The ALCS: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

[Guest Brian]

Bellhorn is hitting 174. with a .269 OBP. That homerun was his saving grace. Otherwise he's been nearly completely unproductive, getting on half as much as he did during the regular season.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Bellhorn is hitting 174. with a .269 OBP. That homerun was his saving grace. Otherwise he's been nearly completely unproductive, getting on half as much as he did during the regular season.

Don't forget his horrendous Fielding.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

Bellhorn is hitting 174. with a .269 OBP. That homerun was his saving grace. Otherwise he's been nearly completely unproductive, getting on half as much as he did during the regular season.

Who cares, he hit the game winning homerun. They were unproductive in every inning except that one.

[Guest Brian]

God, he was a number two hitter. He's supposed to set the table. He's part of the reason they're offense hasn't lived up to its potential. He has one homerun, and that doesn't make him productive all of a sudden. Ortiz hits consistently. Manny hits consistently. Varitek hits, Millar gets on base. Cabrera has been more valuable. One homerun is an anomaly.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

One homerun is an anomaly.

Was Aaron Boone's homerun last year in game 7 in the 11th inning after being atrocious the entire series an anomaly?

[Guest Brian]

When your hometown fans are booing you and calling for Pokey fucking Reese, taht's pretty much the pits.

[Guest Brian]

Dictionary.com

 

a·nom·a·ly ( P )

n. pl. a·nom·a·lies

 

1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

[Brush with Greatness 0]

There is seriously something wrong with most of you Yankee fans.

 

I'll be honest, I hate the Yankees (it's a controlled hate though, it's not like I wish death upon any of them). I hate the big money, big market mentality of them. Spend a lot of money to win, if you don't win, spend some more. To me that is bad for sport. As much as some fans love the playoffs to watch "their team" hopefully win, I look forward to the playoffs to watch the Yanks hopefully lose. I wouldn't call myself a Red Sox fan per se, but because nothing would be sweeter than seeing the Yanks lose to the Sox (and because I feel sorry for them), I am cheering for them heavily in this series. Even more importantly than this though, is that I am a baseball fan (at least playoff baseball).

 

Now, how anyone who calls themselves a baseball fan can be bitching after the past three games is beyond me. These past three games have been incredible. At first I was rooting for Boston to beat the Yanks, then I was merely rooting for them to make a series out of it. After those first three games Boston could have rolled over and died in game four. And yeah I would have been pissed, not because the Sox lost or because the Yanks won, but because of how shitty the series would have been considering how excited I was coming in. Is all you care about winning or do the games actually matter? Is your happiness so dependent upon the Yankee's winning or losing that you would sacrifice the incredible games that we have just witnessed just to have some peace of mind? If you would rather have had the Yankees sweep than the series go the way it has gone, then don't call yourself a baseball fan and quit watching while you are at it.

 

Now, you might be thinking I only feel this way because it has been the Sox coming back on the Yankees. However, if the situation was reversed and it was the Yanks crawling back from down 3-0 to the Sox to tie the series in such an incredible manner I would be thinking the exact same thing. I wouldn't be wishing death (or AIDS) upon the players but rather cheering for them to raise their game to the next level, as the other team has so obviously done. As much as I hate the Yanks and love to see them lose, no way in hell did I want to see this series go less than seven (okay, maybe a Sox win in six wouldn't have been that bad) However, no matter the final outcome, the Sox have turned this into another series that adds to the aura of this rivalry and a series that will be remembered forever.

 

Will I be watching tomorrow night? Hell yeah. Do I want the Sox to win 15-0? Well, I'd take it, but to me nothing would be better than an extra inning win? Sure, it will drive me nuts in the process, but that is the beauty of sport. And seriously, Yankee fans, if you win (and that's a big if) what feeling would be better than knowing how hard the Sox fought back, only to be denied again?

 

I'll probably go through 1000 different emotion changes tomorrow night (and I hope to because that means it will be one hell of a tight game) and I'll probably be really pissed if the Yanks snub the Sox again. No matter the final result though, I'm just thankful for the incredible series these two have produced again.

 

And hell Yankee fans, there is always next year. Get your boys playing some winter ball, buy some free agents and reload to extract some revenge because I think we both know who is winning tomorrow night.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

Dictionary.com

 

a·nom·a·ly    ( P )

n. pl. a·nom·a·lies

 

1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

Very good, son

 

Apply that to Aaron Boone last year.

 

He was still extremely valuable because of it.

[Fökai 0]

You summed up all of MY emotions in that post.

 

Kudos.

[NoCalMike 0]

There is seriously something wrong with most of you Yankee fans.

 

I'll be honest, I hate the Yankees (it's a controlled hate though, it's not like I wish death upon any of them). I hate the big money, big market mentality of them. Spend a lot of money to win, if you don't win, spend some more. To me that is bad for sport. As much as some fans love the playoffs to watch "their team" hopefully win, I look forward to the playoffs to watch the Yanks hopefully lose. I wouldn't call myself a Red Sox fan per se, but because nothing would be sweeter than seeing the Yanks lose to the Sox (and because I feel sorry for them), I am cheering for them heavily in this series. Even more importantly than this though, is that I am a baseball fan (at least playoff baseball).

 

Now, how anyone who calls themselves a baseball fan can be bitching after the past three games is beyond me. These past three games have been incredible. At first I was rooting for Boston to beat the Yanks, then I was merely rooting for them to make a series out of it. After those first three games Boston could have rolled over and died in game four. And yeah I would have been pissed, not because the Sox lost or because the Yanks won, but because of how shitty the series would have been considering how excited I was coming in. Is all you care about winning or do the games actually matter? Is your happiness so dependent upon the Yankee's winning or losing that you would sacrifice the incredible games that we have just witnessed just to have some peace of mind? If you would rather have had the Yankees sweep than the series go the way it has gone, then don't call yourself a baseball fan and quit watching while you are at it.

 

Now, you might be thinking I only feel this way because it has been the Sox coming back on the Yankees. However, if the situation was reversed and it was the Yanks crawling back from down 3-0 to the Sox to tie the series in such an incredible manner I would be thinking the exact same thing. I wouldn't be wishing death (or AIDS) upon the players but rather cheering for them to raise their game to the next level, as the other team has so obviously done. As much as I hate the Yanks and love to see them lose, no way in hell did I want to see this series go less than seven (okay, maybe a Sox win in six wouldn't have been that bad) However, no matter the final outcome, the Sox have turned this into another series that adds to the aura of this rivalry and a series that will be remembered forever.

 

Will I be watching tomorrow night? Hell yeah. Do I want the Sox to win 15-0? Well, I'd take it, but to me nothing would be better than an extra inning win? Sure, it will drive me nuts in the process, but that is the beauty of sport. And seriously, Yankee fans, if you win (and that's a big if) what feeling would be better than knowing how hard the Sox fought back, only to be denied again?

 

I'll probably go through 1000 different emotion changes tomorrow night (and I hope to because that means it will be one hell of a tight game) and I'll probably be really pissed if the Yanks snub the Sox again. No matter the final result though, I'm just thankful for the incredible series these two have produced again.

 

And hell Yankee fans, there is always next year. Get your boys playing some winter ball, buy some free agents and reload to extract some revenge because I think we both know who is winning tomorrow night.

Good post, I agree mostly, except for the part about feeling sorry for the Red Sox. Maybe their fans, maybe Red Sox teams of the past, and I mean decades ago, but this current team is no different then the Yankees as far as big market, big money, spend spend and if we don't win, spend some more. The Yanks are at 180 million, while the Red Sox trail them barely with 170 million attributed to their roster. I mean is it really suprising they are in the ALCS when the average roster spendings of the rest of the league is around 100 million less? This series has been great for the most part, drama, excitement, emotions etc......however lets not forget why these two teams are here at this spot, and why these two will continually be here over and over again until the baseball brass gets their collective heads out of their ass.

[treble 0]

No matter how great a game is, if the team you're rooting for (especially if they're a team you live and die by) loses, then it's bound to leave a sour taste in your mouth.

 

Also, while I'd prefer that my team won every game in a thrilling fashion and that every game was a classic, I'd take winning shitty games if it meant winning a championship. 50 years from now, it's not likely that the quality of games will be remembered, but just the image of whomever wins it hoisting the trophy in the air.

 

Pretty sure that if the Red Sox lose game 7, their fans would rather have won a bunch of shitty games as opposed to 3 very good/great games just to force a 7th game. Sure, you can take some pride in your team being the first to ever do that and remember the games that they won fondly, but they don't give you a trophy unless you win the World Series. I wouldn't call anyone who's a fan of either team who'd rather win a shittily played game than lose a classic less of a fan than anyone else. Having a team to cheer for clouds your judgment.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

Good post, I agree mostly, except for the part about feeling sorry for the Red Sox. Maybe their fans, maybe Red Sox teams of the past, and I mean decades ago, but this current team is no different then the Yankees as far as big market, big money, spend spend and if we don't win, spend some more.

I don't think the Red Sox are nearly as close to as bad as the Yankees. Yes, the Sox have the 2nd highest, but look at the lineups.

 

Sox are:

Damon, Bellhorn, Ramirez, Ortiz, Varitek, Millar, Nixon, Mueller and Cabrera

 

Their aces are Schilling, Pedro, Lowe, Wakefield and Arroyo with Foulke, Lescanic, Myers and Timlin in the bullpen.

 

Yankees are:

Jeter, Rodriguez, Sheffield, Matsui, Posada, Williams, Cairo, Clark/Olerud and Sierra

 

Aces are Mussina, Lieber, Brown, Hernandez and Vasquez with Loiaza, Gordon, Quantrill and Rivera in the pen.

 

This doesn't include bench, or guys who didn't make the roster such as Williamson for Boston and Giambi for New York.

 

Now, of the non-home grown, who had heard of these players before hand? The only ones I'd say for Boston are Ramirez, Schilling, Pedro Foulke and possibly Damon and Cabrera.

 

Who was a known player before becoming a Yankee? Rodriguez, Sheffield, Olerud, Sierra, Mussina, Brown, Vasquez, Loiaza, Gordon with a possibility of Matsui for his play overseas.

 

While Red Sox are close, a lot of their guys became big in their new spots, similar has happened in New York to guys like Quantrill, however New York buys much more. Granted Sierra has been playing DH lately with Lofton on the bench, but they had a guy like Sierra to come in and hit a home run when needed at their access. The Red Sox? Gabe Kapler or Dave McCarty. Red Sox picked up Leskanic as a middle reliever when the last place Royals cut him. Yankees take their choice of Gordon, Quantrill and Loaiza.

 

Both teams have high payroll, yes, but it seems like there is more of a homegrown and team sense in Boston, whereas New York just becomes a conglomoration of the Super Powers, especially when they get Randy Johnson next year, among the other pickups I am sure they will get win or lose.

 

I do think Boston is the best all around team right now, despite my previous Super Powers comment because they are moreso of a team and a complete one at that. I've been waiting to see them do this all series, as what the Yankees doing in the first few games to Boston is what the Sox should have been doing to them.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Sierra's only making $700,000.

[mw679 0]

Sierra's only making $700,000.

 

That's because he's, like, 92 years old. It's his Social Security check....

[Dangerous A 0]

If the Yanks melt down tommorrow and lose, Steinbrenner will lose his mind and sign Johnson, Pedro, AND Carlos Beltran. I can seriously see him losing his mind and doing that if his team gives up a a 3 game lead to the Red Sox.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Both teams have high payroll, yes, but it seems like there is more of a homegrown and team sense in Boston, whereas New York just becomes a conglomoration of the Super Powers, especially when they get Randy Johnson next year, among the other pickups I am sure they will get win or lose.

 

Varitek - Seattle Mariners

Millar - Florida Marlins

Bellhorn - Oakland Athletics (surprise, surprise)

Cabrera - Montreal Expos

Mueller - San Francisco Giants

Ramirez - Cleveland Indians

Damon - Kansas City Royals

Nixon - Boston Red Sox

Ortiz - Seattle Mariners (signed as a free agent in 1992)

 

Schilling - Boston Red Sox (originally drafted by Boston)

Pedro - Los Angeles Dodgers

Arroyo - Pittsburgh Pirates

Timlin - Toronto Blue Jays

Foulke - San Francisco Giants

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

God, he was a number two hitter. He's supposed to set the table. He's part of the reason they're offense hasn't lived up to its potential. He has one homerun, and that doesn't make him productive all of a sudden. Ortiz hits consistently. Manny hits consistently. Varitek hits, Millar gets on base. Cabrera has been more valuable. One homerun is an anomaly.

When a player boasts a .377 OBP, isn't 4 hits in 23 at bats an anomaly as well?

[bob_barron 0]

If the Yanks melt down tommorrow and lose, Steinbrenner will lose his mind and sign Johnson, Pedro, AND Carlos Beltran. I can seriously see him losing his mind and doing that if his team gives up a a 3 game lead to the Red Sox.

Unit still has a year left on his contract.

 

What an incredible series this has been. This series has drained me emotionally. What else do these teams have in store for us? Who will be the hero? Who will be the AFB?

[Brush with Greatness 0]

No matter how great a game is, if the team you're rooting for (especially if they're a team you live and die by) loses, then it's bound to leave a sour taste in your mouth.

 

Also, while I'd prefer that my team won every game in a thrilling fashion and that every game was a classic, I'd take winning shitty games if it meant winning a championship. 50 years from now, it's not likely that the quality of games will be remembered, but just the image of whomever wins it hoisting the trophy in the air.

 

Pretty sure that if the Red Sox lose game 7, their fans would rather have won a bunch of shitty games as opposed to 3 very good/great games just to force a 7th game. Sure, you can take some pride in your team being the first to ever do that and remember the games that they won fondly, but they don't give you a trophy unless you win the World Series. I wouldn't call anyone who's a fan of either team who'd rather win a shittily played game than lose a classic less of a fan than anyone else. Having a team to cheer for clouds your judgment.

I'm not so sure Treble. I mean, look at last season's NHL playoffs. I was cheering heavily for Calgary and did not want to see Tampa win. However, even though I'm dissapointed in the result (and hate the fact that Tampa won) I would much rather have had that series we got than one in which Calgary would have swept Tampa in four ugly games, as sweet as it would have been to have the Cup back in Canada, and a small market team at that.

 

Sure, the record books fifty years from now will say Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup champs, but personally I will always remember what a faboulous series it was and how much I enjoyed it, despite being hurt by the result.

 

Now admittedly, I'm not a Flame-lifer. However, for Yankee fans especially, I don't know how they can bitch when they know the team is going to be back there year after year. That would make it so easy just to be excited by good baseball. Where the hell is the fun in beating everyone badly every year? It's a little different for lifelong Sox fans who have gone through numerous years of suffering.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Varitek - Seattle Mariners

Millar - Florida Marlins

Bellhorn - Oakland Athletics (surprise, surprise)

Cabrera - Montreal Expos

Mueller - San Francisco Giants

Ramirez - Cleveland Indians

Damon - Kansas City Royals

Nixon - Boston Red Sox

Ortiz - Seattle Mariners (signed as a free agent in 1992)

 

Schilling - Boston Red Sox (originally drafted by Boston)

Pedro - Los Angeles Dodgers

Arroyo - Pittsburgh Pirates

Timlin - Toronto Blue Jays

Foulke - San Francisco Giants

Varitek - With Red Sox since 2004

Millar - With Red Sox since 2003

Bellhorn - With Red Sox in 2004

Cabrera - With Red Sox in 2004

Mueller - With Red Sox since 2003

Ramirez - With Red Sox since 2001

Damon - With Red Sox since 2002

Nixon - With Red Sox(MLB Roster) since 1996

Ortiz - With Red Sox since 2003

 

Schilling - With Red Sox since 2004

Pedro - With Red Sox since 1998

Arroyo - With Red Sox in 2004

Timlin - With Red Sox since 2003

Foulke - With Red Sox in 2004

Tim Wakefield - With Red Sox since 1995

 

Granted the Red Sox have been fairly "new" in terms of their roster but how many players on the Yankees are playing for them the first time this year? Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Cairo, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Esteban Loaiza, Tony Clark, Kenny Lofton, Travis Lee, John Olerud, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Tanyon Sturtze, and Jon Lieber(14 players total not including guys coming up from the minors like Bubba Crosby).

[Guest Brian]

Yes it is. But my argument is not that Bellhorn isn't hitting below average, but he's been far less productive than he should be. One homerun does not make him productive all of a sudden. All those times in the series where he has been unproductive, like Game 2, outweigh that one homerun.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

This is the most fucked up series I think I have ever seen in my life... and we get one more round of it tonight. Tonight is gonna be AWESOME.

 

*Prays to the baseball gods*

[smh810 0]

If you look back in this thread I made a few predictions for tonight's game:

 

1. There was no way Schilling would have 2 crap starts in a row. Check.

 

2. There was no way Lieber would shut down the Sox a 2nd time. Check.

 

3. It was only proper to have a game 7. Check.

 

It was obvious that Schilling would pull something out of his ass tonight. It makes for too great of a story not to happen. To go 7 innings of inspired pitching on a bum ankle, facing elimination, is one of the great performances in postseason history. Yankee fans need to quit whining about not being able to hit. There was a reason they couldn't hit, and it was Schilling.

 

That said, I can't see the Sox winning tomorrow. Eventually you just run out of luck. My god what a series though.

 

I had those exact same thoughts that I shared with my friends who are Sox fans prior to the game last night. I just have a gut feeling theyre gonna pull this off, whether it is Brown or Vasquez going for New York. If its Brown he's feast or famine he can throw a one hitter or leave the game in the second inning, considering his performance in Game 3, I'm more inclined to believe he'll have something closer to a Joaquin Andujar meltdown rather than an epic performance. Vasquez is an OK pitcher but I dont see him having the mettle to perform well in a Game 7. On the flip side, I know Derek Lowe isn't exactly a safe bet for Boston but he can come through in tight situations. My hunch is that all Lowe needs to be is average tonight (ie, 3 runs through 6 innings) and the Red Sox will win this game. I simply dont see the Yankees pitching coming through.

[KingPK 0]

I'm surprised no one brought up yet another "McCarver-ism" from last night, the "Matsui walk is just as good as a homerun" comment in the 9th. Even Leiter couldn't hold back a "WHAT?" for that one.

[mike546 0]

Its Brown vs Lowe tonight.

 

And please oh baseball god, let Brown pitch good. PLEASE.

 

With Lowe pitching in Yankee Stadium, he only needs to pitch decent.

[iliketurtles 0]

I'm surprised no one brought up yet another "McCarver-ism" from last night, the "Matsui walk is just as good as a homerun" comment in the 9th. Even Leiter couldn't hold back a "WHAT?" for that one.

I can't fucking stand the guys on FOX. I wish they could have just had NESN, or Bob Costas/Joe Morgan, or WEEI guys, or Dusty Rhodes?

 

ANYONE but those fuckers. Leiter's the only one who makes sense and he's shut up by Buck and Tim.

[KingPK 0]

Mute the TV and turn on the radio.

 

Oh yeah, put Joe Morgan in there. REAL improvement. I really don't mind Buck, and I would much rather hear him and Leiter for the WS.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

Fucking dad... God what an idiot. He just said that they went to 7 games on purpose for the money. What a fucking idiot...

[Dr. Tom 0]

Tim McCarver is indeed the suck. I like Buck, and Leiter's been surprisingly good thus far. I don't know if he has the experience to be the lead color man in the World Series broadcast booth, but he definitely deserves a seat in it. I know they'll use TIMMAY because he's old and everyone knows him, but the best WS crew Fox could assemble would be Buck, Lyons, and Leiter.