Down But Not Out, Again
I’m not putting as much weight on history as everyone else seems to be. Yes, we’ve been here before, and yes, we’ve come through it, more than once. But this is not the same team that came back from 0-3 to beat the Yankees last year, and it’s not the same team that came back from 0-2 to beat the A’s the year before.
The team that beat the Yankees last year had a much better pitching staff than this one. Going into game 4 we were able to throw Lowe (who was at the top of his game), Pedro, Schilling, and Lowe again. In the bullpen, we had the rubber arms of Foulke, Timlin, Embree (who was as good as the rest of them back then), and Myers, as well as starters Wakefield and Arroyo.
This is the reason why we were able to win. Although the Yankees also had good pitching to throw back at us, our pitching was able to keep that offense at bay long enough for our offense to grind out the runs necessary to win.
Now we have to go up against a better pitching staff than the one we faced in the ALCS last year, and we don’t have anywhere near the arms we had to match it. In the rotation, as great as Wakefield has been, he didn’t have it in his last start, and we don’t know what he’ll have today. Schilling is nowhere near the pitcher he was last year, and is still unpredictable. And we don’t even know who to throw in game 5 yet, assuming we even get there.
Although we still have a few good arms in the pen, we don’t have guys that are capable of pulling off what the pen from last year pulled off (I’m not sure ANY pen could ever pull off again what that pen did last year). And the offense is not clicking the way it was for most of the year.
Despite all of this, I don’t have that same feeling of dread that I did after game 3 of the ALCS last year. First of all, we only have to win 3, not four. Second, this isn’t the Yankees. As good as this White Sox team is, and as good as that pitching staff is, I still feel like we can go out there and win the next 3 games.
They didn’t win game 2, we gave it to them. Yes, Iguchi hit the 3 run homer, but Wells hung him a nice fat curveball to hit, and obviously he never would have been in that position if it weren’t for the error. So despite the fact that we’re down 0-2, we should be tied at 1-1, and although that doesn’t help much in the standings, it goes a long way for the confidence. This team knows they didn’t get beat on Wednesday, and they know they can play these guys.
As I mentioned in my last post, if we can get this offense going, we can grind out runs against this pitching staff. Although we haven’t seen Freddy Garcia yet this year, we’ve done it to him in the past, and we’ve done it to Garland already this year. We’ve got the friendly confines of Fenway for the next 2, and if we can get going, that momentum can carry us right back to Chicago on Sunday and keep us going, regardless of who we have starting that game.
The off day might have been just what we needed to get the offense going again, along with Fenway of course. Even though Jenks finished off the last 2 innings on Wednesday we hit some balls pretty hard against him, plus he can be very wild and if we have some patience we can get to him (as well as anyone else in that bullpen). In 3 regular season appearances against us he’s given up 5 runs in 2 innings.
The White Sox are a good team. They ran away with the division early and held on late, getting hot again at the right time, to clinch a well deserved spot in the playoffs. But they can be beat, and our team is certainly capable of doing it. We never throw in the towel and never give up hope. A lot of things have to go right, but as long as we’re still kicking, there’s no reason to believe they won’t.
Finally, I really hope the Fenway Faithful show the love to Graffanino today. This guy has been solid for us since he came over, playing better than anyone expected. He’s made every play at second (minus the obvious), and has come up with some big hits at the plate in key situations. Plus, he stood there forever on Wednesday night and fielded question after question, taking all of the blame himself, which he didn’t need to do.
He was already well respected in the clubhouse and by the reporters, and I think he gained even more after that. Now the faithful need to get behind him and give it to him as well, and I think they will.
GO SOX!!!!
The team that beat the Yankees last year had a much better pitching staff than this one. Going into game 4 we were able to throw Lowe (who was at the top of his game), Pedro, Schilling, and Lowe again. In the bullpen, we had the rubber arms of Foulke, Timlin, Embree (who was as good as the rest of them back then), and Myers, as well as starters Wakefield and Arroyo.
This is the reason why we were able to win. Although the Yankees also had good pitching to throw back at us, our pitching was able to keep that offense at bay long enough for our offense to grind out the runs necessary to win.
Now we have to go up against a better pitching staff than the one we faced in the ALCS last year, and we don’t have anywhere near the arms we had to match it. In the rotation, as great as Wakefield has been, he didn’t have it in his last start, and we don’t know what he’ll have today. Schilling is nowhere near the pitcher he was last year, and is still unpredictable. And we don’t even know who to throw in game 5 yet, assuming we even get there.
Although we still have a few good arms in the pen, we don’t have guys that are capable of pulling off what the pen from last year pulled off (I’m not sure ANY pen could ever pull off again what that pen did last year). And the offense is not clicking the way it was for most of the year.
Despite all of this, I don’t have that same feeling of dread that I did after game 3 of the ALCS last year. First of all, we only have to win 3, not four. Second, this isn’t the Yankees. As good as this White Sox team is, and as good as that pitching staff is, I still feel like we can go out there and win the next 3 games.
They didn’t win game 2, we gave it to them. Yes, Iguchi hit the 3 run homer, but Wells hung him a nice fat curveball to hit, and obviously he never would have been in that position if it weren’t for the error. So despite the fact that we’re down 0-2, we should be tied at 1-1, and although that doesn’t help much in the standings, it goes a long way for the confidence. This team knows they didn’t get beat on Wednesday, and they know they can play these guys.
As I mentioned in my last post, if we can get this offense going, we can grind out runs against this pitching staff. Although we haven’t seen Freddy Garcia yet this year, we’ve done it to him in the past, and we’ve done it to Garland already this year. We’ve got the friendly confines of Fenway for the next 2, and if we can get going, that momentum can carry us right back to Chicago on Sunday and keep us going, regardless of who we have starting that game.
The off day might have been just what we needed to get the offense going again, along with Fenway of course. Even though Jenks finished off the last 2 innings on Wednesday we hit some balls pretty hard against him, plus he can be very wild and if we have some patience we can get to him (as well as anyone else in that bullpen). In 3 regular season appearances against us he’s given up 5 runs in 2 innings.
The White Sox are a good team. They ran away with the division early and held on late, getting hot again at the right time, to clinch a well deserved spot in the playoffs. But they can be beat, and our team is certainly capable of doing it. We never throw in the towel and never give up hope. A lot of things have to go right, but as long as we’re still kicking, there’s no reason to believe they won’t.
Finally, I really hope the Fenway Faithful show the love to Graffanino today. This guy has been solid for us since he came over, playing better than anyone expected. He’s made every play at second (minus the obvious), and has come up with some big hits at the plate in key situations. Plus, he stood there forever on Wednesday night and fielded question after question, taking all of the blame himself, which he didn’t need to do.
He was already well respected in the clubhouse and by the reporters, and I think he gained even more after that. Now the faithful need to get behind him and give it to him as well, and I think they will.
GO SOX!!!!
posted by Bob at 10/07/2005 09:12:00 AM
1 Comments:
We love Graffanino!
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