But don’t count on it. According to this Weather.com forecast, it looks like there’s a better-than-even chance that tomorrow night’s Red Sox-Indians game will be played. Godspeed, Tim Wakefield.
It’s not over. But man.
Tag: Red Sox
In Terry we trust
Can Josh Beckett win Games 4 and 7? If so, then the Sox only have to win one other game. We’re going to have to trust Terry Francona on this. If he says Beckett can’t go on three days’ rest, then he can’t go.
If Beckett can go Tuesday, then I’d have Diasuke on a short leash tomorrow. If he gets in trouble early, bring in Wakefield. And if he doesn’t have it, hello Julian Tavarez. What the heck. Tavarez has definitely had his moments.*
It’s pretty amazing. The team with the best starting pitching in the league is down to one consistently reliable starter — although I expect Schilling will be heard from before this is over. Last night wasn’t a fluke, but it wasn’t what Schilling is capable of, either.
How depressing was it to have the bullpen set up perfectly through 10 innings only to have to bring in Gagné in the 11th?
*Um, I guess he’s not going to have any of those moments this week. He’s not on the playoff roster. Whoops.
Give it your worst, George
Go ahead, George. Be stupid. Fire Joe Torre — please. The great Yankees manager is now 67 years old, so he probably would like to escape the day-to-day grind. But he’d make a terrific special assistant to Theo Epstein, wouldn’t he?
Torre may have lost a couple of feet off his fastball, but having to rely on Alex Rodriguez in clutch situations can make any manager look bad. The fact is that Torre compiled the best second half of his managing career without a single consistently reliable starting pitcher. Wang for Cy Young? Uh, I don’t think so.
As for Cleveland, I think we all know this isn’t going to be like playing the Angels, who were pretty much a Triple A team by the time the playoffs began, and who continued losing players right through the sweep.
From a Red Sox fan’s point of view, the best thing to like about the Indians is the prospect of Joe Borowski trying to nail down a close game in the ninth. The man’s got 45 saves, but he’s hittable, and he showed it again last night.
Wow
Think they’re going to keep walking Ortiz? If Manny’s game-winner is the start of a hot streak, will it matter?
And consider this: J.D. Drew is having a better series than Alex Rodriguez.
Take your Sox off
Let’s see if I’ve got this right. We can watch every minute of all 162 regular-season games, not to mention spring training. But once the playoffs hit, we can’t see Game 2 of the Red Sox-Angels series until the extra-inning contest between the Yankees and Cleveland is over. Did no one at TBS anticipate this might happen? Unbelievable.
Put your Sox back on. Whoops. No sooner did I post this than I realized the Sox are on TNT. So never mind.
The sinking Sox?
I refused to panic after last night’s game. Four and a half up with a couple of weeks to go seemed like enough. But right now the Sox are losing and the Yankees are winning — again. Three and a half? Good grief.
More alleged news
Would the New York Times Co. please, please, please sell its 17 percent stake in the Red Sox? Then, when the Boston Globe publishes a press release like this on the front of the business section, we can attribute it to simple bad news judgment rather than more nefarious motives. Good grief.
Oh, yeah, and this one too — although I suppose it actually qualifies as news.
Update: Boston Daily beat me to it.
Shaughnessy’s odd premise
No doubt plenty of jerks get in Terry Francona’s face. But the central premise of Boston Globe reporter/columnist Dan Shaughnessy’s profile of the Red Sox manager today strikes me as odd. Shaughnessy writes:
Despite getting swept in New York last week, the Sox have the best record in the major leagues and a six-game lead in the American League East. They are likely going to the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. They even won a World Series three years ago, and yet Francona — the fourth-year manager who delivered Boston’s first baseball championship in 86 years in 2004 — has an ever-expanding legion of critics. He enjoys none of the public reverence and worship that washes over Bill Belichick in Foxborough.
Really? Maybe my circle is too small, but among people I talk baseball with, Francona is seen as the Sox’ best manager in our lifetime. The only worry I hear is that Tito’s health problems may force him to retire early.
Joe Morgan, also a good manager, was more entertaining, and Dick Williams will be forever revered because of 1967. But Francona’s the man.
A tip from the Cardinals
This is not going to be a good day for Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. The Herald picks up an item from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on why Joel Piñeiro is doing so much better with the Cardinals than he did with the Red Sox. Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan says he’s got the answer.
Here’s an excerpt from the Post-Dispatch story, published Monday:
“You don’t have the kind of stuff like he has and get hit like he did,” Duncan said. “You start looking for why. Why is he getting hit? … It was so obvious.”
It took less than Pineiro’s first start as a Cardinal for Duncan to pinpoint what he believes was a big part of Pineiro’s problems: He was tipping his pitches. The righthander and his coach say an adjustment to his delivery erased the flaw that Duncan believes allowed “people to make it difficult on him.”
Pineiro has pitched 14 innings since, allowing two earned runs and no walks, and takes a winning streak into today’s scheduled start against the Cubs.
OK, so Piñeiro didn’t pitch that great on Monday. But this is intriguing, no?
Farrell tells the Herald that Duncan is wrong, but Jason Varitek doesn’t exactly give him a vote of confidence, saying, “We usually have guys who are watching the game on the side who usually pick up on that stuff pretty well.” Yeah, usually.
Piñeiro cost the Sox $4 million, and they got next to nothing when they dealt him to the Cards.
Not to whine. The Sox are up six games today, they’ve got the best record in baseball, Farrell must have something to do with the great pitching, etc., etc., etc. But it sounds like Farrell may not have done a good job of protecting this particular investment. Unless Duncan is blowing smoke.
My guess is that Theo is going to be talking to Farrell. Maybe he already has.
How’s that trade working out? (XV)
Wily Mo Peña, who’s off to a fast start with the Nationals, pays tribute to the Red Sox and their fans, according to a statement that appears in today’s Herald:
To my sisters, brothers and fans of the Red Sox Nation. I want to take a moment to thank you and the entire Red Sox organization for your support during my time in Boston. Your constant passion for baseball and your beloved Red Sox is unmatched and has touched me deeply. I will always consider you with a special place in my heart.
The Red Sox organization deserves only the best and the Red Sox Nation is just that. Peace in life, Wily Modesto Peña.
No regrets over this trade, no matter how well he does in Washington. The only way Peña can develop into a serviceable major-league player is to play every day, out of the spotlight, and that wasn’t going to happen here. Give him this: If you sent up Wily Mo to pinch-hit with the game on the line, you can be sure he’d at least swing at something — unlike, say, J.D. Drew.
Meanwhile, Bronson Arroyo is now 6-13, with a 4.58 ERA. This one ends with a whimper.