Well, I guess we'll have to see.
A few nice trends from last night's game (could they be called trends after one game?).
Pedroia is squaring the ball up and they are now landing away from Indians.
Cleveland's bullpen showed they can and will give up runs.
Crisp needs to sit down for a game...
Beckett is ridiculous...
JD Drew got on base a few times and clocked a double...
So, what does this mean?
If the Sox can continue to hit the "hard throwers", then they should be able to replicate their results against Carmona. Of course, the flip side of that is Schilling. Yes, outstanding post-season numbers...But, before this year, you could count on a bad outing (See Game 2) as an aberration. This year, however, he was never consistent. Hopefully he rebounds. The good news is that the Boston pen is VERY rested. I imagine the Lester will be quickly called upon should trouble arise.
The key is to get out to an early lead and put pressure on Carmona. Cleveland's D doesn't make too many mistakes, so you have to capitalize on walks, and play some small ball. Making them play catchup is preferable because the back end of Boston's pen is very strong.
Of course, the offense is much better at Fenway. I am predicting a 7-4 Boston win.
Yes, Beckett was just incredible - we've moved beyond "small sample size" or "2003 was a fluke because he was young" to "this guy is one of the great October pitchers".
ReplyDeleteI like that even with Lofton coming at him and yelling he just stood there with that same locked-in look. Insane.
Beckett is the man. In the post game interview, broadcast live on fox someone asked him about Cleveland asking his ex-girlfriend to sing the anthem and god bless america. He said, (paraphrased) "I don't give a fuck... I am just happy they gave a friend of mine a free ticket to see the game!" I love when you hear curses on live TV.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet!
That was fun.
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