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| | Tuesday, October 12 | |||||
| Garciaparra vs. Jeter The Indians twice intentionally walked Nomar Garciaparra in Game 5 in large part because Garciaparra had hit .451 against Cleveland during the season. The AL batting champion also hit well against the Yankees, .341 with three home runs in 41 at-bats. Two interesting things to consider about Garciaparra. After hitting just one home run in August, he hit nine in September, one-third of his season's total. Also, Garciaparra drew 26 walks the final two months, over half of his season total of 51. What does that mean? Either teams finally began pitching around Garciaparra whenever possible, or that he fine-tuned his aggressiveness at the plate, which could make him an even more dangerous hitter.
Roger Clemens pitched seven shutout innings against the Rangers in the Division Series for just his second career postseason victory in 10 starts. Now, he hasn't pitched that bad -- he has just two losses -- but the Yankees certainly liked the start. The Rocket started three times against Boston this year and went 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA. However, the Sox managed just 12 hits in 19 innings against him. Clemens is scheduled for Game 3 against Pedro Martinez. It may very well be the most exciting game -- and costliest ticket -- in Red Sox vs. Yankees history. Mr. Mariano Mariano Rivera is scary good right now. He hasn't allowed a run since July 21 -- a stretch of 30 appearances and 32.2 innings pitched. And Rivera's track record in the postseason is imposing: just two runs in 38 innings. Clearly, the Red Sox will need to beat the Yankee starters, because it's unlikely they'll beat Rivera. Mr. Clutch When the Yankees traded David Wells, one of the biggest complaints against the trade was Wells' postseason record: 8-1 with a 2.74 ERA. But Joe Torre has perhaps discovered a new postseason ace in Orlando Hernandez. El Duque has made three playoff starts and during that time has allowed a grand total of one run. Wonder why Clemens or Andy Pettitte or David Cone won't start Game 1? Now you know why. Can one man lead them? During the regular season, the Red Sox finished 94-68 while Pedro Martinez finished 23-4. How much did Pedro mean to the team? Well, let's figure this out. When Pedro didn't get the decision, the Sox were 71-64 (.526). Pedro had 27 decisions, so if we multiply 27 by .526, we get 14.2 -- the Sox would have gone about 14-13 in those 27 games, nine fewer than Pedro. In other words, the Sox would have won about 85 games without Martinez. So, it's not a bad team without Martinez, as many are saying. But Martinez turns them into October terrors, especially if he stays healthy and pitches like he did in Game 5. Martinez will pitch Game 3. Let's assume he wins that one. In order to get to Pedro's next start in Game 7, the Sox will have to win two of the other five games. Is that asking a lot? The most direct comparison is probably 1988, when Orel Hershiser got an amazing hot streak and carried a mediocre Dodgers team to the World Series title. Hey, maybe it's time to bring an end to the Curse. | ALSO SEE Yankees vs. Red Sox series page
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