Damn, that game sucked. When Wake is off, he's off. The upside is that we get treated to all sorts of Wang headlines. Or, as I like to call them, Wanglines. Today's aren't as good as when the Sox smack Wang around...but you can't win them all. Anyway, while it says nothing about A-Rod's massive explosion, or the much-anticipated return of the Rocket, George King's article probably has the best Wangline of the day:
Wang Makes Things Right
Truer words have never been spoken.
After being the guy rooting for the underdog in these series (the Red Sox over the past many years), I can honestly say that for Yankees fans this series (and the next 3 game set) will be frustrating...
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Well, you take Game 1 and gain confidence. "Look what we just did to these guys!"
Then you look and Julian Tavarez is pitching against you. You might even take Game 2!
Then you are really excited and you lose Game 3.
The net result of an entire series of basebal in which you beat the "other guy" 2 out of 3 times? A one-game gain in the standings. A small and grounding feat.
So what do I mean by all of this? This season won't be decided in the head-to-heads unless sweeps by either team occur.
This season will be decided in how these teams play against everyone else. not each other...
The Sox may have gotten a taste of Wang, but it may have not been as bitter as all that! (Sorry, about that...I was trying to keep up with Earl!).
I can't get too worked up over one game (so far). The pitching matchups could not have been any better for NY coming into the series. It is in NY. And the Sox had some chances last night.
ReplyDeleteI know what you are saying about head to head not "really" being the tell all, but it has made a huge difference so far. remember that first series in Fenway, the Yanks were coming in on the heels of a sweep vs. Cleveland and A-Rod had a walk off or two. They were on fire even with their pitching concerns. And they could have easily won all three games. Had they won all three, the lead would only be 3.5 games. Two of three for them would place them just 5.5 games back. Neither a bad scenario considering their injuries.
I think those games set the tempo for the last few weeks.
That may or may not have set the mood for them...but it could have.
ReplyDeleteIf the yankees sweep this week, they would probably gain a ton of confidence.
I just remember the Sox heading into these series. Taking the first two, losing the last one, and feeling like the air left the tires because taking 2 of 3 is a tough thing to do (considering the ongoing even records in their head-to-head contests).
I am just saying that if the Sox take just 1 of these games, it sort of negates the series if they get right back to winning against everyone else.
I agree 100%, anything but a sweep and the whole thing is shrugged off - especially with the way the pitching matches up.
ReplyDeleteIts funny how you remember the Sox winning 2 or 3 games in past series, yet I seem to remember a bunch of series where the Sox lose a heartbreaker to open the series, but then bounce back and win the next game. Probably both things have happened at different times given the number of times they play each other. Specifically i reacll the two heartbreaking Friday losses (like I think one game where we had something like three men out at the plate) follwed the next day by 17-1 wins.
But I do think that series set the tone - they were 9-5 going in and the Yanks were 8-6. Sox have 21-9 since and NY has gone 12-17. And the sox have achieved that 21-9 record playing 13 of those games against playoff teams from last year.
You know what else would have been a good headline for this game:
ReplyDeleteDespite Strong Performance, Torre Pulls Wang in Seventh
Yes, it definitely has happened both ways...I guess my overall point is that it doesn't hurt the Sox to lose 2 of 3. It is 3 less games left in the season, and they only drop one game overall.
ReplyDeleteRather than the Sox losing 2 of 3 to Tampa while the Yankees take two of three from someone else and gaining two games...