Steve's 2009 MLB Preview

I have one more chance to sneak in my MLB preview until the season officially opens tonight. Ryan and Beth already made their picks. In the past, I've always looked forward to opening day of the baseball season as a sign summer is near. Now that I live in Arizona (home of Ryan's 2009 World Series champions) and I've been wearing shorts every day for the past 6 months, I'm so screwed up as to what season it is I don't even try to think about it anymore....but I can't complain. A lot of people seem to think this will be some kind of revolutionary year in baseball, with a bunch of bad teams surprisingly becoming good like last year. I think the odds of that happening again are pretty slim. Here are my picks...

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Mets
Nationals

Can you absolutely choke away a division 2 years in a row and expect to win it the 3rd year? In the Mets case, I think not, and despite their talent, I'm predicting a collapse in 2009. Even though they have suspect pitching, I think the World Champion Phillies have what it takes to be playing in October again this year. I'm going with the Marlins for 2nd because their extremely young team will have another year of experience in a pretty weak division, and the Braves for 3rd, who have maybe one of the oddest pitching rotations I have ever seen (but it could work out pretty well for them). As an American League fan, the Nationals have officially joined the Giants as teams that are loaded with "I wonder whatever happened to ____ guys." The kind of guys you are pretty sure haven't played in the majors for a few years.

CENTRAL
Cubs
Astros
Brewers
Cardinals
Reds
Pirates

I obviously hate this pick, but it's hard to go with anyone but the Cubs this year, mostly because this division isn't very good. I do think though, there are some high hopes for a wild card to come from this division, because the 4 decent teams get to play the Reds and Pirates roughly 40 times. I'm going with the Astros for 2nd here because I think they can carry the momentum they had at the end of last season into this year. They are pretty solid offensively but have pretty horrible pitching. If you think about it though, you can make the playoffs by mashing bad teams all year, but you need to have the pitching to win it all. The Brew Crew won't have C.C. Sabathia to carry them down the stretch again, but they will definitely be competitive in this division. I think the Cardinals are due for a bad year, fighting with the Ohio River scum buddies for last.

WEST
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Giants
Rockies
Padres

It's pretty amazing to see what Manny Ramirez did for the Dodgers when he joined them late last year, and I think having him for the entire season, and letting him win games in a truly horrible division, will keep him pretty happy and allow the Dodgers to coast to an easy division title. I went with the D-Backs for 2nd, only because they seem to have a moderately good pitching staff compared to everyone else (especially after the Padres trade Peavy), but I don't think they will be in the divisional hunt at all.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays
Orioles
Blue Jays

I just don't see the Rays repeating their run from last year. If you aren't going to have a big payroll in a big money division like the AL East, you pretty much have to catch lightning in a bottle with a bunch of young players and then try to make a run, which is exactly what the Rays did last year. No one is going to be taking them for granted this year, and the Red Sox and Yankees have had time to regroup, reload, and rest up. I haven't paid enough attention to the talking heads this spring if its popular to pick the Yankees to go all the way or bury them this year, but I think they've made some nice additions in the offseason. They're going to have their injuries, but if the AL Central is going to be as competitive as everyone thinks, I can see them easily picking up the wild card spot this year.

CENTRAL
White Sox
Indians
Twins
Royals
Tigers

I noticed the Minnesotans decided to bury the White Sox while picking the Twins to finish a close 2nd. Sure, it can happen, but I can also seeing things going in a completely opposite direction. Having big meanies on your team like A.J. Pierzynski doesn't mean you're going to finish in last...last time I checked this isn't a little kids movie. In case I don't get around to doing a White Sox preview, I'll make some comments here. They are coming off a division title, with an almost completely intact team from last year, in year where Paul Konerko was horrible, Jose Contreras was hurt most of the year, Javier Vazquez hurt more than helped, and they really had no good options at 3rd base. They were led to the playoffs in large part by (ages last year) 25 year-old Carlos Quentin, 26 year-old Alexei Ramirez, 23 year-old John Danks, and 25 year-old Gavin Floyd, while they let Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye provide the power. Those guys are getting older and they get hurt, but they still haven't shown signs of a complete breakdown. The prospects of having Bartolo Colon in your starting rotation are kind of scary, but if he's great, everyone else will look stupid for not getting him, if he sucks, you drop him off at Old Country Buffet with a pink slip and go with Clayton Richard or some other youngster. So there's my justification for this pick. I think the Indians will definitely be back and in the hunt again this year, finishing 2nd and challenging for the wild card. I have the Twins third, because that seems like a good spot for team boredom. The Tigers seem like they are turning into the late 90's Orioles, and I couldn't be less afraid of their huge payroll this year, so the Royals get 4th.

WEST
Angels
Rangers
Athletics
Mariners

Angels by default. The Rangers bring back their same horrible pitching again, the A's got some major league talent in their lineup, but most of their pitchers were still in high school when Ryan and I started our original site in 2005, so they'll probably be a little rough around the edges this season. The Mariners are pretty bad on all fronts, but hey, people will go say goodbye to Ken Griffey Jr. on his victory lap.

PLAYOFFS

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Phillies over Cubs
Dodgers over Astros
Dodgers over Phillies

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox over White Sox
Angels over Yankees
Red Sox over Angels

WORLD SERIES: Red Sox over Dodgers. I don't like the Red Sox at all, but I have to admit they still look like the most solid team heading into this season. As always, I hope I am horribly wrong with my World Series pick just like I was in 2005.

Awards:
AL MVP: Mark Teixeira, Yankees
NL MVP: Manny Ramirez, Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Joba Chamberlain, Yankees - He actually blows out his rotator cuff in July, but in an ugly hostage situation, ESPN forces the BWAA at gunpoint to vote for their beloved Joba, the single greatest thing to happen to baseball...ever.
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, Giants
AL ROY: Chris Getz, White Sox - I got close with Alexei last year...lets try it again
NL ROY: Cameron Maybin, Marlins
AL Manager of the Year (AKA Steve's AL Kiss of Death): Eric Wedge, Indians
NL Manager of the Year (AKA Steve's NL Kiss of Death): Cecil Cooper, Astros

Intriguing Possible World Series Matchups

So, 2 days later than expected, the field is set for the 2008 MLB playoffs. With 4 teams in each league, there are 16 possible matchups we can see in this year's World Series. Not all matchups are created equal though, so I'm going to rank all 16 matchups by level of intrigue. My apologies in advance to Phillies and Brewers fans:

1. Red Sox vs. Dodgers - Two big markets with big followings taking each other on. Joe Torre leading the Dodgers to the World Series in the same year that the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993 will give the Steinbrenner family fits. But the biggest subplot here will be Manny Ramirez returning to Boston, who he greatly disrespected this season. This would also be Torre's first crack at Boston in the playoffs since the Yankees choked away a 3-0 lead in 2004.

2. White Sox vs. Cubs - Sure, no one may care about this outside of Chicago, but the city would literally rip apart if these 2 teams ever faced each other in a World Series again (the Sox beat the Cubs in 1906). Fans of both teams actually don't want to see this matchup happen because they don't want their team to be the team that loses to their hated cross-town rival.

3. Red Sox vs. Cubs - the two historically "cursed" teams with large national followings going at it. The funny part here is the Cubs are looking to break 100 years of losing while the Red Sox are trying to establish a dynasty by winning 3 championships in 5 years.

4. Angels vs. Dodgers - Could tear the city apart just like Chicago, but only until the 7th inning when the war gets taken to the streets....as the fans fight to get home. This matchup could lead to some negative happenings as well. Last time 2 California teams from the same metro area played, there was a gigantic earthquake. Also, we could see increased bloods vs. crips violence.

5. Angels vs. Cubs - The 2 top seeds and probably most deserving World Series teams battle things out. Add in the whole Cubs curse story, and you got yourself the #5 most interesting series.

6. Rays vs. Brewers - The ultimate low budget World Series. Two very small market teams with not all that great fan bases (sorry Brewers fans, they call your place Wrigley North for a reason) prove that you don't need to spend $100 million to win a World Series. TV ratings will be lower than the Emmys

7. Rays vs. Cubs - The gigantic underdog of 2008 vs. the gigantic underdog of the past 100 years. This would be an appropriate way for the Cubs to finally win a World Series, especially with a sweep, since with the current alignment, this is as close as we can get to the fictional 2015 World Series in Back to the Future 2.

8. White Sox vs. Phillies - These guys both like to hit a lot of home runs and play in two very homer friendly parks. If you hate pitching, this is the World Series for you.

9. White Sox vs. Brewers - Mike Cameron can get revenge for being traded for both Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. during his career. But in all seriousness, it would be funny in an agonizing way for Cubs fans to have 2 teams 90 miles apart playing each other in a World Series where both team busses would pass by Wrigley Field on the way to the games.

10. Red Sox vs. Phillies - This could be another offensively charged series, with Philly's left handed power trying to twist balls around Pesky's pole.

11. Rays vs. Dodgers - Joe Torre looks at Tampa in confusion, "Hey didn't I beat you guys non-stop for 10 years?" then has a chance to become the first manager to lose a World Series to 3 different 1990's expansion teams.

12. White Sox vs. Dodgers - Older White Sox fans will like this matchup, since it is a rematch of the last World Series the White Sox lost, in 1959. Hopefully no games will need to be played in the LA Colliseum this time, though a spilled beer on Ken Griffey Jr. would be pretty funny.

13. Red Sox vs. Brewers - Interesting series for really old Braves fans, since these cities were the team's first 2 homes before moving to Atlanta. C.C. Sabathia gets another crack at knocking out the Red Sox after he lost 2 games to them during last year's ALCS.

14. Angels vs. Phillies - Don't adjust the color on your TV's, there will be red everywhere. Should be a fun series to watch, just not quite as interesting.

15. Rays vs. Phillies - 1 combined World Series title in over 140 combined years of baseball, most by the Phillies. I am a little excited to see a Cliff Floyd vs. Jamie Moyer matchup in the 2008 World Series.

16. Angels vs. Brewers - The top seed in the AL vs. the bottom seed in the NL. If anything, people in LA might learn what state Milwaukee is in, and where that state is located.

Hey, Boston!

Screw you!

(photo courtesy New York Times)

Please, heroes of sports, don't wear headbands

The Red Sox are better than the Rockies

Before I tried to go to work, only to have my car not start, I caught some commentary from Fox's Ken Rosenthal while he was talking to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. They asked him why the Rockies were struggling so furiously with the Red Sox when they had just swept their way through the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Sure, there is the argument that it's the Rockies layoff, or maybe the playing conditions, but Rosenthal had a pretty solid argument as well.
The Red Sox are a lot better than the Phillies or Diamondbacks. The Rockies too, for that matter. I find it curious that so many didn't think to factor that into their World Series picks. I include my self in that group. Let's break this down. I'll even throw in the Phillies and Diamondbacks to show how clearly superior the Red Sox are. Analysis as needed.

Catcher:
Red Sox: Varitek.
Rockies: Torrealba
Diamondbacks: Snyder
Phillies: Ruiz
Advantage: Red Sox, without any argument, both behind the plate and at bat.

1b:
Red Sox: Youkilis
Rockies: Helton
Diamondbacks: Clark/Jackson
Phillies:Howard
Advantage: In most situations, the Phillies win out here, but in the postseason, Youkilis is hitting .422. .422! Oh, and when they are playing in Colorado, the Red Sox will bat this Ortiz fellow, that I hear is pretty good.

2b:
Red Sox: Pedroia
Rockies: Matsui
Diamondbacks: Ojeda
Phillies: Utley
Advantage: Rockies, in a very close battle. Ojeda had an empty batting average (all singles, no walks) this offseason and Utley hit .182, while Matsui and Pedroia have been veritable monsters for their teams. Matsui has been better in the post season by a slim margin, but Pedroia is going to be the rookie of the year. (Be careful so he doesn't sell his World Series trophy replica).

3b:
Red Sox: Lowell
Rockies: Atkins
Diamondbacks: Reynolds
Phillies: Nunez/Helms/Dobbs
Advantage: Red Sox. Atkins has the second best postseason batting average for third basemen in this comparison at .194. The Phillies started three different 3rd basemen against the Rockies, and none got a hit. In the regular season, Atkins splits away from Coors are dreadful, and I couldn't pick any of the four from Arizona or Philly out of a lineup.

SS
Red Sox: Lugo
Rockies: Tulowitzki
Diamondbacks: Drew
Phillies: Rollins
Advantage: Of a good group of short stops, Stephen Drew has had the best postseason by far, and Jimmy Rollins is one of the most effective shortstops in the game, but hit .182 this post season. As I'm sure you've heard, the best hitting shortstop in the World Series is Troy Tulo-- Wait. Julio Lugo. Higher batting average, but lower slugging percentage, which is ok, because he can still score in front of the bigger bats in Boston's line up (Tulowitzki is batting .226, if you were wondering, while Lugo is at .282).

LF
Red Sox: Ramirez
Rockies: Holliday
Diamondbacks: Byrnes
Phillies: Burrell
Advantage: Red Sox. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Manny is batting .447 in the postseason, and he still finds time to befriend soup.

CF
Red Sox: Crisp
Rockies: Taveres/Spilborghs
Diamondbacks: Young
Phillies: Rowand
Advantage: Diamondbacks? Chris Young is the only player here that has done anything this postseason, and really, he had the best regular season as well. I guess he is why they made the playoffs, huh? And of the World Series teams, I have to give the Colorado platoon the nod. To say Coco Crisp has underperformed falls wildly short of the truth.

RF
Red Sox: Drew
Rockies: Hawpe
Diamondbacks: Upton/Salazar
Phillies: Victorino
Advantage: If Justin Upton could have played all the games instead of platooning with Jeff Salazar, theirs would have been the best Right Field of this group, but they didn't and the position batted .250, lower than Brad Hawpe. By the way, guess how many extra base hits Hawpe has this postseason? The same as me! So, in the end, J.D. Drew is the best of the right fielders here.

SP:
Red Sox: Beckett, Schilling, Matsuzaka
Rockies: Francis, Fogg, Jiminez
Diamondbacks: Webb, Hernandez, Davis
Phillies: Hamels, Kendrick, Moyer
Advantage: Red Sox again. Beckett has been lights out all year, Schilling pitches his best in the post season, an frankly, even if they aren't getting what they paid for yet, the Red Sox have a better pitcher with Dice-K than all of the others listed, aside from Webb, Hernandez and Hamels.

Bullpen:
Advantage: Ok. Name someone from the Diamondbacks or Phillies bullpen. Go.


Kyle Lohse? Is that it? I thought so. And the Rockies have LaTroy Hawkins and Ramon Ortiz. Generally speaking, that many former Twins in a bullpen isn't the greatest idea, especially when they are rejects from Minnesota. Jonathan Papelbon is very good in the bullpen. End of story.

So, broken down, I don't really see any way that the Rockies pull this series out. The Red Sox, out of 10 categories were the best in 7 of them. The Diamondbacks had the top shortstop and centerfielder, while the Rockies have an advantage at 2nd. Because of Kaz Matsui. The Rockies can only hope it snows in Colorado this weekend.

The Red Sox clinch and the Rockies await

So, the Cleveland/Denver rivalry wasn't stoked as I had hoped. There will still be a World Series, believe it or not, even though the Red Sox came back after being down 3-1 in the ALCS. Nobody makes note of how rare a feat this is, probably because they came back from down 3-0 last time they were in the World Series. I don't have the stomach to analyze this World Series, and I would rather hear what the players themselves had to say in an informal internet setting, although I am inclined to note that while people say the Red Sox won't be cooling off before the World Series starts, the Rockies are now well rested. Additionally, I think it would be another knife in the Cleveland area's heart if Denver won comfortably in 4. And for whatever reason, it seems as though God has it out for Cleveland. Mr official prediction? Rockies in 5.

ALCS Here We Come!

Originally posted on "Is It Sports?" by Steve. I am celebrating the White Sox first playoff series win in 88 years. Little did I know at the time much more memorable moments were to come in the following weeks!

A little less than 3 weeks ago, when the White Sox dropped 2 of 3 to the red hot Indians in Chicago, thoughts of the biggest regular season choke of all time starting running through my head and how I was going to explain this in an emotional post on this site.

A little less than 2 weeks ago, a complete Indians collapse put the White Sox only needing a win over the lowly Detroit Tigers to lock up the AL Central. As fate would have it, the game was being played at Comerica Park, about a 15 minute drive from where I live, but because it was a day game, I couldn’t make it. Luckily I got home from work just as the 9th inning was starting to watch the White Sox celebrate their first division title in 5 years on FSN Detroit. So the Sox were in, and the Indians were out, but surely they’d get the Wild Card and the White Sox would wind up facing the Yankees or Angels in the Divisional Playoffs.

1 week ago, the unthinkable happened. The White Sox, who were down and out until the last week of the season and with nothing to play for, SWEPT the Indians right out of the playoffs, improbably locking up a playoff spot for and first round match-up with the defending World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox. All of the sudden the "choker" White Sox, as ESPN was labeling them, were coming into the playoffs riding a 5 game winning streak and winning 8 of their last 10.

At work on Monday and Tuesday, the only thing I could think of was the White Sox-Red Sox match-up. It was definitely more interesting to think of than the Chemistry of Automotive Coatings class I was sitting through. I was also at the same time writing in my mind my obituary article for the Sox. I had a title and everything. I was going to just call it "The 2005 Chicago White Sox: A Tribute." I was planning on focusing on the positives of the season, like player development, surviving without Frank Thomas again, and how they overcame the odds of everyone betting against them, picking the Twins to win the World Series, discussing the Tigers as a serious division contender while not even mentioning the White Sox in an ESPN AL Central preview, etc, and then how at the end of the season when everyone was counting them out again, they tightened up, and not only beat the Indians for the division title, but knocked them out of the Wild Card as well. But then I was going to talk about how beating the Indians might not have been the best plan, because they fell victim to the defending champion Red Sox, in a depressing repeat of the 2000 playoffs....

Things did seem a little different though. I had a small sense of hope in me mostly based on the way the 2000 season ended vs. the way 2005 season ended for the White Sox. In 2000, the Indians were on their way out, and the Twins were one year away from contending, so the White Sox locked up the title much earlier and totally dogged it for the rest of the season. They relied on the explosive hitting of Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, Paul Konerko, and Jose Valentin to mash the ball to all corners of Comiskey Park, all while riding on the shaky arms of Jim Parque, Mike Sirotka, James Baldwin, Cal Eldred, and alternating the extremely young Jon Garland and Kip Wells. Does that sound like a playoff worthy rotation to you? This year's edition featured phenomenal performances from Mark Buehrle (who was a rookie out of the bullpen in 2000), Jon Garland (who was a rookie occasional 5th starter in 2000), Freddy Garcia (who was a 2nd year, 5th starter for the team that beat the Sox in 2000), Orlando Hernandez (who was winning his 3rd ring with the Yankees in 2000), and Jose Contreras (who was pitching on the Cuban national team in 2000). This combination of young talent and high pressure playoff experience greatly paid off, and it was all brought together by A.J. Pierzynski, who can hit and handle a pitching staff better than any Sox catcher since Carlton Fisk. Say what you want about AJ, but the season he became the every day catcher for the Twins was also the first time they had a winning season in 9 years, and the worst team he has been the every day starter for in his career was those 2001 Twins, who were 85-77. Also, with the speedy legs of Scott Podsednik, Tadahito Iguchi, Aaron Rowand, and even Jermaine Dye in the lineup, the White Sox became a "small ball" team this year that can kill you with stolen bases and hit and runs. I'm not going to go all the way and call them a a true small ball team though, because they still got plenty of home runs out of Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Carl Everett, and Joe Crede. The added speed dimension is a huge plus because unlike slugging, speed can't go on cold streaks.

With the improved pitching and speed on my mind, the biggest things I was worried about in these playoffs was Boston's superior lineup and history itself.....

Game 1 @ Chicago: Jose Contreras vs. Matt Clement. Jose hadn't been all that impressive since coming over from Cuba, but then in the 2nd half of the season, he became the hottest pitcher in baseball and picked up the slack of a slumping Jon Garland. Sure, the Red Sox had experience with Jose from his time with the Yankees, but the White Sox saw Clement plenty of times during his time with the Cubs. The White Sox came into this game losing an unbelievable 9 straight home playoff games, last winning in Chicago in game 1 of the 1959 World Series, where they crushed the Dodgers 11-0, but went on to lose the World Series. Oh, did I mention the White Sox hadn't won a playoff series since the 1917 World Series? It's the longest streak in baseball, since the Cubs won in the 2003 divisional playoffs to break their 95 year streak. Of course, because of this, the White Sox were heavy underdogs in this series, even though they had the best record in the AL, and because "they always choke in the playoffs" as some people like to say, confusing them with the Cubs. Sure, 2000 was a choke, I'll give them that (even though they lost to a team that won 116 games the next season). But in 1959, 1983, and 1993 they lost to better teams, especially in 1993 when they faced a recharged defending world champion in Toronto. In 1919, they threw the World Series intentionally. So in 7 playoff appearances in their history, I would say they choked once, and they won 2 championships. Like I mentioned before, if you want to talk about chokes, look to the North. The Cubs lost the 1906 World Series to the White Sox after having the best record in baseball history at 116-36. Some team would have to finish 124-38 to better that in this era, but the Cubs gagged and lost to a team that had 23 less wins and a team batting average of .230, last in the then 8-team American League. In 1984, a ball through Leon Durham's legs put the San Diego Padres and their brown, orange, and yellow uniforms in the World Series, and of course, Bartman. But now back to the game. It was one of the most amazing victories I ever saw the Sox get. They took a swift 5-0 lead in the 1st inning after a backbreaking 2 out A.J. Pierzynski HR. Then they just started piling on, adding more homers by Paul Konerko, Juan Uribe, Scott Podsednik (his first of the ENTIRE season!!!!), and finally another by A.J. Pierzynski. Throw in a beautiful job by Contreras, and the result is a 14-2 thrashing of Boston, eerily similar to game 1 of the 1959 World Series. I never saw the White Sox win a game with such authority in a situation like this before. The only way I can compare to how I felt about it was when the 49ers grabbed a huge lead and coasted to victory over the Cowboys in the 1994 NFC Championship game.

Game 2 @ Chicago: Mark Buehrle vs. David Wells. Buehrle came into the game as the Sox ace, but his only playoff experience was recording 1 out in the 9th inning of game 2 of the 2000 ALDS. David Wells is a little over the hill but still dangerous. When he was traded to the White Sox in 2001 for Mike Sirotka, he was a disaster and now when I think about it, I just want to forget the 2001 season ever happened. I really liked this match-up needless to say, but history still kind of worried me, thinking of the way the 1959 World Series turned out and the fact that my parents were going to the game, who also went to game 2 of the 1993 ALCS and 2000 ALDS, both losses. The Red Sox came out strong, jumping to a 4 run lead early on, and it looked like the Sox were on their way back to playoff misery. Things changed in the 5th, however. A double and single by Aaron Rowand and Joe Crede brought home 2 runs (after a key Tony Graffanino error), after a pop out by Podsednik with 2 runners on, it was up to Tadahito Iguchi, the Japanese import at 2nd base, to bring home more runs with 2 outs. This man has only been in America for a few months, and may know nothing about White Sox history or the 88 years of losing, but he spit in the face of any curse as his 3 run homer sailed over the left field wall just past the bullpen, in what may be the most clutch home run in White Sox history. Buehrle tightened up and Jenks closed it down as the Sox won it 5-4 and took a 2 game lead.

Game 3 @ Boston: Freddy Garcia vs. Tim Wakefield. Despite being down 2-0, everyone on TV and in the papers jumped on the Red Sox bandwagon, making ridiculous claims such as the Red Sox "have them right where they want them," because of their comeback to beat Oakland in the 2003 ALDS and their amazing comeback from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox, confident that they would be taking game 3, even decided to pitch Wakefield and rest Curt Schilling for another must win game 4. Big Mistake. Podsednik and Iguchi gave the White Sox a quick 2-0 lead, but Boston matched it in the next inning with long solo homers by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the team's first of the series. Chicago took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 6th with a key Paul Konerko 2-run shot, which bounced Wakefield from the game. The bottom of the 6th was yet another defining moment for the White Sox. After giving up a leadoff homer to Manny Ramirez, Garcia was pulled. Damaso Marte immediately came in and gave up a hit to Trot Nixon, and then walked Bill Mueller and John Olerud. So the Sox were up by 1, bases loaded, 0 outs. Ozzie decides to bring in Boston's old nemesis, El Duque Orlando Hernandez to stop the bleeding. In maybe the most clutch pitching performance in the majors this year, he got pinch hitter Jason Varitek to pop out, Game 2 goat Tony Graffanino to pop out, and Johnny Damon to strike out on a check swing to get out of the biggest jam possible without giving up a single run. El Duque went on to pitch beautifully in the 7th and 8th, the Sox added an insurance run in the 9th on a suicide squeeze, and Bobby Jenks laid them down 1-2-3 in the 9th to give the Sox their first playoff series win since 1917 and first trip to the ALCS since 1993! Ironically, Edgar Renteria, who made the last out for the Cardinals last season the break Boston's curse made the last out for Boston this season against the White Sox.

So where do we go from here? I don't really know. I never expected the Sox to actually win a playoff series. Now that they took out the 2004 AL Champs, they'll face either the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003 AL Champ Yankees or the 2002 AL Champ Angels in the ALCS. Yep, the 3 teams besides the Sox in the playoffs this year have combined to win the last 7 AL titles. Imagine if the Sox would have choked and the Indians would have gotten in instead...it would be the last 10 AL Champs. My policy all season for the Sox was to not even think of a playoff match-up until it happens, so as of right now I don't really care who they end up facing. No matter what happens from here, the Sox at the very least got the playoff series monkey off their backs. I feel like they're playing with the house's money, but unlike gambling, the worst you can do is break even by losing.

My favorite part about the White Sox beating Boston is that all the Boston crap will hopefully end now. I and probably the rest of America are sooooo sick of them. I was definitely behind them in the playoffs last year, mostly because people would stop crying about their stupid "Curse of the Bambino," but the extreme arrogance from their whiney fans (let's not forget they have 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls and 16 NBA Championships) has really turned me off to them. Now they're just another team with a ridiculous payroll. They really aren't any different than the Yankees. Kevin asked me if the Sox were allowed to spray champagne on the Fenway Park field, and I said sure, but while they're at it they should all take turns peeing on the Green Monster. In a lot of ways I'd kind of like to see the Yankees make it to the ALCS because if the Sox end up losing to them, it will further add to Boston's misery. So to Peter Gammons, John Kruk, Harold Reynolds, Chris Berman, and all the other Boston lovers/Chicago haters in that Boston-New York propaganda bunker over in Bristol, CT, I just want to remind you all again that your beloved BoSox are FINISHED at the hands of a team you didn't even mention in your AL Central Preview or your 50 in 50 stop in Illinois....maybe its time to take notice of teams that actually play west of the Appalachians for a change. The Sox come into the ALCS rested with an 8 game winning streak and winners of 11 of the last 13. Bring on the next challenger! - Steve

[Edit: I had Bill Simmons listed above and on the picture on the right, but his follow up article on the series was very respectful and I really can't stay mad at my favorite sports writer. Also, unlike the talking heads and obviously biased play by play announcers broadcasting in a supposedly unbiased national TV situation, that will bash a team all season only to jump on their bandwagon at the end to make themselves seem smart (cough Baseball Tonight crew), Simmons is indeed the "Boston Sports Guy" and basically makes his money off writing about his favorite Boston teams in very entertaining ways, so he has every right to be biased, and shouldn't be expected to "call it down the middle" as his TV counterparts should be, since that is how the broadcasts are presented (Baseball Tonight, not Boston Love Fest Tonight)]