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IN-GAME UPDATE: Sox go back-to-back for fifth time in playoff history

BOSTON -- The back-to-back home runs by Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell in the fifth inning Saturday night marked the fifth time the Red Sox had accomplished the feat in the postseason in franchise history.

The others . . .

OCTOBER 11, 1967 -- Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli at Fenway Park in Game Six of the World Series against the Cardinals.

OCTOBER 27, 1986 -- Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman at Shea Stadium in Game Seven of the World Series against the Mets.

OCTOBER 7, 2005 -- David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez at Fenway Park in Game Three of the ALDS against the White Sox.

OCTOBER 7, 2007 -- Ortiz and Ramirez at Angel Stadium in Game Three of the ALDS against the Angels.

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:56 PM | Permalink

IN-GAME UPDATE: Ramirez breaks record for postseason home runs

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Manny Ramirez trots around the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez set the major-league record for postseason home runs with his 23rd career homer in the fifth inning Saturday night, breaking his tie at 22 with ex-Yankee center fielder Bernie Williams.

The home run tied the game at 5-5. Mike Lowell homered one batter later to give the Red Sox a 6-5 lead.

The crowd of Fenway Park, told of the record between the fifth and sixth inning, gave Ramirez a rousing standing ovation.

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:52 PM | Permalink

Photo: Pitchers struggling

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Indians pitching coach Carl Willis talks to starter Fausto Carmona in the bottom of the third inning, when the Red Sox scored three runs. Curt Schilling has surrendered two home runs, and Cleveland leads the game, 5-3, in the fifth.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:10 PM | Permalink

IN-GAME NOTES: Ramirez and Ortiz set records

BOSTON -- Two records were set by members of the Red Sox tonight:

-- David Ortiz walked in the first and had an infield hit in the third, extending his streak of consecutive times on base to 10. That ties the major-league postseason record for consecutive times reaching base, set by Billy Hatcher in 1990.

-- Manny Ramirez' three bases-loaded walks are the most ever in the baseball postseason. No player ever had more than one in a postseason series prior to Ramirez.

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:09 PM | Permalink

Photo: Scoreboard won't be empty anymore

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Manny Ramirez plays Victor Martinez's first-inning RBI double off the Green Monster tonight at Fenway. The hit scored Grady Sizemore from third.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:13 PM | Permalink

NEWS: Farrell to be targeted by Pirates?

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- While focused on their own post-season, the Red Sox face the possibility that they could lose pitching coach John Farrell soon after their season is finished.

Farrell, who replaced pitching coach Dave Wallace last winter and is a longtime friend of manager Terry Francona, may be targeted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a managerial candidate. Reports from Pittsburgh indicate the Pirates are interested in Farrell.

The Pirates last month hired Neal Huntington as their new general manager and last week, Huntington dismissed manager Jim Tracy, who had managed the Pirates to losing records in each of first two seasons on the job.

Huntington, 37, spent 10 years with the Indians before being hired last month as Pirates' GM, working in player evaluation and scouting. While there, he developed a close relationship with Farrell, who left Cleveland to come to Boston.

The Pirates have weathered 15 consecutive losing seasons and are said to be looking for a fresh face as their next manager. Farrell, 45, who is known for his exhaustive preparation, also has a background in player development, having served in that capacity with the Indians for five seasons.

Farrell's ability to evaluate young talent is precisely what the Pirates are searching for.

He has no professional managerial experience, but was the assistant coach for Oklahoma State for five seasons.

Typically, teams wait for teams to complete their post-season play before inqueiing about permission to interview staff members, though should the Sox wrap up the ALCS this week, Farrell could have time to interview with the Pirates before the World Series begins next week.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 8:35 PM | Permalink

Photo: Schilling reflects

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Curt Schilling in the dugout before the start of tonight's game.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:34 PM | Permalink

Photo: Lonborg throws out first pitch

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
The former Red Sox pitcher gets back to a familiar spot: the mound at Fenway Park, before tonight's game.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:26 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Gagne in or out?

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Julian Tavarez taps Eric Gagne on the head after Gagne escaped the ninth inning of Game 1.

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Red Sox reliever Eric Gagne struggled again, only this time it wasn't the regular season. The right-hander, who Boston acquired at the trade deadline to shore up the bullpen, entered the ninth inning of Game One of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians Friday night and struggled.

With the Red Sox leading 10-3, Gagne did strikeout out three and didn't allow a run, but he did load the bases on two hits and a walk.

“At times (Friday) night, he threw some great off-speed pitches,” said Terry Francona. “It was obvious because he got the swings and misses. Then at times, it was the guy we’ve seen, losing his balance on the follow through and the fastball up. So, it’s a very difficult fine line right now. We’re in the postseason and it is a little tough. The one saving grace for me is the way he handles it. He’s trying his [butt] off. It’s just not as clean as we would like it to be.”

When he first arrived in Boston, he struggled a bit and started hearing the boo-birds from the fans at Fenway Park. Then he had the tender-arm issues.

“He never really got on a roll,” said Francona. “Besides the last eight days [of the regular season] he had four or five pretty good outings. It’s just the consistency of his outings and the timing of his outings probably aren’t helping, but we’ll keep at it. Hopefully we’ll have some time to figure this out.”

Fox broadcaster and former major-leaguer Tim McCarver said during Friday’s broadcast that he thought Gagne’s arm was bothering him because the right-hander kept stretching his arm. But, as Francona said Saturday, Gagne has always done that. It’s part of his rhythm on the mound.

Gagne will be a free agent at the end of this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Sox handle the reliever for the rest of the postseason and beyond.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:18 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Keep the line moving

By STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- In general, the Boston Red Sox' offensive philosophy isn't terribly complicated.

It's called "Keep the Line Moving," and it features patient hitters who are selfless enough to take pitches and work walks, putting runners on base for the next link in the batting-order chain. It's a mantra that preaches strike-zone discipline and confidence in the next guy to get the job done when strikes finally are thrown.

During Friday night's 10-3 bashing of the Indians in Game One of the ALCS, the Sox' specific approach in attacking Cleveland Indians' starter C.C. Sabathia was in line with Boston's season-long offensive approach. And it was apparent from the very first batter of the game Friday night's Game One of the ALCS at Fenway Park.

Red Sox leadoff hitter Dustin Pedroia bashed a line drive up the middle, a scalded liner that would have physically hurt the Indians left-hander if he hadn't been able to get his glove up in time, making the self-defense catch.

By the time Sabathia got out of the first, though, Boston had a run and had pulled even at 1-1.

And there was a pattern to the Sox' offense.

Kevin Youkilis -- single up the middle. David Ortiz -- single up the middle. Manny Ramirez -- RBI single up the middle. Even Mike Lowell hit the ball up the middle, even if his grounder to second was turned into an inning-ending double play.

But the Sox kept the pressure on Sabathia by either taking tough pitches, working walks, or going to the opposite field for hits. In the decisive four-run third-inning rally, for instance, Julio Lugo began the damage with an opposite-field ground-rule double to right and, after a couple of walks and a hit batsman, Lowell delivered a pair of runs with another opposite-field ground-rule double to right.

And when Bobby Kielty, batting right-handed, drove a pitch to right-center for a two-run single with one out in the fifth, Sabathia was hooked, trailing by 7-1.

''We were just trying to put together good at-bats,'' said Pedroia. ''Everyody was being real patient. We weren't trying to do too much. We were just trying to take what he was giving us. And if he didn't give you anything to hit, just take your base (on a walk). Our lineup from 1-9 had a good approach.''

Kielty, who was 9-for-29 (.310) against Sabathia in his career, with most of those at-bats coming when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins, was impressed with his teammates.

"It seemed like everyone was being really patient," said Kielty. "We made him throw a lot of pitches where he didn't want to. He likes to work the corners, but we were able to lay off some of those pitches and make him throw more pitches down the middle than he wanted.

"He's successful when he can get all three pitches over the plate, but we able to lay off some of those pitches and make him go back to his fastball. And when we got some, we got some hits off those fastballs," said Kielty.

The Sox continued to go the other way and up the middle, and they racked up bases on balls even after Sabathia had been driven from the game.

In the sixth, for instance, Pedroia and Youkilis opened the inning with opposite-field singles and then, after walks to David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez pushed home one run, Lowell's sacrifice fly to center cashed in another run, boosting Boston's advantage to 10-2.

It was almost a perfect game for the Red Sox in terms of their "Keep the Line Moving" philosophy, a strategy that wears out the opposing pitcher while often producing runs in bunches. And the leaders of the pack in that regard are David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the heart of Boston's order.

Ortiz and Ramirez each got on base five times in as many plate appearances -- 5 walks, 4 hits, one hit batsman. And Ramirez turned in two plate appearances that were the epitome of the "Keep the Line Moving" strategy. Twice he fell behind in the count at 0 and 2 with the bases loaded and less than two outs, and each time he took the next four pitches for balls, some of them close enough that a lesser hitter would have chased them.

"It's hard enough to hit when you're down 0 and 2. To lay off four straight balls that are kind of tantalizingly out of the strike zone is a very professional piece of hitting," said Francona, specifically about Ramirez's tie-breaking run-producing walk off Sabathia in the third.

"That's not easy to do. If you can swing at balls in the (strike) zone, first of all you have a better chance of squaring them up and then the byproduct is you take your walks, work the pitch count and hopefully score runs. That (patience) really helps, especially when there's a trust in the next guy in the order," said Francona.

It's not that Francona wants Ortiz and Ramirez to be passive at the plate.

"We want those guys to be run-producers, but we want our lineup to swing at strikes because I don't think you can produce (by swinging at pitches out of the strike zone). You might drive in a run every once in a while, but overall it's hard to square up balls that aren't in the zone," said Francona.

"Our hitters understand that," added Francona. "Mags (hitting coach Dave magadan) preaches that and you have to have good hitters that understand (the strategy) and they have to be selfless at times to keep the line moving. You can't win by leaving the strike zone (as a hitter), not over the long haul. Good things happen when you swing at strikes."

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 6:06 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Lesson learned for Papelbon

By STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Early this season, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon was having difficulty adjusting to inactivity.

Terry Francona was being careful with the right-hander's use, anyway, and there were several stretches over the first few months when save opportunities were scarce.

Papelbon was uncomfortable in the bullpen, not knowing how much throwing he needed to do to stay sharp while making sure he didn't tire himself out throwing bullpen sessions in an attempt to keep his command.

But as the season went along, Francona said, Papelbon made the adjustment, so he's not worried about his ace closer's recent inactivity. Papelbon threw 1 1/3 innings last Friday in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Angels and hasn't appeared since, with the exception of a one-inning simulated-game workout last Tuesday.

It's likely, though, that, with Sunday off, Papelbon may be called on to pitch Saturday night even if a save opportunity is not on the line.

''I'm not worried about him," said Francona of Papelbon, who racked up 37 in 40 chances. ""He's been up (in the bullpen) at least every game (in the postseason) and if there's a gray area he'll throw tonight. But he's got a pretty good grip now on the touch and feel part of it, figuring out how much work to do and what to do when he doesn't pitch (for a while)."

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 5:53 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Beckett's short outing Friday won't necessarily mean a Game Four start Wednesday

By STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Josh Beckett threw only 80 pitches, covering six innings, in the Red Sox' 10-3 Game One ALCS victory at Fenway Park last night.

But, cautioned manager Terry Francona, don't read too much into that decision. He was not lifted, leading by a 10-2 margin, because Francona thought the game was in the bag and by limiting his pitch count Beckett would then be in line to start Game Four in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

That's what Cubs' manager Lou Piniella said he was doing when he took out ace right-hander Carlos Zambrano after 85 pitches in six innings in the opener of Chicago's ALDS series against Arizona, a series the Diamondbacks swept, negating the need for a Game Four.

No, said Francona, who last Tuesday penciled in Tim Wakefield to make that Game Four start. The reason for taking out Beckett was simple, and it led to a positive bullpen byproduct, too.

''(Saving him for Game Four) had nothing to do with it,'' Francona said Saturday afternoon. ''We just had a couple of long innings, there were (Cleveland) pitching changes, it was cold. (Beckett) was in the back (in the clubhouse) trying to stay loose. The longer the inning went, we just thought it didn't make sense (to send him back out for the seventh).''

As a result, Francona was able to take a little rust off relievers Mike Timlin, Javier Lopez and Eric Gagne.

''That was secondary,'' said Francona of being able to give an inning apiece to three relievers. ''But that was okay. Where we were in the (Indians') order was set up for Timlin.''

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 5:41 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Pedroia, over his nerves, is 'fine,' says Francona

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia recently said he thought he was pressing during the ALDS against the Angels. Looking at his 2-for-13 performance, some would agree with him.

Not manager Terry Francona.

When Pedroia provided an RBI double in Game Three of the ALDS, he was quite relieved, thinking he wasn't playing up to par. Francona completely disagreed.

''Maybe I should have been smart enough to realize that’s he’s a young kid and he’s nervous,” said the manager. “He’s been out there every day and he seems like a veteran to me. I should have been a little more intuitive and said something to him, but I didn’t think about it. We count on him so much, and yes, I think he was pressing a little bit.”

How about this series?

''He’s fine,'' said Francona. ''Whether or not you’re getting hits doesn’t mean your pressing or not comfortable, sometimes you’re facing pretty good pitchers.''

If there was any question Pedroia, who is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year, was focused at the plate, his scorching line drive in his first at-bat against C.C. Sabathia on Friday proved that point.

As the Red Sox advance through the postseason, expect the second baseman to be a critical part of the offense.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 5:34 PM | Permalink

PREGAME: Tonight's lineups

CLEVELAND

Grady Sizemore cf
Asdrubal Cabrera 2b
Travis Hafner dh
Victor Martinez c
Ryan Garko 1b
Jhonny Peralta ss
Kenny Lofton lf
Franklin Gutierrez rf
Casey Blake 3b
---
Fausto Carmona p

BOSTON
Dustin Pedroia 2b
Kevin Youkilis 3b
David Ortiz dh
Manny Ramirez lf
Mike Lowell 3b
J.D. Drew rf
Jason Varitek c
Coco Crisp cf
Julio Lugo ss
--
Curt Schilling p

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:50 PM | Permalink

Special playoff edition of Baseball Today: Saturday, October 13

AP Photo

A quick spin around the baseball world in the aftermath of the Sox' Game One victory over the Indians:

THE COMPLETE REPORT: Odds are that if you're here, you've already done so. But if you haven't, you really should check out last night's 10-story postgame package from Sean McAdam, Joe McDonald, Steven Krasner, Jim Donaldson, Kevin McNamara and yours truly. Newspaper deadlines being what they are, it's difficult to get a lot of postgame material into the paper; most of it now goes to the Web. We hit all the bases last night, and quickly; everything was posted within 60-90 minutes after the final pitch. That's going to be the M.O. for the playoffs, and it goes something like this:

-- Pregame material to the blog starting in mid-afternoon, right up to the first pitch
-- In-game photos posted to the blog constantly, with news of note posted as it happens
-- A game story on the blog within a minute of the last out
-- Postgame surveys and photos on the site in the wake of the final score
-- Quick postgame reaction to the blog within 20 minutes of the last out
-- Stories posted first to the blog, then to the main site, as they're written

So come early, come often. We're always here.

Now to the links . . .

PHRASE OF THE DAY: Baseball Musing's David Pinto used the same word as our own Joe McDonald -- domination -- in describing the Sox' victory.

MR. OCTOBER: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says Josh Beckett added to his postseason legend last night. SI.com's Tom Verducci agrees.

THE 'OL 1-2: Also making history, points out SI.com's Jon Heyman, are David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

LOOKING GOOD: The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley says the Sox are better than the Indians in three important areas -- better No. 1 starter, the better 3-4 offensive punch, the better closer -- and it showed last night.

DIFFERING OPINIONS: On the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Indians Blog, Paul Hoynes writes that Grady Sizemore called Game One ''a game we wanted to win.'' But Kenny Lofton pointed out: ''This is a seven-game series. Somebody had to lose Game One.''

MAKING BELIEVERS: During his in-game chat last night, espn.com's Rob Neyer wrote (at 9:04 p.m.) that if Manny Ramirez is ''healthy and Dice-K is effective, the Red Sox are *easily* the best team in the tournament.'' FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says ''If Josh Beckett keeps pitching like this, and David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez keep getting on base like this, the Red Sox are going to be awfully difficult to stop.''

TIRESOME: Pinto notes says the fatigue factor ''sure makes sense'' when examining C.C. Sabathia's poor start.

IT'S ALL YOUR MIND: The Akron Beacon-Journal's Patrick McManamon wonders if the Indians' Psychology Department ''can conduct a study and figure out why the C.C. Sabathia of the regular season has been AWOL from the playoffs.''

MISTAKE IDENTITY: The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Bud Shaw says Sabathia has turned into Jeremy Sowers.

SCENES FROM A PLAYOFF SERIES . . . from the Plain-Dealer's Mark Gillespie.

LOOKING AHEAD, SHORT TERM: The Plain-Dealer's Terry Pluto says the job of tonight's starter, Fausto Carmona, has just gotten harder.

LOOKING AHEAD, LONG TERM: The blog Philly Burbs says the Phillies may make a free-agent run at Curt Schilling. Schilling says the Phils are on his short list (Philadelphia Daily News), though his first choice is to return to Boston. (Boston Globe)

THE ULTIMATE INSULT: Mark Kriegel of FoxSports.com is the latest to point out that Red Sox fans are morphing into Yankee fans, same as the Sox are morphing into the Yanks.

KNOW YOUR (NEW) ENEMY: Joe Posnanski gives us a glimpse into the angst of the Cleveland fandom in his personal history of growing up rooting for the teams from northeast Ohio. (joeposnanski.com)

EXPAND THE FIELD: Verducci notes that MLB -- enthralled by the winner-goes-on/loser-goes-home excitement of the Rockies-Padres play-in game -- are leaning towards adding a second wild card.

AND AS SOME PLAY . . . others plan for their future. The blog River Ave. Blues, while understanding it won't happen, advocates gutting the Yankees and looking to the future.

FAMILY MAN: The New York Daily News' Mike Lupica says the fact that Joe Torre is still the manager indicates there's a sea change going on with the Yankees, and that George Steinbrenner -- who now leans on members of his Yankee ''family'' more than he ever did -- is engendering loyalty from his employees even as the franchise moves away from his knee-jerk, reactionary style of management.

PLAYING CHICKEN: The Yankees think Alex Rodriguez needs them more than they need him. A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, think the Yankees need Rodriguez more than he needs them. So who, if anyone, will blink first? (New York Times)

BEWARE: Sean McAdam may have more on this tomorrow, but the Mitchell investigation is apparently ready to release some very big names in his investigation into baseball's steroids scandal. (espn.com)

IN OTHER NEWS: Leo Mazzone was fired by the Orioles (Baltimore Sun) . . . Old friend Rudy Seanez was cut loose by the Dodgers, and he thinks older friend Shea Hillenbrand won't be far behind (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Walt Jocketty, recently fired as Cardinals' GM, is being courted by the Reds (Dayon Daily News) . . . Mel Stottlemyre has talked to the Mariners about becoming their pitching coach (mlb.com) . . . Keith Foulke is planning a comeback (Boston Globe).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

RED SOX 10, INDIANS 3: Manny and David: Always on base

BY JIM DONALDSON
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- You don't need Bill James to explain to you that, as on-base percentages go, 100 percent is as good as it gets.

Or that if, say, your number-three and number-four hitters come to the plate 10 times, and reach base every time, you're probably going to win -- the way the Red Sox did Friday night in a 10-3 pounding of the Indians, as Cleveland pitchers were unable to retire either David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez even once.

Big Papi, batting ahead of Manny in the third slot in the order, was 2-for-2 (first-inning single, eighth-inning double), with two runs scored. He walked twice, and also was hit by a pitch.

Manny likewise was 2-for-2 (run-scoring single in the first, another single in the fifth) with three walks -- two of them with the bases loaded, and both, impressively, after he'd fallen behind in the count, 0-2. Which is how he wound up with three RBI.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Mike Lowell, who took advantage of batting just behind Ortiz and Ramirez by driving in three runs, two of them with a double to right in the fourth inning, when Boston broke the game open by scoring four times to take a 5-1 lead against Indians ace C.C. Sabathia.

"They're unbelievable," Lowell said of Boston's dynamic duo. "They're aggressive, they're patient, they're picking their spots. They have such solid at-bats. It's great for me, because they're always on base."

Lowell's not exaggerating when he says Ortiz and Ramirez are "always on base." Not much, anyway.

In the four postseason games so far, Big Papi has been on base a mind-boggling 16 times in 18 trips to the plate, for a dazzling OBP of .889. Manny also has come to the plate 18 times, and has reached base 13. The combined OBP of Ramirez and Ortiz is .806.

"Manny was 0-and-2 twice," said Lowell, "and was able to spit on those tough pitches and draw a walk. I asked him: 'Are you just fouling balls off to mess around, or what?'

"They're just both putting together tremendous at-bats. It's normal for other pitchers not to want them to beat you. But for them to get on base like they did (Friday night) is a little bit ridiculous."

That's one way of putting it.

Another would be "spectacular."

"Wow," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "They were on base -- what -- 10 times? That's kind of extreme."

Ortiz, in particular, has been extremely hot lately.

He has made just six outs in the last eight games, including the final four games of the regular season, as well as Boston's four playoff games.

Speaking of the postseason, Ortiz is batting .433 (39-for-90) since Game Five of the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees. He has hit safely in 22 of 24 playoff games since then, with 27 RBI, 24 runs scored, and 21 walks.

He's hitting a phenomenal .777 this postseason, with seven hits in nine at-bats,including two homers He also has drawn eight walks, and been hit once by a pitch.

Manny's batting .500 (5-for-10) with two homers, seven RBI, and eight walks. He has reached base in 11 of his last 12 plate appearances.

"Yeah," Ortiz said, "I guess we're hitting the ball good. We've got to keep it that way, especially in the playoffs, when you don't get that many opportunities to produce.

"We know that they're going to pitch carefully to Manny and me. So we keep that in mind, and we stick with whatever they give us. We still have another seven players that have to take advantage of it. When you walk somebody, you've got to pay for that later."

Francona admitted to some concern that, after having been so hot against the Angels, Ramirez and Ortiz might cool off following four days off.

"We've seen a lot from David," Francona said. "What was nice is that he really seemed like he was swinging the bat in the first series agains Anaheim, and then you have the little break, and you hope that it stays where it is."

"We're professional hitters," Ortiz said. "We know what we're doing. Sometimes, it's a little hard to stay sharp, but we've been playing this game for a long time. Our manager and coaches did a good job, working with us, seeing live pitching, and trying to keep everybody on the same page

"Me and Manny, we've been watching a lot of video, and we've been keeping the same workout that we do during the season. We're just trying to keep things simple."

It's also simple for the Indians: if they don't start getting Papi and Manny out, they'll be out of the playoffs in four games.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 12:31 AM | Permalink

RED SOX 10, INDIANS 3: Gagne may have made his last Sox appearance

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Eric Gagne struggled once more in another mop-up role and may have made his last appearance of this series, or perhaps the postseason.

Gagne entered the game in the ninth with the Sox leading 10-3 and while he struck out three and didn't allow a run, he did load the bases on two hits and a walk.

He had a similarly rocky mop-up inning in Game Three of the ALDS, allowing a hit and a run before the Sox closed out the series.

If Gagne can't throw strikes and get outs with a 9-0 lead (Anaheim) and 10-3 lead (last night), the Sox probably can't trust him in any situation.

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

RED SOX 10, INDIANS 3: Sox don't plan to bring Beckett back for Game Four

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Josh Beckett came out of Friday night's game after just 80 pitches, but don't read much into that.

While there was some speculation last night that the Sox might want to bring back Beckett on three days' rest and pitch Game Four in Cleveland, that isn't being contemplated.

Such a switch -- skipping knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in favor of Beckett for Game Four -- would require the Sox to bring back Curt Schilling on regular rest for Game Five, something they are reluctant to do given Schilling's age and the condition of his shoulder.

Instead, the Sox plan to stick with Wakefield for Game Four, Beckett for Game Five, Schilling for Game Six and Daisuke Matsuzaka for Game Seven.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 12:04 AM | Permalink