Some follow up to Game 2
Oct 6th, 2007 by Bill Burt
Francona stops rolling Dice,
and other playoff observations
Dice-K didn’t cometh. J.D. Drew finally came through, at least one time. And the managers, Terry Francona and Mike Scioscia, had a little game of chess last night.
Here are 10 observations as the Boston Red Sox arrived in Anaheim, up 2-0, and an overwhelming favorite to come home Tuesday morning, at the latest, ready for the American League Championship Series:
1. Dice-K blew a big opportunity.
The Red Sox No. 2 starter, at least for this series, blew a big opportunity last night to put the Red Sox in great position as the best team in the playoffs. A If he could have pitched seven or eight innings, allowing two or less runs, the Red Sox would have sent a message that their pitching is as good as any playing in October.
But it never happened. Dice-K labored nearly every inning, allowing three sloppy runs in the second inning.
Per the norm when he is struggling, he throws a lot of pitches (about 20 per inning). He got in trouble as soon as the inning started, walking Casey Kochman before an infield hit and consecutive doubles.
He wasn’t awful, but he should have been a lot better on probably the biggest stage he has pitched since Opening Day at Fenway Park. Remember, this is not a great hitting Angels team, especially with Gary Matthews out.
2. Francona move took guts.
While Dice-K had hit 96 pitches with the fifth inning not even done yet, Red Sox manager Terry Francona had seen enough. After Dice-K walked Casey Kochman for the second time, adding a second baserunner, Francona came out and replaced him with lefty specialist Javier Lopez, who induced the third out, a soft grounder to short.
There are a few plausible reasons for the “gutsy” move. He was not going to let this game get away (it was 3-2 at the time) and he will probably need a rested Dice-K if there is a Game 5.
It was good to see Francona show some moxie and manage this differently than he would during the regular season. If this were May or August, Dice-K would have stayed in the game.
3. Drew finally came through, partially.
It wasn’t a memorable shot over the Green Monster, but his two-run single to center field, giving the Red Sox their first runs of the game was a nice start.
He grounded out routinely with two men on in the fifth inning, after the Sox tied it, 3-3, in the fifth. Two clutch hits in one game might be too much to ask for so we won’t.
4. Lugo and Crisp still status quo.
With Coco Crisp forgetting to re-tag second base after a long fly ball (he was later called out on an appeal) and Julio Lugo striking out looking (two strikeouts looking) both struggling, J.D. Drew’s bat grows in importance with each playoff tilt.
If not for Coco’s defense, who is probably the best centerfielder in baseball, he be a fourth outfielder on this team. He did have a nice bunt and stole second, but he was stranded there, by of course, Lugo.
Do you think Jacoby Ellsbury deserves a chance to start in centerfield? What about Alex Cora at shortstop? Both should be under consideration for Game 3.
5. Danny Vinik made play of the game.
We know he is 17 and he loves the Red Sox. We also know, that Danny Vinik may have saved the game last night. He was the fan, sitting in the front row, behind the bay of photographers (at knee level) that robbed an out during Manny’s key at bat in the fifth inning, which preceded a game-tying sacrifice fly by Mike Lowell. But the young fan snagged a foul ball from Angels catcher Jeff Mathis, extending Manny’s at bat.
The fans gave him a standing ovation and several people in his section gave him high-fives for at least a minute. If that never happened, Lowell’s sacrifice fly would have been the third out.
6. Yankees loss got big play.
The New York Yankees loss, 2-1, to the Cleveland Indians last night didn’t go unnoticed. The Red Sox were in the midst of their worst inning of the game, a 3-run second inning for the Angels, but you never would have known if from the loud applause soon after the Angels third run.
The final score was posted on the scoreboard and the record 37,706 crowd erupted.
7. Ortiz is the man.
I realize this is old hat, but the Red Sox slugger is on a mini-run of epic proporitions.
Since Sept. 26, he has 13 hits over his last 18 at bats. He has three homers, five RBI and eight runs scored. Oh yes, and he has walked seven times, which says opposing pitchers are being extremely careful with him.
Before the game, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Ortiz is the most feared hitter in the American League. After the game we can infer that still stands as the Angels walked him four times, twice intentionally.
8. Kudos to Sox offense.
Red Sox batters have not “killed” the ball, by any means, but they basically took two of the better pitchers in the American League, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, and made both of them look rather mediocre. The Sox jumped on both early, getting four runs off Lackey through three innings and then two quick runs off Escobar in the first inning last night. Lackey was gone after six innings in a game the Angels were never in (4-0) because of Beckett and Escobar hit 100 pitches in five innings.
9. A little managerial chess.
First it was Francona making a move out of the Joe Torre book when he brought Jonathan Papelbon into the game with two outs and nobody on in eighth, relieving Hideki Okajima. It appeared to work great as the first pitch to Howie Kendrick turned into a grounder to Mike Lowell. But Lowell’s throw to first was a one-hopper.
Anyway, the next batter was catcher Jeff Mathis. With the count 1-and-1, and Kendrick on second with a stolen base, Angels manager Mike Scioscia brought in pinch-hitter Juan Rivera, who took Papelbon to a full count before walking.
10. If Manny is Manny … watch out.
Among the things to watch over the next few games is last night’s clutch hitter, Manny Ramirez. He basically implied this has been a very difficult season for him. He said he has never really felt comfortable at bat.
Well, maybe this was just what the hit doctor ordered. If Ramirez can produce runs behind David Ortiz, then J.D. Drew can take the next three weeks off because it wouldn’t matter.
Bill Burt is executive sports editor for Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. You can e-mail him at bburt@eagletribune.com.
