After ousting my Yankees in the division series, they were unable to finish off the Red Sox after taking a 3-1 series lead. I really find it hard to fathom that a team that clobbered the Bombers so badly was completely helpless in the last games of the series en route to a collapse. Let's take a look at some of the facts of the series, in an attempt to find some cause and effect for this.
On the field, Boston demolished Cleveland more than anyone could have ever expected. In the final three games of the series, Boston outscored the Indians 30-5, with everybody in the lineup hitting over .300. The score may have been 3-2, Red Sox, at one point in game seven, but it may as well have been 10-0 Indians, because the Red Sox were going to win the series the minute they stepped onto the plane to go back to Boston. The momentum had shifted so forcefully after Josh Beckett's Game 5 gem, and the Sox could not be beaten at Fenway under the forthcoming conditions.
If I had to place blame on the Indians, I would first ask where all the relief pitching went. Against the Yankees, Rafael Betancourt, Jensen Lewis and others held down the Yankees in late innings of games. In this series, relief pitching was non-existent for the Tribe. Many games were close going into the sixth and seventh innings, only to end with the Red Sox hitting balls over the monster with regularity at the end of games.
Cleveland's hitting was poor, but that was mainly due to the dominance of the Red Sox's pitching. Dice-K showed in Game 7 why he was picked up overseas this past off-season. Essentially, the Red Sox showed their magic by becoming the 11th team ever to come back from a 3-1 deficit, a short three years after being the first team ever to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
It wasn't too long ago that I was jeering Sox fans about how they would miss the World Series, about how their players were terrible, and about how they could never, ever come back to win a playoff series like they did in 2004. That was last week. Paul Byrd had just pitched a gem of a baseball game, putting the Indians ahead in the series by two games.
And then the wind changed. The San Francisco Chronicle abruptly came out with an article stating that Byrd had purchased more than $24K of human growth hormone (HGH). Could the media pick a worse time to accuse Byrd of steroid use? Probably not. These allegations, although they led to Byrd's admission to controlled steroid use, were definitely a distraction that could have waited a week to surface. What's worse is that Byrd was unusable in Game 7 as a result of the allegations, and I'm willing to bet he would have pitched in a relief role had these allegations not been released. It does go to show though, that HGH has penetrated the league, from the selfish superstar sluggers to the super-likable average pitchers. Byrd's masterpiece in Game 4 is now the second biggest thing he is famous for.
As for the World Series, I am sticking with my pick of the Rockies in six, as I refuse to believe that after winning 21 of 22 games, they will somehow lose four of seven in another series. I think that Josh Beckett will dominate in his two starts, accounting for the Red Sox's two wins, but the Rockies will avenge the losses of the Yankees and Indians en route to capping a truly unbelievable, worst-to-first year.
On paper, the Rockies should get crushed. However, what they have done thus far in the playoffs has defied paper. It has defied any strategy-based prediction method that anyone has ever come up with on paper. All paper should be thrown away into the blue bins that they have at the library. From what I understand, what has gone on at Coors Field is pretty unbelievable, and I have no reason to believe that it will stop now.
Quick Hits
Well, they did it. The Yankees let go of Joe Torre this past week, after his inability to get the team to the ALCS. The media describes the event as Joe Torre turning down a deal that had been offered to him by the Yankees, but I see it as the administration offering him a weak deal full of non-guaranteed incentives, and firing him without actually saying "you're fired."
Finding a replacement shouldn't be too hard, as the candidates at this point are former Yankees Don Mattingly and Joe Girardi, as well as First Base Coach Tony Pena (who may make for an interesting hire, as he was able to get the Royals into playoff contention in 2003). The offseason tumult has just begun for the Yankees, and I think I will take cover until they make whatever moves they are going to make. Looking on the bright side, their first spring training game starts in a mere five months! Get excited!
This Week in the NFL
The Jets got embarrassed again, the New York Giants have won an NFC-best five in a row, and the Pats had a bye. Well, they may as well have had one, considering how badly they beat the Dolphins, the JV team of the AFC. If you're a fan, make sure to watch in two weeks, when the Patriots may actually play a team close to their ability in the Indianapolis Colts.
In other notes, Titans kicker Rob Bironas set an NFL record by nailing eight field goals, Jason Elam hit a late field goal again, this time to seal a win against the Steelers, and Byron Leftwich twisted up his ankle for the 18th time. Sounds like a pretty standard NFL week to me.