October 19, 2004
Sox Strategy
It's one thing to use unconventional means to get to Curt Schilling, but how are the Red Sox going to approach Jon Lieber?
In Game 2, Lieber took advantage of the aggressiveness of Boston hitters, especially early in counts. He was consistently putting his first pitches on the corners - or maybe slightly off - and the Red Sox hitters were chasing them.
``Those guys are aggressive and he took advantage of it,'' Posada said. ``He knows what to do. He was able to put the ball where he wanted to.''
After the game, the Sox said they swung at the ``pitcher's pitch'' instead of waiting for a ball they could drive.
``I hoped they'd get themselves out early in the count,'' Lieber said.
How do you go after a pitcher who doesn't walk anyone? The Sox tried to focus on early pitches. But if those are taken for strikes, the Sox batters will be in a hole. They need to hope that Lieber is off tonight, and those early pitches are called balls. If not, they'll have to go back to being aggressive early in the count, and hope they have more luck than they did in game 2.