny Peralta, SS        J.D. Drew, RF
Kenny Lofton, LF          Jason Varitek, C
Franklin Gutierrez, RF    Coco Crisp, CF
Casey Blake, 3B           Julio Lugo, SS

***

Fausto Carmona / Curt Schilling

Not that I necessarily need to be doing shots of Pepto and getting all sweaty-palmed when watching a game, but I was considerably more nervous during many mid-season games that I was last night. Beckett was in total control throughout and the Boston bats collected 12 hits (five doubles) to go along with eight walks.

Odds are tonight will be a different story.

The Red Sox hitters have not seen much of Carmona. Youkilis has faced him five times and Coco Crisp, David Ortiz and Alex Cora have seen him four times. Most of the PAs were in his win over Boston in late July.

Cleveland's batting numbers against Schilling are here.

ALCS 1: Red Sox 10, Cleveland 3

Cleveland - 100 001 010 -  3   8  0
Red Sox   - 104 032 00x - 10  12  0

Ortiz and Manny were on base 10 out of 10 times.

Beckett: 6-4-2-0-7, 80. Sabathia: 4.1-7-8-5-3, 85.

***

Lineups:

Grady Sizemore, CF        Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B      Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH         David Ortiz, DH
Victor Martinez, C        Manny Ramirez, LF
Ryan Garko, 1B            Mike Lowell, 3B
Jhonny Peralta, SS        Bobby Kielty, RF
Kenny Lofton, LF          Jason Varitek, C
Franklin Gutierrez, RF    Coco Crisp, CF
Casey Blake, 3B           Julio Lugo, SS

Over to Amalie Benjamin with the weather:

Though it was raining fairly hard on my drive into the ballpark (and my commute's not all that long), it has mostly stopped at this point [2:39 PM]. Still misty, still damp, but the rain that was pelting the ballpark has paused.

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.

***

Carsten Charles Sabathia (3.21, 138 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3.27, 139 ERA+)

Beckett:

You've got to start at the top with [Sizemore]. He's the one that gets everything going. Obviously, they've got their thumpers in the middle. During this time of year, not many teams don't have that.

I think it starts with keeping guys like [Sizemore] off base and just pitching to your strengths and exploiting weaknesses. ... All day is kind of like an anxiety-type deal for me ... but after you throw your first pitch, it's back to executing pitch by pitch by pitch.

Sabathia:

Instead of going out there and trying to throw every pitch 100 mph and leaving balls up and leaving them down the middle, I want to go out and throw 91 and 92 and spot it up, get in on guys, and if I need to hump up and throw hard, then I will. ... I think it's going to be wild. ... I just need to go out there and try to keep them [the Fenway fans] as quiet as possible.

Many Cleveland players have very little playoff experience. Beckett was asked if that was relevant: "I didn't have any in '03 and I did pretty good." ... David Ortiz has been in pain for much of this season. ... "You're on fire? I'm on fire!"
Rocky Colavito assures people whose beliefs are stuck in the 14th Century that he did not place a curse on his former team. ... A persistent drizzle after the Red Sox's workout yesterday meant that Cleveland had to hit in the indoor cages.

Boston was 5-2 against Cleveland this season.

At Boston

May 28 Boston 5-3
May 29 Boston 4-2
May 30 Cleveland 8-4

At Cleveland

July 23 Boston 6-2
July 24 Boston 1-0
July 25 Cleveland 1-0
July 26 Boston 14-9

Roger Rubin, Daily News:

The ultimate Yankee killer believes George Steinbrenner may do more to hurt the Bombers than any heartbreaking home run he could hit against them.

ALDS 3: Red Sox 9, Angels 1

RED SOX SWEEP ALDS!

Red Sox - 000 200 070 - 9 10  0
Angels  - 000 000 001 - 1  8  0

Schilling was superb (7-6-0-1-4, 100).

Ortiz and Manny hit back-to-back home runs to start the fourth.

After Schilling got out of a small jam in the 7th, Boston sent 11 men to the plate in the top of the eighth: Lugo walked, Pedroia doubled to left (3-0), Youkilis hit a sac fly to center (4-0), Ortiz singled to left, Manny walked and Ellsbury pinch-ran, Lowell doubled to left (5-0), Drew hit into a FC, no out (6-0), Varitek doubled to left center (7-0), Crisp singled to center (9-0), Lugo popped to first, and Pedroia grounded into a FC at second.

ALCS 1 is Friday at Fenway!

***

Curt Schilling (3.87, 118 ERA+) / Jered Weaver (3.91, 111 ERA+)

Manny Ramirez: "Even when you don't feel good and you get hits, like I said, you're a bad man."

Dustin Pedroia's left shoulder seems fine. He took batting practice on Saturday. Terry Francona: "He's fine. Actually, we expected him to be a little more tender than he was."

ALDS 2: Red Sox 6, Angels 3

Red Sox up 2-0? Essackly!



***

Kelvim Escobar (3.40, 127 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (4.40, 104 ERA+)

None of the Angels have ever faced Matsuzaka. Sean McAdam calls Dice's season "predictably unpredictable" and wonders which pitcher will be on the hill tonight?

Will it be the one who allowed two runs or fewer in 17 of his 32 starts this season? Or will it be the one who allowed five or more runs in 10 different starts? Will it be the one who struck out seven or more in 17 starts? Or the one who walked three or more in 17 outings?

Escobar did not pitch against Boston this season. While Lugo (4-for-7) and Crisp (5-for-14) have hit Escobar well in the past, Ortiz (4-for-24, .167) and Manny (7-for-32, .219) have not. Opposing batters hit .337/.417/.535 against Escobar in September after a .192/.279/.233 August.

Mike Scioscia said that Vladimir Guerrero will "probably" play right field tonight; Garret Anderson (0-for-4, 2K in Game 1) will also be in lineup, despite his pinkeye.

Coco Crisp talks about playing center field at Fenway:

You take [Beckett's] 94- or 95-mile-per-hour fastball, his curve, what he likes to do to the guy on strike two, is he going to set him up with the high fastball. Are they going to throw the guy away or pitch him in? You take all that into consideration on how you're going to play the guy.

Josh Beckett's strong of 19 consecutive Angels retired tied the Yankees' Mike Mussina for the third-longest string of outs in the postseason, behind two other Yankees: Don Larsen (26, in 1956) and Herb Pennock (22, in 1927).

***


Before that, at 5 PM:

New York (Pettitte, 4.05, 107 ERA+) at Cleveland (Carmona, 3.06, 145 ERA+)

ALDS 1: Red Sox 4, Angels 0

Angels  - 000 000 000 - 0  4  0
Red Sox - 103 000 00x - 4  9  0

Beckett: 9 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K, 108 pitches

Youkilis's solo home run into the Monster Seats in the first got the Red Sox on the board. Yook also doubled into the left field corner with one out in the third, right before Ortiz belted a dong down the right field line. It was his 9th post-season home run. Then Manny walked, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Lowell's single to center. (box)

Beckett was absolutely masterful (and dominant!). Figgins singled to start the game, then Beckett set down the next 19 batters in a row (with only three balls hit out of the infield). Only two Angels runners got to second base all night: Figgins in the first and Aybar in the eighth. Figgins was the only Angel to touch third.

Beckett went to a three-ball count only twice: Figgins in the first (single) and Izturis in the fifth (pop to short). He went to two balls on only six other batters.

***

Lineups:

Pedroia, 2B    Figgins, RF
Youkilis, 1B   Cabrera, SS
Ortiz, DH      Guerrero, DH
Ramirez, LF    Anderson, LF
Lowell, 3B     Izturis, 3B
Drew, RF       Kotchman, 1B
Varitek, C     Kendrick, 2B
Crisp, CF      Napoli, C
Lugo, SS       Willits, CF

John Lackey (3.01, 144 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3.27, 139 ERA+)

While Tim Wakefield is not on the Red Sox roster, the Angels have left off outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. (left knee injury) and pitcher Bartolo Colon (right elbow pain). Vladimir Guerrero (right triceps tendinitis) will likely start the series as the DH (he has not played the outfield since September 4).

Also, Dan Lamothe of Red Sox Monster invited me to take part in a blogger roundtable of previewing the series (along with Ian Bethune of Sox & Dawgs, Mike Colucci of Red Sox Stats Guy and Cam Smith of SoxNest). Read it here.

Both NL series start today: Rockies at Phillies at 3 and Cubs at Diamondbacks at 10.

Papelbon: 2006 to 2007. ... The Globe has a feature on Mike Lowell. ... Scouts discuss the Angels.

Wakefield:

It stinks. It really does, but it's not like it was in '99. They're not taking me out because they think I can't get hitters out. This was a decision we made as a team. Trust me, it was a hard decision to make when I was sitting in that office. It's hard to take yourself out of the equation sometimes ... but in a short series with the rules changing, I don't want to hurt us.

ESPN's Jonah Keri has the "Thinking Fan's Approach" and "Nonthinking Fan's Approach" to the ALDS. Also, 9 of 10 ESPN writers pick the Red Sox, 7 of 10 pick Cleveland, 8 of 10 pick the Cubs, and 6 of 10 pick the Phillies.

The Herald's Michael Silverman says: Red Sox in 5. The Globe's writers' picks are here.

Rob Bradford writes about Manny Ramirez, "by all accounts one of the smartest, best-prepared hitters in the history of the game".

Later in the workout, which is done 30 minutes before every game, Page throws four rings at Ramirez. Each ring has a different colored ball attached to it, and Page calls out the color of the ball Manny has to grab out of mid-air.

"It's comical how good he is at it," Page said. "Other guys try it, but they don't come close."

Most people also don't realize Ramirez is the only position player who routinely stretches and runs with the pitchers. And hardly anyone sees Manny in the weight room nine hours before the first pitch of night games, at home and on the road.

At the beginning of this season, I mentioned the ultra-fine point pens (0.25 mm line width) I keep score with. I was surpised to learn that there is exists an even-finer 0.20 mm pen. But I never saw it for sale at my store in Manhattan.

Well, guess what I found three weeks ago in Mississauga -- and am breaking out for the first time tonight? 0.20, baby!

G162: Twins 3, Red Sox 2

Sexy Lips had a rough first, allowing a walk, single and double before getting his first out. Another walk, a sac fly and a single gave the Twins a 3-0 lead.

After Tavarez got the last out of the first, he threw a perfect second inning on eight pitches and a perfect third inning on 15 pitches. Then Jon Lester pitched a perfect fourth inning (11 pitches) and a perfect fifth inning (nine pitches). Mike Timlin threw a perfect sixth inning (six pitches), Manny Delcarmen pitched a perfect seventh inning (serven pitches) and Eric Gagne pitched a perfect eighth inning (12 pitches).

When Jonathan Papelbon recorded the first out in the ninth inning, it was the 23rd consecutive batter the Red Sox had retired (only three of the 23 outs left the infield). Jason Kubel whacked a ground-rule double to right before Bot got the last two Twins.

Manny Ramirez singled home Julio Lugo in the fifth and Jason Varitek homered in the sixth to bring Boston to with in 3-2.

The Red Sox rallied in the ninth against Joe Nathan. Brandon Moss walked and went to third on Jacoby Ellsbury's single to right (but Ellsbury was caught off first base and thrown out). Julio Lugo walked and stole second and Alex Cora was walked intentionally. Bobby Kielty and Doug Mirabelli both struck out to end the regular season.

The Yankees beat the Orioles 10-4, so Boston finished two games ahead of New York in the AL East.

***

Matt Garza (3.92, 113 ERA+) / Julian Tavarez (5.33, 90 ERA+)

Sexy Lips makes his first start since August 31. He's pitched only 5.2 innings in four September appearances.

G161: Red Sox 6, Twins 4

10:21 PM:

The Royals beat Cleveland 4-3, so the Red Sox have home field advantage for the entire post-season. They have also clinched the best record in MLB for 2007.

The front office has one hour to decide which ALDS schedule it wants to play: the 7-day Series A (which starts Thursday) or the 8-day Series B (which starts Wednesday).

***

Trailing most of the night, the Red Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win their 96th game of the season.

Three of those four runs came on a three-run home run from Mr. On Fire (J.D. Drew), who also singled and tripled. Drew thought he had walked on the pitch before -- which was at the letters -- but it was called a strike. Drew promptly clubbed the next offering over the visiting bullpen in right-center.

Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 and Coco Crisp had two hits. Wakefield was so-so (7-6-4-3-0-1, 92). Javier Lopez pitched a perfect eighth on nine pitches. Hideki Okajima allowed two singles to start the ninth, but then got Justin Morneau looking and started a 1-4-3 DP against Michael Cuddyer.

***

Carlos Silva (4.22, 105 ERA+) / Tim Wakefield (4.80, 95 ERA+)

These guys faced each other on May 4; Boston won 2-0.

G160: Red Sox 5, Twins 2

RED SOX WIN AL EAST!

Dice was superb (8-6-2-2-8, 119). The Twins' two runs came in the seventh inning. Bot needed only six pitches to slam the door.

Tizzle remained white hot, with a double (#53), single and home run (#35). Lowell singled, doubled and drove in three. Drew (double) and Yook (single) drove in one run apiece.

In Baltimore, the Orioles got three runs off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth (Jay Payton's three-run triple tying the game) and one in the bottom of the tenth off Edwar Ramirez (Melvin Mora's bases-loaded squeeze bunt) and win 10-9.

Yankees - 004 031 010 0 -  9 14 0
Orioles - 011 040 003 1 - 10 20 0

***

Kevin Slowey (4.57, 97 ERA+) / Daisuke Matsuzaka (4.48, 102 ERA+)

Let's try that again: Red Sox W + MFY L = East.

Elsewhere:

Yankees at Orioles, 7 PM
Cleveland at Royals, 8 PM
Angels at Athletics, 10 PM

G159: Twins 5, Red Sox 4

Bad news everywhere.

Boston's ninth inning rally falls short (box) and the Yankees beat the Devil Rays 3-1. Up by 2 with 3 to play.

It initially looked like the Sox would rout Bonser, as he threw 39 pitches in an eight-batter first inning, allowing three hits and two runs. But he recovered and lasted five innings (5-6-3-2-2, 97). Beckett was not sharp at all (6-10-5-0-6, 99), allowing the Twins to put their leadoff man on base in each of the first five innings. He also gave up solo home runs to Cuddyer and Jones.

Boston trailed 5-3 after six innings. Varitek hit a solo shot in the eighth and, with two outs, Hinske and Lugo both singled. Joe Nathan came in from the pen and got Pedroia to pop out to first base. In the ninth, Moss doubled to left and Ortiz walked (Tiz also singled twice, doubled and homered, with 2 RS and 2 RBI). Lowell moved the runners to second and third on a grounder to first, and Nathan walked Drew intentionally to load the bases.

Varitek fell behind 0-2, fouled off a couple of pitches and brought the count back to 2-2 before striking out on a slider down and in. Youkilis pinch-hit for Kielty and fanned on three pitches, the last one a check swing on a high fastball.

Okajima pitched the Twins eighth. He threw 14 pitches. Morneau flew to right on an 0-1 pitch. Cuddyer hit a first-pitch single to center and stole second, but Jeemer whiffed both Jones (bbffs) and Lecroy (bbfcbs).

In Tampa, the Yankees pounced on the Rays pen and broke a 1-1 tie as soon as Kazmir left the game (6-3-1-0-10, 100).

***

Boof Bonser (5.09, 87 ERA+) / Josh Beckett (3.14, 145 ERA+)

A win tonight, coupled with a Yankee loss in Tampa (Hughes/Kazmir), clinches the East.

Game thread here.

G158: Red Sox 11, Athletics 6

Manny, again in the second spot, went 3-for-3 with a walk, Pedroia scored four times with a walk, two doubles and a home run, Ortiz smacked three hits, including two doubles off the LCF wall (he has 50, the 7th Sock to do so), Lowell singled three times and drove in five, and the Red Sox cruised to victory.

Magic number is 2.

Lester struck out nine in 4.2 innings, though he also allowed seven hits, three walks and five runs. Synder, Lopez, Timlin, Gagne and Tavarez relieved.

We had the computer/GDGD outside and once the sun went down, L got WTIC on the box. I think Pedroia's sixth inning dong was when we tuned in. I brought out a lamp to plug in so I could keep scoring in the autumn chill.

***

Joe Blanton (3.84, 114 ERA+) / Jon Lester (4.45, 102 ERA+)

Early start -- 5:00 PM! At ThreadSox.

G157: Red Sox 7, Athletics 3

And Devil Rays 7, Yankees 6 (10). 3 games up with 5 to play. Magic #: 3.

During the day we had a nice hike with the pups, then returned for afternoon tea, grilling and the Red Sox. (Much more about our day here.)

We had a nice connection -- good enough for GDGD -- but when it rained after dinner, our connection disappeared. At 6:50 pm, I went to ask out hosts about it; perhaps they needed to reboot the router.

It turns out they had turned it off as the storm moved in. They have had some problems with routers being fried during storms. I said we had hoped to follow a baseball game, but it didn't sound like they would turn it back on -- thunder rumbled in the distance as we spoke and it started raining again as I walked back to the cottage.

But about 10 minutes later, the connection was back. Maybe they took pity on us! So everything was good. But then, in the bottom of the first, with a 2-0 count on Ortiz, GDGD stopped. With more thunder and lightning, our hosts probably had second thoughts. Shit.

In the meantime, we figured we'd check the AM radio dial on our box. We heard an MFY station driving home from Skydome recently, so why not. I was creeping along the band and at about 1000 or so, we heard the name Barton. ... Hey, a Barton hit a dong off Curt in the first inning. Then we learned his first name was Daric. Bingo !!! It was the Red Sox game from WTIC in Connecticut! We had to twist the box around and fiddle with the antenna a bit, and we missed a few pitches because of static, but we listened to the entire game.

And then I found the MFY game for the ninth and tenth innings. We knew New York had blown a 5-1 lead -- then we heard Navarro bang a walk-off dong to end a wonderful day.

***

Chad Gaudin (4.52, 97 ERA+) / Curt Schilling (3.97, 115 ERA+)

With a weak and possibly inconsistent internet connection out here in the wilds of Ontario, game discussion will be at ThreadSox for the two Oakland games.

Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis both took BP at Fenway yesterday, but there was no word on if they will play tonight.

The Yankees (2 GB) visit the Devil Rays (Fat Billy/Hammel) at 7 PM.