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October 13, 2007
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."
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