God damn this is fun.
Someone tell Joe Buck that both sides got shitty calls tonight. Was the 3-0 pitch to Ramirez inside? Yes, yes, it was. Did Ramirez luck out a few innings earlier when the ump missed the outside corner on a 0-2 pitch? Yes, yes he did. Hafner got also got some shitty calls (one strike was like a foot outside) and so did Garko. I thought the home plate ump for Game 1 of the ALDS was terrible, but this guy was just as bad.
Speaking of Fox... dear lord guys, does anyone really care about Beckett pitching on three days rest in Game 4? I mean, that is a nice little tidbit to talk about at some point, but they just went on and on and on and on and on... we get it, there's a chance that he might go for Game 4 but everyone says he won't. Please waste 20 more minutes.
Westbrook faltering in the 7th worked out perfectly. The Tribe got to have Raffy face the heart of Boston's order in the 8th rather than have Borowski face 'em in the 9th. That is huge (for my heart).
Kenny freaking Lofton... what can you even say?
Dice-K didn't pitch too poorly, but he threw a ton of pitches.
Westbrook pitched a great game; his sinker was working, he got out of jams and the defense backed him up nicely. Plus he pitched into the 7th (6.2 innings) and he saved the bullpen.
If Game 4 gets rained out and the Tribe can pitch C.C. on Wednesday on full rest and Carmona in Game 5, do you do it? Do you go for the kill? Sabathia and Carmona at home? If Game 4 does get rained out, I'd think long and hard about it. Giving both of them a start in front of the home crowd.... I don't think Wedge would, but I'd like him to at least mull it over a bit.
3 comments:
I don't think it's gonna rainout anyway. Buck and McCarver made a big deal about it because they get a hard-on thinking about the possibility of Beckett pitching three games this series on full day's rest.
At least as of 12:30 MT, seems like they're likely to play ball.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/mlb/resultdetails?query=EVENTS_DATE_AND_CATEGORY&attrib=be&from=hourly_trigger
I say no way. Byrd has been good this year, shut down the Yanks in ALDS Game 4. CC has been terrible in the playoffs, and Carmona looked shaky in Game 2, and has the unpredictability of being a rookie pitcher. If anyone has to take the mound for me in a must-win game on this staff, give me the wily veteran Byrd. Put him on the mound for Game 4, and if by some stroke of bad luck it goes 7 games, let him go in game 7 instead of Westbrook. He'll still have 4 days rest and if he gets in trouble early, you have Westbrook ready to come in.
Fox wants Beckett to pitch on short rest because they want a compelling storyline to inject into the series. But you'd have to think Terry Francona is smarter than that.
Even if Francona decided to go Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Beckett and won the series, he'd burn out his rotation (or at the very least shuffle them out of order) and the nuclear-hot Rockies could have a feast in the World Series.
Even with the struggles of Sabathia and Carmona, it looks like the Indians have the deeper rotation in this series.
Eric Wedge doesn't have to mess with his rotation, while Francona has to send his 40-something knuckeballer with a bad back to the mound on the road, on a cool, damp night, or send his ace on short rest. Either way, he's taking a risk.
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