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October 18, 2007
Click here to listen to today's edition of projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam. The topics: the weather forecast in Cleveland; whether the Sox are more likely to win three straight because they have done it before; the mysterious disappearance of the Boston offense; Cleveland's MVPs; Josh Beckett's ability to pitch deep into tonight's game; Manny Ramirez's post-home-run posing and interesting comments to the media; and the back story to the Yankees' continued dance with Alex Rodriguez.
Following are some excerpts from Sean's comments.
Tonight's weather: "It could be a factor. There's a forecast for some rain, and maybe even thunderstorms, throughout the day. So it's something to monitor. As we speak it's just overcast, and they could certainly play through this, but it could be something of a situation given what they're projecting."
Do past playoff comebacks give the Red Sox comfort in the present? "It's not going to win the series for them, but as Terry Francona said yesterday, in this situation you are looking for anything to give you something of an edge. And i think that because there are eight or so guys on this team who were here in '04 and went through it against the Yankees, they can perhaps draw upon that experience sort of as a reminder, I guess, that it can be done. Beyond that, you've got to go out and make good pitches and come up with clutch two-out hits, and a lot of the things the Red Sox haven't done the last two games. But I think it's the kind of thing that can boost you a little bit when you remember that not only has it been done, but you've been part of it before."
On Manny's comments ('We're going to play and if it doesn't happen, we'll come back next year and try to do it again.'): "They kind of sound callous, I think, when you read them on a printed page ... But I think if you know Manny's nature, and sort of fun-loving approach to things, then that's kind of within the context of who he is and how he approaches things. It shouldn't signal that he literally doesn't care; it's just evidence of how sort of casual he is about just about everything. But I think that he wants to win, and sometimes, I think, he just expresses himself in a unique way.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 10:39 AM to McAdam
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trisha | October 18, 2007 1:23 PM link
RON | October 18, 2007 1:56 PM link
While anything is possible, Sox fans need to remember that in 2004 they had a rotation that had never been on the DL for the entire season and they were playing a team whose starters had basically never been off the DL, not to mention one deciding to break his hand with two weeks left to the season. That the Yankees both won the division and made it as far as they did into the postseason that year still mystifies me.
Then there was the Gary Sheffield missive that was hung on the locker of every Sox player - the one that supposedly said that Sox players didn't really care about winning, or words to that effect. Maybe if someone can make up a similar quote and attribute it to a Cleveland player and make sure it gets hung on every Sox locker, something else might take over tonight...
I think the point is that you really have to examine circumstances before you just throw around something like "We were down 3-0 and still came back!" Different church, different pew.