Tag: Boston Red Sox (Page 34 of 37)

      Angels finally figure out Red Sox in postseason

      October 6, 2008 /

      It took the L.A. Angels 11 tries, but they finally beat the Boston Red Sox in the postseason. The Halos pushed a Game 4 and staved off elimination in the ALDS by beating the BoSox 5-4 in 12 innings on Sunday night.

      Among several observations he made in the 12-inning affair, Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe notes that Josh Beckett is hittable in the postseason after all.

      Josh BeckettOne of the evening’s big revelations was that Josh Beckett is not always going to be Superman in the postseason. The Sox starter’s mortality was evident from the first pitch of the game, which Chone Figgins ripped for a ground-rule double down the right-field line.

      That was the beginning of a rocky five-inning stint in which Beckett was reached for nine hits and four earned runs while twice being taken deep by Angels catcher Mike Napoli (the first caroming off the light tower nearest the left-field foul pole and landing on Lansdowne Street). In addition, Beckett walked four, which doubled his entire 2007 postseason total.

      He was never really comfortable, holding the ball for endless stretches between pitches, as if telling the world he really had little interest in throwing it. Catcher Jason Varitek added to the tedium with several visits to the mound, and thus it was still the fourth inning two hours into the game.

      Beckett deserves credit for gutting it out knowing his team needs him. He wasn’t at his best Sunday night, but he’s hobbled and despite not showing it in the previous two games, the Angels have a great lineup. Boston will just have to tip their hats to L.A. and get ready to try and clinch again.

      MLB

      Red Sox own Angels in postseason Vol. II

      October 4, 2008 /

      As Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe writes, if it’s Red Sox-Angels in the postseason, the BoSox are going to win.

      The Angels lost to their Boston Daddies at home again last night. This time it was Red Sox 7, Halos 5, in what was easily the best game of the postseason anywhere yet this year. J.D. Drew won it for the Sox with a ninth-inning, two-run homer off Francisco Rodriguez while most of New England slept (the game ended at 1:28 a.m. EDT).

      The best-of-five series moves to Fenway tomorrow, and the Sox should be drenched in champagne well before midnight. There might even be a closer with a cardboard box on his head step-dancing on the Fenway lawn. Make sure the bases are bolted down.

      Regarding Red Sox vs. Angels, we have moved well past the arena of standard athletic competition. We have wandered into Rod Serling’s space “between the pit of a man’s fear and the summit of his knowledge.”

      Hmm. Boston columnist used to write about how the Red Sox would blow games, even if things were going the team’s way. Now they’re writing about how wins are already a given. How the times have changed.

      MLB

      Red Sox own Angels in postseason

      October 2, 2008 /

      Vladimir GuerreroAs Bill Plunkett of the OC Register writes in the wake of Boston’s 4-1 win in Game 1 of the ALDS, the Red Sox own the Angels in the postseason.

      In their past nine playoff games (four against the Red Sox, five against the White Sox), the Angels have scored a total of 16 runs while batting .190 as a team. They had nine hits Wednesday, all singles, and haven’t hit a post-season home run since Game 3 of that ’05 ALCS (Orlando Cabrera).

      “I don’t know nothing about that,” first-year Angel Hunter said when asked about the Angels’ growing trail of October failures against the Red Sox. “Whatever happened in the past happened. We’re going to come out on Friday (for Game 2). We intend to win on Friday, I can tell you that.

      “Have amnesia. Come back. Let’s go.”

      The Angels seem to suffer from the same alignment as the Cubs do in that they fail to convert what they did in the regular season to the postseason. The Halos arguably have the best overall team in the entire MLB playoffs, but winning in the postseason is obviously different from just making the postseason. And the BoSox have experience winning in the postseason, which continues to show in games like Wednesday night.

      MLB

      Manny Ramirez tells Boston media to get a life

      October 1, 2008 /

      Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox must prove they don’t need OF Manny Ramirez to win. But what Manny wants everyone to know is that not only does he find things easier in L.A., but also that the media members in Boston need to get a life because the Red Sox winning isn’t the end all, be all.

      Manny Ramirez“Baseball in Boston is like a Sunday football game, but played every day,” Ramirez said. “We lose in LA, I go to breakfast and people say, ‘Well, you’ll get them tomorrow.’ In Boston, it’s ‘Hey, what’s going on, the Yankees are coming.’

      “It’s just a different atmosphere. The fans in Boston got your back no matter what, but I’m talking about the people who write all this bull because it means so much to them. If your happiness depends on (the Red Sox) winning, you have to get a life.”

      Being told to get a life by Ramirez is like being told to have some shame by Barney Frank. The first time I interviewed Ramirez, he didn’t know what year he came to the United States or when he moved to New York. When asked his age, he said he was 25. He was almost 27. When he got his cellphone wet, he put it in the microwave to dry. The only surprising thing was that he didn’t try to eat it when it was done.

      You always have to appreciate when an athlete takes a dump on the team that put up with his antics and paid him well for most of his career. Manny is probably right that some (most?) Boston fans live and die by how successful the Red Sox are, but then again that’s the way it is in most cities. You don’t think people in Green Bay want to call in sick on Monday when the Packers lose? Or physically do harm to somebody in the parking lot when the Eagles fall? It’s why they’re called “fanatics.”

      MLB

      As Shea Stadium closes, a look back

      September 29, 2008 /

      Far more than the moments any DVD could ever capture, my memories of Shea Stadium run much deeper than that. I grew up on Long Island, and my dad and brothers and grandfather influenced me at a young age to root for the Mets, which can be thrilling and heartbreaking at different times, sometimes at the same time.. I suppose that’s the case with any pro sports team, but the Mets and Shea always had some sort of magical undertone going on.

      Which is why it’s incredibly sad that yesterday, the last regular season game at Shea clinched nothing more than a ticket home for the players and coaching staff. As I texted my buddy Dave and his kids during the game (they were there in person to experience the heartbreak), I watched the game and had some awful memories come flooding back—the collapse of this year equaling the collapse of last season. I also felt the familiar disappointment that was a little more pronounced in the 2006 NLCS, as Yadier Molina clubbed a two-run homer the inning after Endy Chavez made one of the most spectacular plays you’ll ever see. Chavez did it again yesterday, and then the Marlins hit two home runs in the following inning off of a Mets bullpen that was overmatched pretty much all of 2008, but more so since Billy Wagner went down with a season-ending elbow injury.

      But, well, we can’t change fate. And while the Brewers and Phillies play in the 2008 postseason, and Shea Stadium gets ready to be torn down for good, I’d like to share a few memories that stand out in my mind Continue reading »

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

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