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September 17, 2007
PROMISE OF OCTOBER: If the weekend was a glimpse of what awaits in a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS matchup next month, bring it on. Both teams have work to do before that can happen, of course -- foremost among them is simply making the playoffs, though the Sox are all but a lock and the Yanks are in charge of their own destiny -- but if the passion and intensity and drama and excitement of the last three days are what awaits, let's hope for both of them to make it. The series ended in the most thrilling way possible: A Mariano Rivera-David Ortiz showdown with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees clinging to a 4-3 lead. Steven Krasner examines the at-bat pitch-by-pitch in his online-only version of Inside The Game, a battle Rivera won by inducing a pop to short center on a 2-and-2 pitch, clinching New York's victory. Still, as Joe McDonald reports in his online-only game recap, the Red Sox came away confident they'll hold onto their 4 1/2-game lead over the final two weeks. One of the reasons for that confidence: Curt Schilling's performance in his mano-a-mano showdown with Roger Clemens, recounted by Krasner in the newspaper version of Inside The Game. Schilling (above, Journal photo by Glenn Osmundson) wound up on the losing end, thanks to a three-run homer by Derek Jeter with two outs in the top of the eighth (New York Daily News); Rivera made it interesting at the end (New York Daily News) but the Yanks still managed to come out on top even though Joba Chamberlain allowed the first run of his major-league career (New York Post). And Jeter was the reason, coming through as he's done so many times in his career. (New York Post)
FAILING THE LESSON: In his fascinating account of the game and the series, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark relates Schilling's frustration at the Jeter homer, calling it part of his transformation into a non-power pitcher: ''That's not something I can do anymore. I can't overthrow the ball late in the game . . . This is an incredibly painful way to have to learn a lesson you've already learned and you already know."
ATTENTION, FALL-BALL TEAMS: Manny Ramirez wants to go somewhere to get some at-bats before returning to the Red Sox lineup, but, with the minor-league seasons over and the Instructional League not yet having begun, Terry Francona explained to him there's nowhere to go. Krasner tells the story in the newspaper version of the Red Sox journal, which also relates that the Sox plan to give Daisuke Matsuzaka some rest as they line up their postseason pitching rotation.
HURTING: As Ramirez gets ready to return, the Sox could be without Kevin Youkilis for a while. In his postgame, online-only Red Sox Journal, Krasner reports Youkilis has no feeling in his right thumb after being hit by Chien-Ming Wang pitch Saturday and doesn't know when he'll be able to play.
FASHION REPORT: The online-only Red Sox Journal also lists the strange outfits rookies were forced to wear in the team's yearly hazing ritual. Matsuzaka and his interpreter must have looked particularly fetching in their Teletubby garb.
THE ONE GOOD THING ABOUT LATE GAMES . . . is that you get interesting stories for early editions of the newspaper in lieu of game accounts. McDonald had one today, talking to Red Sox players about how important Jason Varitek is to the team no matter what he's hitting.
WHERE WAS YOUR HEAD, THEN? Jonathan Papelbon says his head ''wasn't really in the game" Friday night (New York Daily News) when he and Hideki Okajima combined to allow six runs in the eighth inning, turning a 7-2 Boston lead into an 8-7 New York victory. (projo.com) Papelbon was particularly flighty this weekend, as he also lost his cell phone; luckily for him, Bill Madden of the Daily News found it.
GET 'EM ALL: Since we've touched on the two Yankee wins in the series, let's also link to Sean McAdam's account of Josh Beckett's overpowering performance in Boston's triumph on Saturday. (projo.com)
K-ROD REVISITED: Alex Speier writes that Clay Buchholz 2007 could be a repeat of Francisco Rodriguez 2002. (Boston Herald)
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Seth Mnookin has taken up the cause of J.D. Drew, wondering why Drew could be still getting booed after going 3-for-8 with two walks in the first two games of the series, including 2-for-4 with a walk with runners in scoring position and two outs.
EARTH TO BERNIE . . . Well, apparently no messages are getting through because Bernie Williams still thinks he can play. (New York Daily News)
A.L. RACES: The Tigers are still in hailing distance of the Yankees in the wild-card race after beating the Twins (Detroit News) . . . The Angels lost to the White Sox (Riverside Press-Enterprise) and the Indians lost to the Royals (Cleveland Plain-Dealer), both missing a chance to gain ground on the Red Sox in the battle for the A.L.'s best record.
N.L. RACES: The Cubs beat the Cardinals (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . The Phillies beat the Mets (Philadelphia Inquirer) . . . The Brewers beat the Reds (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . .And the Padres beat the Giants (San Diego Union-Tribune).
To see how all those games affected the races, check out the divisional standings and wild-card standings. (Projo Stats)
DON'T LET GEORGE MITCHELL HEAR THIS: We think Brian Giles was kidding when he listed the reasons for his lack of power at home. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
NOT THERE YET: Jim Thome became the 23rd player in major league history to hit 500 home runs (Chicago Sun-Times), but ESPN.com's Rob Neyer thinks Thome needs to hit another 100 home runs before he can be considered a Hall of Famer. (espn.com)
QUICKLY: Orioles reliever Danys Baez has a partial tear in his right elbow and may miss the entire 2008 season. (Baltimore Sun)
AND FINALLY . . . Shelley Duncan thought it was good-natured fun. But a lot of people didn't think his autograph to a 10-year-old Red Sox fan was all that funny. (Both stories Boston Herald)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:58 AM | Permalink
