Where is Josh Beckett?

Who was that guy who started game 2 for the Red Sox and what has he done with Josh Beckett? One problem with the recent success of Boston sports is that we as sports fans have become spoiled and expect certain things, Josh Beckett included.

Saturday Josh Beckett went 4.1 innings giving up 8 earned runs on 9 hits. This is the second straight playoff start Beckett has been roughed up and there is certainly cause for concern in Red Sox Nation. Perhaps more concerning then the 8 earned runs is Beckett's velocity and control issues. Usually Beckett touches 96 on the gun and can put his fastball where he wants it. In game 2 Beckett topped on at 92mph and struggled with his location.

The Sox maintain that Beckett is not hurt however he did receive a shot of painkiller and anti-inflammatory on the last weekend of the season when he injured his oblique. I don't know if Beckett is still hurt, or maybe he just doesn't feel comfortable pushing himself for fear he will re-injure himself. If the Sox are lucky, Beckett is still fighting rust issues as his throwing schedule has been dramatically altered over the last 3 weeks.

With the series tied up at 1 the Sox send Jon Lester to the mound against Matt Garza in game 3 Monday at Fenway, 430pm start time (I myself will have to get creative and find a way to watch it at work). Lester has yet to give up an earned run this postseason and is filling the role of ace vacated by the troubled Josh Beckett.

ITM notes from game 2:

-Despite losing the Sox bats did heat up, unfortunately so did the Rays. Pedroia homered twice and Bay and Youk also had good games at the plate. Ortiz still remains in a slump, perhaps I was quick to jump on an earlier comment about his ability to come up with a big hit this series.

-The Sox bullpen performed great in game 2, again the Rays were just a little better. When Timlin came in I think a lot of fans thought that would be it, sure enough it was. Perhaps bringing in Paul Byrd might have been the better option.

-One question I would like Francona to answer is why he let Beckett pitch to Longoria in the 4th inning? Longoria already had two hard hits off Beckett and it was evident he didn't have his ace stuff.

Who is the Pressure Really on Tonight?

Dice-K and the Sox took game one last night and the pressure is now squarely on the Rays right? Absolutely, but there is someone else who is facing a lot of pressure in tonight's game....someone who is used to the spotlight and usually drops F bombs by the dozens...per inning. Yep, all of RSN's collective eyes will be on Josh Beckett tonight as Boston looks to take complete control of the best of seven series that moves north to Boston after game two.

Beckett looked rusty in his game three loss to the Angels, well short of the high expectations set by both himself and RSN. Part of the problem, fortunately for the Sox, is that the bar continues to raise higher with Dice-K pitching well and Jon Lester's dominating run through the ALDS. Tonight, with Beckett operating on six days rest, will give the Sox a good idea of what to expect from their "ace" for the remainder of the playoffs. Some say Beckett is still hurting as his fastball was only touching 93mph instead of his normal 96mph in his last start, others think he'll be ready and showcase the unbeatable Beckett seen in prior Octobers. Tony Mazz had an interesting article in today's Globe calling JB more of a question mark than an answer nowadays.....I'm not ready to throw one of the greatest post season pitchers in MLB history under the bus for one rusty performance, but I will admit there is a lot of pressure on him to perform tonight.

Even with all that said, the bulk of the pressure is on the Rays here in game two...either win to split the home openers, or go down 2-0 and head to Fenway to face Jon Lester. It's a big game for a young franchise that has shown its resiliency all year, tonight is another test.

....ITM Note...I'm getting sick of typing the word "test" when it comes to the Rays, I'll be happy when they continue to compete in years to come and we can stop including that word in every sentence that has Tampa or Rays in it.

Lineups:

Red Sox

(FYI JD is out because it's a tough lefty in Kazmir going tonight, NOT because he's a sally)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF

2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

3. David Ortiz, DH

4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B

5. Jason Bay, LF

6. Jed Lowrie, SS

7. Jason Varitek, C

8. Mark Kotsay, 1B

9. Coco Crisp, CF

--Josh Beckett, SP

Rays

1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B

2. B.J. Upton, CF

3. Carlos Pena, 1B

4. Evan Longoria, 3B

5. Carl Crawford, LF

6. Cliff Floyd, DH

7. Dioner Navarro, C

8. Gabe Gross, RF

9. Jason Bartlett, SS

--Scott Kazmir, SP

October Experience

The 2008 Tampa Bay (don't call them Devil) Rays are one of the best stories in baseball. I am required by law to say that, but lets talk about what could be the x factor in this American League Championship Series, experience.

The Red Sox have been in 4 of the last 6 ALCS's, Tampa just got on the big stage. True they never blinked all year when everyone was predicting they would crumble under the pressure, or because of their September schedule, but now there are 4 teams left, soon to be 2.

Last year the Sox were down 3-1 against the Indians in the ALCS, and I can't remember one person saying the Red Sox weren't going to the World Series. Beckett pitched and won game 5 in Cleveland and then it was really over, because the Tribe was not winning in Fenway. That was part of the post 2004 feeling they say every Red Sox fan has. Yeah maybe, it's also called the experience factor.

In 2004 the Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees and exercise all their demons from the previous 86 years. Big deal right that was 2004? Wrong. You can't teach experience. The Rays are young, fast, full of energy, and underdog which are all good things, but they've never been here before.

Experience doesn't win ball games, I'm not saying that, but it can certainly go a long way in helping. I'm interested to see how the Rays react if they are down 2-0 and Jon Lester is pitching game 3 at home on Monday. I'm looking forward to see how the Rays recover from a 6-4-3 rally killing double play in the bottom of the 8th inning and go on to lose games 1 or 2 at home. I want to see how Joe Madden manages his bullpen, and if he pushes guys, and when he takes his starters out. I want to see how their starters bounce back if the Red Sox jump out to an early lead. Maybe they handle everything perfectly and Tampa goes to it's first World Series in team history, that would truly be an amazing story.

The Sox will still have to make the right pitches and hit at the right times to win the series, but if they are down 3-1 in the series going into game 5, I'm not writing them off, because the Sox have the experience card.

As stated, Sox in 7, play ball!

Pitching May Indeed Win Championships, but the Sox Need to Find Their Bats:

So much attention has been given to the pitching match ups, starting rotations, and overall team health, that hitting (or should I say the lack there of) has been overlooked by many media outlets.

This series may ultimately come down to pitching and defense much like the ALDS did, but one thing is for sure, up and down their lineup, the Sox need to hit better. Give some appropriate credit to the pitching staff of the Angels if you’d like, but this is the playoffs, and hitting .250 for a series (as the Boston did in the ALDS) and you’re not going to beat the Rays, not this year….and perhaps not in the foreseeable future either.

Dustin Pedrioa, I love ya man, like some serious man love (as if that can possibly sound anything else than weird, but I assure you it’s not), you’re my regular season MVP and you remain incredibly underpaid (dude "only makes" 457k..although his time will certainly come to cash in)…but man, RSN is in need of some of your laser hits to the gaps and subsequent sprints to second as if you really were fast for someone your size. Maybe Tito needs to start letting you win in cribbage for once, but the ITM staff will be looking to you to make sure our lofty post season predictions live on. Batting .059 won’t cut it in the ALCS. We all know you have the confidence and skill…if you need me to call you a Sally on this blog to fire you up, I’ll do it…..however, I’ll then quickly lock my doors for fear that you’ll find my apartment and threaten my life.

As much as Jacoby is the “driver” for this lineup in the lead off spot, you are the gas in more ways than one. From knocking Jacoby around, to going deep into counts and being a difficult out in every at bat, your ability to hit anyone at anytime is what pushes this lineup from a good one to a special one, capable of putting up crooked numbers in any inning.


Maybe the poor hitting numbers in the ALDS lead us directly back to pitching and its overarching significance in the playoffs….but either way, the Sox (and specifically Dusty) need to find their collective strokes against the Rays this weekend…..taking both games may be overly optimistic, but taking 1 of 2 is all Boston needs to do to swing the momentum.

Pitching wins Championships

The Angels are back in California working on the basics of the suicide squeeze and the question on everyone's mind going into game 1 of the ALCS against the Tampa Rays is, who is starting game 1 for the Sox?

Before I attempt to answer that question, at least give my opinion, lets lay out some things we do know. The American League Championship Series is a best of 7 series, so each team will have to carry 4 starting pitchers as opposed to the 3 the Sox had in the division series. Expect Tim Wakefield to be starting game 4 for the Red Sox and Paul Byrd to pitch out of the bullpen. Jon Lester is definitely our best pitcher right now, but game 1 is Friday and that would leave Lester to pitch on 3 days rest.


So here is my take; I think Matzusaka starts game 1 for a couple reasons. First his record on the road is 9-0 this year, so you can argue he's not easily rattled on the road with the crowd and their cowbells (really cowbells? come on Tampa, try the wave if enough people show up). It's also the Dice Man's turn in the rotation to start, keeping some kind of consistency and the starters fresh, giving them more rest when needed. Dice K would also be pitching on 6 days rest, historically he pitches better when he gets more then the normal 4 days rest.

Game 2 is anyone's guess at this point, however I think Beckett starts game 2 in Tampa. He seems healthy and there were definitely signs of rust on Sunday, so I'm not sure holding him back again is the right answer. At the same time the Sox main priority should be to maximize Jon Lester's starts right now. However, he did throw 210 innings this year, which is a career high, so maybe holding Lester back to game 3 isn't a bad idea for extra rest. The good news is which ever rotation Francona and Theo decide on it will enable Beckett and Lester to pitch games 6 & 7 if they are necessary.

The Rays will probably keep their rotation the same throwing James Shields in game 1, Scott Kazmir in game 2, Matt Garza in game 3, and Andy Sonnanstine in game 4. That's not a bad starting rotation either if you like young unproven guys in the playoffs. Seriously, those guys are good, but I've seen better men cry on the mound in October, see exhibit a CC Sabathia.

I could be 100% wrong though, the Sox might pitch Beckett on regular rest on Friday, and bring Lester back for game 2 on Saturday, giving Matsuzaka even more rest before game 3. No matter what the Red Sox Brass decide, it's not a bad problem to have this time of year.

Let's Fight....

Call it destiny, call it fate, call it whatever you want, but this is the way the season was supposed to end in the AL....two good teams with bad blood, who know each other inside and out, going head to head, for a chance to get a ring......more ITM coverage to come.....I'm just so excited I had to post something.......Until then, take a look at some great celebration photos from last night (boston.com).

Red Sox Going to ALCS

It's going to be Sox-Rays. Just like it ought to be.

None of that 100 win in the AL West junk anymore. The heavyweights of the AL East are going to slug it out to go to the Series. And the best rivalry of 2008 is back, so let the smack-talk begin. Jed Lowrie for Rookie of the Year. Longoria Who? Ozzie Guillen would say F**k the Rays, but then again, Ozzie's going home for the winter.

The Sox punched their ticket in style---a walk off, with Lowrie squeaking a grounder through the right side to score Jason Bay. Bay was on after after his pop fly sliced just out of the reach of Reggie Willits and went into the stands. With one out and Bay on, Mark Kotsay (looking more and more like Jesus, no?) hit a rocket down the first base line, but Mark Teixiera made another diving play to his left to keep the Angels in the game. Then up came the Rookie, and in came Jason Bay. Bay, the Ragin' Canadgin' started his slide about ten yards out and seemed to have an invisible curler sweeping his path. He got a nasty spike to the hand, but when he came up he wasn't feeling anything but postseason glory.

John Lester was the ace again, throwing seven scoreless innings before handing it over to Okie, who got two outs before walking Teixeira. Masterson came in, and a walk, a wild pitch, and a Torii (are you chanting my name? you don't know me, fools) Hunter single tied up the game. In the 9th, disaster loomed when Kendri Morales led off with a pinch-hit double. This was when the ill-fated Willits came in, and when he reached 3rd with one out, the Angels went for the ultimate gutsy play. They went for the squeeze, with the ALDS on the line. Mike Scioscia has big iron balls. But Delcarmen cut one hard past a baffled Aybar, and Varitek came out like a bat out of hell. Seriously, the man was possessed. Gear clanking, knees creaking, Tek ran Willits down and squeezed it long enough for the umps.

That was all the momentum the Sox needed. The new blood took care of the rest.

With any luck, the Sox'll take that magic right down to Florida. And with a little more luck, we'll get to enjoy another round of October baseball like the one we just had. Full of heroes, nerves, latenights, Lester and lots of Papelbon-sprayed champagne.

Bring it on Rays. Let's show the NL what October passion looks like. If you show up to the ballpark, that is. I expect this ALCS to be a blast. Go Sox.