By Eric Wilbur, Boston.com Staff, 10/17/2003
NEW YORK - There was no earthquake, no tsunami, nor cyclone ripping through the Bronx. There was no hurricane, nor implosion of earth, nor stars falling from the sky. The end of the world will have to wait another day. Armageddon, please take a number.
By Eric Wilbur, Boston.com Staff, 10/17/2003
NEW YORK - There was no earthquake, no tsunami, nor cyclone ripping through the Bronx. There was no hurricane, nor implosion of earth, nor stars falling from the sky. The end of the world will have to wait another day. Armageddon, please take a number.
The Red Sox will still linger for that chance to play for their first World Series title since 1918, 6-5 losers last night to the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Make no mistake about it, we have no idea how the bullpen, lights out in October coming into the game, with a 1.01 postseason ERA, would have fared in a disastrous eighth inning when the Yankees scored three times to knot things even. But the fact that it was not even given the chance is a question Red Sox management will have to ask themselves over the winter, because this loss lands squarely on the shoulders of Grady Little.
Pedro Martinez, masterful through seven innings, his only two mistakes being a pair of home runs from the bat of No. 7 (yes, 7) hitter Jason Giambi, labored in the eighth, and though he was approaching the 120-pitch mark, after conversing with his ace, Little decided to let him stay in there, a decision that will remain in Red Sox lore as one of the stupidest decisions ever made by a Boston manager. And that, my friends, is saying a lot.
With runners on second and third, and the Yankees down by two, Jorge Posada blooped a double off Pedro to tie the game at five, an infamous showdown that ended when Aaron Boone launched Tim Wakefield's first pitch of the 11th for a walk-off series-winning home run.
Aaron Boone! We sure hope FOX and big bro Bret are happy now.
As for Little, apparently his explanation was live with Pedro, die with Pedro, or something to that effect.
"Pedro wanted to stay in there. He wanted to get the job done just as he has many times for us all season long, and he's the man we wanted on the mound," Little said at an abbreviated post-game press conference. "Pedro Martinez has been our man all year long. In situations like that he's the one we want on that mound over anyone we can bring out of that bullpen. He had enough in his tank to finish off Posada. He made some tough pitches to him, squeezed his ball out over the infield, and there's nothing we can do about it now."
Sorry, Grady. When Game 7 is on the line, and your ace has given you all he's got, no matter how badly he wants to stay in there, "Pedro's our man" simply doesn't cut it. You say "no," go to the bullpen that got you to a Game 7 in the first place (Pedro wasn't the reason, for sure) and you see what can happen. Should Pedro have even come out for the eighth? Did Little pinch run for David Ortiz and Jason Varitek too early, losing their bats in the process, when they could have used them later? Did Red Sox Nation really need more questions to ponder?
Tim Wakefield was six outs away from quite probably being the ALCS MVP. Now he sits in Red Sox lore with Mike Torrez. Beautiful.
The FOX analyst's little brother hit a home run that will live in Red Sox and Yankees history, in different ways, of course. Yankees go for the title yet again, while the Sox go home. It's a tired story. And this ranks right up there with Bill Buckner and Bucky Dent. Worse in so many ways.
This could have been the year, hell this should have been the year, but it isn't. Again. And though there's no concrete proof to show that it would have turned out the same had Little done otherwise, it's his decision to let Pedro keep plugging away that is why the Red Sox are cleaning out their lockers today instead of hosting the (all of six years removed) Florida Marlins in Game 1 of the World Series tomorrow night.
A great, epic series? For sure. But that's no consolation for a region that has been waiting, and waiting to pop the cork in the dust encrusted champagne lying in the back of the fridge. I hate to say it, but wait 'til next year is all you can say.
It's just it is all that we ever say.
Blips on a map of an excruciating late evening-early morning in the Bronx:
The Red Sox team bus arrived at Yankee Stadium right around 4:30 p.m. with Pedro leading the pack, accompanied by a couple of guards. There was more than a littering of boos as he made his way into the players' entrance, but Sox fans were well represented, bursting out with cheers as the players made their way into the Stadium. John Burkett was recording the moment on his video camera, a process he continued, with a big smile on his face during the team's pre-game warm-ups.
This city was abuzz with talk of the big showdown dominating conversation. At the Moonlight Diner, one Yankee fan said whoever wins, it's been a great series, no matter what. At the Old Castle restaurant, bartenders were working a double shift for the sure rush that would come in the evening of folks wanting to watch the game in high-def. On the D train, New Yorkers weighed the odds of the game, and wonder if beating Pedro twice in a five-day span was too much to ask, even for their Yankees. Lucky for them, Grady helped them out.
Who is this governor genius of Illinois, who said about the now notorious Steve Bartman in Chicago, "If he ever needs a pardon, he won't get one from this governor." Is this moron serious? Can you imagine Mitt saying this? They're actually suggesting that the man may have to move to escape the wrath of Cub fans. Look, if O.J. can stay in LA, this guy should be able to live a peaceful life in Chicagoland. After all, if Moises Alou didn't react angrily as he did when Bartman came down with the ball, nobody would have ever realized how close a play it really was.
When Grady Little was asked what his wife thought of his new buzz haircut, Little got a laugh out of a room full of reporters. "She cares about me on the first and the 15th," he said. It's too bad his managing later on was just as funny.
Thank God Access Hollywood is here.
Boston's Kevin Millar on the Yankee fans chanting "***hole" when Manny Ramirez steps to the plate: "You've got to be good when 60,000 fans are chanting that."
Hanging out in front of the Red Sox dugout prior to the game, Mr. "I hope the Red Sox never win the World Series" Spike Lee.
Great at-bat by Todd Walker in the first, making Clemens throw 10 pitches before singling to right. Someone raised the question to me before the game that there has been so much talk about the Sox not wanting Walker back next season, but after his post-season performance, how could that be? Good question. He's easily been their hottest hitter, his major slump a thing of the past, and the Sox might not even be in this Game 7 if it hadn't been for him this month. Plus, he has become an intangible part of the heart and soul of the team. Winning here means something to Walker, and that's saying a lot for a guy who's only been around Boston seven months or so.
Besides, wouldn't it be nice to have the same second baseman on back-to-back Opening Days for the first time since the Electric Slide was hip?
When Pedro came out to pitch the first...well, you can imagine the reception. There were no incidents, thank goodness. But it was just jeering. Boos. Nothing more. I mean, if you had that much venom towards a player, wouldn't you think the reception would have been legendary? The New York Post doesn't even call him by name, instead, it's the Fenway Punk, or Punk for short. Put it this way, when Jeff Nelson came in to pitch in Monday's Game 4, Fenway Park pulled off a much louder and effective jeer. They didn't even start a name chanting here until Pedro got into trouble later in the contest.
You know what would be great, if the Red Sox could someday put the folks who sell "1918" merchandise out of business.
Somebody please tell the Irish Tenor it's "God Bless America," not "Stairway to Heaven."
Hey, Matthew Modine, loved you in "Bye, Bye, Love." I watched it while recovering from my lobotomy.
Apparently the rule of "No cheering in the press box" doesn't apply during a Game 7 at Yankee Stadium when the Yankees are staging a comeback. Unbelievable.
One of New York's finest on the extra-inning affair that ended past midnight. "Well, at least people are sobering up."
A knowledgeable Yankee fan on the D Train back to Manhattan: "I guess they pay all those guys to torture their fans. What's that GM's name again?" Yes, the hat was new, and there were wagon marks in back of him.
What exactly have the Patriots been doing lately?