Big Papi strikes again... and the Red Sox are going to the ALCS with a 9-1 win in game three of the Division Series against the Angels.
Although Anaheim starter Jered Weaver had held the Red Sox to just one hit through the first three innings, David Ortiz led off the fourth with a home run to put Boston on the board.
Not to be outdone, Manny Ramirez followed it up with a solo shot of his own.
Even though they were less than ten outs from elimination, the Angels kept themselves in the game up until the eighth inning when things started to spiral out of control. Julio Lugo drew a lead-off walk before Scot Shields was relieved by Justin Speier, who promptly served up a double to Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia, in turn, scored on a sac fly from Kevin Youkilis. Before Speier was relieved, he gave up another double (to Mike Lowell), a single (to David Ortiz), and a walk (to Manny Ramirez) without another out. Before Darren Oliver got Pedroia (in his second at bat of the inning) to ground into a fielder's choice for the third out, three more runs had scored on three consecutive hits, bringing Boston's lead to 9-0.
Eric Gagne, who took over for setup man Hideki Okajima in the ninth, spoiled Schilling's shut-out. Maicer Izturis, who had reached on a ground-rule double (and advanced on a wild pitch) scored on a sac fly. Even Gagne couldn't botch a nine-run ninth-inning lead, though, and retired Anaheim's final two batters of the season. With a 9-1 win, the Red Sox complete their sweep of the division series.
Now it's time to turn my attention to New York where Roger the #### is taking the mound in what could be Joe Torre's final game as the Yankees manager...
Red Sox fans had a lot to be thankful for tonight. More than anything else, they've got to be grateful for nothing- as in the number of runs allowed by Josh Beckett, who continued his post-season dominance after having the past three Octobers off.
It seemed as if the Angels might be getting off to a good start when Chone Figgins led off the first inning with a single off Josh Beckett tonight. After giving up that first hit, though, Beckett went on to retire the next nineteen batters he faced in what would eventually be a four-hit, complete game shutout for Beckett and 4-0 victory for the Red Sox.
Boston did not get a leadoff hit in the bottom of the first inning, but Kevin Youkilis, batting second in the lineup, quickly put them on the board with a solo homerun. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez followed up with back-to-back singles but were left stranded.
In the third inning, Youkilis notched his second postseason hit with a double that bounced off the Monster. Ortiz didn't leave him standing out there long, though, hitting a homerun off the second pitch he saw.
Angels starter John Lackey appeared to struggle with control after that, walking Manny Ramirez and allowing him to advance on a wild pitch to Mike Lowell. The Red Sox picked up their final run of the game when Ramirez scored on a single by Lowell.
Lackey seemed to settle down after the third inning, but the damage was already done.
Beckett did not allow his second hit of the game until the seventh inning when Vladimir Guerrero singled off of him. All four Anaheim hits were singles, and Chone Figgins was the lone Angel to reach third base.
After his first twenty-win season, Beckett can add to his already impressive post-season resume. He lowered his ERA to 1.74 and recorded his third complete-game shut-out in just seven appearances.
It's only one game, but it's an awfully nice way to start things out.
You'll have to excuse this looooong post. I have still not been able to solve my internet problems while I'm away from home. Besides being disconnected from the blog world, I am also unable to watch my out-of-market games on mlb.tv. I am getting very, very antsy. I typed up these ravings Monday night after the Mavs game when I at least got my computer up and running again after it seemed to overheat and make some frightening noises before shutting itself down. I found a disc and am posting this from work now- living on the edge, I know:
I have some embarrassing confessions to make. It all started when I got worked up into a tizzy as the Spurs managed to trim what had been a twenty point lead to the Mavericks down to 76-72. I cursed all the people who proclaimed the Mavericks the certain winners of this series after their game-four win that put them up 3-1 over the defending national champions. I looked at the scoreboard and saw 3:12 on the clock with a little four next to it. I started screaming at the television but took a breath of relief when Keith Van Horn hit an amazing three point shot to put Dallas up by seven. Thirty seconds later, Nowitzki planted an incredible turnaround shot shortly before Van Horn sank another jumper from beyond the arc.
Even after Van Horn missed his next shot, and Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan brought the Spurs back within six points, the Mavericks got the ball back and had the lead with seventeen seconds remaining. As time wore out, Dirk took a shot that came up short, but I was pleased nonetheless. I reached for the phone to call a friend, as I heard Marv Albert announce the score: “Dallas 84, San Antonio 78 at the end of this incredible third quarter”. My heart sank, not for the first time today.
After my tirade against the premature celebration of a Dallas triumph, I was left looking more than a little foolish. I had just announced in a voice, weak from disbelief, that we were going to the conference finals. Suddenly, I realized that the little four I had noticed next to the time on the score graphic indicated the time on the shot clock and not the quarter of play.
I am not sure why I didn’t question if we were in the 23rd quarter moments later or why I failed to notice just how quickly the game had gone by or how low the score was. Usually I’m the one caught off guard to discover that there are less than two minutes remaining in regulation, although there is little chance of that happening in San Antonio’s A####mp;T Center. I had been busy screaming at Josh Howard (when he missed his first foul shot), hurling balled-up socks at Tony Parker (on television, during the taped interview about breaking the hearts of the Mavericks), and cursing Tim Duncan (just because… not really) along with all the people who jinxed the Mavs. In the midst of all that frustration and anxiety, logic seems to have escaped me.
When I realized that I had another twelve minutes to go before the winner would emerge, I thought I was going to be physically ill. It certainly was a painful but incredible twelve minutes, too. Dallas still led by as many as nine points in the final nine minutes of regulation, but Duncan and Manu Ginobili outscored the Mavericks 15-10 and Michael Finley hit a three-pointer to bring San Antonio within one point of his former team with 1:45 remaining (for real this time).
Duncan went to the line after Erick Dampier fouled out against him. He tied the score at 101 with his second shot after missing his first attempt. Spurs fans can blame officials, Mark Cuban’s blog, Manu Ginobili or anything else they like, and I will not argue that Duncan stepped up his game tremendously this postseason- particularly against the Mavericks, leading all scorers in five of seven games. Still, the fact remains that he missed six of his twenty-three shots from the line tonight, missing more shots than any player, other than Dirk or Ginobili, even took.
After a missed shot by Nowitzki, Ginobili hit a three-pointer to put the Spurs up 104-101 with 32 seconds to go. Ten seconds later, Dirk brought the Mavericks back within a single point, but a shooting foul was called on Ginobili and Dirk tied the score up with his free throw. Finley inbounded the ball to Ginobili after the Spurs’ timeout, and he dribbled around the arc, running down the clock. With precious few seconds remaining, Manu, who had been praised throughout the fourth quarter for his effortless ability to sink clutch baskets, went in for the layup to break the tie for San Antonio… and missed. Tim Duncan tried to get another shot at it, but Dirk was there and had other plans. Jason Terry, back after his one-game suspension, got the rebound and the game went to overtime.
By then, the anxiety truly had made me ill. To borrow a line from a classic film, “I threw up a little bit,” but that did not keep me away from the TV once the game returned. Josh Howard struck first in OT. With just under two minutes remaining, the Mavericks led the Spurs by six points. After Tim Duncan cut that back to four points, DeSagana Diop drew a foul on Bowen. He sank the second shot after missing the first and San Antonio had the ball back. After a timeout, a foul was called on Devin Harris for moving in the way as the ball was going to be put in. The Spurs got a free throw for Michael Finley to come within four points. They also regained possession of the ball, as it was not yet in play when Harris’s foul was called, and had over twenty seconds remaining.
In those final seconds, Dallas aggressively defended against San Antonio and drew a pair of fouls. Nowitzki’s “two shots”, the Mavericks went up 119-111. Finley missed the final shot of the game and Adrian Griffin, who had been pulled off the bench (literally, by his collar) by Avery Johnson as Terry shot, grabbed the rebound as time expired for the reigning NBA champions.
Secret Number Two: While I’m spilling my secrets, here’s another one for you: I like Mark Cuban. I am not saying I agree with every word the man says or that I want to hang out with the guy (but Mark, if you read this- I live about seven minutes from the AAC. Stop by after the game anytime. Bring your wife, some of the guys, the coaching staff- anybody but Humble Billy- and have a drink. I’ll make some brownies or something.
Seriously, though, Mark Cuban certainly can be obnoxious at times, but I have never- especially in this town- been so absolutely convinced of an owner’s commitment to winning. In recent years he has made some decisions which have been unpopular among some and questioned among many.
First among those would be his release of Steve Nash. Nash, along with Dirk and Michael Finley, was considered part of the core of this new generation of Dallas Mavericks. After the team had gone through a horrific period in the 1990s, Nash was part o####roup of players who, with Coach Don Nelson, brought winning back to Dallas basketball. Upon his departure from Dallas, Nash went on to the Phoenix Suns and turned a team that had been sixth place in a relatively unimpressive division the season before and turned them into the winningest team in the NBA. He was voted the MVP and helped knock his former team out of the playoffs in the second round. Nash has now been named the MVP for the second consecutive season and many still question how Mark Cuban could have let him ride off west. However, the fact remains that Nash just was not playing at that same level in his final seasons in Dallas. One of the main reasons he probably stepped up his training and turned up his game was because he had something to prove. He also plays a different role in Phoenix than he did in Dallas. Mike D’Antoni does not run the same game that Nellie did or Avery does. To assume that Nash could have been a two-time MVP in Dallas is ridiculous. Of course, the Mavericks now have the opportunity to prove that they are capable of beating Nash and the Suns to go farther than they ever did with him.
The following season (meaning this past year), another one of those star franchise players was sent packing. This time it was Michael Finley who wound up with the reigning champion Spurs. His regular season in San Antonio was less than impressive, primarily playing off the bench and not producing much of anything. He managed to do some damage against his former team, both in regular season meetings, as well as in the playoffs. Without blaming Michael Finley for the Spurs’ elimination (because it is certainly not his fault) or making Cuban or Nellie, Jr. out to be geniuses, it is once again a team without Finley that is advancing to the conference finals.
Team management / ownership was also criticized this past off-season for remaining stagnant and a few busts. I will not attempt to upside the Doug Christie deal except to say they got rid of him quickly enough, and the general wisdom of signing Erick Dampier to his large contract is certainly questionable. However, even that has not been a total bust with the Little General figuring out how to get the most from his big men.
I understand that Cuban is in business to make money. That said, he has actually lowered some ticket prices and created more promotions to make the games more accessible to fans and to families. If he can spend less money on personnel and still wind up with what could be the most successful team in franchise history and bring in more revenue without driving up ticket prices, more power to him. Since the day Mark Cuban took over this franchise, it has been a different looking team (and I’m not referring to the new uniforms or the new arena). Attitudes about the team’s potential, the fans, and, most importantly, winning changed almost overnight. I still say Cuban should buy the Rangers. Now I just need to convince him and Tom Hicks.
Secret Number Three: I missed the very beginning of the Mavericks game (about a minute and a half on the game clock) because I was wrapped up in the Sox – Yankees game at Fenway. Without internet access, my ability to watch my out-of-market games online was hobbled, but I had been excited when I saw that the game was on ESPN. With Boston retaking the lead from the Yankees, I was so caught up in the action (and so unused to this series getting started much before 9 pm local time) that I did not switch over in time for tip-off. After losing so much sleep over the late starts, I almost dropped the ball when the Texas game ended up in the early time slot (since the double-header was shared with a game in Phoenix and not Detroit or Cleveland).
I did check in on my boys in Boston periodically during commercial breaks, but I made sure that I did not miss another second of the action in San Antonio. With the Sox extending their 4-1 lead to a 7-1 and then a 9-1 lead, I did not worry too much about them.
Fortunately (for me), I missed the entire debacle when Keith Foulke nearly converted an eight-run lead into a save situation with a five-hit, four-run ninth inning. I only learned about Alex Rodriguez’s pointless two-run homer when I flipped back and found Baseball Tonight on after the game.
Secret Number Four: I almost completely missed the Rangers coming from down 2-0 to win 3-2 against Anaheim, with Coco getting the hold and Akinori Otsuka picking up the save. It looked like an exciting game, but I’m not sorry I missed it. If they do it again in October, I promise I won’t miss it.
Secret Number Five: I have learned something new about myself this past week. I already knew that like the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics (okay, like is putting it mildly). If I watched hockey, I would probably like the Boston Bruins. I enjoyed learning about the Boston Tea Party when I was in school. I like to bake and eat Boston cream pie. Although I only saw it a few times, I kind of liked the show Boston Public. None of that is news to me or anybody, but I have discovered that I do not like Boston Terriers. I consider myself an animal lover. I’m even a vegetarian, but my friends’ Boston Terriers that I am currently watching (as well as their lousy internet service or wireless router) are driving me absolutely crazy.
Okay, well, enough for now. I'm sure I'll have more to say later.
Secret Number Six (addendum): Due to circumstances beyond my control, I also missed last night's Pistons - Heat conference finals game as well as any baseball action. I couldn't even watch an archived game before bed. I almost cried a little.
Secret Number Seven: I have no desire for boobs...
For the third time this season, the Rangers have done it. They have avoided the sweep. In each of their three series thus far, the Rangers have hovered dangerously near the brink of dropping the series (including a four-game set against the Detroit Tigers). If they continue to take a single game per series, they can look forward to a record somewhere between .250 and .333. Of course, the Rangers ought to be able to break the cycle, if not on their current road trip through the AL West than maybe when the D-Rays come to town next weekend.
Tonight also marked the first win by a Rangers pitcher not named Vicente. John Koronka picked up the W for Texas tonight, giving up two runs, six hits, and a walk in six innings. Poor pitching is not solely to blame for the 3 – 7 start to the season. With a couple of exceptions, Texas’s outings, even in the losses, have been decent: not exceptional but not too terrible, either. Texas’s opponents have averaged just over five runs per game. While not good, that should hardly be insurmountable for such a high-powered lineup.
The bigger problem seems to be an inconsistent offence. Over the ten games played thus far, the Rangers’ bats have averaged 4.4 runs per game. That figure is not great, particularly by Texas standards, particularly given that seven of these ten were played in Arlington. In their home park, the Rangers have only managed an average of 3.57 runs a night. Obviously four runs a game will not win you too many games if your pitchers give up five.
Rather than pitching being the difference-maker, however, it seems to be the hitting. In their three victories, the Rangers have scored nearly nine runs a game. In their losses, however, they can barely scrape together two and a half. The explanation on Opening Day, as to how Texas was outmatched was because they were up against an ace like Curt Schilling. That is certainly a plausible explanation, but it’s harder to #### when one of the highest-scoring teams in the league gets shut out 7 – 0 by a rookie in his first major league start. Yes, the pitching leaves something to be desired, but things might not be so dire if they bats found their groove.
That said, I don’t want to be too negative with the Rangers right now. They did get a big win (in terms of score if not significance). Maybe this day of rest will do them some good heading into the weekend series against Oakland. Maybe they will take two out of three against the A’s. There is a lot of baseball left to play, and it can (probably) only get better from here.
It’s starting to feel like the Rangers are trying to lose. I know that they aren’t. Even the Marlins aren’t actively trying to lose on a nightly basis. Still, the Rangers have fallen to 2 - 7 (.222) after blowing a substantial lead in Anaheim tonight. Needless to say, I am sorely disappointed that I stayed up late to watch them tank again. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have bothered if they’d been trailing from early on (like last night). However, they tricked me into thinking they could win when they took a 4 – 1 lead going into the seventh-inning stretch.
Hank Blalock had a good night, going 2 – 3 with a pair of homers, including a two-run shot in the second that gave Texas an early lead. In fact, before Rod Barajas scored on a Michael Young sac fly in the seventh, Blalock was responsible for all of the Rangers’ runs.
Although I had not been optimistic about Rick Bauer getting the start for Texas, particularly in light of his loss to Detroit on Friday, he had a decent outing. In five innings and a third, Bauer gave up just five hits and one run. He was pulled in the sixth, after giving up a one-out single to Vladimir Guerrero. Brian Shouse relieved Bauer, briefly, striking out Garret Anderson before Joaquin Benoit was brought on for Juan Rivera. The Rangers protected their lead in the sixth, but things got ugly for them pretty quickly after Michael Young tacked on what should have been an insurance run.
The Angels led off in the seventh with a pair of doubles off of Benoit. Antonio Alfonseca got one out before Adam Kennedy singled and Casey Kotchman scored on a Chone Figgins sacrifice. In the eighth, Akinori Otsuka got them through the eighth, escaping a Guerrero (who went 4-4) hit, with a spectacular double play. Anderson flied out to Adrian Brown in right field who threw to Phil Nevin (playing first for an ailing Mark Teixeira who DH’ed with a sore finger) to get Guerrero out.
The Rangers took a fragile one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth when Francisco Cordero came on for his second save opportunity of the year. The optimist in me wanted to believe Coco would come through, but it was way too close for comfort. Lead-off man Darin Erstad reached after being hit by a pitch, and then I was two on, none out after a Kotchman single. Cordero go a big out when he caught a bunt off Jeff Mathis, but then Adam Kennedy knocked in a double. They might have been able to hold it at a tie and force extra innings if not for an error by D’Angelo Jimenez who missed the cutoff throw from Adrian Brown. Coco picked up the blown save, and the Rangers picked up loss number seven on the season.
The Rangers are making me regret my decision to stay up late for their west coast game against Anaheim. Fortunately for me (but not them), the Mavericks game against the Clippers was the real reason I decided to keep watch by my radio(s).
Texas got off to a promising enough start, with Phil Nevin going deep on John Lackey in the first inning to put a 2 – 0 lead to start the game. That lead was short-lived, however, as Garret Anderson batted Chone Figgins in to cut that narrow lead in half. Texas’s starter Kameron Loe could probably be forgiven for getting off on the wrong foot. His first inning included two hits, a wild pitch, and a throwing error on what should have been the third out, but he did only allow one run.
However, things began to spin out of control again in the next inning. Loe gave up a walk and four hits, including a triple and a ground-rule double. Another three runs and the Rangers were quickly down 4 – 2. The Angels snuck in an additional insurance run in the third when Darin Erstad scored on Adam Kennedy’s single down the center, but it proved unnecessary. After the first inning, Texas’s bats were almost silenced. Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock were the only Rangers to get past first base for the rest of the game, Teixeira on a wild pitch in the fourth and Blalock on a double in the ninth.
The Rangers now appear poised (but not fated) to begin another losing streak, this time in the Pacific Time Zone.
I know it is still in the rumor stage, but I am kind of glad that Al Michaels may end up pairing up with John Madden again after opting out of his Monday Night Football deal with ESPN. I won’t pretend to be super-psyched about NBC’s Sunday Night games, but they seem to have the edge on better games with their scheduling deal.
I’m also no member of the John Madden fan club, but I have enjoyed the pairing of Madden and Michaels for the last few years. I do like Cris Collinsworth, so I am slightly saddened that this potential deal could leave him out in the cold, but such is life in television.
Mostly, I like the possibility that my NFL watching might be fully condensed into one day some weeks. That is completely selfish of me; I don’t have cable and only recently got a TV (the delay was due to financial and not ideological considerations), so I have gotten into the routine of schlepping my sorry rear end (and laptop) over thirty miles west to watch the big games on my dad’s HDTV.
Monday nights in the fall have had a special place in my heart for almost as long as I can remember (I have clear memories dating back to the age of 8), and I have celebrated them in many different ways at home, in college, with friends, even at a few sports bars. However, if ESPN’s Monday Nights do not live up to expectations (or if their games are less than captivating), I may not be too sorry to get that day back.
On Mavericks and Mark Cuban
I will not get too much into Zen Master Phil Jackson’s remarks about Mark Cuban after last night’s game and whether he is whiny or crazy or a skillful media player. Mostly, I just don’t care what Phil Jackson thinks about the Mavericks, their coach, their owner, or their arena. Nor do I care if Mark Cuban really owns Phil Jackson.
If you ask me, though, I wish more owners were like Mark Cuban in the NBA and- more importantly- in the NFL, for the love of all things holy. Perhaps if officials were the subject of more scrutiny (I don’t just mean complaining, although Cuban has been known to do that, but actual analysis of the calls that were made or should have been made) across the board, then maybe we would see better officiating.
I know that refs are only human, and I’m sure that most- if not all- of them try really hard. However, there are still lots of mistakes that get made. Will there always be some mistakes? Yeah, probably, but does that mean we shouldn’t look for ways to improve accuracy? That would be like if a coach had a guy shooting 45%. Sure, it’s good, but would the coach ever say: well, the man is only human and will never make 100% of his shots, so he doesn’t need to practice anymore. The officials and the leagues need to consider what they can do to improve the fairness and the accuracy of their work. Is Mark Cuban a bully or a crybaby for bringing this to their attention? Call him one if you want to- I certainly don’t care, and I doubt it really bothers him, either.
On the Anaheim Angels of California
I don’t have much in the way of sympathy for the city of Anaheim. They have Disneyland, for crying out loud. Did they really lose a significant of tourism revenue because the Angels took their name off their jerseys? I also have no knowledge of contract law and whether or not the team violated their contract with the city.
What I do know is this: their new name is stupid and they are not in or particularly near Los Angeles. Do they need to call themselves the Los Angeles Angels to market themselves in the city? I’m pretty sure they don’t. I seem to recall a lame series of “A-Team” billboards in L.A. before this ridiculous name change.
They can print Los Angeles on whatever they like, but that doesn’t change the location of their stadium with its wacky mountain in center field. People who actually live and work in Los Angeles know where Anaheim is and realize that they’ll need to make that trek down the Santa Ana Freeway.
The funny thing, too, is that Angels ownership made this decision when Orange County has seen an explosion in terms of its place in the popular imagination nationwide. First there was a fairly popular movie bearing its name in 2002 that was followed not much later by the even more successful television show, The O.C. I admit that I am no expert in marketing, but it hardly seems necessary to defect to Los Angeles.
On Johnny Damon and His Farewell “Letter” to Boston
As my beloved grandmother (God rest her soul) would say, “#### It To You" href="http://members.tripod.com/~elsie_over_the_moon/youtoo.html">#### it to you.”
"Basketball, football, baseball- if it has balls, I'm all over it. Puck hockey."
I am a Red Sox fanatic and otherwise sports-obsess ed nut. Favorite teams include: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers; Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots; Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
