Grady Little\'s option for next season should not be renewed. Pedro clearly showed fatigue in the seventh and Embree and Timlin have been lights-out all playoffs. He should have started the eighth with Embree against Giambi, a lefty, then went Timlin for the rest of the eighth and ninth, using Williamson only if Timlin got into trouble. At the very least, Martinez should have been lifted prior to Matsui\'s at-bat. You just can\'t give the Yanks second chances. They\'re too good. They capitalize every time. The Sox blew their chance to blow the game wide-open in the early innings, let the Yanks linger, then prompty swallowed a chicken bone. Gag City.
Also, as much as I despise the Yankees, Martinez got what he deserved for being an arrogant dick, not apologizing for what he did in Game 3, and for saying that he\'d hit Babe Ruth in the ass with a pitch two years ago. When you make a statement like that against all the Yankee tradition, coupled with your team\'s tradition for chocking, it usually comes back to bite you and that\'s exactly what happened last night. Martinez may be one of the best pitchers of our generation, and is almost a guaranteed Hall of Famer, but he is not Bob Gibson, he is not Sandy Koufax, he is not Juan Marichal. He is not somebody who came through when it was all on the line. Here\'s what you need to know about Martinez: four postseason starts, one Sox victory in those starts. Enjoy the World Series from the recliner you shit-talking, head-hunting, good-almost-until-the-last-drop bitch!
Note: A lot of this anger comes from when Martinez said that Piazza should have charged the mound in the 2000 World Series when Clemens threw the bat at him, which would have obviously been stupid since that would have caused Piazza to be suspended for the rest of the Series and the Mets would have lost in four games instead of five. I\'ve always disliked Martinez for those comments because: a. he was wrong, b. it was none of his business, and c. he never has to take an at-bat, which might be a reason why he tends to throw inside so much, yathink? What the Mets should have done in the 2000 World Series, was take the high road, be the better team, and hit Derek Jeter.
Anyway, this brings me to Clemens, who certaintly didn\'t help his team last night. That\'s the worst part of this. As much as I enjoy seeing Martinez lose, I hate seeing Clemens win. And now we get to watch him again against the Marlins when the Sox squandered the chance to end his career. You know Clemens is now going to end his career with seven scoreless against Florida.
Prediction: Yankees in 6.
Chris Pitch
Let\'s arrange for a consolation series between the Cubs and the Sox with the loser folding the franchise and the winner folding the franchise.
2004: LETS GO METS!!!! The quest for fourth place continues!
