Red Sox vs The Tribe

[sunshinekids99]

Pitchers:

Josh Beckett- (1-1) 1.80 ERA 0.53 WHIP .143 BAA (2 Starts)
Career- (1-3) 6.57 ERA 1.22 WHIP .255 BAA (4 Starts)
Curt Schilling- (1-0) 1.29 ERA 0.86 WHIP .231 BAA (1 Start)
Career- (2-2) 3.79 ERA 1.18 WHIP .255 BAA (7 Games, 5 Starts)
Daisuke Matsuzaka- ( 1-1) 4.26 ERA 1.50 WHIP .308 BAA (2 Starts)
Tim Wakefield- Has not faced Cleveland this Season
Career- (9-8) 4.50 ERA 1.35 WHIP .252 BAA (23 Games, 18 Starts)

Indians

CC Sabathia- (0-1) 1.29 ERA 0.71 WHIP .192 BAA (1 Game)
Career- (2-4) 3.91 ERA 1.22 WHIP .268 BAA (7 Games)
Fausto Carmona- (1-0) 0.00 ERA 0.75 WHIP .167 BAA (1 Game)
Career- (1-2) 5.00 ERA 1.22 WHIP .233 BAA (3 Games, 1 Start)
Jake Westbrook- (0-1) 7.50 ERA 2.33 WHIP .417 BAA (1 Start)
Career- (3-2) 4.81 ERA 1.93 WHIP .364 BAA (6 Starts)
Paul Byrd (1-0) 1.50 ERA 1.50 WHIP .346 BAA (1 Start)
Career- (4-2) 4.12 ERA 1.31 WHIP .287 BAA (7 Starts)

The Indians do have two guys that can both make a case at Cy Young. The Red Sox get the edge in post season performance from Beckett in Schilling. I think this is a close matchup, but the ege has to go to Cleveland.




Bullpen:

Jonathan Papelbon- 2 Saves 4.50 ERA 1.50 WHIP .250 BAA (2 Games)
Career- (1-0) 3 Saves 2.25 ERA 0.75 WHIP .143 BAA (4 Games)
Hideki Okajima- 1 Save 0.00 ERA 0.33 WHIP .000 BAA (3 Games)
Mike Timlin- 0.00 ERA 0.75 WHIP .200 BAA (1 Game)
Career- (2-2) 7 Saves 3.34 ERA 1.31 WHIP .257 BAA (51 Games, 2 Starts)
Manny Delcarmen- 1 Save 0.00 ERA 0.00 WHIP .000 BAA (1 Game)
Career- 1 Save 9.00 ERA 2.25 WHIP .400 BAA (4 Games)

Indians

Joe Borowski- 1 Save 0.00 ERA 0.00 WHIP .000 BAA (1 Game)
Career- (0-1) 2 Saves 4.82 ERA 1.39 WHIP .250 BAA (8 Games)
Rafael Bentancourt- 0.00 ERA 0.33 WHIP .100 BAA (2 Games)
Career- 2 Saves 1.26 ERA 0.84 WHIP .189 BAA (11 Games)
Rafael Perez- 0.00 ERA 0.50 WHIP .143 BAA (1 Game)
Jensen Lewis- 4.50 ERA 1.50 WHIP .333 BAA (2 Games)

This is a close matchup as well for both teams. Bentancourt and Perez really have had great seasons for Cleveland. The same can be said for Okajima and Delcarmen as well. The reason I give the edge to the Red Sox is Papelbon. He can be trusted with the game on the line. While Borowski did lead the league in saves, he also had a 5+ ERA.






Lineup:

Red Sox
Jason Varitek- .273 AVG 1 HR 4 RBI .407 OBP .455 Slg (22 Ab's)
Kevin Youkilis- .310 AVG 2 HR 4 RBI .355 OBP .586 Slg (29 Ab's)
Dustin Pedroia- .370 AVG 0 HR 2 RBI .433 OBP .444 Slg (27 Ab's)
Mike Lowell- .346 AVG 1 HR 6 RBI .346 OBP .577 Slg (26 Ab's)
Julio Lugo- .261 AVG 0 HR 1 RBI .261 OBP .348 Slg (23 Ab's)
Manny Ramirez- .417 AVG 3 HR 7 RBI .517 OBP .958 Slg (24 Ab's)
Coco Crisp- .233 AVG 0 HR 1 RBI .258 OBP .267 Slg (30 Ab's)
JD Drew- .095 AVG 0 HR 3 RBI .174 OBP .143 Slg (21 Ab's)
David Ortiz- .273 AVG 0 HR 0 RBI .385 OBP .273 Slg (11 Ab's)

Indians
Victor Martinez- .125 AVG 0 HR 2 RBI .300 OBP .125 Slg (16 Ab's)
Ryan Garko- .261 AVG 1 HR 3 RBI .370 OBP .522 Slg (23 Ab's)
Asdrubal Cabrera- Has not faced Boston
Casey Blake- .217 AVG 0 HR 1 RBI .333 OBP .261 Slg (23 Ab's)
Jhonny Peralta- .240 AVG 0 HR 0 RBI .321 OBP .240 Slg (24 Ab's)
Kenny Lofton- .306 AVG 0 HR 2 RBI .409 OBP .361 Slg (36 Ab's)
Grady Sizemore- .250 AVG 2 HR 5 RBI .323 OBP .500 Slg (28 Ab's)
Franklin Gutierrez- .200 AVG 2 HR 2 RBI .200 OBP .800 Slg (10 Ab's)
Travis Hafner- .185 AVG 0 HR 5 RBI .241 OBP .333 Slg (27 Ab's)

The edge goes to the Red Sox. However the Indians can not be overlooked. Sizemore and Martinez are both very good young hitters. Travis Hafner has played much better of late. The duo of Manny Ramirez
and David Ortiz give the Sox the edge tho. The Sox have had more success against the Indians then the other way around.



Player to watch out for.

Bobby Kielty- Career vs Sabathia- .310 avg 2 HR 7 RBI .375 OBP .655 Slg (29 AB's)
Kielty might be in the lineup for JD Drew against CC. He has had some success in this matchup.




Cleveland
Trot Nixon- vs Boston- .158 avg 0 HR 1 RBI .190 OBP .211 Slg (19 Ab's)
The original dirt dog returns against the Boston Red Sox. Nixon's had a down season and it looks like injuries have really done a number to this guy. Still he remains a player on the Indians bench that has post season expierence.




The Winner of the Series.

I believe this is a tough matchup for the Red Sox. Sabathia and Carmona are a great 1-2 punch. They got 2 very good relievers in the pen. And some very gifted hitters on their team. I see this series going 7 games with the Red Sox taking it home. Had the Indians been the home team things might be different.

Red Sox 4 Indians 3

[canman1971]

Should be a tough series. I like the Sox in 7, maybe 6 if Beckett pitches like he did against the Angels. Also, the Sox lineup is better and there is always the experience factor. It is going to be weird not playing the Yankees.

[mr_sunshine]

This should be a great series! I'm interested to see if Carmona does well against the Sox. My friend, just like he did last year with Reche f'in Caldwell and the Pats, guaranteed that Carmona will be the demise of the Indians. I hope he's right and Fausto falls flat on his face, but who knows. It's crazy he went from a terrible closer, to an amazing starter with such a short turnaround.

My prediction is the Sox in 6. It'll be hard fought though for sure.

[Markos]

This should be a great series! I'm interested to see if Carmona does well against the Sox. My friend, just like he did last year with Reche f'in Caldwell and the Pats, guaranteed that Carmona will be the demise of the Indians. I hope he's right and Fausto falls flat on his face, but who knows. It's crazy he went from a terrible closer, to an amazing starter with such a short turnaround.

My prediction is the Sox in 6. It'll be hard fought though for sure.

The name Derek Lowe comes to mind immediately

I think Indians win just because its so evenly matched up that something minor will tip the scales and I have a hunch the tribe get that break

[Flaming Mo]

http://mos-baseball.blogspot.com/2007/1 ... eries.html

Some stuff about the ALDS and about the upcoming ALCS...

Great thread sunshine!!!

SO SOX!!!

[sunshinekids99]

Here are some stats that each team has against Sabathia and Beckett.

Career Numbers vs pitchers

Game 1 vs Sabathia

Jason Varitek- 1 for 10, 1 Homerun
Kevin Youkilis- .3 for 7
Dustin Pedroia- 0 for 3
Mike Lowell- 2 for 7
Julio Lugo- 4 for 18, 1 Homerun
Manny Ramirez- 12 for 21, 4 Homeruns
Coco Crisp- 2 for 6
JD Drew- 0 for 3
David Ortiz- 5 for 18, 1 Homerun

vs. Beckett

VIctor Martinez- 2 for 11, 1 Homerun
Ryan Garko- 0 for 5
Asdrubal Cabrera- Has never faced Beckett
Casey Blake- 2 for 8
Jhonny Peralta- 3 for 7
Kenny Lofton- 3 for 8
Grady Sizemore- 3 for 12
Franklin Gutierrez- 1 for 3, 1 Homerun
Travis Hafner- 4 for 9, 1 Homerun

Both teams have had some struggles against the pitcher they are facing in this matchup. Hafner has some good success against Beckett. And Peralta and Lofton have both got some good averages in a small sample.
Manny Ramirez is the guy with the most success against Sabathia and he has some very good numbers. I expect a pitchers duel for game 1. Look for Manny to maybe get a hold of one. Also don't be surprised to see Bobby Kielty get the start in right field against CC. He's had some success in that matchup and earlier this year JD Drew looked way overmatched against CC.

[greenbeans]

the sox are what the indians aspire to be. if you look at them, they really do like like a watered down version of the sox. imo it would be a shock if this goes 6

[Gordon Bombay]

best of luck fellas....should be a great series

[Flaming Mo]

the sox are what the indians aspire to be. if you look at them, they really do like like a watered down version of the sox. imo it would be a shock if this goes 6

Come on... Don't try to get us overconfident!

Seriously, the Indians have to fear nobody. Powerful lineup, two great pitchers at the top of the rotation and the momentum from beating one of the hottest teams in baseball...

[sunshinekids99]

I agree this Indians team is a good one. Good young hitting, 2 Cy Young worthy pitchers, 2 great bullpen guys.

[greenbeans]

-= original quote snipped =-



Come on... Don't try to get us overconfident!

Seriously, the Indians have to fear nobody. Powerful lineup, two great pitchers at the top of the rotation and the momentum from beating one of the hottest teams in baseball...

i wouldnt say they should be scared. i think there a good young team. howeva, there 2 best pitchers are negated by our top 2. there closer isnt anywher near the same level as pap and however good there offense is hitting(sporadically usually) its still a notch or two below the sox.

Beckett/Schilling= CC/Carmona
Dice-k/Wake>Westbrook/Byrd
Papelbon>>>>Borowski
Gagne/Delcarmen/Timlin/Oki> Betancourt/Perez/Lewis
Papi/Manny>>>>>>>>>Hafner/Martinez

and the Yankees arent exactly the epitome of how to play October baseball right now so thats kind of an invalid point

[Boston's Future]

I got the Sox in 7. I think we split the 4 games were the matchups are Schill/Beckett and Carmona/Sabbathia. Its come down to the matchup of the crappy pitchers. If Dice-K can pitch like he did in the regular season, we can win this series in six games, because we can hit Westbrook. Even though the TBS announcers deemed Paul Byrd a god for giving up 2 runs, 10 hits in 5 inninngs against the Yankees, we should smack the crap out of him. Wakefield hasn't pitched in three weeks and the break has gotten his bad pitching streak out of system. My bold prediction is that Wake pitches a great game in game 4. For once, I have faith in Tim Wakefield

[sunshinekids99]

Looks like only one roster change for the Red Sox. Kevin Cash out and Tim Wakefield in.

[sunshinekids99]

Pretty much everybody provided something for the Sox tonight. Manny and Ortiz really got the offense going. Beckett with a very good performance. Even Kielty came through with a single and two RBI.

If the Red Sox can make it to the World Series, I'm now on the keep Eric Gagne on the sidelines bandwagon.

[canman1971]

Great first game. Lets hope they keep it up. I think this series could be a odd one. Either it goes 7 games, or the Sox sweep or at worst goes 5. I think it'll go 7, but the Sox have the experience in this situation, so let hope.

[sunshinekids99]

A look at the numbers for the Game 2 starters.


Red Sox vs. Carmona (career)

Jason Varitek- 1 for 2
Kevin Youkilis- 0 for 3
Dustin Pedroia- 0 for 2
Mike Lowell- Has not faced Carmona
Julio Lugo- Has not faced Carmona
Manny Ramirez- 0 for 2
Coco Crisp- 1 for 4
JD Drew- 0 for 3
David Ortiz- 2 for 4, 1 Homerun

Indians vs Schilling (career)

Victor Martinez- 4 for 8, 1 Homerun
Ryan Garko- 0 for 3
Asdrubal Cabrera- Has not faced Schilling
Casey Blake- 3 for 9
Jhonny Peralta- 1 for 6
Kenny Lofton- 7 for 25, 1 Homerun
Grady Sizemore- 2 for 6
Franklin Gutierrez- Has not faced Schilling
Travis Hafner- 4 for 9

Carmona has had his struggles in Fenway Park (5 ER in 1 Inning of work), but that was obviously during his attempt to be a closer last season for the Indians. Carmona is a different pitcher and he had a heck of a season. He was also very impressive in Game 2 of the first round.

There are a couple of Indians that have good numbers against Schilling in a small sample of work. Schilling did have a dominate performance against the Indians in late May. At Fenway park going 7 innings giving up 1 run and 10 K's.

While obviously Carmona has the advantage on paper, but with the way Ortiz and Ramirez are swinging the bats who knows. Schilling is known as a big game pitcher and in the first round he lived up to that bill.

Should be a good game.

[canman1971]

Gagne needs to be taken off the roster....NOW!!!

[mr_sunshine]

Gagne needs to be taken off the roster....NOW!!!

Yup... the very end of our bullpen blows.

[Bleeding Green]

The very end of everyone's bullpen blows.

That's why Delcarmen, Timlin, Okajima and Papelbon should be allowed to go 3-4 innings over the course of back-to-back games. These are the playoffs. Ride your best relievers for two innings at a time. There are plenty of offdays and the majority of the bullpen just had a week of rest coming into Game 2.

There is no reason why these four pitchers can't go a combined 8 innings over a single game if needed. Okajima took three weeks off, Timlin only tossed 55.2 IP, Papelbon 58.1, and Delcarmen is only a few innings over his total from last year.

[sunshinekids99]

Career numbers for game 3.

Red Sox vs. Westbrook

Jason Varitek- 3 for 6
Kevin Youkilis- 5 for 8
Dustin Pedroia- 1 for 3
Mike Lowell- 3 for 11
Julio Lugo- 6 for 24
Manny Ramirez- 8 for 16
Coco Crisp- 6 for 8
JD Drew- 1 for 5
David Ortiz- 0 for 7


Cleveland vs Matsuzaka

Victor Martinez- 0 for 1
Ryan Garko- 2 for 4
Asdrubal Cabrera- Has not faced Matsuzaka
Casey Blake- 1 for 7
Jhonny Peralta- 0 for 6
Kenny Lofton- 0 for 2
Grady Sizemore- 4 for 8, 1 Homerun
Franklin Gutierrez- Has not faced Matsuzaka
Travis Hafner- 2 for 6

Game 3 looks like a huge advantage to the Red Sox on paper. Westbrook has had a tough time against most of the Red Sox hitters. Oddly enough he has had success against David Ortiz in his career. The Red Sox should be able to score in this game.

Dice-K needs to come up big for the Red Sox tonight. He has had success against some of the Inidans hitters. Like most pitchers he's had troubles against Grady Sizemore this season.

It will be huge if the Red Sox can get into the Indians pen early and really try and wear those guys down. It may end up helping out for game 4. Dice needs to get some what deep into this game. The Sox can't be using Gagne, Lopez, or Lester in a close game.