Redemption

We win! It was sweet redemption for a collapse in 2011. It was sweet redemption for a torturous 2012 under Bobby Valentine. And I personally believe that the Boston Marathon bombings made this team even more focused on their mission to bring winning baseball back to Boston. Mission accomplished! Last night's heroes include Shane Victorino, John Lackey, Koji Uehara, Stephen Drew. This playoff run has featured big performances from several different players, none bigger to me than Jon Lester & David Ortiz. Big Papi is very deserving of the MVP award. But this was a team effort & this season reflects a deep roster, deep bench & good young talent. Congrats to the 2013 Boston Red Sox! You played the game right & had fun doing it. Fear the beards!!

Day Off for Fans

My brother has been staying up for every game, as well as the post-game shows. He gets to bed around 1 AM on game nights. I'm sure he is not alone. Many folks on the east coast have had rough work weeks due to the longevity of these World Series games & their late start times. I think the Red Sox fans needed an off day as much as the players.

Game 6

As Dan Shaughnessy wrote today, game 6's in the past have featured a Carlton Fisk home run & a ball that got under Bill Buckner's glove. I'm not buying into any past experiences in game 6's that the Red Sox have participated in. I'm giving my vote to my buddy Gaff. He believes that the 2013 Red Sox are a team of destiny. I think so too. It would be incredible for John Lackey to win the clinching game of the World Series, a symbol of his personal change & this team's change from a year ago. A phoenix for both rising from the ashes of 2012. No doubt Michael Wacha will be tough, a rookie with a 4-0 record in the playoffs. If you think about it, where can Wacha go from here? Only down. He reminds me of Pedroia winning a World Series as a rookie in 2007, then MVP in 2008. Where could he go from there? Nowhere but down & it's taken Pedroia 5 years of battling injuries, et al to get back to the big stage. Wacha is due for a bad game & I hope it's tonight. Big Papi is as lethal at the plate as he was in 2004. And Jon Lester has finally emerged as the ace everyone knew he could be. Let's finish it tonight, boys!

One More Win to Finish Dream Season

The formula was simple last night. Lester to Uehara to Boston. Jon Lester, now the undisputed ace of the Red Sox staff, pitched 7 2/3 innings of 1 run ball. Koji came in for a 4 out save. And the Red Sox head back to Boston with a 3-2 lead in games after a solid effort to beat the Cardinals & Adam Wainwright by a score of 3-1 on Monday. Wainwright drops 2 games to Lester during this series. Big Papi continued his torrid pace at bat with a double in the 1st to put the Sox up 1-0. Ortiz finished the game with 3 hits. Matt Holliday tied the game with a solo shot to CF. But late RBI hits by David Ross & Jacob Ellsbury put the Sox ahead to stay. Matheny will be scrutinized for not bringing in a lefty to pitch to Ellsbury with 2 outs. Looking ahead, the Sox face a tough customer in Michael Wacha in game 6, but John Lackey will be up to the task. Similar to the Detroit series, the Sox split at home & won 2 out of 3 in the visitor's ballpark. Let's hope the script repeats itself again as the Sox beat the Tigers in 6. You can pick your word - unlikely, improbable, unthinkable, against all odds - but the 2013 Boston Red Sox are 1 win away from a 3rd World Series in our lifetime after an 86 year drought. As one famous Red Sox announcer said in 2004, can you believe it?

John Lackey - Set Up Man?

Because of Craig Breslow's troubles the use of Breslow & Tazawa in the same inning leaves the Sox short a man to get to Koji. No problem. John Lackey was schedule to throw a side session, so why not throw your side on the mound in the 8th inning of game 4? Lackey made his first relief appearance & got through the 8th unscathed after an errant throw by the X-man at 3B. I like the willingness of John Farrell to use whoever is available to win today. If things had not worked out in game 4, there may be no game 6. Then you would have saved Lackey for nothing! And good for Lackey for consenting to a relief appearance to help his team win. This former beer & chicken guy has really had an extreme makeover in his perception by Red Sox fans this year.

Felix Doubront A Pleasant Surprise

Felix Doubront has had 2 good outings from the bullpen in the World Series. Given Craig Breslow's troubles, maybe Doubront will become the 7th inning guy the rest of the way. There is no question that he has the talent. The knock on Doubront is that he is not the most professional in his preparation & in his off-season workouts. Twice he reported out of shape & ended up missing time due to injuries. No one cares now as Felix seems to have the number of the Cards batters. I believe he has 4 or 5 scoreless innings now. Doubront may be a key piece in the final 2 or 3 games of this series.

Jonny Be Good!!

Say it however you want. Jonny Be Good! Jonny Come Lately (into the lineup)! Jonny Quest! By any measure the 3-run homer that shot off the bat of Jonny Gomes in the 6th inning to put the Sox up 4-1 was by far his biggest career hit as a Red Sox & perhaps as a player. His homer led to a 4-2 victory by the Sox & it evens the World Series at 2 games apiece. Should, & this is a big should, the Red Sox go on to win the fall classic, Jonny's HR may be the pivotal swing in momentum. Without that homer we lose 2-1 & go down in the series 3-1. Nice work from Buck, albeit short work of 4 innings, then Doubront, Tazawa, Lackey & Koji. Breslow just can't buy an out & Farrell should skip him. And why not a pickoff of Kolton Wong to end the game with Beltran at the plate! 2 crazy game endings in a row. When Big Papi goes 3-3, scores from 3rd on a sac fly & holds a dugout campfire meeting you know that #34 wants another series ring. And it all worked. After one round of the Cards 4 best pitchers versus our 4 best pitchers the series is even. Now games 5 & game 6 revert back to the big boys - Wainwright & Lester, Lackey & Wacha. One team is coming to Boston up 3 to 2. I hope it's us. After Gomes' homer I feel like the magic is back again. Best 2 out of 3 now. And the series returns to Boston.

Pats Win 27-17 Over Miami

Ugly first half as evidenced by a 17-3 score. But a great 2nd half as the Pats beat a division opponent in the Dolphins to keep hold of 1st place in the East. Any win is a big win with so many injuries. Now Nate Solder may be out for awhile to join the growing number of players on the DL. It's unlikely that the Pats will finish better than 11-5 or 10-6, but that may still be good enough to make the playoffs. We may not go far this year, but you have to applaud the effort of Ninkovitch, et al who gave their best effort. A win is a win. We'll take it.

More Thoughts on Game 3

The Red Sox could be 3-0 if they would stop throwing the ball around, especially to 3B. Craig Breslow is snake-bitten with bad luck so far. Example check swing base hit by Carpenter last night. Maybe Workman is the new 7th inning guy. Farrell lifted Doubront for a pinch hitter, but let Workman hit. Not sure of his thinking, especially when Mike Napoli was still waiting his turn on the bench. Playing in an NL park is a double whammy for us. No Napoli. And any pitcher that hits is a sure out. I guess the NL likes slow-paced action & easy outs. In-game, in-dugout interviews by Fox while the game is going on have to go. It's like sitting next to 2 old ladies who don't watch the game. It's hard not to like the Cardinals since they play hard right up to the last out - just like the Sox. If we can clean up our defense, we should be in better shape for the rest of the series. If I hear you have to "live mas" one more time by Joe Buck, I'll explode.

Obstruction 5, Red Sox 4

I couldn't sleep after watching the finish of a World Series game that ended on a once-in-a-lifetime, seldomly seen obstruction play. That one play negated 2 excellent comebacks by the Sox offense that had clawed their way back from a 2-0 & 4-2 deficit. For all of us who clammored for Stephen Drew to be benched, we got what we deserved - Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks was out of position & reacted too slow on a hard grounder by Matt Holliday that put the Cards up 4-2. Then Middlebrooks missed a catchable ball thrown by Saltie to get Allen Craig. Instead the ball skirts loose & Craig trips over a prone Middlebrooks with his legs up. Obstruction was the right call - you can't impede a runner from the next base without the ball in your hand. And Middlebrooks did just that. Why Saltie even threw the ball is another mystery as Koji had 2 outs & the bottom of the order up. The Red Sox rarely, if ever, lost 3 games in a row this year & I hope tonight's game ends with the series tied 2-2 & not the Sox down 3-1. I'm not sure if I can watch another whole game on Fox. I may just peek in from time to time. If the Red Sox stopped all their odd-ball plays & stopped throwing the ball away, they could be up 3-0. Instead, they will fight for their lives in game 4 tonight. Good luck, Sox. We need a sound game defensively tonight.

Was the Trade Worthwhile?

Was the trade of Jose Iglesias for Jake Peavy a good one? Question answered in a few hours as Peavy starts his biggest game in a Red Sox uniform. The Sox got rid of a log-jam at SS where Drew, Iglesias & Bogaerts were all vying for playing time. By trading Iglesias the Sox wound up with a veteran starter & former Cy Young Award winner. As we saw in LA earlier this year, when Peavy is "on" he can be devastating. He was not "on" in his recent playoff start against the Tigers. So a lot of reporters will be judging the merits of the trade that brought Peavy to the Red Sox based upon his performance today. I hope Jake is "on" as we could certainly use a win tonight.

New Podcast Coming

We just had to get one last podcast in during the World Series. Can the Red Sox magic continue for 3 more wins? Take a listen once we upload it & give us your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Vaseline Story Nixed By MLB & Cards

Good morning, Tyler Melling! Get ready for a phone call from your employer, the St. Louis Cardinals. In the famous words of Donald Trump, you're fired! Melling is the Florida League pitcher for the Cards that accused Jon Lester of putting vaseline on the ball on Wednesday night. A classy Cardinals organization quickly refuted his story, saying no players or coaches in the St. Louis dugout saw anything & neither did the 6 umpires on the field. Not a good sign, rook, when your employer doesn't back you up. So it won't be long before Tyler Melling is looking for a new place of employment. Keep tweeting, Tyler, keep tweeting all the way to the unemployment line!

Cards Strike Back With 4-2 Win

It was the young guns of the Cardinals pitching staff that held Boston to minimal offense, minus a 2-run homer by Big Papi. And it was Craig Breslow who was not up to par, allowing the go-ahead run to score on an ill-advised throw to 3B that sailed away into the night. And so to did game 2 sail away from the Red Sox. It's hard enough to comeback once & take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 6th. Very hard, almost impossible to do it twice. Each team has a win now in this best 3 out of 5 series. Jake Peavy is going to have a huge impact on the final results of 2013. He gets the ball in game 3 & will be scheduled again for a game 7, if necessary. Assuming Lester & Lackey split again when they pitch against Wainwright & Walka, this series will hinge on 2 games pitched by Jake Peavy & one by either Clay Buccholz or Felix Doubront. Peavy can't be any worse than he was in Detroit, so we need to trust that he can silence the Cards bats & keep the game close for 5 or 6 innings. Game 3 will be the biggest start of Peavy's career & we need him to be up to the challenge.

Cards Prospect Accuses Lester of Doctoring Ball

My buddy Steve just sent me an article that a pitching prospect from St. Louis is accusing Lester of doctoring the ball last night. Really, St. Louis, is that why you couldn't field the ball or why you gave up so many hits to the Sox offense? This is crap, pure crap. Ever notice how many times the ball is changed during a game, never-mind during one at bat. It hits the ground or it's fouled off, a new ball goes in. The Cardinals batters could have asked to check the ball, but no one did. Why not man up, Cards prospect, & just say we got our asses beaten to a pulp last night because we choked. Stop looking for excuses as to why your team peed their pants in game 1. Weenie!

Little Things Add Up

Couple of small things that helped the Red Sox win last night. Jacoby Ellsbury sets the tone on offense by drawing a 3-2 walk in the first. As much as Tim McCarver wants the Red Sox batters to start swinging at the first pitch, patience paid off again as Wainwright was up to about 60 pitches after 2 innings. And even though the game was well in hand, Daniel Nava doubles to left after sitting on the bench for about a week. He deserves some playing time & Farrell said he expects to have Nava in the lineup in St. Louis. Finally, how about the Lester to Ross to Napoli double play? Lester made an easy throw home & Ross cleared the runner to make an accurate throw to Napoli. Good veteran play all around with no hurrying to mess it up. The Sox executed their game plan flawlessly in game 1.

Red Sox 8, Cards 1

The tough St. Louis Cardinals got off to a very poor start in game 1 of the World Series. Tight. Choke. Scared. I don't know the right word, but the visitors were bad in all phases of the game - offense, defense, pitching. Adam Wainwright was bad. The entire Cards infield was bad. The exclamation point was a pop-up that landed between Wainwright & Molina as each looked at each other. A big reversal of fortune in the 1st inning by the 6 umpires who overturned a dumb out call at 2nd base. That helped Mike Napoli clear the bases on a double to left center. Even Big Papi motored from 1st to home! A nice catch by Carlos Beltran to save a grand slam by Ortiz in the 2nd resulted in Beltran leaving the game with sore ribs. No problem, though, as Big Papi blasted a 2-run shot in the 7th for good measure. Jon Lester was money as he pitched into the 8th. Freese blew the biggest offensive chance for the Cards with a comebacker to Lester who started a 1-3-3 double play to end a bases loaded threat. It was all good for Boston & all bad for St. Louis. The Cards have to feel that game 2 will go better since it can't get any worse. Michael Wacha versus John Lackey tonight. The Sox may need another win as Jake Peavy moves up to pitch game 3 & Clay Buccholz is suspect for game 4. Buck is going to cost himself lots of dollars when he negotiates his next contract since he can't stay on the field.

World Series Starts Tonight

Mary J. Blige gets to sing the national anthem. You can expect player introductions & all kinds of hoopla from MLB & Fox. And then we can get down to the baseball game. Can Jon Lester give this team another good outing, at least through 6 innings? The bullpen is well rested & the pen is a definite strength of this team. Can the Sox offense that struggled mightily against Detroit find a way to score a few runs off the Cardinals moose - Adam Wainwright. Wainwright is one big dude. It should be a great game 1 & a great world series. Enjoy!

Lester Versus Wainwright

The 2 horses start things off on Wednesday night. Jon Lester battles Adam Wainwright. Both guys are their team's #1. Lester has pitched well in the playoffs as has Wainwright. I believe that Wainwright did lose game 5 vs. the Dodgers. But like Verland, Scherzer & Sanchez he can make life miserable for batters if his stuff is "on" that night. And Wainwright has been more on than off. It should be another great playoff game - minus Buck & McCarver. I hope Tim doesn't go all the way back to his playing days for the Cardinals more than a dozen times!!

2013 St. Louis Cardinals

Who are the Cardinals? Well, let's start with their regular season record of 97-65, same record as our Boston Red Sox. They were pushed by the Cincinnati Reds & Pittsburgh Pirates in September, but the Red Birds managed to hold onto the top spot in the Central. By their regular season numbers, here's who to watch out for. Yadier Molina, C - best batting average .319. Carlos Beltran, RF - most homers 24. Allen Craig, 1B - most RBI 97. Matt Carpenter, 2B - highest OBP .392 & most hits 199. Adam Wainwright,SP - most wins 19, lowest ERA 2.94, most strikeouts 219. Edward Mujica, Closer - most saves 37. Trevor Rosenthal, RP - most holds 29. These are the big names on the St. Louis roster to watch for. But, like any series, other players can have an huge impact. Look at Saltie's game-winning hit in game 2 & the grand slam that came out of nowhere from Victorino in game 6. I'm sure we will be hearing a lot more about the Cards in the days to come. Suffice to say that the 2 teams with best records are meeting in the World Series. Another heavyweight match-up.

Detroit Tigers - Post Mortem

Jim Leyland is expected to retire today. Some of his moves in the ALCS will forever be second guessed in the Motor City. I understand that Felger & Co. are on the Tigers for being out of shape & wearing cement shoes when running the bases. I will say that Cabrera, Fielder, Perralta & the back-up catcher Pena don't seem like they have missed many meals. Torii Hunter will be 39 next year. It seems as if the team with the best pitching rotation in baseball may not be enough as their window for success fades. Young gun Jose Iglesias is exactly what the Red Sox thought - a guy who doesn't like making the routine play, always looking to do something grander or most spectacular. Iglesias did make some great plays, but he also made 2 big miscues that cost Detroit 2 games. That's what you get with Iglesias. I'll stick with Bogaerts, thank you. It's back to the drawing board for the Detroit brass as they try to improve a poor bullpen & they try to deal with 7 more years of Prince Fielder's contract. Good luck!

Pats Lose in OT 30-27

The Patriots were outplayed on both sides of the ball. Time of possession was 2 to 1 in favor of the Jets. And to add insult to injury, a stupid rule change gave the Jets a 2nd chance to win the game & they did. Say what you want about young receivers, but Tom Brady was not very good yesterday. He was pressured & it showed. Nice to see Gronk back on the field & contributing. But overall, the patchwork defense gave up a lot of yards & the offense wasn't good enough. I thought that October would be a 2-2 month & so far the Pats are 1-2 this month with Miami coming to Foxboro next weekend. Somehow, someway Bill B. needs to plug-in guys that can give this team a better chance to win.

Before That At Bat...

You fill-in this sentence. Before that last at bat by Shane Victorino, I .... My sentence completion would have been - "before that last at bat by Shane Victorino, I wanted John Farrell to pull him & pinch hit Daniel Nava." I can't be the only Sox fan who thought that. Shane was having trouble this entire series at the plate. He plays a great RF, just like Drew plays a great SS, but neither of them was hitting. However, John Farrell stuck with these guys who got the team to where they are. And just like Ortiz, Saltie, Napoli & others - no matter how bad their previous plate appearances were, they got the big hit when needed. And Victorino certainly did that last night. After Victor Martinez drove in 2 runs with a wall ball, stupid baserunning by Prince Fielder helps the Sox defense contain the damage, keeping it to a 1-run deficit. Jim Leyland will be forever second-guessed for removing Scherzer & pinch-running for Jhonny Perralta, both moves too early in the game. The Detroit bullpen & lack of offense proved the fatal downfall of the Tigers. And Shane Victorino's HR will be remembered long into the future. Onto the World Series!

We Win on Victorino's Blast

The magic of 2013 is going to continue. Shane Victorino, a guy who looked like he couldn't hit a ball from either side of the plate, hits an 0-2 curve ball high into the monster seats for a grand slam in the 7th & the flyin' Hawaiian propels the Red Sox to a 5-2 victory, gaining this incredible team entry into the World Series. No one could have expected this worst-to-first ride to continue, but it does. Detroit gave Boston everything it had, but in the end the Sox were the better team. 4 of the 6 games were decided by 1 run, 3 of them won by the Red Sox. So many heroics to win individual games - David Ortiz, John Lackey, Mike Napoli, Koji & the bullpen, and now Shane Victorino. It will be hard for the World Series to match the intensity & nail-biting of this ALCS. And with 3 days off the pitching for both teams will be lined up & ready to go. What an incredible year & incredible team we are watching in 2013! The Sox have certainly given a city that suffered a terrorist attack in April & their fans something to be very proud of.

Scherzer Versus Buccholz

To say that this is a big start for Clay Buccholz is an understatement. Buck has not been his old self after his 3 months of R&R in the middle of the season. He has enough innings under his belt now to figure out this Detroit lineup. His game 2 start was less than his best effort & any athlete likes a 2nd chance to atone for a poor outing. (Don't you think Clayton Kershaw would like last night's game back as a do-over?) It's a very similar feeling to the Verlander-Lackey game 3 scenario where it was all about Justin Verlander. And look what John Lackey did. If lightning can strike twice, maybe Buck can do to Scherzer what Lackey did to Verlander. We need a win tonight as any game 7 is always a crap shoot. Let's hope that Buck & the Sox offense can be just 1 run better than Scherzer & the Tigers tonight.

Cards Punch Ticket to World Series

The St. Louis Cardinals are heading to the World Series again for the 4th time in 10 years. They destroyed Clayton Kershaw & the Dodgers 9-0 in game 6 to win the NLCS. Seems like if it's not the Cards, it's the Giants going to the World Series. Both teams have been to the fall classic multiple times in recent history. Now the Cards wait for the winner of Boston-Detroit. And yes, I know that Tim McCarver - a former Cardinal - will be bring up a zillion stories from the 1900's about when he played for the Cardinals. Get the ear plugs ready! Congrats to the Cardinals, though.

Series Headed Back to Boston for Game 6 & Maybe 7

Yes, we are happy to have taken 2 out of 3 in Detroit. Both wins were by 1 measley run, 1-0 in game 3 & 4-3 in game 5. 4 of the 5 games in this series have been decided by 1 run. You just can't get a series any tighter than that. And with Max Scherzer going on Saturday & Justin Verlander going on Sunday it will be a major task to beat each pitcher for a 2nd time. Scherzer lost game 2 when his bullpen gave up 5 runs, including a granny to Big Papi. Verlander lost game 3 1-0 on a Mike Napoli homer & a gem pitched by John Lackey. Would it surprise anyone if this series went to a game 7? Absolutely not. But I'm hoping that Clay Buccholz has a start like he did in April & May & the Sox can touch up Scherzer early in the game like they did to Sanchez last night. Why is Fox speaking to Scherzer all the time on the bench? Is he a player or broadcaster? Note that Jim Leyland isn't talking during the game. Good for him. He is too old school for that crap. But Fox spends the money, so the league promnises them in-game access which is totally stupid. Half the time Buck & McCarver don't know the count, how many are out or who's up - because they are yacking about something from 1920 or pushing a Fox show. It's painful watching the game with these guys. But it is still a great & classic series between the Tigers & Red Sox. Nothing is won yet, but I'd rather be up 3-2 than down 3-2.

Time For Line-Up Changes?

C'mon, I know that we as Red Sox fans have nothing to complain about, being just one win away from returning to the World Series. But - I'm doing my best Michael Felger impression today. I think that John Farrell has chosen to stick with Shane Victorino & Stephen Drew for defensive reasons. Offensively, both are terrible at the plate lately. Drew looks confused & Victorino can't hit from either side. Daniel Nava & Xander Bogaerts are options that Farrell could & should consider. Nava broke up a no-hitter in game 1 & the X-Man is good for a hit per game. I understand that Victorino & Drew got the Red Sox to where we are today. However, it couldn't hurt to start Nava & Bogaerts & use Victorino & Drew as defensive replacements later in the game. Even if Victorino & Drew are to stay in the starting lineup, how about moving them down to Drew 8th & Victorino 9th? Personally, I'd go with Ells, Nava, Pedey, Papi, Nap, Gomes, Saltie, Middlebrooks & Bogaerts. Or, staying with the current lineup - Ells, Pedey, Ortiz, Napoli, Gomes, Saltie, Middlebrooks, Drew & Victorino. And if a couple of lineup changes are all I have to complain about, that's nothing.

Sox Strike Back With 4-3 Win

The Boston Red Sox continue to amaze. They take 2 out of 3 in the Motor City, the most recent nail-biter tonight by a score of 4-3. The Sox lead the ALCS 3-2 & come home to Beantown. Where to start with tonight's great team win? Jon Lester threw 5 2/3 strong innings. John Farrell with the conviction to lift Lester in the 6th & turn the game over to his bullpen. Mike Napoli with 3 hits & a huge homer to get things started. Napoli scores the winning run on a past ball. Jonny Gomes throws out Miguel Cabrera by 5 feet on a dumb base-running play. And Koji gets a 5-out save to preserve the win. Let's not forget Will Middlebrooks heads up running play to go 1st to 3rd on a sac bunt. As a Red Sox fan, what more can we ask from this team? I know - 1 more win against Scherzer or Verlander. The World Series is in sight! Enjoy the ride!

Lester Needs "A" Game

As my niece texted to me today, we need Jon Lester to be on his "A" game tonight. I agree. Good for the Red Sox that their sluuggish offense got 12 hits last night. We just couldn't get the big hit with RISP. If Lester & the defense can keep it close through the first 6 or 7 innings, Sanchez usually has a high pitch count by then & we can get into a very average bullpen. Usually someone you wouldn't expect has a big game. It could be Middlebrooks, Bogaerts or Drew - whoever is out there & batting in the 8th & 9th spots to turn the batting order over to Ells who seems to have his swing again. It would seem that this would be the game to win for us with Lester on the mound. Then we need 1 of 2 back home. One team leaves Detroit up 3-2 tonight. I hope it's us.

Best 2 Out Of 3

Tigers win 7-3 to even the ALCS at 2 games a piece. Jake Peavy had a bad 2nd inning, giving up 5 runs which put the game out of reach early. A rare misplay by Dustin Pedroia may have extended the inning, but the 3 walks by Peavy were killers as all 3 runners scored. No late innings heroics last night, although the X-man Xander Bogaerts started the 9th with a double & scored on Ellsbury's triple, his 4th hit of the night. No it comes down to Sanchez, Scherzer & Verlander versus Lester, Buccholz & Lackey. Best 3 versus best 3. Let the better team win.

Lackey 1, Verlander 0

Another nail biter! Another most impressive win for John Lackey, Mike Napoli & the rest of the Boston Red Sox! John Lackey stood & delivered when his team needed him the most. And the "fear the beard" tactics of Mike Napoli's 7th inning homer on a 3-2 pitch was all the Red Sox would need. Props also to Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa & Koji of course. Game 3 was a sweet payback for a 1-0 loss in game 1. In 3 games the Red Sox have outscored the Tigers 7-6. That's how close this series is between 2 comparable teams, 2 heavyweights to be sure. Gaff, Steve & I all thought that Farrell should have had Middlebrooks bunt Drew to 3rd with no outs, but Big John must have wanted 3 shots at getting Drew home. Too bad none of the 3 worked out & Drew was left stranded. I don't think you will see Farrell make that mistake again. The Sox win on Tuesday means that the series will head back to Boston if a game 6 is needed. Don't sell Peavy & Lester short on closing this series out in Detroit. The Tigers starting pitchers can strike out all the Boston batters they want, but it's runs that win games. And we are 1 run & 1 game better than Detroit right now.

Big Test for Lackey Today

John Lackey has been one of the most steady starters for the Red Sox throughout the regular season. He has re-made his image & career with a great year in every respect except one - wins. Today his offense will need to "find a way" against the Tiger vet & ace Justin Verlander. Verlander has had several excellent starts, so in my book he is due for a stinker. Lackey, on the other hand, has been OK in the playoffs, but not as good as he can be. So I'm betting on Lackey to come up big this afternoon at Comerica Park. The Sox havce seen the soft underbelly or weaknesses of this Tiger team -- poor defense & poor relief pitching. If they can keep it close through the first 7 or 8 & get Verlander out of the game, the Sox have a good chance. And the Tigers now know how explosive the Sox offense can be & that no lead is safe. Pressure on the Tigers today in front of the home town folks to perform & pressure on Verlander to pitrch a complete game. As my grandson would say, bring it!

Joe Buck & Tim McCarver

We drew the short stick when we got Buck & McCarver to announce the ALCS instead of the NLCS. Joe Buck has these annoying in-game interviews while the action is going on, not to mention his prejudice against Boston. He better hope Boston wins because Fox ratings will suffer if the World Series is Detroit vs. St. Louis. And Tim McCarver can't stop rambling about events from 40, 50 & 60 years ago. The commercial breaks always run too long so that you miss or almost miss the 1st pitch of each half-inning. Joe Buck should stick to football & Tim McCarver needs to retire to the rest home. It's torture to listen to these guys, but we have no choice.

Red Sox - Another Comeback Win

It looked bad, really bad for a 2nd night in a row. The Tigers were up 5-1. Scherzer was striking out 2 batters an inning. The only thing helping the Sox was - once again - the pitch count. Annibel Sanchez could only go 6 innings on Saturday. And Max Scherzer could only go 7 innings last night. Dustin Pedroia got the Sox on the board with a wall ball double to end the drought of scoring against Tiger starters. So Jim Leyland's bullpen starts the 8th, only to unravel with the bases loaded, 2 outs & David Ortiz coming up. Leyland opts for his closer, Joaquin Benoit, to pitch to Big Papi. Papi has looked bad, real bad at the plate this whole series. Number 34 deposits the 1st pitch from Benoit into the right field bullpen, game tied 5-5. Torii Hunter overruns the ball because it was hit so hard that it started to curve back towards the right. Hunter ends up flipping head first into the bullpen. Leyland was so afraid of his closer going back out there in the 9th that he brings in Rick Porcello to pitch. Jonny Gomes, always a part of the action, hits a grounder into the hole past an ailing Miguel Cabrera. Old friend Jose Iglesias, known for hot-dogging, should have ate the ball & left Gomes at first. But no, Iglesias has to try for a circus play & he throws it away allowing gomes to take 2nd. Porcello uncorks a wild pitch to Saltie that allows Gomes to take 3rd. With no outs Leyland elects to pitch to Saltie instead of loading the bases. He brings his infield in when a struggling Saltie goes with the pitch & hits a hard grounder off the glove of - you guessed it - Jose Iglesias who had entered the game in the 9th for defense. What a great come-from-behind win! The Sox are not dead yet!

Patriots Win

It was an improbable comeback against Drew Brees & the undefeated New Orleans Saints. The Pats offense sputtered all day, but they did put some points on the board. Similarly, the Saints offense found it hard to score off of a bump & run Pats defense that knocked receivers off of their pass routes. The tide seemed to change in the Saints favor when Aqib Talib left with an injury & Danny Amendola got pulverized on a catch by 2 Saints defensive backs. Then there was the pick of Brady with 3 minutes & change left in the game. As the stadium was emptying of fans Chandler Jones made a huge stop to force the Saints to punt. With 1 minute & change left in the game Brady goes 70 yards, 5-7 to 4 different receivers & finishs tthe afternoon with a picture-perfect throw to KImbrell Thomkins in the left corner of the end zone with 5 seconds left. Pats 30, Saints 24. A huge comeback for this team, this franchise in 2013. Don't count the Pats out yet!

Vintage Brady, Vintage Ortiz

It was quite a Sunday in New England. A day when most people of faith pray for miracles, the big guy was listening & he gave Patriots & Red Sox fans 2 in 1 day. After a late interception in the 4th quarter thrown by Brady, it appeared that the New Orleans Saints would remain unbeaten. But a final drive where Brady went 5-7 culminated with a perfectly thrown ball to Kembrell Thomkins in the end zone with 5 seconds left for the win. And, not to be undone, the Red Sox were behind 5-1 in the 8th inning, looking like it was another Detroit win at Fenway. But David Ortiz comes up with the bases loaded & deposits the 1st pitch from closer Benoit into the right field bullpen for a tie game. The Sox would walk-off with the win in the 9th. Vintage Brady, vintage Ortiz. Two miracles on the sports field in one day. Thank you, God!

Tigers 1, Red Sox 0

Wow! What can you say about a game that goes down to the last pitch? It was all pitching in game 1. You can say that the Sox only got 1 hit, but they were able to get Sanchez out of the game after only 6 innings because of deep counts, even in their many strikeouts, but they also drew 6 walks. Lester & Co. worked out of several jams throughout the game & gave Detroit batters everything they had to limit the damage to just 1 run. A beautiful catch by Drew over the shoulder saved 2 more runs late in the game. Jhonny Perralta had 3 hits & the lone RBI. Obviously, Jim Leyland has no second thoughts about allowing him to rejoin the team after his 50 game suspension. It's too bad that Perralta was the difference. Last year the Giants did not let Melkie Cabrera play after his suspension & they won the World Series without him. The Red Sox had manyt check swings called for important strikes &/or strikeouts - all of which seemed to be the right call. Joe West just seems to draw the Red Sox & be in the middle of several close calls, none more important that a 3-1 strike call for strike 2 to Ellsbury in the 8th. Ells struckout on the next pitch. The Red Sox desperately need a win in game 2 today. Strap on your big boy pants, Sox, & let's beat Scherzer & go to Detroit tied at 1-1. Look for more K's today as Scherzer fanned 240 during the year. This is a huge start for Clay Buchholz. And another big challenge for this team.

Red Sox & Tigers - Game 1 Tonight

After last night's 3-2, 13-inning win by the St. Louis Cardinals over the LA Dodgers the ALCS starts up tonight with Lester facing Sanchez. To make it to the World Series the Red Sox will need to beat Verlander or Scherzer at least once. A local paper reviewed this series & this particular reporter's take is that the series will hinge on the ability of Detroit's pitching to stop the Red Sox running game. I think the Sox need to beat up on the #3 & #4 starters for Detroit in Boston, then grab 1 win in Detroit before returning to Fenway up 3 to 2. And don't underestimate the pitching staff of the Boston Red Sox. Lester, Lackey, Buchholz & Peavy can be as tough as the Motown starters. It should be a great series.

Only Heavy Hitters Left

No Cleveland Indians. No Pittsburgh Pirates. No Oakland A's. Only 4 heavyweight teams are left for the Championship Series. Los Angeles versus St. Louis. Detroit versus Boston. Kershaw, Greinke, Wainwright, Scherzer, Verlander, Lester, Lackey, Buchholz. Ramirez, Gonzalez, Holliday, Beltran, Cabrera, Fielder, Ortiz, Napoli. These are some of the stars who got their teams to this point. In a 4 out of 7 series the best team usually does win. Of the 4 teams left perhaps only the Red Sox were the underdog to get there. The NL starts things off tonight while the Tigers invade Beantown for game 1 on Saturday. Anything can happen at this point. We should all appreciate the effort it has taken to get the home town team to this point. Now let's keep it going!

Sox Await A's Or Tigers

We know it's the LA Dodgers versus the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. After tonight we will know the Red Sox opponent in the ALCS. As I said on our latest podcast, the Cardinals scare me because they have an excellent track record in the playoffs, minus 2004 against the Red Sox. If I had to pick an opponent for the Red Sox, I'd go with the A's just to stay away from the Tigers pitching - not that the A's young arms are not as good, maybe just not as experienced. The Red Sox will have Jon Lester ready to go in game 1 on Saturday. I'm amazed that Shane Victorino doesn't have broken ribs after being drilled by Rodney at the Trop. The Red Sox are rested, healthy & ready to go. Not even Felger & Mazzaroti can find fault with this team now. That's saying something!

Post Mortem on Rays

23 games against the Tampa Bay Rays, not to mention spring training tilts, is more than enough for one year. The Red Sox, for once, seem to have the Rays number this year as the Sox came out on top more than not. 3 out of 4 in the post-season shows me that the Red Sox were the deeper club & the better club in 2013. They beat both Moore & Price, even as Price did his best impression of the 2011 John Lackey after game 2 by downplaying his own sub-par performance. No one can just say "I got beat today, but I'll be ready next time." Excuses, excuses, excuses is a way of life today. I did want to mention 2 Tampa players that I do have respect for - Evan Longoria & Ben Zobrest. Like Pedroia, Victorino & Ellsbury, those 2 guys play hard every day. On the other hand, I won't miss Joe Maddon, Professor Wizard, who out-thinks himself sometimes. And I especially won't miss Fernando Rodney. Rodney let his team down in the biggest 2 games of the season, including a ridiculous performance last night where he left the bases loaded in the 9th for rookie Archer to deal with. When you embarass other teams after every save with your crooked hat & arrow slinging I say you deserve all the criticism & more when you fail. And fail mightily did Mr. Rodney when his team needed him. It's next year for Tampa Bay.

We Win, Moving On To ALCS

Many big contributors to the Red Sox 3-1 win in St. Pete last night. Jake Peavy - nice start by limiting the Rays to 1 run over 5 2/3. Craig Breslow - massive performance to get out of the 6th, 7th & start to the 8th. Koji got a big out in the 8th & did his 1-2-3 thing in the 9th, ending the game by striking out Longoria. Xander Bogaerts - first playoff action & the kid draws an important walk & scores 2 runs. Jacoby Ellsbury - speed kills & he was awesome the entire series. Shane Victorino - gets the go-ahead hit in the 7th besides being plunked in the ribs by Mr. Crooked Hat in the 9th. Dustin Pedroia - clutch sac fly to score a big insurance run in the 9th. And on & on. Daniel Nava - good at bats. David Ross - nice job behind the plate in relief of Saltie. You can see that the 2013 version of the Boston Red Sox is a very deep team that wears down the opposition. Mike Carp didn't even play. The Rays made their best effort, but in the end the Red Sox were just the better team. Nice going, Sox! Way to keep this improbable 2013 season alive!

Sox Lose 5-4 in Tampa

You didn't think it would be easy, like 3 in a row, did you? A walk-off HR given up by Koji was the difference. The game went decidedly down hill after Buck gave up the 3-run homer to Longoria. I expect the Sox to come out swinging tonight against Jeremy Hellickson. And I expect Jake Peavy to pitch like he did in LA. This Red Sox team rises to every challenge & I don't expect anything different tonight. Sometimes you learn more from a loss than you do a win.

No Momentum in Cincinnati

A fumble. Several sacks of Tom Brady. Missed balls by Pats receivers that they needed to fight for. More injuries. A very tough Bengals defense all day. Pats suffer their first loss 13-6. The Pats defense only gave up 13 points & it was another good effort on that side of the ball. Typical, Bill says we need to coach & play better. Brady says it wasn't our best 60 minutes. Needless to say, it doesn't get any easier next week when the Saints come to Foxborough. Gronk needs to return & the skill players on offense need to make more plays. Otherwise, it will be a long, long season for Pat fans.

Big Test for Pats Today in Cincinnati

Injuries to Gronk, Amendola, Ridley & Wilfork to name a few. A much improved Bengals team at home. Brady, Mayo & Co. will have their hands full on each side of the ball today when this 5th game of the season kicks off at 1:00 PM. Can the Pats offense, defense & special teams do enough to pull out a win? We will know the answer by 4:00 PM. October could result in a 2-2 month for the Pats as they play today at Cincinnati, at home next week against the high-powered Saints, in New York against the dysfunctional Jets & they finish the month at home against an improved Miami Dolphins team. I'll go with 20-17 Pats today. I think a Gostkowski field goal wins it late.

Sox Beat Price & Rays 7-4

Not Matt Moore. Not David Price. 2 of the best lefties in the league could not stop the offense of the Boston Red Sox in the first 2 games of the ALDS. After scoring 12 runs yewsterday the Sox offense comes back with 7 more runs today. Big Papi, David Ortiz, hit 2 long balls for home runs. John Lackey was not sharp, but he managed to keep the damage to 4 runs. Relief help from Breslow, Tazawa & Uehara was excellent as the pen stranded runners & frustrated the Rays batters with the aid of 2 big double plays. It's been all Boston in the first 2. Let's finish it on Monday as Clay Buccholz goes against Alex Cobb. A great season, an improbable season, a special season continues for the 2013 Red Sox.

Sox Kick Ass in Game 1

The Boston Red Sox laid down a beating on the Tampa Bay Rays 12-2 in game 1 of the ALDS. Matt Moore was not helped by the poor fielding of Sean Rodriguez & Wil Myers in the 4th, but Moore didn't help his own cause by covering 1st base late on a Stephen Drew grounder that extended the inning. It seemed like Tampa fell apart in the field, leading to a 5-run 4th & this was a lead that the Red Sox would add & add onto as the game wore on. I am tired of hearing how superior the Tampa pitching is. Jon Lester & his teammates rose to the challenge today - as they have done through 162 games this season. Let's keep the magic of 2013 rolling on Saturday when Lackey & Price hook up in game 2.

Game Time for Sox

The Boston Red Sox get back to work this afternoon as they take on AL East rival Tampa Bay in the ALDS. Jon Lester versus Matt Moore. While I would like nothing more than a 3 game sweep by the Red Sox over Joe Maddon's Rays, I was thinking yesterday that it may come down to Buccholz & Peavy being better than Cobb & Archer. If the Sox earn a split in games 1 & 2, I have every confidence that Buck & Peavy can outpitch Cobb & Archer in Tampa Bay. And the Sox offense will win the day over the Rays offense as they have all year long. Don't look for anything less than a great effort by this 2013 Red Sox team today.

It's the Damn Rays!

No one wanted to see more of Joe Maddon, Arrow-Man or Evan Longoria, but they are all coming back to Boston for the ALDS. Give the Rays credit. They survived 2 elimination games on the strength of good pitching & just enough hitting. However, now it's the Red Sox turn to lay down some excellent pitching of their own to go along with some timely hitting. The Sox have been a team of destiny thus far this year. And they have not struggled as in year's past when playing the Rays. The Joe Maddon mystique is gone. No one on this Sox team is afraid of anything the Rays send their way. I hope we beat these guys 3 games in a row.

Life Without Vince for Pats

Big Vince Wilfork had his surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. All signs point to a return to the football field by Wilfork in 2014. The Pats will never be able to replace Vince with one player, so they will use a combination of players on a situational basis. After Vince got hurt in the Falcons game the Pats continued to stop the run with a combination of linemen, along with Mayo & Spikes behind the line. The Pats don't get a break this week as they play against a much-improved Cincinnati Bengals team on the road Sunday. Let's see what Bill can cook up for the Bengals to keep their offense in check. Brady & Co. will have a tough job moving the ball against another good defense.

A-Rod Continues Fraud Act

You can't make this stuff up. On the Dennis & Callahan show this morning they are running a piece on A-Rod who says he was duped into taking steroids. A-Rod then paid people from the HAA - Hispanic Association of America - to protest outside of his proceedings. D & C point out that all of the signs that the HAA folks are carrying were written in the exact same handwriting by one person. And one member of HAA confirmed that he was being paid to protest for A-Rod. Just go away, A-Roid. Just go away.

Government Shutdown

OK, I'm going off script again. Our boneheads in Washington have shutdown the government. The American people are & have taken a back seat to a Hatfields & McCoys scenario in Washington between the Republicans & Democrats for the last several years. These politicians do not represent us, the people. They represent their party first, foremost & last. There is no compromise. There is no middle ground. And we are to blame for re-electing the same idiots every year. The system is broke. I bet if we withheld their pay something would get done.

Rays Beat Rangers

Ron Washington may be looking for a new job as early as today. His Rangers ran out of gas for the 2nd year in a row in September as the Rangers make an early exit in the playoffs again after losing to the Rays 5-2. Maybe it's the heat wearing down the players, but 2 years in a row is not a coincidence. Probably time for a change. And let's hope that Francona's men can take care of the Rays on Wednesday so we don't see anymore of Joe "I'm the smartest & hippest guy on the planet" Maddon or Fernando "crooked hat, arrow-throwing" Rodney. Haven't we seen enough of the Rays this year? At least Francona's Indians won't have to face Moore or Price as they pitched pitched Sunday & Monday to get the Rays to the wild card game. Cobb or Archer will get the start. The Indians bats need to stay hot for one more game & Francona will need to piece together his pitchers. Should be a good game.