Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
October 17, 2003
Curses, Foiled Again! or A Shot at Redemption

I have two distinct feelings about last night's game. One from the Red Sox view, and one from the Yankees view. Hence, the double title.

Let me deal with the Red Sox first. One of the reasons I wish I could have been blogging last night was so I could have written, as the Yankees came up in the 8th, "I'm surpised Martinez is coming out for the 8th." Pedro was pitching a great game, but except for Soriano, he wasn't really dominating. People were hitting the ball, and in the 7th they hit it hard. Pedro got out of the 7th because Soriano was clueless at the plate the entire game and struck out for the 4th time.

So the eighth comes around. Grady has people warming in the bullpen, and Pedro comes out to the mound. Fine. Grady's ready to remove him at the first sign of trouble. Johnson pops out, but Jeter doubles and Williams singles. Back to a two run game. With Williams on first, and a line of lefties coming up, Grady goes to the mound, talks to Pedro briefly, and goes back to the dugout. According to the NY Times:


"Pedro wanted to stay in there," Little said. "He wanted to get the job done just as he has many times for us."

I (and I assume many others), have one question for Grady Little, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Managers don't do much to influence games directly. As much as I like to complain about batting orders, deep down I know they make only a small difference. The success of a pinch hitter in any single situation has more to do with luck than statistical analysis. But a manager has to know when his pitcher is tired and get him out of there. Grady Little failed last night, just as Dusty Baker had two night earlier. Dusty had not been prepared for Prior's downfall. Grady was prepared, but refused to take action. He let Pedro's machismo overrule the clear truth of the situation. Matsui doubled. Posada doubled. Tie game. Another curse perpetuated by the failings of a manager. I've already gotten two emails calling for Little's head. I'm sure there will be many more as the day progresses.

But, like yesterday, it's not all about the Red Sox losing. The Yankees won in grand Yankees fashion, battling back against the game's best pitcher, and winning against the guy they couldn't hit all series. It was a game of redemption for many.

While I was watching last night, I thought the turning point would be Mike Mussina's entry into the game. Clemens wasn't pitching that badly. He was throwing strikes, they just weren't moving, and the Red Sox were hammering him. Torre realized Clemens just didn't have it, and took him out with four runs in, men on 1st and 3rd, and none out in the fourth. In came the Moose. In came the post-season loser. He strikes out Varitek and gets Damon to hit into a double play. It was do or die right there, and Mussina performed splendidly. He gave them three scoreless innings on 33 pitches and rehabilitated his image.

Jason Giambi was demoted to 7th in the lineup last night. That had to be a huge slap in the face to him. But it also seemed to be just what he needed. He homered in the fifth and the seventh to show his teammates that Pedro could be hit. A second great player rising to the occasion.

Pedro and Jorge Posada had exchanged words in game 3, with Pedro allegedly threatening to bean the Yankee catcher. The game tieing double gave Posada the last laugh there.

And finally, Aaron Boone. Benched twice against Pedro for Enrique Wilson (who's error led to a run in the 2nd), a disappointment since the trade from Cincinnati, joins the ranks of unlikely Yankee heroes and becomes only the fifth player to end a playoff series with a HR. And he did it off Wakefield, the soft tosser who for two games had the Yankees in knots.

The game lived up to its billing. It was one for the ages. I know most people wanted a different ending to the script this time, but once again the Yankees are the American League champions.


Posted by David Pinto at 07:31 AM | League Championship Series | TrackBack (1)