2008 ALDS: Red Sox vs Angels

Red Sox at Angels - Wed., Oct. 1 - TBS
Red Sox at Angels - Fri., Oct. 3 - TBS
Angels at Red Sox - Sun., Oct. 5 - TBS
Angels at Red Sox - Mon., Oct. 6 - TBS
Red Sox at Angels - Wed., Oct. 8 - TBS

SO don't give a fuck

go sox and all that

go angels etc

Blech. Should be a good series but I couldn't give a fuck who wins.

morbs def otm

both can 3-man rotation it right

fuck em both but Sox in 4

i figure sox will win but will root halos

halos in 5 - go on to destroy the rays then ws domination!

ya i think the angels are gonna win too

yeah sox are outmatched here without a healthy lowell and drew

Angels in 4

FREEWAY SERIES

angels in 4

sox in 4 despite my previous post

If I was feeling boastful I'd go on about how hard the Sox have owned the Angels in postseason but whatever go Sox.

I'm nervous.

Angels in 5.

KRod will blow at least one save.
Angels will continue their hacktastic ways in the playoffs and will look lost at the plate.
Red Sox win in 4.
Ya, don't really give a crap, though.

Red Sox 4

Angels in 4 despite my previous post

and there's no sense in predicting short series, why do we do it?

i hope the angels humiliate the red sox

So yeah, Beckett strained oblique, pushed back to game 3 but that seems like wishful thinking. Red Sox media/fanbase naturally being gigantic pussies about the whole thing.

[Red Sox media/fanbase naturally being gigantic pussies about the whole thing.

you don't say

Clearly they're just trying to close the whine gap between themselves and the 2K8 Yankees.

Angels 5

angels in 4

Red Sox in 5

Angels in three

Captain Kick-a-Heater and the Record Holder Who Would Be Less Deserving of a Cy Young Award Than Brad Lidge will blow one save each.

jeez, the Angels outperformed their third-order record by 16 wins! What's the seamhead explanation for that -- similar to Arizona last year?

Sox have top Secret Sauce rank (a power pitching staff, as measured by normalized strikeout rate; a good closer, as measured by WXRL;
a good defense, as measured by Fielding Runs Above Avg); LAA was 4th in majors (essentially tied for second w/ Cubs and Jays).

Secret Sauce? Leave Jered's brother out of this.

Morbs the explanation is a stong bullpen being able to win 1-run games.

OK so can anyone tell a dude trying to blog about the post-season where the fuck to find official post-season rosters? This shit is infuriating!

yeah, hard to find... I only found the Dodgers' on an LA Times blog -- and the Red Sox' site still has their Sept roster.

haven't ver sox still not finalized theirs? cause of lowell?

yeah, I think they might have until mere hours before the game to finalize.

GO SOOOOXXXXXXX!

(even if due to the plethora of generic robotic gotteed type baseball players i care less abt this team than any in years. we used to have pedro manny and papi and a bunch of lunatics all on one team!)

Red Sox roster:

Pitchers: Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, Byrd, Wakefield, Delcarmen, Lopez, Masterson, Okajima, Papelbon

Infield: Cash, Ross, Varitek, Casey, Cora, Lowell, Lowrie, Ortiz, Pedroia, Youkilis

Outfield: Bay, Crisp, Drew, Ellsbury, Kotsay

if coco crisp could ever live up to his name we might be on to something

Kelly Shoppach ;_;

Red Sox confident enough to play w/out catchers!

Ahhh I'm so thankful for another bullshit secondrate TBS broadcasting team.

this is seriously like watching wcw saturday night

WOOOO JASON BAY

http://destructo.org/journal/wp-includes/images/smilies/emot-swoon.gif okay i take back anything bad i ever said about jason bay http://destructo.org/journal/wp-includes/images/smilies/emot-swoon.gif

now if he was just endearingly crazy

three canadian houseguests the other week all admitted their favorite neil young album was "trans."

until proven otherwise i'm gonna assume that goes for jason bay too. works for me.

LOL SARGE

AAAAHAHAH SUCK IT LAAAAAAAAA

WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP

booya

Jesus I hate the Globe's website.

okay i take back anything bad i ever said about jason bay

WHAT

Just now reading Sheehan's series preview (published yesterday), and this stands out:

The Angels were 11th in the AL in OBP, so avoiding outs on the bases will be critical.

lol vlad

and this:

If there's something to watch, it's whether Scioscia lets his team be overly reckless on the bases, given that they won't have many baserunners to play with.

He's probably already pointed this out in his piece today, but I haven't gotten there yet.

Sheehan mostly baffled that they didn't pinch run for Guerrero (who has zero legs at this point.)

couldn't this series have one fricking afternoon game?

dolla dolla bill yall

I was really crossing my fingers that Sunday's game at Fenway would be a day game.. I think playoff day games went out with Eisehower

N

twas a sweet ass game - pitchers duel lol vlad disappointed rally monkey - looking forward to tonight

Yeah, Tracer, I didn't watch game 1, and there's no way I'll stay up tonight, unless Palin-watching has fucked up my body clock enough that I can't fall asleep til 4am.

there have been day games the last two days.

lol, whoops

rallolly monkey

Hmm.

Hah that's Scott Boras literally right behind home plate yukking it up, isn't it?

ladies+gentlemen, the greatest closer of all time

haha $95 million

loool

I wonder how all those assholes who talked endless shit about JD Drew feel these days.

what the fuuuuuck was that

what happened?

weird inning

hunter leads off and bunts and bunts well but is still thrown out by 2 steps... didn't even look like he was running, youkilis makes a really great catch reaching into the stands except he actually caught it over the photo pit so he didn't have to deal with reaching angels fans, then kendrick strikes out

hunter bunt was bizarre

hunter hurt his knee earlier in the game so having him bunt is pretty weird

yeah he clearly wasn't running it out

i guess maybe he couldn't turn on the knee or something and thought that he had a better chance getting on by just trying to make a great bunt, but at that point they should've just pinch hit for him

torii hunter's version of gibson-esque heroics i suppose

kendrick left abt 100000 guys on base

Wonder how the remainder of the top of the ninth goes down with Crisp called out.

Plaschke article on impossibility of Angels winning out due to absence of potential Adam Kennedy-like clutch power in 3, 2, 1...

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/32315/KRodSad3_medium.gif

ha mizzell! that's what i get for ignoring everything except the american league east

well - Andy and Barry totally called that one! *golf clap*

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/32315/KRodSad3_medium.gif

Chriiiistmassssss tiiiiiiiiime is heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere

SWINGING 3-0 WTF

:0 WTF SOMEONE CATCH THE BALL

damn 3 run mental error o_O

Watching the UK feed tonight is like when you go to a minor league game and they let an eight year old call the game from the announcer's booth in the sixth inning. Except once in a while you get a kid who knows enough to shut the hell up for maybe five seconds.

And now the fucking feed is down!

BB-Rod?

angels = worst team to ever win 100 games

This game is taking forever.

anybody else watching? i got out of bed to watch this online...

XP--yeah, but it's actually fairly exciting!

taco time!

fuck!

No tengo tacos en la ciudad de habas.

ellsburystrike2.gif and ellsburystrike3.gif plz

Umps got lives, too.

Someone please sedate Chip Carey -- his vocal priapism about every fucking semi-routine play made is beyond obnoxious. I was thinking he was just getting a head start on the official Jeterization of Pedroia (AYO PEDDI CRACK GET A FUCKING HIT), but he just gets all excitable about every damn thing.

Remember the first time you saw live Major League Baseball and thought the first 300' fly was leaving the field for sure, up until the instant it reached the center fielder, who had been standing right there for five seconds? CHIP CARAY ALMOST EVERY GODDAMN TIME.

Caray tilted me so goddamn hard this game.

Dumb question: where's Sean Casey? I love Alex Cora the way any man loves a solid lightweight no-stick infielder, but I'd rather The Mayor ground out to third to end the game than AC.

http://trashpile.net/upload/Aybar.gif

Carays don't watch outfielders

Hey speaking of Chip: anyone want to bother telling him between starbursts that including that bloop 3-RBI single by Ellsbury with the other 2-out RBI magic that the Red Sox have perpetrated this series is more than a bit disingenuous?

waht xp

guh worst game ever - retardo play horrible ump lasted forever and the sox lost - cant believe i watched the whole thing

seeing that pop up drop between confused angels while three runs scored was awesomely lol tho

ellsbury was not out on that play above.

how many Josh Beckett Big Game Pitcher montages went unplayed?

uh, 2 maybe. what's your point?

that he doesn't have a Special Ability when the chips are down, y'know.

i thought you liked baseball

why did you think that?

cuz I don't suddenly show up on this board in October?

Fine, keep faith in yr fat-faced Texas chipmunk.

fine then, i will.

GO CHIPMUNKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eh dude was obv rusty if not still too injured too pitch

also dude has a career postseason ERA of 1.73.

until last night.

yes, regressing to the mean by pitching like Samuel Beckett

He's been injured and isn't throwing with the same velocity as last year and you're seriously calling regression.

don't worry, he said the same thing about Chipper Jones after he got beaned in the head.

On a related note, the sig flair actually looks like the wakeboarder's post-bike accident brainscan.

Sox are in decent shape since they actually have their best pitcher going tonight... but I bet Lackey will STEP UP!

Sheehan:

Scioscia's tactical judgment can be called into question, but so can his approach to the game. Perhaps you want to blame Torii Hunter, and only Torii Hunter, for trying to stretch a ninth-inning leadoff single into a double and getting thrown out by the distance between "FrankTV" and funny. I can't argue with that. However, I have to think some of that decision to take the extra base is Scioscia's influence, the way he wants the Angels to play. The problem is, the Angels' nominal style of baseball is terribly ill-suited for their personnel. This is not a contact-hitting, take-the-extra-base roster. It hits for power, strikes out a bunch, and doesn't run well. Maybe a 26-year-old Torii Hunter is safe at second. Maybe the 2002 version of Darin Erstad gets there standing up. But in October 2008, that play is just handing the Red Sox an out. At some point, Scioscia, aided by Tony Reagins, is going to have to either revamp the roster or instruct his players to stop running the bases as if there were no consequences. Since he can't do the former by 8:30 p.m., I'd suggest the latter.

It took me a while to process the idea that Mark Kotsay is playing first base for the Boston Red Sox.

Suicide squeeze on a 2-0 count: WIRED

I'm surprised Varitek was about to run down Willits there.

Scoscia is such garbage.

Way to go Kendrick, Aybar, Scioscia, Ecks in the Outfield.

Not just a 2-0 suicide squeeze -- a 2-0 suicide squeeze with Figgins on deck.

And one out.

Scioscia 4 MVP, I guess. What a dumbass call.

:(

terrible call, go rays

A FUCKING FLY BALL DUDE

IT'S CALLED A SAC FLY

SORRY IT'S NOT A BUNT

YOU ARE NOT ON THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS ANYMORE

ASSHOLE

:D

"Dirty Water" is such a weird song to play when celebrating your team winning a playoff series.

guys, i just checked the standings DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DODGERS BEAT THE CUBS???? holy shit where have i BEEN

Craig Sager is wearing an orange plaid suit, and his handkerchief has a picture of a tiger's face on it for fuck's sake.

What? They did?

xp

yeah the cubs got swept!!!! WAU!!!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/ps.jsp

Craig Sager is wearing an orange plaid suit, and his handkerchief has a picture of a tiger's face on it for fuck's sake.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 12:15 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

ILB 2008 Observation/Comment of the Year Nominee

Goddamn that Scioscia move makes me want to flood an opposing team's dugout.

A FUCKING FLY BALL DUDE

IT'S CALLED A SAC FLY

SORRY IT'S NOT A BUNT

YOU ARE NOT ON THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS ANYMORE

ASSHOLE

― David R., Tuesday, October 7, 2008 12:05 AM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark

Another Nominee

PS - Sager's suit received the champagne bukkake treatment by Papelbon, Masterson, & Timlin (who THANK GOD did not pitch in this series).

guys a dodgers/red sox world series could be the most amazing thing ever

"We lost to a team that's not better than us," growled pitcher John Lackey, who gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything."

It wasn't so much Scioscia's squeeze call and Erick Aybar's missed bunt attempt that irked Lackey after the 100-win Angels, who had the best record in baseball and seemed built for a long October run, lost the series, three games to one.

"That's our style of baseball," Lackey said. "That got us here."

It was being eliminated by Boston for the third time in five years and watching the Red Sox pour out of their dugout to celebrate another walk-off win -- they had one in each of their division series victories over the Angels in 2004, 2007 and 2008.

It was seeing Boston score two runs in the fifth, which included Jacoby Ellsbury's run-scoring groundout and a fly-ball RBI double off the Green Monster in left field by Dustin Pedroia, who broke an 0-for-15 series slump.

"(Sunday) night they scored three runs on a pop fly that was called a hit, which was a joke," Lackey said, referring to Ellsbury's pop that fell between center fielder Torii Hunter and second baseman Howie Kendrick in Game 3.

"(Monday) night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

Asked to describe his feelings, Lackey said, "Like I want to throw somebody through a wall."

:(

lol lackey u an ugly motherfucker

o_O http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3629594

http://esquirephotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/knjblog1003.jpg

Someone should tell Lackey that the Ellsbury hit on Sunday and the Ellsbury broken-bat grounder on Monday were both misplayed by the Angels' defense.

this series reminded me of sox/a's from a few years ago when both miggy tejada and whatshisface both forgot to tag home - sox played solid while the other team fucked up just enough to lose

whatshisface = ERIC BYRNES

slept thru this.

God Lackey sounds like a bitch. Goodbye and good riddance, LAAAAA, I can't fucking stand you guys.

Professional athlete being angry and upset over losing SHOCKER ... come on, the guy is allowed to be pissed off about it.

Being pissed off != bitching about how you're the better team when you obviously didn't play like it

"(Monday) night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

"well sir i suppose those runs that scored were the result of fortune rather than skill so i shall quietly stand on second base here and think about how lucky i am that this just happened. celebration would be most inappropriate."

the angels can fuck right off imo

how could i forget this guy http://azsportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/byrnes1.jpg

Kendrick's failure to turn that fifth inning double play -- instead of ending the inning, those two runs scored -- was as much of a back breaker as the suicide squeeze. Lackey pitched well and made a handful of sharp plays himself. That said, he didn't need to vent ON the field. His teammates probably don't yell "GODDAMNIT!!!" whenever he gives up a home run.

xps

Lackey also passive-aggressively blamed his offense after game 1, when he started the party by throwing an exceptionally bad pitch to Jason Bay.

Why is the Varitek-Willits play being debated at all?

you mean the call? what is the rule?

When Varitek tagged Willits, he had control of the ball. End of story, right? Apparently the call is debatable since Varitek lost the ball after he hit the ground, and/or some people doubt Varitek had control of the ball? Every fifth or sixth time I've looked at my (muted) television this morning/afternoon, ESPN has been replaying the tag/fall.

It isn't debatable, but I'm not surprised that ESPN is wrong about something.

There wasn't any debate from the TBS crew, probably because Harold Reynolds was working the other game.

in the post game someone was wondering what the difference between varitek falling down and losing the ball and a catcher run into at home losing the ball when he hits the ground - its that the runner didnt cause varitek to fall right? is that what the rule is?

Am I the only one who thinks these champagne-spraying celebrations are a little too de rigueur? I think the Rays should celebrate with water balloons, silly string, and some squirtguns filled with GAK.

cocaine!

I've assumed that with a runner-catcher collision at the plate, it is the same: If the collision itself causes the ball to fall out of the glove, the runner is not out. However, if the catcher tags the runner and contact WITH THE GROUND causes the ball to fall out of the glove, the runner is out.

if there a collision at the plate and the ball pops out when the catcher hits the ground the runner is always called safe

i dont know how the rule actually reads but id like to

Isn't the by-the-book rule that the catcher can't block the plate?!?!?

i think every postseason should include an undeserving angels team being unceremoniously booted by a borderline call that is hilarious to everyone else

7.08 Any runner is out when-

(c) He is tagged, when the ball is alive, while off his base.

There isn't anything about a tag being undone when a fielder loses the ball after hitting the ground.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp

Isn't the by-the-book rule that the catcher can't block the plate?!?!?

NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.

Am I the only one who thinks these champagne-spraying celebrations are a little too de rigueur?

You are not the only one.

Joe Sheehan liked the squeeze call ¯\(º o)/¯

What was his reasoning?

reasoning i heard from someone else. ayber had 9 bunts for hits and 9 sacrifice bunts, 2-0 count meant they could expect a strike.

Sheehan rattled off some stuff about it being "Scioscia Ball" and that Ayber is a terrible hitter. I don't think the BP guyz are too fond of 5 game series.

That terrible hitter (like many terrible hitters in the playoffs [cue Jerry Manuel quote]) did OK in a similar situation the previous game.

And it's not like Sean Rodriguez was on deck.

"Sheehan rattled off some stuff about it being "Scioscia Ball" and that Ayber is a terrible hitter. I don't think the BP guyz are too fond of 5 game series."

The BP guys are weird. I wish both series (LDS and LCS) were 5 games, frankly.

I guess you like painting w/ a thick brush, Alex?

Haha well they are weird about that argument in my view.

damn Mark Grace you got old.

dude is a heavy smoker

Am I the only one who thinks these champagne-spraying celebrations are a little too de rigueur?

You are not the only one.

Save the champagne celebrations for a real title, please

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3633371

Instead, big leaguers insist on dousing themselves for simply reaching the playoffs. Don't they realize that nearly 25 percent of the teams make it to the postseason? So it's not like you climbed K2 on your knees.

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/1008/mlb_a_bosox_200.jpg

These columnists have their sights set on killing the champagne industry, and I WILL NOT HAVE IT

(translation: stfu flappy ass)

Morbius OTM waaaaaaaay upthread

suggest ban

or speed stick

RIGHT GUARD OR DIE

Don't they realize that nearly 25 percent of the teams make it to the postseason?

Don't he realize 8 of 30 > 25%

I had an impromptu champagne celebration with some friends a few months ago. It was a fucking blast. There should be more champagne celebrations.

Spontaneous champagne is always good, agreed.