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10/13/2007 11:32:00 AM

ALCS: Manny & Papi Show

By Joe Lemire

If you believe anything I wrote yesterday, Josh Beckett is your 2007 American League Cy Young. Congrats, Josh.

But as the game fell far short of the expected pitchers’ duel -- hello, 10 runs, 12 hits and 8 walks for the Sox -- Boston’s Dominican Duo again stole the show. The two did not record an out. In 10 plate appearances, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez reached base 10 times: four hits, five walks, one hit by pitch, three RBIs, four runs.

For the postseason, Papi is now batting a robust .778 -- .778! – while Manny, by contrast, is batting a “paltry” .500. What a slacker, right? So scared did C.C. Sabathia seem of Manny that in his bases-loaded walk, Sabathia threw six pitches nowhere near the strike zone. Manny, seemingly still smitten with the stardom from his walkoff HR against the Angels in ALDS Game 2, at first appeared overanxious, hacking wildly and missing two balls to fall behind 0-2.

Then Manny became normal Manny, the cold, calculated, patient killer with a baseball bat, and worked a walk. As FOX flashed multiple reminders of Manny’s track record of grand slams, second only to Lou Gehrig all-time, Sabathia seemed to be watching the broadcast, that’s how worried he seemed.

The Sox are locked in better than they have been all season. That makes it more curious that Dustin Pedroia made a sacrifice bunt in the third inning with Kevin Youkilis and the big boppers following them. Wait, did I mention that Manny and Papi didn’t make an out all game? It could be a very short series, though very long for the Indians ...



As always, Manny and Papi keyed the offense, writes Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe.

Let’s not forget, though, that Beckett did pitch very well, save a fastball left up to Travis Hafner.

Meanwhile, maybe Sabathia isn’t an ace. It wasn’t his finest outing.

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Posted: October 13, 2007 10:12 PM   by Anonymous
Way to jinx us. Can't you shut up until the series is over.?
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