ALCS Game 6 Recap: Beckett, Sox edge Rays, 4-2
by Randy Booth on Oct 19, 2008 12:22 AM EDT
in Game Stories
31 comments
Paps says: "Tek', my boy. We need one more!" (via d.yimg.com)
A lot of people gave up when the Red Sox were down 7-0 in the 7th inning of game five. No one then would have guessed the Red Sox would be playing on Sunday in game seven.
No one.
Josh Beckett pitched like the stud he is and key hits -- including a Jason Varitek home run -- carried the Red Sox past the Rays, 4-2, Saturday night in St. Petersburg.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. There will be a game seven played between the Red Sox and Rays.
A lot of people said Beckett should not have started this game. A lot wanted to throw Jon Lester, the unquestionable ace of the 2008 Red Sox staff. I can't say I had an opinion, but for all the doubters: Beckett told you to STFU.
It's OK, that's what he told the Rays tonight, too. Only five innings, but he allowed just two runs (two home runs, actually), four hits, one walk and struck out three. It wasn't Beckett's best postseason performance, but it doesn't matter because he did what he had to do. Two runs in five innings? I'll take that nine times out of 10.
Kevin Youkilis was a stud for the Sox. He belted a home run in the second to tie the game at one after BJ Upton's dinger in the first inning. He followed it up with an RBI in the third to score Dustin Pedroia and give the Sox a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth with a tie game 1-1, the most unlikely player stepped up and made it a new ballgame: Jason Varitek. That is not a typo. Jason Varitek stroked a home run over the right field wall to give the Sox a 3-2 edge, one they wouldn't relinquish.
Varitek is a unique player. Most of the time if you have a player that is horrible at the plate, they will hear it no matter what else they bring to the game. I feel like the entire Red Sox Nation just keeps patting him on the back and saying, "Next time, Buddy. Next time." Well, next time was tonight. He hadn't even had a hit before his home run to give the Sox the lead. Boy, did that feel good -- for everyone.
The unsung hero of this game has to be Hideki Okajima. Okajima came into the sixth inning -- way earlier than he is accustomed to -- and shut down the Rays' offense for two straight innings. His pitches were extremely crisp, hitting the corners of the plate. This looked like the 2007 version of Okajima.
The only flaw I see in tonight's game is the number of men the Red Sox left on base: 17. Bad, bad. This easily could have been a 10 run game with some timely hitting. The Sox really need to pull the trigger with men on base in tomorrow's game.
This, my friends, is the last thing I will say tonight:
Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen
I lied: GO SOX!
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ONE MORE, BABY
ONE MORE!
Also, Coco Crisp had a great game as well. I don’t want Taco starting unless Coco comes back to Earth or gets injured.
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 19, 2008 12:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Coco deserves a taco.
He was 3 for 4 with a BB. He’s also hitting .500 / .600 /.625 for the postseason.
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
by 0157H7 on Oct 19, 2008 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
bravo
I hope Royce Clayton got HIS taco
by SullyBaseball on Oct 19, 2008 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hear Clayton was
DFA’d, not picked up by any MLB club, and passed over by Japan. He quit baseball.
Then his rich uncle, who owned a software company, died, leaving him the immense company to run. He quickly initiated a massive paradigm shift, streamlining production and creating a software monopoly. He accurately predicted the credit crisis using his immense financial insight and short-sold every thing, gaining billions. With his grandiose fortune, he launched his girlfriend’s rock opera career, but she received terrible reviews from every media source, including his personal blog.
She abandoned him, and he took ill of polio. Surrounded by opulence, as he lay dying, he whispered softly: “… … Taco-Bell… Taco-Bell…” And then he died. As his many servants carted away his mounds of belongings, a solitary taco, moldy and dry, wasted away, unseen.
The End
Citizen Clayton
directed by Orson Vernon Wells
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
by 0157H7 on Oct 19, 2008 1:14 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
BAMF sounds like the noise
Nightcrawler makes when he teleports. Although I think I know what it actually stands for.
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
by 0157H7 on Oct 19, 2008 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Off=topic
But there might be a new Joba Rule in the works…
Manny ain't the only bad man.
by tommy.otm on Oct 19, 2008 2:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
'Oh, hi there officer... It's a fine night, in'it.
…why am I swerving all over the road? Umm. Midges. That’s it. Midges.’
(Also – ‘Cornhusker Place Detox’. Marvellous.)
"no1 has time to read your long comments, are you writing a book?"
by britsoxfan on Oct 19, 2008 6:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am confused about Joba
why wasn’t he with the team for their playoff series? I mean it is October after all. What was he doing in NE?
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
by MassGal on Oct 19, 2008 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Big Game"
Do you think that, after Game 6, we can stop calling James Shields " Big Game James"?
If any pitcher in the majors deserves that moniker right now, it’s Beckett.
by RickD on Oct 19, 2008 2:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
Big Game James was lucky he didn’t give up 7+ runs last night. I was very impressed by Beckett’s grit. I also like Varitek’s first hit of the series. Nice timing, Cap’n.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Oct 19, 2008 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Noone took more risks in this game than tito. Taking beckett out at 78 pitches, leaving okajima in for 2 innings, leaving masterson in after a really shakey start. Tito deserves alot of credit for making the right calls.
by spinz on Oct 19, 2008 2:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Huh?
From Bob Ryan’s article, Dusty on Beckett:
“That showed you the kind of pitcher and teammate he is,” said Dustin Pedroia. “You know he’s not feeling well. But he’s got heart. And he has one other thing I can’t say to you.”
Wha…? Any idea what the “one other thing” Dustin is talking about?
Manny ain't the only bad man.
by tommy.otm on Oct 19, 2008 9:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
um
I’m guessing it’s a different part of anatomy. Beckett probably has two of them.
by RickD on Oct 19, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Athletes don't say "balls" to the press?
Manny ain't the only bad man.
by tommy.otm on Oct 19, 2008 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pedroia is still growing up
His mommy would beat him if he said that.
Mother---- him and John Wayne!
by MerryGoByeBye on Oct 19, 2008 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Are you kidding?
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.
by SoxDevil on Oct 20, 2008 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
truck jewelry? a potty mouth?
geez Pedroia spit it out
No surprise TBS missed Beckett’s post-game interview; I imagine it was vintage Beckett. Of all the athletes I have seen, I enjoy Beckett & Allen Iverson’s post-game comments the most, they never fail to entertain
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
by MassGal on Oct 19, 2008 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Leaving too many men on!
“The only flaw I see in tonight’s game is the number of men the Red Sox left on base: 17. Bad, bad. This easily could have been a 10 run game with some timely hitting. The Sox really need to pull the trigger with men on base in tomorrow’s game.”
—————————
Remember that if the Sox win this series, they then have to beat a good Philly team to be WS champs. Leaving these many men on base is a sign of weak hitting WHEN IT COUNTS among certain parts of the lineup. I am comfortable with positions 2 through 6 in last night’s lineup as being capable of consistently delivering in the real clutch. Positions 7-9 are much too big a liability, and for me are the main reasons why we leave so many. Position one is currently doing well because Coco is elevating his game, but can it last for him?? Personally, I do not have much faith in Coco in the clutch, but lately he has delivered!!
At this point, we must stay with this order that has worked for the last 2 games and hope for the best. Maybe the current momentum will allow more clutch hits by event the weaker hitters because that’s what momentum does, sort of like an endorphin induced high. However, for the future series and for next year, the weak hitting with men on base must be a big concern for management, but maybe now is not the time to discuss this??
by NG on Oct 19, 2008 9:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
What's with the exclusivity of old man??
Can’t younger folks yell at clouds??
That is pretty funny though!
by NG on Oct 19, 2008 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If I may be so humble
you could use that as your profile picture.
Manny ain't the only bad man.
by tommy.otm on Oct 19, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have recommended this so hard,
it’s making a kind of farting noise.
"no1 has time to read your long comments, are you writing a book?"
by britsoxfan on Oct 19, 2008 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Calm folks
Let’s all breathe
Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves
BUT HOLY CRAP!!!!!
by SullyBaseball on Oct 19, 2008 12:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
+1
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Oct 19, 2008 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why the Queen reference?
It was so good till that.
Remember when we were kids and we mixed sodas together and called them "suicides"? It was OK though, because Dr. Pepper was always there.
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 19, 2008 7:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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