Game 6: A Boston Massacre
Fear of failing has served Curt Schilling well, especially during the post-season, where he’s racked up 10 wins, including an impressive 4-0 record in post-season elimination games.
In fact, the Sox, overall, hold a remarkable record in Game 6 post-season history, going 7-3 , dating back to 1903
The ``big game'' right- hander was far from spectacular, but he didn’t need to be last night, the offense, particularly the bottom of the order, which was nowhere to be found through the first 4 games, sprung to life, accounting for 8 of the 12 Red Sox runs in a 12-2 hammering of the Tribe.
The most damaging to the Indians, and most encouraging to the Sox was J.D. Drew’s grand slam to center in the opening frame, to put the Sox up 4-0.
Boston supplied another power surge in the 3rd, to put this game away early, adding two more in the 8th , and setting the stage for a Game 7 showdown Sunday night.
There were some concerns, to be sure, about the value that Drew brought to this club, and his uninspiring 11 home runs and 64 RBI’s during the regular season, while going 1-in-11 and 0-for 6 with runners in scoring position during the post-season
Whether the well traveled outfielder was worth the $70 million the Sox plunked down for his services, his bat paid huge dividends last night, driving in 6 of Boston's 12 runs.
Now attention turns to another Boston enigma: how their $103 million locomotive, Daisuke Matsuzaka, has failed to get through 5 innings in two post-season starts.
In Game 3, Dice K was touched up for 4 runs in a 4-2 loss at Jacobs Field, the Sox second straight loss in the series, a game punctuated by Kenny Lofton’s two- run missile in the 2nd.
In failing to come through after another disappointing outing, Matsuzaka was cleary shaken and despondent after Game 3, so much so that it caught the eye of Schilling, who noticed glitches in the flame thrower’s delivery that needed fine tuning. According to the Boston Globe, that’s when Schilling became teacher, and Dice K his disciple, pointing out he was failing to throw strikes with his fastball, while the Tribe waited to jump on the pitches he was able to throw for strikes; namely, his changeup and slider.
How effective a teacher Schilling is, or more importantly, how attentive a listener D-K really is, will be realized Sunday, when he and Jake Westbrook square off in a Game 7 shootout at Fenway
The Indians, once up three-games-to-one, have to be stunned how their two 19- game prized stallions have wilted heading into the home stretch. For the second game in the series, Boston pounded Fausto Carmona; last night it was for 7 earned runs, and unlike Game 2, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning, the offense wasn’t able to bail him out.
Even more alarming for the Tribe, is the collapse of Rafael Perez, who was tagged for 3 hits and 2 runs after just 16 pitches.
So now it’s a one-game series; meaning, both bullpens will be on high alert, and we shouldn’t be surprised, so they tell us, to see appearances by C.C. Sabathia, who’s never worked out of the bullpen, and Game 5 sensation Josh Beckett, who most definitely has, the most memorable: pitching 4 innings of relief for the Marlins in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, after having pitched a shutout in Game 5 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E5DA173EF935A25753C1A9659C8B63
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
In fact, the Sox, overall, hold a remarkable record in Game 6 post-season history, going 7-3 , dating back to 1903
The ``big game'' right- hander was far from spectacular, but he didn’t need to be last night, the offense, particularly the bottom of the order, which was nowhere to be found through the first 4 games, sprung to life, accounting for 8 of the 12 Red Sox runs in a 12-2 hammering of the Tribe.
The most damaging to the Indians, and most encouraging to the Sox was J.D. Drew’s grand slam to center in the opening frame, to put the Sox up 4-0.
Boston supplied another power surge in the 3rd, to put this game away early, adding two more in the 8th , and setting the stage for a Game 7 showdown Sunday night.
There were some concerns, to be sure, about the value that Drew brought to this club, and his uninspiring 11 home runs and 64 RBI’s during the regular season, while going 1-in-11 and 0-for 6 with runners in scoring position during the post-season
Whether the well traveled outfielder was worth the $70 million the Sox plunked down for his services, his bat paid huge dividends last night, driving in 6 of Boston's 12 runs.
Now attention turns to another Boston enigma: how their $103 million locomotive, Daisuke Matsuzaka, has failed to get through 5 innings in two post-season starts.
In Game 3, Dice K was touched up for 4 runs in a 4-2 loss at Jacobs Field, the Sox second straight loss in the series, a game punctuated by Kenny Lofton’s two- run missile in the 2nd.
In failing to come through after another disappointing outing, Matsuzaka was cleary shaken and despondent after Game 3, so much so that it caught the eye of Schilling, who noticed glitches in the flame thrower’s delivery that needed fine tuning. According to the Boston Globe, that’s when Schilling became teacher, and Dice K his disciple, pointing out he was failing to throw strikes with his fastball, while the Tribe waited to jump on the pitches he was able to throw for strikes; namely, his changeup and slider.
How effective a teacher Schilling is, or more importantly, how attentive a listener D-K really is, will be realized Sunday, when he and Jake Westbrook square off in a Game 7 shootout at Fenway
The Indians, once up three-games-to-one, have to be stunned how their two 19- game prized stallions have wilted heading into the home stretch. For the second game in the series, Boston pounded Fausto Carmona; last night it was for 7 earned runs, and unlike Game 2, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning, the offense wasn’t able to bail him out.
Even more alarming for the Tribe, is the collapse of Rafael Perez, who was tagged for 3 hits and 2 runs after just 16 pitches.
So now it’s a one-game series; meaning, both bullpens will be on high alert, and we shouldn’t be surprised, so they tell us, to see appearances by C.C. Sabathia, who’s never worked out of the bullpen, and Game 5 sensation Josh Beckett, who most definitely has, the most memorable: pitching 4 innings of relief for the Marlins in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, after having pitched a shutout in Game 5 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E5DA173EF935A25753C1A9659C8B63
-Bill Lucey
billlucey@bellsouth.net
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