2007 ALDS Game 2: 6-3
The Sox felt bad that Angels fans had to stay for almost an entire game on Wednesday. So tonight they will score early and often, ensuring that even the most die-hard Halos fan are in bed by the 7th.
Full Version: 10/3 ALDS Game 2 - Matsuzaka vs. Santana
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2004 ALDS Game 2: 8-3
2007 ALDS Game 2: 6-3
The Sox felt bad that Angels fans had to stay for almost an entire game on Wednesday. So tonight they will score early and often, ensuring that even the most die-hard Halos fan are in bed by the 7th.
2007 ALDS Game 2: 6-3
The Sox felt bad that Angels fans had to stay for almost an entire game on Wednesday. So tonight they will score early and often, ensuring that even the most die-hard Halos fan are in bed by the 7th.
Legendary. On the dot. Win.
I have a suspiciously good feeling about Daisuke tonight.
Win it for Mike Timlin.
Sox will be loose. Angels will be tight. Papi is going deep...at least once.
And when the dust settles, the Sox will be up 2-0.
And when the dust settles, the Sox will be up 2-0.
Apparently Dice showed up yesterday sporting an "awful" mohawk and Ortiz was giving him shit: http://news.google.com/news?oe=matsuzaka+m...8&scoring=n
Doesn't matter though. He may not be the ultimate pitcher we all dreamed of, but he is damn good and I expect plenty of swings and misses by the Angels tonight. Dice rolls and so do the Sox.
Doesn't matter though. He may not be the ultimate pitcher we all dreamed of, but he is damn good and I expect plenty of swings and misses by the Angels tonight. Dice rolls and so do the Sox.
He has a mohawk? Wait a sec, the Rays all got mohawks.
Maybe it's a sort of 'in your face Rays' thing?
Whatever it is, may it get him pumped, jacked, and jizzed to shut the Angels down.
Maybe it's a sort of 'in your face Rays' thing?
Whatever it is, may it get him pumped, jacked, and jizzed to shut the Angels down.
QUOTE(5belongstoGeorge @ Oct 3 2008, 12:41 PM) 
Win it for Mike Timlin.
Indeed.
Pitch the ball well, hit the ball well, win.
10/3/08--ALDS Game 2--Snap!
It’s time for Jose Melendez’s KEYS TO THE ALDS.
1. George Elliott, the famous transsexual author, once wrote “The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.”
Jose is not sure exactly when (s)he wrote that, but he suspects it was after one of the ten consecutive post season games the Red Sox have taken from the Los Calanaheim Angles.
Unlike many moments in the history of the Boston Red Sox, these games against the Angels have been golden moments, all of them. From Hendu’s homer, to Roger Clemens inexplicably winning a Game 7 (note: thank God, Jeff Suppan wasn’t starting for the Angles that night), to Papi’s walk off, to Manny’s fly into the night last fall, the good moments against the Angels are wound together in such a smooth and subtle continuum that it is easy to miss exactly how special, how golden each of these shimmering singularities is.
This series will fade. We will not remember most of its splendid moments. The 2004 ALDS is absent from the World Series DVD collection. The same holds for 2007. These series are forgotten, picayune overtures that hint at Act I and Act II before being retired to hazy memory. Despite the dramatic walk off homers in 2004 and 2007, do we remember those moments the way we remember ALDS moments against other opponents? Will anything from this series remind us of O’Leary seven RBI’s in the 1999 ALDS finale or Pedro’s six no hit innings? Will any pitch seem as extraordinary as Derek Lowe’s back door breaking ball to strike out Terence Long in 2003?
These series against the Angels begin with haste and end as quickly and unceremoniously as a series in May. We cannot see them and savor them. We know them only as something has passed and is then forgotten.
Jose never thought he would say this after reading Silas Marner, George Elliott is making sense.
Still, the story in incomplete. There is more going on here then the abrupt evaporation of golden moments. There is something more sinister, violent even.
There is another quote about the Angels that is a partner in describing the long streak, and the short series. Jack Handy of Saturday Night Live once said over soothing music and calming images “It’s true that every time you hear a bell, an angel gets its wings. But what they don’t tell you is that every time you hear a mouse trap snap, an angel gets set on fire.”
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
Huh, that was 11. Funny.
2. In 1867, Japan began the period of transition from feudalism to industrial society and colonial power called the Meiji Restoration. The Restoration came in direct response to Commodore Matthew Perry’s success at forcing Japan to open in 1853. The superior firepower of Perry’s black ships convinced elements in Japan that the country needed to modernize rapidly or else it would succumb to Western power. In other words, the Japanese needed to learn from their enemies and make fundamental adjustments in how they organized themselves in order to compete.
Over the past year, the Angels have undergone a similar process. After being humiliated by Commodore Tito, and his black, err black, white and Dominican, fleet in 2007, the Angels realized that they needed to learn from the Red Sox if they were to compete with them. As a result, they shifted from being a team that relied entirely on speed and acquired Mark Angels 1Bman whose name I can't spell to give them the best possible (note: though still inadequate) facsimile of Boston’s 3-4 slugger combination.
It worked. Just like Japan in the Meiji period, the Angels went through a rapid and spectacular transformation.
The crowning validation of the Meiji Restoration was Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Japan won despite the fact that Jose’s great-grandfather had gotten the hell out of the country one-year prior, so they were at a huge disadvantage.
So the validation of the Angels Restoration should be a victory over the Boston Red Sox. But where is it? It is as though a strong and modernized Japan laid siege to Port Arthur and then gave up after three days because it was hard and kind of boring. If the Angles don’t show some spine, the Red Sox won’t even need to Teddy Roosevelt to cut us a sweetheart deal in Portsmouth, we will just dictate terms.
When all was said and done, the British presented the Japanese with a lock of admiral Nelson’s hair, to commemorate their victory in the battle of Tsushima. If the Angels keep playing like they have been, they won’t even get a lock of Jeff Nelson’s hair.
3. Orange County Register columnist Randy Youngman, which Jose assumes is his porn name, joined in the Greek chorus of columnists muttering in monotone that the Angles postseason losing streak against the Sox goes back to 1986. But Youngman breaks free from the crowd and distinguishes himself as the choragus by invoking the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in his recollection.
While he does not explicitly compare the losing streak to Chernobyl, the comparison is implicit and it is devastating.
People died as the result of both events (note: Donnie Moore and Chernobyl victims rest in piece) and the impacts of both disasters continue to this day.
But the analogy is profoundly imperfect. Whereas Chernobyl destroyed an entire city, the Angels losing streak has only destroyed Orange County. Also, the Chernobyl reactor was enclosed in a massive concrete sarcophagus in order to contain the radiation. As best Jose knows, no one has considered building a massive sarcophagus to contain the Angels, even though teammates of 1986 team member Reggie Jackson regard him as radioactive.
If one insists on comparing the Angels losing streak to a Soviet disaster in 1986, Jose would suggest that the obvious analogy is the sinking of the SS Admiral Nakhimov, a passenger boat that collided with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasyov in the Tsemes Bay, killing 423. The Pyotr Vasayov, was Japanese built, lending credence to the notion that the Angels will, this evening, be sunk by something built in Japan.
In addition, much like Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, the Admiral Nakhimov’s captain Vadim Markov seemed utterly unconcerned about the impending disaster, saying, “Don't worry. We will pass clear of each other. We will take care of everything."
There is one major difference, however, that may prove decisive. The Admiral Nakhimov did not have monkey.
I’m Jose Melendez, and those are my KEYS TO THE ALDS.
It’s time for Jose Melendez’s KEYS TO THE ALDS.
1. George Elliott, the famous transsexual author, once wrote “The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.”
Jose is not sure exactly when (s)he wrote that, but he suspects it was after one of the ten consecutive post season games the Red Sox have taken from the Los Calanaheim Angles.
Unlike many moments in the history of the Boston Red Sox, these games against the Angels have been golden moments, all of them. From Hendu’s homer, to Roger Clemens inexplicably winning a Game 7 (note: thank God, Jeff Suppan wasn’t starting for the Angles that night), to Papi’s walk off, to Manny’s fly into the night last fall, the good moments against the Angels are wound together in such a smooth and subtle continuum that it is easy to miss exactly how special, how golden each of these shimmering singularities is.
This series will fade. We will not remember most of its splendid moments. The 2004 ALDS is absent from the World Series DVD collection. The same holds for 2007. These series are forgotten, picayune overtures that hint at Act I and Act II before being retired to hazy memory. Despite the dramatic walk off homers in 2004 and 2007, do we remember those moments the way we remember ALDS moments against other opponents? Will anything from this series remind us of O’Leary seven RBI’s in the 1999 ALDS finale or Pedro’s six no hit innings? Will any pitch seem as extraordinary as Derek Lowe’s back door breaking ball to strike out Terence Long in 2003?
These series against the Angels begin with haste and end as quickly and unceremoniously as a series in May. We cannot see them and savor them. We know them only as something has passed and is then forgotten.
Jose never thought he would say this after reading Silas Marner, George Elliott is making sense.
Still, the story in incomplete. There is more going on here then the abrupt evaporation of golden moments. There is something more sinister, violent even.
There is another quote about the Angels that is a partner in describing the long streak, and the short series. Jack Handy of Saturday Night Live once said over soothing music and calming images “It’s true that every time you hear a bell, an angel gets its wings. But what they don’t tell you is that every time you hear a mouse trap snap, an angel gets set on fire.”
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
Huh, that was 11. Funny.
2. In 1867, Japan began the period of transition from feudalism to industrial society and colonial power called the Meiji Restoration. The Restoration came in direct response to Commodore Matthew Perry’s success at forcing Japan to open in 1853. The superior firepower of Perry’s black ships convinced elements in Japan that the country needed to modernize rapidly or else it would succumb to Western power. In other words, the Japanese needed to learn from their enemies and make fundamental adjustments in how they organized themselves in order to compete.
Over the past year, the Angels have undergone a similar process. After being humiliated by Commodore Tito, and his black, err black, white and Dominican, fleet in 2007, the Angels realized that they needed to learn from the Red Sox if they were to compete with them. As a result, they shifted from being a team that relied entirely on speed and acquired Mark Angels 1Bman whose name I can't spell to give them the best possible (note: though still inadequate) facsimile of Boston’s 3-4 slugger combination.
It worked. Just like Japan in the Meiji period, the Angels went through a rapid and spectacular transformation.
The crowning validation of the Meiji Restoration was Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Japan won despite the fact that Jose’s great-grandfather had gotten the hell out of the country one-year prior, so they were at a huge disadvantage.
So the validation of the Angels Restoration should be a victory over the Boston Red Sox. But where is it? It is as though a strong and modernized Japan laid siege to Port Arthur and then gave up after three days because it was hard and kind of boring. If the Angles don’t show some spine, the Red Sox won’t even need to Teddy Roosevelt to cut us a sweetheart deal in Portsmouth, we will just dictate terms.
When all was said and done, the British presented the Japanese with a lock of admiral Nelson’s hair, to commemorate their victory in the battle of Tsushima. If the Angels keep playing like they have been, they won’t even get a lock of Jeff Nelson’s hair.
3. Orange County Register columnist Randy Youngman, which Jose assumes is his porn name, joined in the Greek chorus of columnists muttering in monotone that the Angles postseason losing streak against the Sox goes back to 1986. But Youngman breaks free from the crowd and distinguishes himself as the choragus by invoking the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in his recollection.
While he does not explicitly compare the losing streak to Chernobyl, the comparison is implicit and it is devastating.
People died as the result of both events (note: Donnie Moore and Chernobyl victims rest in piece) and the impacts of both disasters continue to this day.
But the analogy is profoundly imperfect. Whereas Chernobyl destroyed an entire city, the Angels losing streak has only destroyed Orange County. Also, the Chernobyl reactor was enclosed in a massive concrete sarcophagus in order to contain the radiation. As best Jose knows, no one has considered building a massive sarcophagus to contain the Angels, even though teammates of 1986 team member Reggie Jackson regard him as radioactive.
If one insists on comparing the Angels losing streak to a Soviet disaster in 1986, Jose would suggest that the obvious analogy is the sinking of the SS Admiral Nakhimov, a passenger boat that collided with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasyov in the Tsemes Bay, killing 423. The Pyotr Vasayov, was Japanese built, lending credence to the notion that the Angels will, this evening, be sunk by something built in Japan.
In addition, much like Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, the Admiral Nakhimov’s captain Vadim Markov seemed utterly unconcerned about the impending disaster, saying, “Don't worry. We will pass clear of each other. We will take care of everything."
There is one major difference, however, that may prove decisive. The Admiral Nakhimov did not have monkey.
I’m Jose Melendez, and those are my KEYS TO THE ALDS.
Score more than the Angels tonight.
Go Sox
Go Sox
Confidence is high in Dice-K tonight.
May the Sox bats swing with fury.
Go Sox, win tonight!
May the Sox bats swing with fury.
Go Sox, win tonight!
It was an inside 2-seam fastball that struck out Terence Long in 2003, FYI.
Opponents do not hit Dice-K well for average. Teams that wait him out have more success. The Angles do not wait out pitchers, therefore, their success seems even less likely. I like this reasoning.
I do, however, look forward to a hopeful implosion of Ervin Santana. I'm feeling a dominant Pedroia/Youkilis/Ortiz game tonight. I also like this reasoning.
LETS GO RED SOX
Opponents do not hit Dice-K well for average. Teams that wait him out have more success. The Angles do not wait out pitchers, therefore, their success seems even less likely. I like this reasoning.
I do, however, look forward to a hopeful implosion of Ervin Santana. I'm feeling a dominant Pedroia/Youkilis/Ortiz game tonight. I also like this reasoning.
LETS GO RED SOX
Tonight is a BTT night.
Boot. To. Throat.
Please take advantage.
Boot. To. Throat.
Please take advantage.
Win it.
It is on.
Win today.
Dice-K is up for this.
Win today.
Dice-K is up for this.
I liked it better when people didn't have complete confidence in the Diceman.
Use these
To stomp on the Angels
Use these
To stomp on the Angels
I'm excited for this game, but dreading it at the same time.
It's so fucking cold. I left my windows open last night. Now I am freezing all day. What does this mean in terms of baseball? I don't know. Just beat LA.
QUOTE(Andrew @ Oct 3 2008, 02:24 PM)
It's so fucking cold. I left my windows open last night. Now I am freezing all day. What does this mean in terms of baseball? I don't know. Just beat LA.
Pretty brave of you to leave your windows unlocked in Holyoke.
who is this stud gracing the front page?
WIN
WIN
QUOTE(Foulkey Reese @ Oct 3 2008, 06:25 PM)
Pretty brave of you to leave your windows unlocked in Holyoke.
All the panes are busted out by bricks, anyway
QUOTE(jose melendez @ Oct 3 2008, 09:57 AM)
I’m Jose Melendez, and those are my KEYS TO THE ALDS.
Damn Jose, this was a great keys, thanks very much.
QUOTE(Foulkey Reese @ Oct 3 2008, 01:25 PM)
Pretty brave of you to leave your windows unlocked in Holyoke.
I never get tired of Holyoke jokes.
I've got a good feeling about this game.
According to the Boston Globe, there are "indications" that Mike Lowell (hip) may not be in the starting lineup Friday night for Game 2 of the ALDS.
From rotoworld
From rotoworld
9:37 can't come soon enough. Five hours more seems like a lifetime.
I am going to bed now. See you in a few hours. I will be hung over.
We got this.
We got this.
Here's to hoping we don't see that retarded fake outfield-mountain again this year...I hate the Big A.
Make is so, Daisuke.
Make is so, Daisuke.
I watched the last two innings of Game one on my bed with my nearly 2 year old daughter. I came home, said hi to the wife and kid and went into my room to turn on the end of the game (I'd watched most of it at work until I left). My daughter ran in and said "Daddy I watch baseball" and sat down with me. Ladies and gentlemen, it got a little dusty in there. She cheered with me when I hooted following Jacoby's catch, and laughed with me at Vlad's rundown. I hopefully will get home in time for a repeat viewing tonight. The magic number is 10 now and we've got about 4 hours to game time. The Red Sox have won 10 straight post season games against the Angels. Fuck the regular season, its October now and none of the last six months matter.
The Third Place Yankees don't matter
The Division vs the Wild Card debate doesn't matter
The MVP debate doesn't matter
The Batting title doesn't matter
The Saves record doesn't matter
The Rally Monkey doesn't matter
Manny doesn't matter
The predictions don't matter
Its October and the Red Sox beat the Angels in October.
Matsuzaka vs Santana Tonight
It
Is
On
The Third Place Yankees don't matter
The Division vs the Wild Card debate doesn't matter
The MVP debate doesn't matter
The Batting title doesn't matter
The Saves record doesn't matter
The Rally Monkey doesn't matter
Manny doesn't matter
The predictions don't matter
Its October and the Red Sox beat the Angels in October.
Matsuzaka vs Santana Tonight
It
Is
On
Lets win it boys!!!
No Lowell or Lowrie...
RED SOX
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Alex Cora, SS
-- Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP
RED SOX
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Alex Cora, SS
-- Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP
CORA?!?
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
Cora?!!?!?!?
Maybe Kotsay has some small sample size success against Santana, but I'd still rather see Casey -- with his better average and better first base skills -- in there.
And cue Foulkey for some Tito/Cora bashing. That one is hard to figure unless Lowrie is hurt/sick.
And cue Foulkey for some Tito/Cora bashing. That one is hard to figure unless Lowrie is hurt/sick.
QUOTE(TheoShmeo @ Oct 3 2008, 05:40 PM)
And cue Foulkey for some Tito/Cora bashing. That one is hard to figure unless Lowrie is hurt/sick.
Well done sir.
QUOTE(Kremlin Watcher @ Oct 3 2008, 08:48 PM)
I am going to bed now. See you in a few hours. I will be hung over.
Do you have a vodka drip that activates when you sleep?
QUOTE(Masamune42 @ Oct 3 2008, 05:38 PM)
CORA?!?
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
Cora (SSS of course) is 2/3 with a 2b and a 3b against Santana. 1 walk, 1 K, with a sparkling OPS of 2.417.
That, and you knew Tito was going to slide him into the starting lineup at least once this week.
I plan to spend a lot of time sitting in traffic tomorrow. Let's remind whomever's behind me that we're up 2-0.
ON. WIN.
ON. WIN.
has anything come out at all regarding Casey? Man, it seems like Tito has just buried him the last few months.
After looking at his stats I can guess why...he has been pretty lousy in August and September
But its not like Kotsay is knocking the cover off the ball
After looking at his stats I can guess why...he has been pretty lousy in August and September
But its not like Kotsay is knocking the cover off the ball
QUOTE(I am an Idiot @ Oct 3 2008, 05:44 PM)
Cora (SSS of course) is 2/3 with a 2b and a 3b against Santana. 1 walk, 1 K, with a sparkling OPS of 2.417.
That, and you knew Tito was going to slide him into the starting lineup at least once this week.
That, and you knew Tito was going to slide him into the starting lineup at least once this week.
During the regular season I'd agree with that last sentence followed by shaking my head and wondering why more of you don't just fucking relax over something like a backup getting a start, considering his relative competence.
However, this is the postseason, and playing such an insignificant split against a pitcher really isn't like Francona (at least where it regards putting the best player on the field). I don't buy for a second you just "knew" he was going to do this.
Wonder what he's thinking with this.
Let's not forget - Lowrie didn't exactly shine in his playoff debut and hasn't looked all that good for a while now. Cora for Lowrie in tonight's lineup isn't the end of the world.
QUOTE(Masamune42 @ Oct 3 2008, 05:38 PM)
CORA?!?
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
I.... screw it, I guess he's unlikely to do worse than Lowrie did in Game 1. Or something. I'd rather have Lowrie in there.
Let's just wait and see if Cora can actually get on base.
Jesus Fucking Christ.
I will concede - I didn't, in fact, know.
Personally, however, I would feel more comfortable rolling the dice with Lowrie, even in a playoff game. Alex Cora, while competent, doesn't instill me with confidence.
Personally, however, I would feel more comfortable rolling the dice with Lowrie, even in a playoff game. Alex Cora, while competent, doesn't instill me with confidence.
Win today.
QUOTE(Sille Skrub @ Oct 3 2008, 06:01 PM)
Win today.
Seconded.
Go team.
QUOTE(I am an Idiot @ Oct 3 2008, 05:59 PM)
I will concede - I didn't, in fact, know.
Personally, however, I would feel more comfortable rolling the dice with Lowrie, even in a playoff game. Alex Cora, while competent, doesn't instill me with confidence.
Personally, however, I would feel more comfortable rolling the dice with Lowrie, even in a playoff game. Alex Cora, while competent, doesn't instill me with confidence.
I phrased that wrong- not that YOU didn't know, just that I don't buy it was an inevitability. I think we can all agree Francona shifts his style in the postseason a bit, especially where things like this are concerned. Cora will be making his first career postseason AB for the Red Sox tonight- so it's not something that he jumbles around much, typically.
I'd guess they're a little concerned that Lowrie's hit a wall or something, but otherwise, this seems odd to me with "performance against Santana" as an excuse.
edit- I'd much rather Lowrie as well, to be clear.
Tito will say something like "Well gee AC is such an important part of what we're trying to do here that I felt a responsibility to try and keep him fresh and ready to play".
QUOTE(Foulkey Reese @ Oct 3 2008, 06:05 PM)
Tito will say something like "Well gee AC is such an important part of what we're trying to do here that I felt a responsibility to try and keep him fresh and ready to play".
Whether he says this or not, sticking an inferior player into the lineup for reasons like this is something you can't pin on Postseason Francona. That was really my only point- that there's likely a more specific reason for Cora being in there.
Perhaps not and you're correct, which would be, I think, a breaking of a good habit for Postseason Francona.
Fuck it. Cora or not, let's win this game.
Let's go Red Sox.
Let's go Red Sox.
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