Kevin Youkilis's rifle throw from short right field to Mike Lowell at third base, nailing Vladimir Guerrero by about 10 yards, was likely the play of the game.
Boston had a 2-1 lead and there was only one out in the bottom of the eighth -- and that had come on a diving catch by Jacoby Ellsbury. Guerrero had singled to left off Justin Masterson and when Torii Hunter dropped a short pop over the infield and near the right field line, Vlad tried to hobble his way to third. The 3-5 play took all the air out of any potential rally. Howie Kendrick hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning, the Sox got two more runs in the ninth, and Bot slammed the door.A commenter at the Globe mentioned a key non-decision from Mike Scioscia:
Why wasn't there a pinchrunner for Vlad? The guy is slower than Ortiz and Lowell these days. This was a one-run game in the 8th inning. If Vlad was to get up again in the 9th it meant the Angels would have scored 3 times already. Got to tie the game first.Ellsbury did not think he'd get to Teixeira's pop fly to start that half-inning:
It was hit kind of high, but we were playing deep to respect his power. ... I came in running full speed, and I glanced down at Lowrie, thinking maybe he had a shot at it, hoping he had a shot at it ... making sure we don't collide. It's loud out there, and even if someone calls for it, you're probably not going to hear them. ... I really don't get too fired up when I make diving catches. I was pretty fired up about that one. It was late in the game. Playoffs. First out of the inning. It kind of killed off a potential rally. Definitely my favorite one of the year. Normally, 100 percent of the time, I know whether I can catch a ball. That one, I wasn't sure.
Since adjusting his swing to get rid of a lengthy uppercut, Ellsbury has caught fire again. In his last 15 regular season games, he hit .415/.424/.631, with multiple hits in nine of the 15 games. He had three hits last night -- and he's blogging!Josh Beckett threw long toss (150 feet) before last night's game. Terry Francona would not call him a lock to pitch Game 3, but: "He has to answer some physical questions every step of the way, and today was a good one."
Tito on the absence of Old Yeller:
[O]ur obligations are to put the best out there we can. I've been with Mike for five years now. We have a lot of respect for what he has done. But still, we're always going to do what we think is right for our ball club.
The one run the Angels scored off Lester (7-6-1-0-1-7, 117) was unearned. After Jason Bay's home run gave him a one-run lead, Lester struck out four of the next five batters. ... Jonathan Papelbon's post-season shutout streak is now at 15.2 innings.Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register called last night's game
Game 9 of the Angels Lacking Bashing Strength (ALBS, emphasis on the BS part). ... During their past nine postseason games, the Angels now have scored 16 runs. Not coincidently, they've lost eight of those games. They've lost all eight, in fact, in succession.
Enough links to keep you busy all day.Today's Games:
White Sox/Rays at 2:30
Brewers (0)/Phillies (1) at 6
Dodgers (1)/Cubs (0) at 9:30
107 comments:
and he's blogging!
It's tempting to leave a comment, but no need to sound like the gushing idiot that I am.
"First I wanna thanks Joe, for cutting my hair..."
Put that into the next chapter of Manny.
Am I the only one who is very excited to watch the Rays today?
FJM:
Cubs-Dodgers starts in 10 minutes. ... But let's get right to the heart of the matter. How do Yankee fans feel about it?
I mean, that's obviously the #1 fucking thing we all have on our minds, right? Where do average, run of the mill Yankee fans stand on the Cubs-Dodgers series? Someone should fucking write about that. Is everyone going to just ignore that huge fucking question mark? Is the liberal media just going to blow off the single most important question heading into the Cubs-Dodgers series -- namely: how do Yankee fans feel about it?! This is an outrage. This is a farce. I cannot believe that nobody is going to investigate how Yankee fans feel about the Cubs-Dodgers series. I swear to God--
Oh. Okay, good. Someone wrote about it. Phew.
****
Don Orsillo drinking game... PLAYOFF EDITION!
Seriously, though. Have you ever thought you'd see the day where there would be playoff bunting hanging off the walls at the Trop?
1-2-3 innings for both starters.
Heh. Barbers at the Rays rally the other day. Giving out free mohawks. Now you walk around the Tampa Bay area and you see men in three-piece suits with mohawks and parking attendants with mohawks.
Who decided there should be afternoon playoff baseball? That makes no sense.
Fucking Longoria.
Evan Longoria hits a dong!
I'd rather have afternoon postseason baseball than 10 pm postseason baseball...
Well yeah, but play it at 7pm so folks can watch.
There are also two more games later today.
Think I'd also rather have a triple header starting at 2:30 (rather have it start at 1) than to have three games on at once on different channels, or like FOX, one game seen in one area and another seen in another.
fuck duh rays
Cabrera gave up on that ball and Wise couldn't get there.
So I take it you guys don't want to see the Rays win at all? I'd like this series to go knock down-drag out five games. Extra innings. The lot.
Meh, Go White Sox.
Willy Aybar replaces Pena at first base. Wonder what the deal is.
pena out of the game cause a warm up throw to first caught him in the throat, according to the espn radio douches.
remember youk got the black eye in a similar situation...
Don just called a base hit a carom.
Three run dong for Dewayne Wise!
YEAH! 3 RUN DONG!
typical white sox, sitting around and waiting for a boring three run home run
:D
46 pitches for Shields
Haha Jeter commercial.
"The next game begins when the last one ends."
That and about six months...
Hey, for us Manny defenders, finally someone from the media wrote an article that actually sides with Manny and not the Sox.
Funny and noteworthy...
DRaysBay.com has 477 comments on their thread into the third. Wow.
That's some crazy baserunning right there.
Fucking FKRs.
DRaysBay always has a zillion comments.
Another dong for Longoria! Holy crap.
holy shit that kid can hit. wow.
Seriously, die in a fire, Longoria.
Maddon sez Pena was doing something around his house and scratched his eye.
espn douches ow say that pena is out of the game cause he "scratched his eye last night at home".
not serious according to the rays.
fucking rays.
white sox are going to be eaten alive in this series.
floyd 3 for 3 as far as foul HRs are concerned.
ocab talking all kinds of shit to ballfour, and then failing miserably.
pussy.
Does Don sound different to you guys, doing a national game?
"got hung up on the turf"
wow. He did. Got his spike caught in the turf!
Ozzie can't watch.
Konerko, who trotted toward first base on ball 3 thinking he had a walk, fouled off three more pitches, then deposited the 11th pitch of the at-bat into the left field seats. Love it.
Watching that Vlad play over and over .I thought he was going to be out either way he was so far off first base and If Youk caught it he would have been doubled off....
Eck, on Grant Balfour: "This guy is Gas Masterson!"
9-pitch AB by Brett Myers - the pitcher - with every ball taken, and every ball fouled off greeted with thunderous applause. C.C. walks Rollins, then Shane Victorino of all people cleans 'em off with a grand slam!
Strange things happening all around us! Sabathia hadn't given up 5 runs for the Brewers all season, and the first game of the playoffs for him, he gives up 5 so far.
ish said...
Strange things happening all around us! Sabathia hadn't given up 5 runs for the Brewers all season, and the first game of the playoffs for him, he gives up 5 so far.
Not so strange with CC he does have 7 era in the postseason...
I commented on the jacoby blog. i hope it makes it in.
I commented on the jacoby blog.
Oh, Lord.
i hope it makes it in.
Yes, well, they may not be as open-minded as I am about fans graphically expressing certain things they want to do to certain parts of young men.
I really want the Rays to win their division series, then we can beat them in the ALCS.
Who decided there should be afternoon playoff baseball? That makes no sense.
The only thing that makes no sense IMO is having more than one game on at the same time. During the DS, something has to be on during the day.
I'd rather have afternoon postseason baseball than 10 pm postseason baseball...
God me too.
I commented on the jacoby blog. i hope it makes it in.
Way to increase the homophobia in the world.
Most people here get your humour. Out of context, it will sound very different.
Assuming, of course, that you actually did what you're implying. Which you may not have. So never mind.
So what was the deal with OC and BallFour? Was there a pitch up and in that got OC yappin'?
I saw a clip wherein Ballfour pointed right at OC as he (B4) was leaving the mound. I'm sure Eck liked that -- though maybe he wanted a nickle for copyright infringement.
We need more of that. Batters saying shit to pitchers, pitchers coming back with a FU or some chin music, either guy doing his thing and saying "FY, MFer!" -- you know, some real fucking old-fashioned thee-ate-errr on the diamond!
Fuggin' Beckett and Pedroia would be all-world champs at that shit.
Balfour is described as a very chippy pitcher. He talks a lot and he taunts people. He was doing that a lot to the previous batter. OC took exception to that.
Here is my thought:
We're going to meet the Rays in the ALCS and we are going to have our hands totally fucking full with those non-stop scoring and winning, more-ice-tea-demanding motherfuckers.
In my less guarded moments, I think back on the 2007 "inevitable" Red Sox and I am convinced that the 2008 Rays are the very definition of inevitable. It seems like those guys are just gonna steamroll right over every goddamn thing in their path until there ain't no more things to steamroll over.
A Red Sox/Rays ALCS will go 7, easily, I'd say. Although I couldn't tell you who would win it. I probably wouldn't bet because my confidence is low. But for no money, I'd say the Rays.
We are going to watch the English language Canadian debate at 8, then check out the Dodgers/Cubs for a bit.
Red Sox/Rays - If that comes to pass, anything that happens would not surprise me.
Before that, though, I hope we get the chance to take at least once huge fucking dump all over Krod -- preferably at a packed, howling Fenway. "Huh! So where's your god now, fuckstick?"
I'll probably be switching back and fourth between baseball and the VP debates tonight. I'll refrain from commentary on the debate.
Will the Angels put Frod in there if they're not leading, ya think? I'd imagine they would if they were trying to stay alive in game... THREE.
Extra Bases
“I don’t think I put myself in a position to just play one game. I don’t think that’s the right way to do it. I’m looking play the whole postseason. Be at every game. I don’t think that’s anything special.”
Lowell, quite understandably, seems as though he’s grown tired of answering questions about his hip. When asked one question about his health, he tried changing the subject.
“A lot of anticipation for the big match-up today, Palin and Biden,” Lowell said. “Heard what Anderson Cooper and Larry King had to say. I’m on pins and needles for tonight.”
Will the Angels put Frod in there if they're not leading, ya think?
They have not done that all year. But if they are facing a cold winter, perhaps. It would be hilarious if we blew them out in games 2 and 3 and he never pitched!!!
In my less guarded moments, I think back on the 2007 "inevitable" Red Sox and I am convinced that the 2008 Rays are the very definition of inevitable.
You are reading my mind.
Daisuke Matsuzaka arrived sporting a Mohawk, a tad fuzzy at the top, that several media members described as “awful.” The new style didn't pass muster with David Ortiz, either. Ortiz, sitting on the clubhouse couch watching the White Sox-Rays game, summoned Matsuzaka from his locker, smiling and using more than one word that cannot be printed in Extra Bases. He ragged on Matsuzaka – using more words that cannot be printed in this space – through Matsuzaka’s translator.
They're loose.
I don't want to stifle comments, though. I'll stay out of it, of course (because I'll be ignoring it, though I'll likely check out shit in the AM), but if it comes up, you know ....
Loose.
Always!
And the Angels are gonna be tighter than Andy's trousers after Lyndon, Lowrie and Pedroia crank back-to-back-to-back seventh inning triples.
Very surprising to see the Phillies leading this one by 4, rather than the other way around. Myers is dealing, and C.C.'s outta there.
What do you think of the Dodgers/Cubs game tonight? Got Zambrano going for the Cubs, who is either very on or very off. And you've got Chad Billingsley who very quietly put up a 3.14 ERA this year.
I hate it when people call the Red Sox "The Nation"
One of the TV stations around here are doing the whole CBC hockey night thing for debates, calling it "Debate Night in America"
Eric Gagne's in to pitch for the Brewers. The white flag goes up.
That's amazing, isn't it? Mike Timlin's been left off the Red Sox roster - Eric Gagne is still on the Brewers roster.
ish said...
A Red Sox/Rays ALCS will go 7, easily, I'd say. Although I couldn't tell you who would win it. I probably wouldn't bet because my confidence is low. But for no money, I'd say the Rays.
The Rays? is that tongue in cheek?....If Beckett is Beckett and Lester continues his dominance no one will beat us Sunday is the Biggest game of the postseason , If Beckett is healty its all over...I hope the matchup comes to fruition , cause it would be a lots of fun....
redsock said...
In my less guarded moments, I think back on the 2007 "inevitable" Red Sox
Inevitable? I don't quite understand that either...
That's why my confidence in the outcome of the series would be so low. I think it could go either way.
Phillies were leading the Brewers by 3 in the 8th yesterday. They still won, but the Brewers had the tying run at second. Be interesting to see how the 9th inning plays out, since Lidge threw well over 30 pitches yesterday.
Now Milwaukee has the tying run at the plate - Prince Fielder.
Broken bat grounder to second to end the inning.
Lidge is warming. Should be interesting. 35 pitches last night.
That was rather anticlimactic.
Phillies win again.
Still love me some Manny.
Cubs fans, do not.
Manny's going to hit another bomb tonight. You read it here first.
north side of chicago burns to ground
I love playoff baseball! There is just something great about being really nervous about the Red Sox games while I sit on my couch and scream at the TV whenever anything remotely good happens!
Missed most of the Dodgers/Cubs game while watching the VP debate. Tried flipping back and forth but it didn't work.
Amazing that the Dodgers are sticking it to the Cubs again. Having a hard time believing it.
Luckily for the Cubs, they've got a ton of time to come back in this one.
Another Manny Dong! Being!!
He's locked in.
ishtradamus with the manny HR call.
Manny's astounded by the ivy.
Ron Darling does not like Manny at all, it sounds like.
Is it just me, or is Manny wearing just one lone sleeve, like Jacoby?
I only sort of noticed in the dugout. It'd be hilarious if he was.
Nevermind with the sleeves thing.
Did TBS just say the only team to lose the first two DS games and come back to win were the 2001 Yankees?
Maybe they meant at home.
Because we all know the '99 Red Sox lost the first two ALDS games to Cleveland, came back and won... and the '03 Red Sox lost the first two to Oakland, and came back and won.
Maybe I missed something. Because that seems sounded so blatantly wrong.
Did Stockton say the Yanks of '01 were the only team to erase a 2-0 deficit in a division series? Becuase the '95 Mariners awesomely did it, too.
And of course us in '99. He couldn't have said that...
oh right, and us in '03
ok, they 'splained it. Lost 1st 2 at home, then won.
Guess they did say at home.
Would be harder, I guess. Have to win three straight, with 2 on the road rather than 2 at home.
abrupt stoppage to posts it seems like. Hope our hosts are doing fine.
Saw this on the Make blog:
Ultimate LED fan sign.
Thank you, Nick. We are fine. We were purposely away from computers last night to watch the Canadian election debate.
Other than the prospect of another Harper Government, I think we're fine. :)
I'll tell ya what I'm feeling good about. Beckett's side session going well. Watching footage of him on the mound, he looks ready for Game 3.
As for the Cubs... Anyone ever think of the possibility that (I don't believe in curses, but...) instead of any one curse, it's simply the curse of Wrigley Field?
You just watch. The Cubs will play better in Los Angeles.
Post a Comment