The deal is Ortiz will play first in St Louis. Sorry guys but it\'s time to play REAL baseball. Schilling will not pitch in St. Louis so he doesn\'t have to hit/run on that bad leg-a very wise move.
My Line-Up Projection
1. Johnny F\'n Damon - CF
2. Mark Bellhorn - 2B
3. Manny Ramirez - LF
4. David Ortiz - 1B
5. Trot Nixon - RF
6. Jason Vartiek - C
7. Bill Mueller - 3B
8. Orlando Cabrera - SS
9. pitcher
I really like the prospect of being able to use Millar as a pinch-hitter, pinch-run for him with Dave Roberts, and still have Doug MEN-KAY-VITCH to play 1B.
By the way, as unlikely as it is, I would love to see Mike Timlin bat. I cherish that guy and his ever-present big ol\' wad o\' chew.
Originally posted by ChrisPitch
There you go. I\'m one step ahead of you. Unfortunately, I\'m several thousand steps behind myself.
suttle dig pitchy, suttle dig...
Originally posted by ChrisPitch
A few interesting tidbits:
What are the Sox going to do with Ortiz when they play Games 3, 4, and 5 (if neccessary) in St. Louis?
I think starting Wakefield in Game 1 when both Martinez and Schilling would be on full rest, is mind-blowingly stupid. I just don\'t understand the logic of not throwing your two aces when they\'re fully rested after you just threw your number-five guy on two-days rest in Lowe.
Pitch
Ortiz plays first, that\'s easy. You don\'t take a guy that hot out, he was the MVP of the frist two rounds. Millar understands, plus it gives us a bat on the bench. Ortiz has played first before.
Wakefield starting is fine. Schilling has to go 2-6 because he can\'t hit in the NL park, so now your Game 1 guy is either Pedro or Wake. If Pedro goes 3 then he also presumably goes 7, which means that when the Sox come back to Fenway for 6 and 7 they\'ll have Schilling and Pedro, which makes them a favorite whether they are up 3-2 or down 3-2. Next reason: Pedro isn\'t quite on full rest due to his remarkable relief stint in game 7. Next reason: Wakefield hasn\'t started a game yet this postseason. He is the longest-running Red Sox and didn\'t get the call to start game 7 even though he could have gone. Francona owes him this one. You might argue that Francona is again managing to one player\'s story instead of the team\'s needs, but in actuality the entire team is fully behind Wake getting a start because they know what he means to the franchise, so it will get all of them fired up. Overall it is a very good move.
No thanks to Wakefield, no thanks to Manny (who simply has to be a DH next year), no thanks to home plate umpire Ed Montague (whose called third strike of Edmonds in the eighth was one of the worst calls in postseason history). But the Sox are the better team and that was reflected in the final score. Get the champagne on ice. This series is over.
Originally posted by ChrisPitch
No thanks to Wakefield, no thanks to Manny (who simply has to be a DH next year), no thanks to home plate umpire Ed Montague (whose called third strike of Edmonds in the eighth was one of the worst calls in postseason history). But the Sox are the better team and that was reflected in the final score. Get the champagne on ice. This series is over.
Over? Damn if you r gonna jump to that conclusion after an 11-9 score in Game 1 I gotta call ya Froggy from here on.
Just bringing out the big guns in desperation. Trying to reverse the reversal of the curse.
Now, formulaically, things are going according to plan. The theory behind homefield advantage is to take the first two at home, one of the next three on the road, and then one more at home. Of course, we\'ve already seen that work not so well this postseason. Pedro Power it is.
Originally posted by ChrisPitch
Deadbirds
How soon they forget, remember what just happened down 3-0!!
And you were dead on with the Edmonds call, there is no excuse for that. Right up there with John Denkinger call in 1985!
Now here is something I think we all can enjoy!
The Baboon
The Cards need to bring back Joaquin Andujar!