A suprisingly dominant performance by the born-again ace and REAL Mr. October: Curt Schilling.
Meanwhile, the healthy Manny and Papi duo continued to slaughter Angel pitching, eliminating the western champs in the minium three games.
I’m not sure how I feel about the Yankees come-from-behind win. My Red Sox DNA ALWAYS finds immense joy in a pinstripe meltdown, I certainly don’t want to see them in the LCS, and I was perversely looking forward to the soap opera that would be the firing of Torre followed by the inevitable exodus of Rivera, Posada, Clemens, and Rodriguez. On the other hand, a Tribe sweep would put them in the same position as the Sox: able to set up their pitching. With Sabathia and Carmona looking absolutely dominant, that certainly would not have been an easy task for the suddenly surging Sox offense.
October 8th, 2007
Hey Mike, “My Red Sox DNA ALWAYS finds immense joy in a pinstripe meltdown,” Catholics aren’t supposed to take pleasure in the failings of others.
October 8th, 2007
Sorry I hit return too soon. I agree with your assessment that it would be nice to see the Indians-Yanks series go to the 5th. I am not sure if it it would be preferable to play a tired Yankees team with Steinbrenner’s sword of Damocles hanging over the manager’s head, or an Indians team with a more spent bullpen. Either, of course, is preferable to the Indians with a rested bullpen.
And you might get the best of both worlds, as the Yanks have to pull a Sox ‘04 in order for Ol’ Joe to avoid chopping block.
October 8th, 2007
Bob:
The issue isn’t the bullpen but rather the starting rotation. If the Indians eliminate the Yankees this evening (not likely) they can start Sabathia and Carmona on regular rest in games one and two — a better one-two punch than the Sox would run out there. If the Yankees force a fifth game, Sabathia (the Indians’ best pitcher) or Pettitte (the Yankees’ second-best) would probably not appear until the third game of the series.
Also: The apt analogy for the Yankees’ situation is the 2001 ALDS (Yankees down 2-0 come back to beat the A’s three in a row), not the 2004 ALCS.
I would not of course expect you to know these things as we’re talking about a corporate sport rather than a merely semi-corporate like college football.