Gods will smile on Boston

看板MLB作者abc12812時間14年前 (2011/09/27 11:48)推噓23(24推 1噓 17→)

留言42則, 29人參與討論串1/2 (看更多)

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hot?id=7022039 By Jerry Crasnick The Boston Red Sox didn't have to play lights-out baseball down the stretch -- or even passable ball. All they needed, in hindsight, was to stay in survival mode long enough for the Yankee Stadium bullpen doors to swing open and Scott Proctor to lug his 6.81 ERA to the mound. It was the definitive sign from the baseball gods that everything will turn out fine in the end. Now that Jacoby Ellsbury has completed his home run trot and the Red Sox have enjoyed a restful night's sleep in the Inner Harbor atop that one-game cushion over Tampa Bay, it's time for Boston to take a deep breath and finally put this wild-card "race" to bed. Even though the Orioles have been awfully feisty in September, you have to like the way this is setting up for the Sox. Monday's pitching matchup features Josh Beckett, Boston's only reliable starter at the moment, versus Tommy Hunter, who has yielded an .838 career OPS against left-handed hitters. Sure, it's a small sample size, but J.D. Drew has a 1.556 career OPS against Hunter, and Carl Crawford is right behind at 1.390. Can't you just see one or both of those guys crafting a "late-season redemption" story with a big night against the O's? Baltimore appears to have the edge in Game 2 with the Zach Britton-Erik Bedard matchup, until you see that Britton is 1-1 with a 10.80 ERA in two starts against Boston, and the Red Sox's lineup is hitting .355 against him. In the series finale, Boston will send out Jon Lester, who is determined to prove his past three starts were an aberration, versus Alfredo Simon. What, was Daniel Cabrera not available? This isn't the way the Red Sox wanted to make the playoffs, obviously, but the ending has a certain symmetry to it, given that Boston began the season at 2-10 and endured all sorts of mindless "Is it time to panic yet?" speculation in the media. Now the Red Sox have to conquer the dreaded "curse of the ESPN The Magazine cover jinx" to make it to the finish line. So it's only fitting that Boston enters the final week sweating out a series with the 67-92 Orioles while simultaneously rooting for the Yankees to play well at Tropicana Field. Maybe the Red Sox are too emotionally spent and bereft of pitching to make a deep run in the playoffs. But they will get the opportunity to try. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 140.112.25.133

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OoyaoO

09/27 11:51, , 1^F

09/27 11:51, 1^F

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sherlockt

09/27 11:51, , 2^F

09/27 11:51, 2^F

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magicqw

09/27 11:53, , 3^F

09/27 11:53, 3^F