Daily Archives: October 6, 2003

Tim Hudson had to leave yesterday’s game after one inning of work. The reason? Hudson strained his left oblique muscle. According to the
San Francisco Gate, Hudson may have injured himself in a brawl the night before at a Boston bar:

According to a security guard and a member of the bar staff, Hudson got into a skirmish with a Red Sox fan and threw several punches, including one that clipped a bartender.

“It was a big melee. He was throwing haymakers,” said the security guard,

who spoke on the condition his name not be used.

“Honest to God, he’s 160 pounds and it took eight big guys to hold him back,” the staff member said of Hudson. “It was five minutes of mayhem.”

Believe it or not…

I wonder how many fortunate breaks the Red Sox have enjoyed in their storied history? We sure know about the ones that have gone against them. But if Pedro Martinez can lead the Sox to victory tonight, the shoddy umpiring in Game 3 will stand as one of the best presents Sox fans have ever had. (Aside: if there was campus rioting in Boston after just one victory, will the town go down in flames if they ever win it all?) Mike C has written an extensive piece on the obstruction rule, and it’s his opinion that the A’s were robbed, regardless of their own stupidity. Mike’s analysis is thorough and in depth, as it always is.

Take a peek, don’t sleep.

Check out the following blogs for the latest playoff news:

Futility Infielder
Universal Baseball Blog, Inc.
Aaron Gleeman
Seth Speaks
Twins Geek
The Cub Reporter
Will Carroll’s Weblog
Bambino’s Curse
Elephants in Oakland
Replacement Level Yankees Blog
Clifford’s Big Red Blog
Baseball Musings

Yankees 8, Twins 1

David Wells didn’t want yesterday to be his last start as a Yankee, and his offense made it easy for him. The Yankees busted out in the fourth inning at the Metrodome, scoring six runs, chasing Johan Santana from the game, and effectively ending the Twins season. Nick Johnson ended an 0-27 slump with a clutch, two-out double; Giambi, Bernie—who had a nice offensive series–and Matsui also had doubles, and Alfonso Soriano added a 2 run single.

That was all Boomer would need, and he pitched into the eighth, allowing just one run. Derek Jeter, who was robbed of a home run by Shannon Stewart in the sixth inning, put the cherry on top of the victory, with a solo homer off of Easy Eddie G in the ninth.

This was far and away, the least dramatic and exciting game of the weekend, and that was just fine as far as I’m concerned. (I was able to digest and fall asleep peacefully last night.) The Yankees wash the sour taste of last year’s playoff defeat out of their mouths, and come home, a confident bunch, to play for the pennant.

Yipee.

In the late game, Kerry Wood dominated the Braves once again, and the Cubbies won their first playoff serious in 95 years. Chicago will play the Marlins for the pennant. Now, who would have guessed? Fantastic. Congrats to Sam Plummer, Will Carroll, Ruz, and all the Cub fans out there. Enjoy it.

The A’s blew another golden opportunity to polish off the Red Sox yesterday, but Boston’s bats did the job against Oakland’s bullpen, scoring two runs in the eighth inning and forcing a Game 5 tonight in the Bay Area. It was the eighth time in four years that Oakland has failed to clinch a playoff series.

The A’s had the bases loaded in both the first and second innings against John Burkett and came away with one run. They eventually caught up to him and held a 4-2 lead in the middle innings. But the Sox fought back. Todd Walker hit another homer, and David Ortiz came through with the game winning hit–his first of the series. Manny Ramirez, who spent more time predicting home runs than hitting them, scored the go-ahead run.

It was a gorgeous day in Boston. The clouds were out early, but the sun was brilliant late in the game, creating an array of memorable pictures. At one point, every shot of the field looked like it was composed by Orson Welles. When the Sox were still behind in the eighth, I noticed smiling faces in the first couple of rows behind the plate. Later, during Manny or Ortiz’s at bat—I can’t remember which—half of the fans behind home plate were standing, cheering, while the other half remained seated.

It illustrated the split in Red Sox Nation: the cautious, suspertitious half, and the wild, cowboy-up half. Many Sox fans must have been waiting for the bottom to drop out, but it never happened. Oakland was too busy living out its own version of The Curse. Regardless of what happens now, Fenway Park enjoyed a great day.

I won’t lie. The A’s performance made me sick. There is nothing I enjoy more than watching the Sox lose in Boston, yet at the same time, I’m not surprised by what transpired. Not so much from Oakland’s pernt of view, but from Boston’s. This Sox team has refused to be buried all season. The bigger the hole they’ve been in, the stronger they come back. Make no mistake, Oakland’s ineptitude has allowed Boston back into the serious, but Boston took advantage of the opportunity, and here they are, on the verge of moving on. It doesn’t matter if they are winning ugly; like Al Davis said, “Just win, baby.”

Tonight gives Game 5 in Oakland. Pedro Martinez, the man Sox fans want most in a one-game-take-all scenerio, will face last year’s Cy Young winner, Barry Zito. Zito will pitch on three days rest for the first time in his career; Martinez goes on four days rest. The Sox have the momentum, they are rolling, and I fully expect them to win tonight, and then roll back east to face the Bombers on Wednesday.

Having said that, I’ll be pulling for Zito and the A’s.

For more on Saturday’s wild game, check out Joe Sheehan’s free column over at Baseball Prospectus. Sheehan is one of the best baseball commentators going, so check it out.