The ALCS: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

[Guest Anglesault]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

Is that midget Pedro or bobblehead Pedro?

[mike546 0]

You have an odd, perveted, and weird mind.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to  Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

Is that midget Pedro or bobblehead Pedro?

The Midget Pedro.

 

Bobblehead Pedro is getting thrown down by a Returning Don Zimmer who spits on the logo of the D-Rays and takes a seat with Joe and they don't noticed he was gone for a year.

[Guest Anglesault]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to  Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

Is that midget Pedro or bobblehead Pedro?

The Midget Pedro.

 

Bobblehead Pedro is getting thrown down by a Returning Don Zimmer who spits on the logo of the D-Rays and takes a seat with Joe and they don't noticed he was gone for a year.

He's got to rip a D-Rays shirt off.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to  Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

Is that midget Pedro or bobblehead Pedro?

The Midget Pedro.

 

Bobblehead Pedro is getting thrown down by a Returning Don Zimmer who spits on the logo of the D-Rays and takes a seat with Joe and they don't noticed he was gone for a year.

He's got to rip a D-Rays shirt off.

Right. After he fails, Rudy G does it for him.

[Guest Anglesault]

Throw in Lil' Pedro walking up to  Veritek and slapping him and we got our finish.

Is that midget Pedro or bobblehead Pedro?

The Midget Pedro.

 

Bobblehead Pedro is getting thrown down by a Returning Don Zimmer who spits on the logo of the D-Rays and takes a seat with Joe and they don't noticed he was gone for a year.

He's got to rip a D-Rays shirt off.

Right. After he fails, Rudy G does it for him.

We have a PLAN!

[KingPK 0]

Zimmer should hit Pedro with a chair for that to work.

 

Joe Buck: "Wait a minute, th-th-that's Don Zimmer's music."

 

*Zim beans Pedro with a chair and rips off his D-Rays shirt to reveal pinstripes, hugging Joe and Cashman as they pose over Pedro*

 

Buck: "I can't believe what has just occured fans. Don Zimmer, you can just go to hell." *sound of headset being slammed down*

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Can we hire Aaron Boone to take Giambi's spot on the bench?

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Zimmer should hit Pedro with a chair for that to work.

 

Joe Buck: "Wait a minute, th-th-that's Don Zimmer's music."

 

*Zim beans Pedro with a chair and rips off his D-Rays shirt to reveal pinstripes, hugging Joe and Cashman as they pose over Pedro*

 

Buck: "I can't believe what has just occured fans. Don Zimmer, you can just go to hell." *sound of headset being slammed down*

*Zimmer: Tampa Bay, You can STICK IT!*

[Guest Anglesault]

Zimmer should hit Pedro with a chair for that to work.

 

Joe Buck: "Wait a minute, th-th-that's Don Zimmer's music."

::Ragtime music plays::

[therealworldschampion 0]

Someone would have to play Heenan and say "But whose side is he on???", since McCarver is more of a Dusty Rhodes-type.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Zimmer should hit Pedro with a chair for that to work.

 

Joe Buck: "Wait a minute, th-th-that's Don Zimmer's music."

::Ragtime music plays::

Dude, you're the stoned one, not David Ortiz. Fuck dude, getting all ragtime music and shit in here.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Zimmer should hit Pedro with a chair for that to work.

 

Joe Buck: "Wait a minute, th-th-that's Don Zimmer's music."

::Ragtime music plays::

McCarver would play Schiavone's role. Joe Buck's role would be to respond to the chair shot with "Slamma Lamma Ding-Dong!"

[nl5xsk1 0]

Not to take this thread from it's current hilarity to something that's, you know, about baseball but ...

 

Does anyone else get the vibe that the crazy/crappy things happening to the Yankees lately are the types of things that normally happen to Boston? One of their top starters breaks a hand punching a wall? One of the most valuable members of their bullpen gets shot in the eye with a cork? Their most valuable player has a random catastrophe at home, leading to speculation over if his head is Ok? These are the things that normally plague Boston, so it's weird to see them happening to the other team for a change.

[the max 0]

I've been thinking the same thing.

 

Not to sound cocky as well, but game 2 in Anaheim had all the makings of a Red Sox collapse, but they tacked onto the lead and won. Game 3 is a game that they'd normally lose, but they won.

 

Something just seems different this year.

[DerangedHermit 0]

How about Zimmer comes back, fingerpokes Pedro, Pedro falls down, and they both reveal Yankee jerseys?

[Slayer 0]

Just a reminder that there is actually a game tonight, in case anyone forgot

[DerangedHermit 0]

Just a reminder that there is actually a game tonight, in case anyone forgot

Well thaaaaaaaaaaaanks for reminding me.

[Guest Smues]

Because I really don't care about either team, and FOX are a bunch of annoying pricks, I'm going to see how long I can go without finding out the results of any of the games in this series. I tried to think of all the sources I'll have to avoid and realized it's going to be really tough to do. No ESPN (which means no PTI and ATH), no mlb.com, no sports forums anywhere, no news pages that have sports info right up front, no newspaper, etc. But I'm going to see if I can actually do it. The last time I managed was the Subway series when I didn't know the winner for months, but I didn't spend as much time on the net or watching ESPN back then, so we'll see if I can succeed.

[DerangedHermit 0]

Because I really don't care about either team, and FOX are a bunch of annoying pricks, I'm going to see how long I can go without finding out the results of any of the games in this series. I tried to think of all the sources I'll have to avoid and realized it's going to be really tough to do. No ESPN (which means no PTI and ATH), no mlb.com, no sports forums anywhere, no news pages that have sports info right up front, no newspaper, etc. But I'm going to see if I can actually do it. The last time I managed was the Subway series when I didn't know the winner for months, but I didn't spend as much time on the net or watching ESPN back then, so we'll see if I can succeed.

I don't think you're going to succeed.

[mike546 0]

Because I really don't care about either team, and FOX are a bunch of annoying pricks, I'm going to see how long I can go without finding out the results of any of the games in this series. I tried to think of all the sources I'll have to avoid and realized it's going to be really tough to do. No ESPN (which means no PTI and ATH), no mlb.com, no sports forums anywhere, no news pages that have sports info right up front, no newspaper, etc. But I'm going to see if I can actually do it. The last time I managed was the Subway series when I didn't know the winner for months, but I didn't spend as much time on the net or watching ESPN back then, so we'll see if I can succeed.

Wow.

 

That takes guts.

[Guest Smues]

Because I really don't care about either team, and FOX are a bunch of annoying pricks, I'm going to see how long I can go without finding out the results of any of the games in this series. I tried to think of all the sources I'll have to avoid and realized it's going to be really tough to do. No ESPN (which means no PTI and ATH), no mlb.com, no sports forums anywhere, no news pages that have sports info right up front, no newspaper, etc. But I'm going to see if I can actually do it. The last time I managed was the Subway series when I didn't know the winner for months, but I didn't spend as much time on the net or watching ESPN back then, so we'll see if I can succeed.

I don't think you're going to succeed.

Neither do I, given all the sources that I go to that would give me the score. Especially since I'll go to mlb.com or the sports forum here without even thinking about it. And there's always random people/family/friends who pop up WOW WHAT A GREAT GAME 14-13 RED SOX!!! But I'm going to give it my best effort. Looking back at it I'm not sure how I ever avoided the Subway series so well. When I get home I think I'll probably sign out of this forum so I can't just click my favorites link and be here, I'll have to log on and then hopefully my brain will click and say NO NO DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON. I think I have my plan of attack mapped out, just hope I'm not forgetting something.

[Guest Smues]

oo just remembered I have to avoid ESPN radio too. Damn, that's like the only thing I listen to in the car.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Just a reminder that there is actually a game tonight, in case anyone forgot

Who's playing?

[Brett Favre 0]

BTW, my Series Hero prediction

 

Game Seven, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, Yankees down three with Foulke on the mound and THE RIQUESTER! up. Foulke throws the ball and...

 

Enrique trips over nothing and falls down. However, as he falls, his bat makes contact with the ball and it some how bloops towards rightfielder Kevin Millar. However, Millar is busy thinking up catchphrases, so the ball hits him in the head and knocks him out before he can see it coming. Johnny Damon rushes over to grab the ball as two runs score, and he throws it with all his might, and the ball flys a whole eight inches. This process continues a couple of times until Manny Ramirez snaps out of his haze and rushes over to try and help, as the third run scores. Just as Enrique starts to round third, he starts falling down again. Manny has a shot at him...but oh no! Manny thinks that a Pedro Martinez, dancing the Macarena on top of the dugout, is the cutoff man! Enrique score! ENRIQUE WILSON WINS THE SERIES WITH AN INSIDE THE PARK GRAND SLAM!

That's perfect.

 

Anyway, I thought I'd hang this up.

 

[nl5xsk1 0]

Smues, I wish you luck ... it's really not as hard as you'd think. I couldn't tell you much about the NBA finals that just happened, or last year's World Series, and I really only know who won each series. The # of games, the MVPs, etc. are a complete mystery to me.

 

My suggestion: create more specific favorites on your computer. Instead of going directly to espn.com, for example, have their football page (or basketball or college football or whatever you like) saved as a favorite. That way you can still hit up your favorite pages without the gi-normous "Sox-Yanks" banners that'll dominate that web site for the next week and a half. And you can be pretty certain that Sportscenter will begin each episode with the series ... just skip the first 10 minutes, and then keep your finger on the button to avoid hearing something that you don't want to hear. Same with PTI & ATH, most likely they'll cover this series early in the episode, so you'll have to skip the first 10 minutes or so.

 

Good luck.

[Slayer 0]

*cut stupid picture*

I didn't know Bartolo Colon played for the Sox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(yes, I know that's supposed to be Pedro, but it's a horrible drawing)

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Well, this should be good. The Red Sox got the match up they wanted, I am sure that if this is the season they win it, they want to be able to say they beat the Yankees to do it. So I am pulling for the Sox, since my Giants fell a game short and the A's choked during the stretch run of the season, instead of in the playoffs, like they normally do. Actually I hope it is the Cardinals vs the Red Sox, but who do I think will pull the victory.

 

Well both teams have phenomal offensive power and both have MVP candidates in Sheffield and Man Ram. I think both offenses will be able to hit the starting pitching, so a key is who can go 5-6-7 innings with out giving up many runs. Both teams are pretty stacked 1-9, so it depends on who is hot and which pitching staff sucks.

 

Edge: Even

 

Pitching

 

The Red Sox: Schilling is tough as nails and he will get the Sox at least 2-3 victories, depending on how he is used. Pedro needs to get the daddy thing out of his brain, and just pitch like he did against the Angels. Also, it is key that he is taken out around the seventh as he normally does not pitch long innings. I think the key for the Sox is Arroyo, who looked awesome in Game 3. If he can get a win and Pedro a win, then I think the Sox will be in good shape. But Pedro has not had the success against the Yankees and so it is possible that he loses. But if he is on, the Sox have the best 1-2 punch left in playoffs. But, I would not count on Wakefield, as a knuckle baller who is off, will get shelled, but I see him as a great long relief pitcher. Derick Lowe has fallen off the map and so I see limited time from him. But Schilling and Pedro are a very nasty 1-2 punch, and if they are on, it will be hard for the Yankees to win. But, this is the Yankees, so there are no guarantees here.

 

Yankees: The Yankees starting pitching has more question marks. Hernandez, who might I add looks phenomanal for a 45 year old , has had arm trouble that might make it harder for him to be as effective, but he does have a history of taking it up a notch in the playoffs. Kevin Brown is another question mark, as I am not sure which Brown will show up. The one who dominates or the one who gets so frustrated that he punches walls. Also, how much does his broken hand affect his performance is another factor to consider. Mussina can be money and good for at least one win, but if I recall, has had trouble against the Sox and to me, is not as dominating as he once was. Now, he might go out and pitch phenomanal, but I won't be suprised if he gets shelled. Lieber has been solid and since I didn't get a chance to watch him pitch this season, I will assume that he could go out and pitch decent to good. And Cabrera started off good, but has settled into mediocrity. He will pitch maybe one game. I have said that the Yankees starting pitching is not the best they have had, but they do have crafty vets, so I think the Yankees will get at least 3 wins (I see this going to 7 games). But this is one area that could really be a problem and Achilles Heal for the Yankees.

 

Edge: Sox - Schilling is proven and a great leader and Pedro, who has struggled, is still Pedro. He looked good against a very potent Angel team. I think the Yankees have good starting pitchers, but none are really as dominant as Boston's big two, so I give a slight edge here.

 

Bench:

 

Real quick, I think the Sox have a deeper bench than the Yankees.

 

Edge: Sox

 

Bullpen

 

Sure most of Yankees bullpen are all over 30 and had to pitch more innings, which might be a factor. But this is the better bullpen, hands down. If the Yankees can carry a lead into the 7th inning on, they are in good shape to win the game.

 

Edge - Yankees

 

Closer

 

Yankees - Mariano Rivera, need I say more. But I need to watch him pitch, to make sure the death of his family members doesn't affect his pitching. I am sure it won't, but this tragedy in his life might distract him more than usual. But he has been money in the playoffs, so my money is on him.

 

Sox - Foulke is solid and a closer the Sox have not had for a long time. So the chances of blowing the ninth inning goes way down, but beware of the closer who is not a power pitcher. Foulke is more finesse than power, and if a pitcher like him is off, then leads go bye-bye. But Foulke should be solid and should save/close games.

 

Edge: Yankees

 

Defense:

 

The Sox greatly improved their defense with the trade of Nomah, which has greatly improved the pitching as well. The Yankees always play good defense, so I don't see as many errors, which will make the errors that do happen that much more vital to a team's success. So I feel that is is another even match up, where that one error can be the X-Factor

 

Edge: Even

 

Stadiums

 

Red Sox have the allure of Fenway. The Yankees have Yankee Stadium. Both have that mystique about them. Both teams have proven they can win away from home. I however, think that Fenway provides a slight edge here.

 

Edge: Sox

 

Fans

 

Both are passionate about their teams. Both hate each other with a passion. The Sox fans will be amped, as they believe that this could be their year to finally beat the Yankees. However, Bill Simmons was right, anytime something goes bad, the fans get defeated. But the game winning homerun to win the ALDS from the Angels, should get their spirits up. The Yankee fans expect to win, so they never get defeated until the last out happens.

 

Edge: Yankees

 

Managers:

 

One has won 4 rings. The other, makes questionable moves that should be of concern. Torre gets his players ready to play. He knows how to make the talent he has, play better. And thanks to numerous wins in the playoffs, he knows how to manage a team to win. Francona (sp?) is an slight upgrade to Liddle, but he still has a lot to prove. But he did get the Sox to take it up a notch or two and got the Sox to play like a potential World Series team. But, he needs to win it all before I give the edge to the Sox.

 

Edge: Yankees

 

Chemestry

 

Yankees - Have many leaders with experience who know how to win. For whatever reason, an player who has been only average, will come onto the Yankees and greatly improve. Or they are the players who get the game winning hit, that you never have heard of until that moment. Also, the Yankees can push the button. They might not look like a good team in the regular season and have glaring holes, but they still end up being winning 100+ games. And in the playoffs, they will lose Game 1 and 2, and still come back to move on to the next round. Heck, even a cancer like Sheffield has been productive and a big reason for the success of the Yankees this season. The Yankees can never be counted out and that has to be a factor.

 

Sox - The Sox were being driven crazy by NoMah, who pouted his way out of the Sox and into a Cubs uniform. But before the trade, this was a helpless team. They had talent and pitching, but something was not clicking. Amazing how better a team gets along when you get rid of the cancer. That trade brought in solid players, who fit right in and greatly improved the defense. All of the sudden, it clicked for the Sox and they started winning. The Sox got right back into the East race and let the Yankees know they had not gone away. The Yankees proved to be too far ahead, but the Sox won 98 and they go in as the team who has been playing better baseball. Everyone seems to be having a good time, which is vital to a team's success.

 

Edge: Yankees

 

Road to the ALCS

 

Yankees - Beat a Twins team that had the best pitcher in the American League, Santana and a tough pitcher in Radke. Radke might not have won many games, but he had one of the best ERA's in the A.L. and who is more than capable of winning because he will battle. The Twins, despite their shortcommings, had playoff experience and if things had gone their way, did have a chance to beat the Yankees. Anytime you go back to the Homer Dome with the score tied 1-1, they had to like their chances. Unfortanately for the Twins, it was deja vu all over again. The Twins just did not have enough bats and did not get the pitching they needed. And the Yankees once again are in the ALCS.

 

Sox- The Angels were a first round matchup that matched up well with the sox. The Angels were hot in the second half and came in on a roll. They had an MVP candidate in Vlad and they had the most dominating bullpen. The Angels also are a team that will not go away. They however, did not have the greatest starting pitching. But thier pitchers just need to get to the 7th inning and then it is usually lights out. So this could have been disastorous, but the Sox figured out how to win. They did not allow the Angels bullpen to get into the game with a lead. Schilling and Pedro were dominating and Arroyo pitched a good Game 3. The Angels looked like they might make it a series, when Vlad tied Game 3 up. And you could feel all of the fans just about lose it, thinking that the Sox might choke agian. Instead of choking, the bullpen shut the Angels down and Ortiz's walk off homer showed that the Sox might not let events like this lose the game for them, which normally happened in past years. Usually the Sox will have a game in their grasp, only to watch it slip away along with the series. A Red Sox player is not supposed to hit the game winner, but Ortiz proved everyone wrong. This gave the Sox a sweep over a very good Angels team and helps build momentum going into the ALCS.

 

Edge - Sox, only becuase the Angels had been on a roll and becuase the Sox I am sure are happy to beat them the way they did. I think the Yankees got a team they matched up with better. Taking nothing from the Yankees, but the Angels were better than the Twins.

 

So who wins:

 

History shows that this will go 7 games, which is what I think will happen. Then the Sox will go up in the Series and the Yankees will force Game 7, after the Sox blow lead in Game 6. The Sox will have a lead in Game 7 and watch it choke away. A unhearalded Yankee will hit a game winning homerun, which will be the first they hit or some scenerio like that. Everything that could go wrong, normally will go wrong. This is your typical Yankee team. They have great offensive talent. They have maybe the best overall player in A-Rod, MVP candidate in Sheffield, and a player who is one of the best post season players in Jeter. Their pitching does not look great, until they pitch in the post season. They have a solid bullpen (not as good as Anaheim's) and the best post season closer I have ever seen in Riviera. They have been here and done that. I am sure they are hungry for their first ring in 3 years. And all logic points to them winning Game 7.

 

However, the Sox looked like they have that certain special thing that all champions have. They have a great offense as well, maybe even better than the Yankees. They have an improved defense and have played some of the best baseball down the stretch. They have in pitcher Schilling, someone who is not afraid to go into Yankee Stadium and shut the Yankees down. Schilling also has the ability to carry his fellow pitchers and show them the way to win. Randy Johnson had a losing record in the post season, until he pitched with Schilling in 2001, and won 3 games becuase of it. Schilling I think is a huge X-Factor in this series, which has the potential to rub off on Pedro and the rest of the starters. This is a pitcher the Sox have not had in a long time, someone who will go out there and battle to the bitter end. The Sox were very close last year, closer than they had ever been. I think that a team can learn from the disapointments of yesterday. This is the best Sox team I have ever seen and I think that this might be their year. Just call it a hunch.

 

Prediction: I will not be suprised if the Yankees win this, but my gut tells me that this is the year the Sox get the Bambino monkey off their back. That game winning homer by Ortiz says a lot about the character of the Sox and if the Sox can get over that potential disaster, then they might be able to withstand any potential Yankee storm that normally has broken their hearts. This is the year for the Sox. I just feel that they have that something special, I can't pinpoint it exactly. This is just my gut feeling. Either way, this will be a great series and the true winners are the fans and I am so glad I am not putting money on this.

 

Boston wins 4-3.

[Brett Favre 0]

Boston wins 4-3.

Lets stop trying to be funny around here.