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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Postseason permutations »
September 25, 2007
THE TASK AT HAND: Sean McAdam examines five questions facing the Red Sox at the dawn of the season's final week. The unanswered, and unanswerable, question is what the Sox will do if faced with pulling out the stops to win the division. Turns out that many members of the current Boston organization were faced with that same decision in 1996 while with the Padres and they elected then to go for the title. (Boston Globe) Coincidentally or not, they got swept by the Cardinals in the first round. (baseball-reference.com) (Don't be fooled by the fact the Cardinals had the first two home games; back then baseball played a 2-3 schedule in the division series, with the team that had home-field advantage hosting the final three.) Of course, the Padres' N.L. West competitors, the Dodgers -- who pulled Ramon Martinez after one inning of the winner-take-the-West season finale in order to get themselves ready for the playoffs -- also got swept. So take from all that what you will.
FROM THE SOURCE: The 'new' Curt Schilling (above, AP Photo) takes the mound tonight in what will probably be his final start before the postseason, his transformation from power to finesse almost completed. The Boston Globe's Gordon Edes has a profile of Schilling, who also took to 38pitches.com last weekend to congratulate himself and his teammates for making the postseason, gently chide those who thought they wouldn't make it (though I don't know of anyone who felt they wouldn't qualify for the postseason at the least), and give his opinion on postseason awards. The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley says pay attention, because October is Schilling's time of year.
OVERLOOKED: No one's paying much attention to the fact that Terry Francona is the first manager in Red Sox history to get his team to the postseason three times, but his players are. (Boston Herald)
DEJA VU: Fred Lynn says Jacoby Ellsbury's late-season success, similar to the success he enjoyed as a September callup in 1974, may make it easier for him next year. (Boston Herald) In Lynn's case, he went on to become the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1975.
STIFLING: The passion of Red Sox Nation reminds Tim Wakefield of Beatlemania . . . Wakefield being about the only member of the Sox who's actually old enough to remember Beatlemania. (Boston Globe) And, say the players, that's both a good and a bad thing.
YOU BEAT US TO IT: Geez, Tao, at least wait until we actually say thank you! (taoofstieb.blogspot.com)
Oh, by the way: Thanks.
FOR WHAT? For making the road to the A.L. East crown a little easier. The Blue Jays beat the Yankees in a makeup game yesterday at Yankee Stadium (New York Daily News), increasing the Sox' lead over the Yanks to two games with six to play. Since a tie does Boston no good -- by virtue of having won the season series, the Yankees would win the East if the teams finished tied for first -- the Red Sox need to beat out New York for the division title. The magic number now sits at five as we begin the final week of the regular season.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE: The Daily News' Bill Madden notes that being two games back instead of just one -- which is what the deficit would have been had the Yanks won yesterday -- seems amazingly different, which is why baseball is so unpredictable. Even Andy Pettitte, yesterday's losing pitcher, agrees. (New York Daily News)
EXPLAIN IT TO ME LIKE I'M FOUR YEARS OLD: I don't know when this yearly rookie hazing ritual took root in baseball. (New York Post) And I don't know why everyone thinks it's so funny.
PLAYING BY THE RULES: Both the Post's Joel Sherman and the Daily News' Mike Lupica say the Joba Rules have worked well for the Yankees.
HELLO? ANYBODY HOME? MSN.ca's John Brittain can't figure out why Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is riding ace Roy Halladay so hard in the waning days of a lost season.
A.L. RACES: The Angels lost ground in their bid to finish with the A.L.'s best record by losing to the Rangers. (Los Angeles Daily News) That race now stands Indians/Red Sox/Angels . . . It's almost over for the Tigers in the wild-card race as they lost to the Twins. (Detroit News) They'll be eliminated with their next loss, or the next Yankee win.
N.L. RACES: The Brewers beat the Cardinals (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Mets lost to the Nationals (New York Daily News) . . . The Padres lost to 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)
CRIPPLING BLOWS: The Padres are going to have to make their final playoff push without two of their starting outfielders. Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley both went down with injuries Sunday (San Diego Union-Tribune), and while Cameron may be able to make it back if San Diego gets into the playoffs, Bradley is lost for the season. I'm sure you've all seen and heard the bizarre -- and unbelievable -- manner in which Bradley got hurt; ESPN's Jayson Stark says a player so important to his team can't afford to lose control the way Bradley did at such a crucial point of the year. But SI.com's Jon Heyman relates what Padres players said set Bradley off: Comments from umpire Mike Winters that, if true, demand disciplinary action from MLB. Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who heard the whole thing, may be a key witness in the MLB investigation. (Denver Post)
ANOTHER LOSS: The Brewers will have to try and catch the Cubs in the N.L. Central without starting catcher Johnny Estrada. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
'TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS': Jeff Kent's broadside at the Dodgers' younger players the other days was expounded on by old friend Derek Lowe, who says the L.A. clubhouse has almost split into 'two different teams' because of ''young players thinking they are bulletproof . . . walking around believing they don't have to listen to anybody.'' (Los Angeles Times) In that context, the Dodgers' disintegration in the N.L. West and wild-card races becomes a little easier to understand.
WILL HE PART OF THE SOLUTION? Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone tells USA Today's Hal Bodley that the team's pitching was pretty good until injuries hit, proving the organization needs more pitching depth to compete in the A.L. East. Whether or not Mazzone is there to help build the depth is an open question; he was a hire (and best friend) of deposed manager Sam Perlozzo, and new baseball operations chief Andy MacPhail may want to bring in a new staff.
GOING FOR IT: The Braves' Chipper Jones would like to win his first batting title. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) The Tigers' Magglio Ordonez has the lead in the A.L. race, but he's hurting. (Detroit Free Press)
WHERE TO GO, WHERE TO GO . . . SI.com's Jon Heyman handicaps potential 2008 landing spots for Barry Bonds.
RIGHT HERE!: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Dave O'Brien thinks the Braves should bring back Tom Glavine.
QUICKLY: Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz has left the team over what sources say is a salary dispute (Palm Beach Post) . . . Giants third baseman Pedro Feliz is a free agent at the end of the season and is looking for a multiyear deal (San Francisco Chronicle). If the Alex Rodriguez domino falls it could be a wild winter of third-base musical chairs in the majors, and Feliz may benefit; he could get what he's looking for from one of the teams which loses out in the bidding for high-profile stars like A-Rod and Mike Lowell . . . The Marlins are expected to see who's interested in Dontrelle Willis (Palm Beach Post) . . . The Twins' Rondell White is all but certain to retire (St. Paul Pioneer Press) . . . Phillies GM Pat Gillick says says he's retiring at the end of next year. (Philadelphia Daily News)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
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