Knuckle Curve » alcs

Insufferable

Geoff Young — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:57:55 +0000

The Red Sox are back in the World Series. They rolled over Cleveland on Sunday night, 11-2. They outscored the Indians, 30-5, over the final three games of the ALCS, which is as good a definition of “domination” as I can find.

Ladies and gentleman, prepare for the insufferable. Ben Affleck has just become vaguely relevant again, and the world is a better place for it.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

ALCS Game 7 at Fenway

Geoff Young — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 14:39:15 +0000

Uh-oh. The Red Sox aren’t going away.

You had to figure the Indians were hosed when the series returned to Fenway. On the one hand, they’ve never lost a postseason series to a team from Boston — they swept the Red Sox in three games in ‘95 and beat the Braves in six in the ‘48 World Series. On the other, the Indians historically haven’t had a lot of success in New England.

Game 7 starts at 5 p.m. PT on Sunday. Jake Westbrook and Daisuke Matsuzaka hook up in one final game to determine which of these teams advances to the World Series. On behalf of everyone who doesn’t have unlimited resources at their disposal, here’s hoping it’s Cleveland.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Fausto Faces Curt, Coco Sits

Geoff Young — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:41:41 +0000

The ALCS heads back to Boston. While the Rockies do whatever it is teams do while they’re waiting for their opponent to be determined, the Indians and Red Sox hook up for Game 6 on Saturday night (first pitch: 5 p.m. PT).

This is a rematch of last week’s Fausto Carmona/Curt Schilling showdown. The Indians won the earlier contest on the strength of a seven-run 11th inning. (Hey, if the Rockies are trying to trademark “Rocktober”, maybe the Indians could trademark “7-11″; you think?)

Where there are Red Sox, there is drama. This time it comes in the form of rookie Jacoby Ellsbury starting in center field over Coco Crisp. As a Padres fan, I love this move because maybe it will help drive Crisp’s price down this off-season.

Oh wait, we’re talking about the playoffs. Sorry ’bout that.

Well, then, I don’t really care who plays center. What I do find interesting is that apparently Boston considered replacing Dustin Pedroia at second base with Alex Cora. Then someone remembered that the Red Sox actually need to win this game, so that idea was shelved.

What was my point here? I dunno; you tell me…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Beckett Dominates, Indians Look to Jobu for Guidance

Geoff Young — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:44:51 +0000

Remember that thing I said yesterday about Josh Beckett? I believe my exact words were, “time for Beckett to pitch the game of his life.”

Heh. I suppose 11 strikeouts over eight innings qualifies.

Now we have a day off (on a Friday, so I can watch Stargate Atlantis in real time) before the series returns to Boston. That is a place the Indians did not want to go.

The good news is they’ve split in Fenway once before in this series. The bad news is, well, asking them to do that twice in the span of a 10 days might be a bit much.

If the Indians are planning to make a sacrifice to Jobu, now would be a real good time…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Indians Seek to Destroy Red Sox, Television Networks

Geoff Young — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:19:16 +0000

Welcome to the moment network execs have been dreading. The Cleveland Indians need to win one of the next three games to face the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.

A nation yawns. Or it would, if it could summon the enthusiasm.

Thursday’s contest at Jacobs Field (first pitch, 5 p.m. PT) features a rematch of Game 1 starters and leading Cy Young candidates C.C. Sabathia and Josh Beckett. For Boston, the equation is simple: win or go home for the winter.

For the Indians, it’s more like win or go to Boston’s home for two more games. I’m thinking they’d prefer Door #1.

The Red Sox pounded Sabathia in the series opener. Could that happen again? Sure, but they’d best not count on it. Time for Beckett to pitch the game of his life…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Unintentional Humor in the ALCS

Geoff Young — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:21:13 +0000

Yeah, the Indians beat the Red Sox.

Again.

My favorite part of the evening came when Manny Ramirez hit a solo home run in the sixth. Boston trailed in the series, 2-1, and in the game, 7-2, when he hit his blast. Dan Shaughnessy explains the rest:

Establishing that he is classless as well as clueless, Ramírez raised his hands at home plate and admired his shot even though the Sox trailed, 7-3.

See, stuff like that is almost enough to make me root for the Red Sox.

Almost.

Still, its nice to know that Ramirez enjoyed himself in Tuesday night’s loss. I’m sure his teammates and fans appreciate that.

[Update: Albert offers a solid take over at Dejuiced.]

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Lofton Thinks Its ‘95, Wakefield Dusts Off Knuckler

Geoff Young — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:06:57 +0000

Meanwhile, back in the ALCS, we still have to figure out which team the NL champion Rockies will face in the World Series. The Indians have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Red Sox. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Cleveland, first pitch 5 p.m. PT.

Kenny Lofton provided the big blow in Game 3 with his two-out, two-run homer off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the second. Lofton apparently didn’t get the memo that it’s no longer 1995.

On the other side, Boston desperately needs someone other than Josh Beckett to pitch a good game. Tim Wakefield will be the latest to try.

The good news is that Wakefield won 17 games during the regular season. The bad news is that he wasn’t needed in the ALDS and hasn’t pitched since September 29. The knuckleball is a “feel pitch,” so it will be interesting to see how three weeks of rest affects Wakefield’s command.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Less Gagne, More Cowbell

Geoff Young — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:03:33 +0000

Hey, everybody, they’re still playing games. The ALCS shifts to Cleveland, where Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Jake Westbrook at 4 p.m. PT. The general strategy for Boston is to keep the ball out of Eric Gagne’s hands, specifically his right hand.

And in the evening game, Colorado looks to complete the sweep at Coors Field. Rookie Micah Owings starts for Arizona, while Franklin Morales gets the call for God’s team. First pitch is at 7 p.m. PT.

Sounds exciting, huh?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Schilling Is Good, but Carmona Has Better Hair

Geoff Young — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:15:22 +0000

Game 2 of the ALCS features Carmona and Schilling. This is a close call, but I’m going with the Indians because Carmona has better hair:

Carmona:

Schilling:

First pitch is at 5 p.m. PT.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Water Bottles and Cy Young Contenders

Geoff Young — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:08:03 +0000

And folks said that Diamondbacks fans don’t care. Certainly they do, but as Rodney Dangerfield would say, “about what I have no idea.” Apparently not about dehydration. Oh, the water bottles were empty? My bad.

Either way, Arizona lost the game Brandon Webb started, which creates serious problems for the rest of the series. Friday night’s game (first pitch 7 p.m. PT) features slop-balling left-hander Doug Davis and young flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez. If Jimenez is on his game (anyone’s guess given his lack of experience), he should have little trouble with Arizona’s hitters. Davis, as is his custom, will be perfectly average in all respects.

Over in the American League, we have a great pitching matchup. The Indians are in Boston for Game 1 of the ALCS. First pitch is at 4 p.m. PT. The two leading candidates for AL Cy Young hook up in this one — C. C. Sabathia and Josh Beckett. Holy smokes, I was just looking at Sabathia’s numbers against left-handers this year: .203/.229/.317, with 75 strikeouts against 4 walks.

Looking for a weakness in either guy’s game? Check out — scratch that, there are none. If you love great pitching (as do I), you’re in for a treat.

Happy Friday, folks, and happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve