2008 Playoffs: Day 5

Although the three baseball games clashed epically with the Giants' dismemberment of the Seahawks, the Colts' bullsh*t run to 2-2 over the Texans, and the Patriots hard nosed win against the 49ers, there was a great day of baseball to be watched. Although, the Sox game ending well past midnight has this blogger all out of gas, an update on the playoffs still needs to be written. So, I'll step up to recap the pain of yesterday, in reverse chronological order.


Boston Red Sox 4 - Los Angeles Angels 5 (F/12)

It's not supposed to happen this way. When Josh Beckett takes the mound in the playoffs, it's lights out. He mixes that high 90's four-seam fastball, cuts it, sinks it, then sits people down with that knee-buckling curve. Josh Beckett does not give up 4 runs in 5 innings in the playoffs. Josh Beckett certainly does not surrender two home runs in one game, NEVER to the same player while in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Josh Beckett does not give up two leads. This was not Josh Beckett in the playoffs.

Since watching Beckett's only sub par playoff performance since his 2003 NLCS game 1 performance against the Cubs (6.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR), I have been trying to figure out what went wrong. Well, when the game started it was obvious he did not have his best "stuff." And by "stuff" I mean control. Beckett was 4th in the majors in K/BB ratio (5.06), amongst players with 25+ starts. Ahead of him: Roy Halladay, Dan Haren, and Kevin Slowey. So the thought of Beckett allowing a bases loaded walk is preposterous. His control was never what Sox fans have come to expect, as he walked 4 over the course of the game.

It was Mike Napoli who had the playoff game of his life. He hit two home runs off Beckett - one with Guerrero on second in the third inning and one with the bases empty in the 5th. For the first curveball, Napoli was sitting on a 3-2 curveball which he hit a long way over the monster. Admittedly, not much Beckett could do about that. When a guy sits on your pitch and you give it to him - well he's going to hit it hard. What surprised me is that Napoli had the presence of mind to sit on Beckett's second best pitch (his curve) with a full count. For his second homerun, Napoli took ball one and then cranked a misplaced 1-0 curveball over the monster for his second blast of the day. That, unlike the first homer, was bad location as the ball was up and over the plate.

The offense, too, seemed to struggle with lefty Joe Saunders. They scored three runs on the first ever three-run single in the playoffs when Jacoby Ellsbury popped to shallow center, and neither second basemen Howie Kendrick nor center fielder Torii Hunter took control and the ball fell between them. Saunders had walked the bases loaded the previous batter. Aside from that, the Sox could only muster 7 hits in 12 innings off of Saunders and the Halo's bullpen. They did not deserve to be in that game at all, much less win it.

The problem with losing an extra inning game in that fashion is that it can be a series momentum changer. By taking a game in dramatic fashion, the Angels spirits will rise up (come on, that's a pun... that's kinda... clever... right?) and be better suited to battle the Sox tonight. Tonight's game will be interesting since both clubs used their bullpens heavily - both starters only went 5 innings - so John Lackey and Jon Lester will be asked to pitch deep into this game.

In an interesting turn of events, I was sitting watching the 10th inning when Francisco Rodriguez came into pitch, and spent most the inning correctly predicting what pitch he was going to throw next. For a guy with 62 saves, his opposing batting average is .216 (higher than, for instance, Manny Delcarmen and Dontrelle Willis). So I think his pitches are predictable, and he was lucky to get out of that 10th inning in-tact. I think I'm going to call Jason Bay and discuss when to expect a curveball and how to hit it.

Win: Jered Weaver (1-0, 0.00)
Loss: Javier Lopez (0-1, 9.00)
Player of the Game: Mike Napoli (3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR)


Chicago White Sox 5 - Tampa Bay Rays 3

Ok, admittedly I did not get to see too much of this game because I was watching the Pats and then trying desperately to get into Fenway. I failed, but also realized that I had flip-flopped the times of the games, so I wouldn't have made it anyway. However, the White Sox got their win that both VendorBall gurus predicted. Matt Garza did not look particularly sharp over the portions of the game that I saw, and letting up 4 walks and 7 hits in 6 innings is a good way to get saddled with a loss.

On the other side, John Danks stayed true to his clutch form, and after pitching heroically to get the White Sox into the playoffs (8 IP, 2 H, 0 R), pieced together another strong performance, making only one mistake that BJ Upton took out for a two-run home run. (By the way: isn't BJ Upton a great porn name? Just saying.) The Chicago Bullpen had strong performances from Matt Thorton and Bobby Jenks to end the game.

Now Tampa's resiliency is tested yet again as they have to go back to "Blackout Conditions" and try to pull off a win. Although they may see some romance in winning at home, it's time to put this series away. The Rays have been phenomenally resilient so far this year, and I expect that to continue.

Win: John Danks (1-0, 4.05)
Loss: Matt Garza (0-1, 7.50)
Save: Bobby Jenks (1)
Player of the Game: Dewayne Wise (1-2, BB, 2 RBI, R, SB) - and yes, this was the best performance of the day for the White Sox.


Philadelphia Phillies 6 - Milwaukee Brewers 2

Unfortunately for Milwaukee fans, they will not get to see CC Sabathia try to bounce back and win game 5, because Jeff Suppan had a surprising playoff choke and Joe Blanton was (even more surprisingly) effective over 6 innings of work. Blanton had not pitched particularly well all season, even in the NL. This is why his move from Oakland was less heralded than the big acquisitions of Rich Harden by the Cubs (1.77 ERA) and CC Sabathia of the Brewers (11-2). However, of the three only one is going to the NLCS, and only one got a playoff win this year.

Blanton mixed in all his pitches well (88-91 fastball, curve, slider, change) with pinpoint accuracy - not walking anyone and striking out 7 over his 6 innings of work, and did not look like the bust he was painting himself out to be this season. I think this performance springboards him over Jamie Moyer for the three-spot in that rotation. For some reason, I'd trust Blanton over the soft-tossing Moyer at this point.

The Phil's offense came primarily in the form of two home runs by "The best 'good' hitter that nobody fears...or remembers", Pat Burrell (quote by Dan Zappulla). Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a solo shot - which was a pretty good indication that Suppan should be on a short leash that game. I mean it's the playoffs. While Suppan only lasted three innings, it was long enough to surrender 5 runs, and three home runs, including a Burrell's 3 run shot back-to-back with a solo job by Jayson Werth. And 5 runs was more than enough for Blanton and crew as they cruised to victory and a ticket to the NLCS to face the Dodgers.

The Brewers have probably reached the end of their runs as contenders. I don't see them ponying up the money to keep Sabathia or Sheets - which means they're going to have some huge holes in the top of that rotation. I actually expect to see CC in pinstripes (the Yankees do love great regular season guys who go limp in the playoffs ::cough::AROD::cough). OK OK, that was a cheap shot, but I don't care.

Win: Joe Blanton (1-0, 1.50)
Loss: Jeff Suppan (0-1 15.00)
Player of the Game: Pat Burrell

Series MVP: Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Joe Blanton. The Phils won this series on the strength of their starting pitching. Between these three guys: 3 Wins, 0 Losses, 21 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 20 K
Those stats will win you some baseball.


On Tap For Tonight
We have two baseball games and one football game.

At 5:07 the Rays try to win their first postseason series ever, and send out Andy Sonnanstine against the White Sox' Gavin Floyd. I hear there will be "blackout conditions" again in Chicago. For those who don't know, that means all the Sox fans will wear black, in one of the coolest effects I've seen in a stadium. I truly believe that the White Sox fans donning black helps their players, by getting the fans and players really emotionally involved in the game. I don't think the effect would be quite as dramatic with any other color.

At 8:37 (this time I think I have it right) the Red Sox send out left-handed stud Jon Lester to try and finish off the Angels who counter with John Lackey. This is the same pitching matchup as the first game of the series, which the Sox won 4-1. Both teams need their guy to go deep into the game, since both teams got deep into their bullpens last night. And it's going to be cold - lows in the lower 40's in Boston tonight. So bundle up and get ready for another late and cold one

And there's Monday night football tonight at 8:30 where the high-flying Saints oppose the hard nosed Vikings. The Saints have put together a hell of a season thus far, with Drew Brees proving he is a franchise quarterback who can work without any big name receivers (Colston is out, and Patten is gone for this game, too). On the other side Adrian Peterson is continuing his assault on the NFL - leaving many to wonder how the hell he slipped to 7th in the '07 draft. This should be a good game, but you'll be missing it since you'll be watching the Sox.


Side note: I attempted to switch between a football game and baseball game yesterday (during the 1 PM games) and realized how hard it is. The games are paced differently, with different breaks at different times for different lengths. Two football games - no problem - 1 baseball and 1 football, damn near impossible. Best of luck sports fans.

Written by recovering sunshine addict: Kyle Baxter