Daily Archives: October 16, 2003

Here is the latest on Game 7 from Sports Illustrated’s top baseball writer, Tom Verducci:

The lingering image [of the ALCS] has been the meltdown of Martinez. I’ve always considered him a gamer. Give me one game to win and the pick of any pitcher to start it, and I’ve always said Martinez would be my man. I’m not so sure now (especially given the arrival of Mark Prior). I’d like to see Pedro get one more shot, even if it means losing with honor. He’s better than he showed in Game 3. A better pitcher. A better man.

So bring on Game 7. Yankee Stadium has hosted 144 postseason games, but only four Game 7s — and none since Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves beat New York 5-0 way back in 1957. The Yankees are 5-7 in Game 7s (excluding those in best-of-nine series).

Boston has its own Game 7 goblins. The franchise is 1-4 in such contests (again, excluding those in nine-game series). And who has the only Game 7 win in Red Sox history? That would be Clemens, who beat the Angels 8-1 in the deciding game of the 1986 ALCS. So bring it on, Rocket vs. Pedro one last time. Winner take all.

I’d wish everyone–Sox fans and Yankee fans alike–to enjoy the game tonight, but I fear “joy” won’t be part of the equation. Unless your team happens to win of course. Then I think “joy” would be an understatement for what you’ll feel. Either way, it’s going to be the start of a long, cold winter for the losing side. Feel free to leave your thoughts, rantings, and ravings in the comments section below during the remainder of the day and throughout the game.

See you in the a.m. with the A.L. winner.

Yesterday morning, something unexpected happened: a neighbor’s tree fell on Samuel Plummer’s car. It smashed the car and did considerable damage to Sam and Vera’s roof as well. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Last night, something very expected happened: the Cubs lost Game Seven of the NLCS, 9-6. I received an e-mail from Sam this morning:

If God had wanted the Cubs to win, he would have sent a nice breeze blowing from home plate to right center field, and we would have a half dozen more runs. God chose instead to send a mighty wind to Croton on Hudson so as to blow a fairly large maple tree over onto my house and car. (No kidding.) So it goes.

Congrats to the Marlins for sure. But I also want to express my sympathies for Cubs fans everywhere (Ruz, and Will this means you), especially Steve Bartman, the poor zhlub who is the most wanted man in Chicago this morning. I sincerely hope that nobody does anything crazy, and that the man doesn’t get hurt. Believe me, he must feel terrible enough as it is.

The Red Sox powerful offense finally reared it’s ugly head at the Stadium yesterday and refused to let Boston’s season end. In a see-saw affair, the Sox charged back after trailing 6-4 at the start the seventh inning, and beat the Yankees, 9-6. New York’s bullpen was exposed–Jose Contreras blew the lead–while Boston’s bullpen was stellar once again. Nomar Garciaparra had four of Boston’s sixteen hits. Jason Varitek started it off for the Sox with an upper deck blast to left off of Andy Pettitte, and Trot Nixon put the nail in the coffin with an upper deck bomb off of Gabe White. I’m not sure either ball has landed yet.

Winds were swirling wildly in the Bronx, as fly balls became adventures for the outfielders. John Burkett was good for three innings and then the Yankees chased him with four runs in the fourth. That put them one up on the Sox who had scored four off of “the bad Andy” Pettitte in the third. Jason Giambi hit a solo homer off Burkett in the first, but was awful for the rest of the afternoon, failing to produce three seperate times with runners on, and striking out three times as well.

So it all comes down to Game 7: Ultimate Yankees-Sox. Pedro vs. Clemens. This is what everybody wants, right? Well, we’ve got it. The Yankees took the season series from Boston, ten to nine and now they are all tied at three. Believe it. It makes sense that if the Sox are finally to shrug the Bombers off their backs it comes down to a winner-take-all game, and vice versa.

My girlfriend Emily thinks that Pedro will get beat tonight because he put such bad karma out into the universe in Game Three. I wish I could share her feelings. But I think that Martinez pitches better when he’s got a chip on his shoulder and with Yankee Stadium giving him the business tonight, I fear he’ll use it to his advantage, no matter how much he’s got left in the tank.

It is considerably colder in New York today than it was yesterday. The wind is still whipping around. This could very well be the final start of Roger Clemens’ career. It could be the biggest win of the year for the Yankees, or one of the biggest wins in Boston history for the Red Sox.

I’ll be hiding behind the couch with two hands over my eyes.