Whatever about losing the series 2-1 to the Rays, there were some good points that came out of the three game set. Top of my list is Ortiz finding the long ball. The two he lost deep last night were a real promising sign that maybe Big Papi has found his power swing again. The Sox lineup is instantly more scary.
Another huge boost was, of course, Josh Beckett's 'ace like' outing on Tuesday night. He looked ready for the postseason.
I thought it was very interesting to see the iron fist that Rays manager Joe Maddon is ruling with. Last night he lifted his starter, Matt Garza, with two on and two out in the fifth, thus denying him a chance at the win even though the score was 8-3. This, to me, looked like a message to the rest of the team, 'I am in charge and I will yank anyone, anytime, anywhere.' Now, it is probably vital for Maddon to keep his team under a tight reign, whereas over in Fenway, Tito can be a bit more relaxed knowing, with Manny gone, he gets close to if not 100% every night from his savvy, veteran ball club. Just saying.
Speaking of the playoffs, when are the Yankees officially done? They have 10 games left and are 8 behind Boston so, if they lose 3 more games they are done and dusted, right?
Interesting to see Curt Schilling come out and say what probably many in Boston have felt for a long time, basically that Manny was completely disrespecting his team mates with his selfish actions
The most interesting line was
Another huge boost was, of course, Josh Beckett's 'ace like' outing on Tuesday night. He looked ready for the postseason.
I thought it was very interesting to see the iron fist that Rays manager Joe Maddon is ruling with. Last night he lifted his starter, Matt Garza, with two on and two out in the fifth, thus denying him a chance at the win even though the score was 8-3. This, to me, looked like a message to the rest of the team, 'I am in charge and I will yank anyone, anytime, anywhere.' Now, it is probably vital for Maddon to keep his team under a tight reign, whereas over in Fenway, Tito can be a bit more relaxed knowing, with Manny gone, he gets close to if not 100% every night from his savvy, veteran ball club. Just saying.
Speaking of the playoffs, when are the Yankees officially done? They have 10 games left and are 8 behind Boston so, if they lose 3 more games they are done and dusted, right?
Interesting to see Curt Schilling come out and say what probably many in Boston have felt for a long time, basically that Manny was completely disrespecting his team mates with his selfish actions
The most interesting line was
"Because the one thing about Manny is that he was ... he was very kind, and well-mannered, but there were spurts and times when you didn't know who he was. You know, he was always kind and nice for the most part, but he'd show up the next day and say, 'I'm through with this team, I want out now.'
Comments
I think a combo of two Sox wins and two NY losses puts the Yankees out.