October 21st vs. Cleveland: ALCS Game 7

[TheKilo]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/10/22/1193028748_3735.jpg

[See Red]

A+++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Post of the f***ing year.

 

I must've missed that post the first time...

 

That one will never, ever be topped on this forum. Ever.

[TedWilliams101]

THIS IS SOOO AWESOME!!!

 

Can you actually get tickets before the game at Fenway, like during the regular season? I heard some people talking about this and I'm considering trying to get tickets for game one if possible. If it is possible, does anyone know a rough idea of what the tickets would cost?

 

The Champaign tastes good in Boston. Sorry Cleveland, but it's an exclusive party and your not invited!

[See Red]

THIS IS SOOO AWESOME!!!

 

Can you actually get tickets before the game at Fenway, like during the regular season? I heard some people talking about this and I'm considering trying to get tickets for game one if possible. If it is possible, does anyone know a rough idea of what the tickets would cost?

 

The Champaign tastes good in Boston. Sorry Cleveland, but it's an exclusive party and your not invited!

 

Just imagine how good it feels for those of us that supported this team the entire season, took the highs and the lows, and didn't need "vacations" from the Red Sox!

[TedWilliams101]

Dude, I just took time off from the boards. I've supported this team 100%. I didn't necessarily support everyone on the team all the time, but I never walked away from the team... I just didn't feel like complaining on the boards when we had rough spots.

[schillingouttheks]

Blah blah blah. Your words were "I need a vacation from this team." Don't wiggle your way around it.

 

I just got back from the game. Oh my God. No night could ever possibly top this one. Unless of course it was a World Series Game 7...

 

I'm not sleeping tonight. I'm still too pumped. I don't know how many different people I high-fived on the street tonight, but it was f***in' awesome. HOLY s*** I'M SO PUMPED AND IT'S 2:30 AM.

[TedWilliams101]

I say a lot of s*** when I'm upset. I never stopped following this team this season. Anyways, whatever. I'm so jealous you were at the game. I walk over to Fenway right as we finished the ninth. What a crazy time!

[TedWilliams101]

I'll be the first to admit I sometimes say stupid s*** when I'm pissed, etc.

[See Red]

Dude' date=' I just took time off from the boards. I've supported this team 100%. I didn't necessarily support everyone on the team all the time, but I never walked away from the team... I just didn't feel like complaining on the boards when we had rough spots.[/quote']

 

Why not? You complained on the boards when we were playing great...

[TedWilliams101]

Yes, I do complain a lot, I'll admit it. I've been trying to really limit it. I've been on and off the boards, but I've always followed the sox closely. I have tended to vent a lot on these boards, and as I said, I'm trying not to do that anymore. I'm not saying you don't have a reason to dislike me, be annoyed with me. I probably have been pretty annoying around here. I'm a perfectionist and even little things can annoying me, I'm trying not to vent frustration on these boards anymore though. But don't say I don't follow the team or I'm not a real fan, because thats simply not true. But I apologize for annoying rants/comments.

[a700hitter]

Yes' date=' I do complain a lot, I'll admit it. I've been trying to really limit it. I've been on and off the boards, but I've always followed the sox closely. I have tended to vent a lot on these boards, and as I said, I'm trying not to do that anymore. I'm not saying you don't have a reason to dislike me, be annoyed with me. I probably have been pretty annoying around here. I'm a perfectionist and even little things can annoying me, I'm trying not to vent frustration on these boards anymore though. But don't say I don't follow the team or I'm not a real fan, because thats simply not true. But I apologize for annoying rants/comments.[/quote']No need to apologize. This is a place to come and vent. Right now there is nothing to vent about and it is great. Anyone who posts here and calls himself/herself a Sox fan, is without a doubt a sick Sox fan.

[yankeessuck013]

I SO f***ING CALLED US WINNING THIS SERIES AFTER GAME 4!!!! i have class at 930 and am too pumped to sleep.....is it wednesday yet?!?!

[riverside sluggers]

2007 f***ing World Series!!!!!!!!! I was at an all day party yesterday, that spilled out to going to the streets of Boston for 2 hours after the game What a f***ing season. Dice-K really stepped up when it mattered the most, Pedroia is the Rookie of the Year no doubt about that. His 2 hits late in the game helped seal the coffin on the Guardians. Beckett obviously very deserving of that MVP recognition. Youkilis came in a close second for ALCS MVP honors. Voting is done before the playoffs, but fingers crossed that it is Beckett and not Sabathia that gets the Cy Young

 

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20071022/capt.1686ce3a7b424a7d894988d623c2f04f.alcs_indians_red_sox_baseball_bxf224.jpg

[Cocos Disciples]

THIS IS SOOO AWESOME!!!

 

Can you actually get tickets before the game at Fenway, like during the regular season? I heard some people talking about this and I'm considering trying to get tickets for game one if possible. If it is possible, does anyone know a rough idea of what the tickets would cost?

 

The Champaign tastes good in Boston. Sorry Cleveland, but it's an exclusive party and your not invited!

 

Good luck with that.

[Mr Crunchy]

i'll be there on thursday

 

a lesson for yanks fans here

see what a team with leadership courage and backbone does when they get knocked down??

what did derek jeter do in the post season again??

captain fantanstic my ass

[MANNYHOF24]

Holy Crap last night was so amazing. Like 300-400 people almost all at once charged out of the dorms and there was a rally running around campus until like 3:00 am. Chants of Lets go Red Sox and f*** the Rockies filled the air. I am so pumped for the world series.

[BoSox21]

I'd say Pedroia has reached the level Johnny Damon reached by being the latest ALCS Game 7 hero

[jacksonianmarch]

i'll be there on thursday

 

a lesson for yanks fans here

see what a team with leadership courage and backbone does when they get knocked down??

what did derek jeter do in the post season again??

captain fantanstic my ass

 

I saw it in the late 90s crunchy, so we are well aware. Even if you take this season, you are still only halfway to the yankee dynasty totals.

[chacha]

"Even if you take this season, you are still only halfway to the yankee dynasty totals."

WHO GIVES A f***?

 

Must be nice to live in the past all the time.

The MFY's haven't won s*** since the new millenium.

[das11209]

Well - if it's time for appology here I will just say this:

 

I am sorry Kevin Youk - I absolutely thought you ran out of gas in the second half and I am so happy you proved me wrong.

 

I never counted Drew out - I thought he will come through in the post-season ( like he did for the Braves). I hope he justifies every penny the contract Theo gave him.

 

I never thought highly of Lugo, Gagne and Coco in this forum - and I will be happy if I have to write an appology note to them after the world series.

 

Finally - I am sorry Theo and Tito that I blasted you so much here. Well - Tito still makes my heart stop with some of his decisions ( like keeping Oki for his third innings) - but for now all is forgotten.

[riverside sluggers]

I saw it in the late 90s crunchy' date=' so we are well aware. Even if you take this season, you are still only halfway to the yankee dynasty totals.[/quote']

 

Haha wow, thats a trollish post if I ever did see one. "1918", "86 years" s***

[a700hitter]

I saw it in the late 90s crunchy' date=' so we are well aware. Even if you take this season, you are still only halfway to the yankee dynasty totals.[/quote']Yes, but we would be in midst of our dynasty if we beat the Rockies. The Yankee Dynasty is a distant memory.

[yeszir]

You guys are all Theo apologists. This team is a joke. They won't even make the playoffs. Youkilis and Pedroia are busts. Terrible move by Theo not trading them. Theo sucks. You guys all suck. Apologists. Suck my dick.

[soxfan17881]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/10/21/1193007209_8113.jpg

 

HGH = He's going home!

[riverside sluggers]

I saw it in the late 90s crunchy' date=' so we are well aware. Even if you take this season, you are still only halfway to the yankee dynasty totals.[/quote']

 

Red Sox are the heavies now

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

October 21, 2007

 

BOSTON – As late-inning runs kept scoring against the Cleveland corpse, a frenzied Fenway sang and swayed at a comeback so complete, so cutthroat, the most stunning thing happened: the Red Sox morphed into the Yankees. After eight decades of chasing down their New York rival, they've now replaced them as the monsters of October. They trail significantly in championships won and excellence sustained, but they're presently a team as relentlessly powerful as confident and clutch.

 

Sunday it was an 11-2, Game 7 clubbing of the Guardians, sending Boston back to the World Series to seek its second title in 89 – or four – years. Only this time the Sox enter with none of the baggage and few of the questions that always plagued this franchise. Now they are the team with so much talent and tenacity that if you get them down you need to drive a stake through their heart. If not, they'll come back and break yours.

 

They'll do to you just what they did to Cleveland, blasting their way out of a 3-1 series hole by a combined score of 30-5; a devastation that left the Guardians mumbling under their breath about collapses and cursed decisions. The Red Sox, the team that forever used to dig their own grave, now just dances on their opponents'. "I think that in games of a huge magnitude, our guys don't get overwhelmed," said manager Terry Francona. "They do what they're supposed to do. If you have the talent, it'll show through."

 

Whatever you once knew about the Red Sox is gone. This is no cuddly underdog, no loveable loser trying to change history. This is Goliath. This is the bully heading into Wednesday's World Series against the white-hot Colorado Rockies. Not that single soul here at this old ball park, which hit delirium without the need of waving towels or scoreboard prodding, is apologizing for any of it, either. Nor should they.

 

At some point between breaking curses and delivering them, the Sox, on a national scale at least, went from mostly loved to mostly loathed. Whether it was the pink hats, the pseudo-celeb fans or that weak Drew Barrymore movie, whether it was the big contracts or their vocal backers filling enemy parks, whatever lovable magic the Sox cast back in 2004 is mostly gone. Die-hard fans are tired of them. Casual ones will be wooed by a new kid on the block.

 

But after all those years of trying to beat the Yankees, becoming them – in swagger at least – is the greatest accomplishment of all. It's Boston with the proven playoff stars (David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez), the ultra-clutch pitchers that can always save you (Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon) and the huge performances from second-tier guys (Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia). On a week when the Yankees fired their manager and are dealing with a potential fleeing of free agents, the contrast is stark. "It's almost like 'The Bronx is Burning,'" Francona said the other day.

 

And then came a Sunday at Fenway like no other Sunday at Fenway; no other do-or-die playoff game before it. Big October nights and the failures they delivered tormented this fan base for generations, the stories handed down through the years so that it was angst, not anticipation that would sweep through the city.

 

This, however, was extended party, a keyed in fan base trying to raise their team up, but rarely expressing any concern even when opportunities fell early. Fenway felt different. It sounded different. It was a scene straight out of the old Bronx. This was a team leaning on a starter who looked shot just four days ago, a guy who rather than worry over, they emotionally propped up until he himself even believed.

 

"After our three straight losses, the team kept telling me to get ready to pitch in Game 7," said Daisuke Matsuzaka, who shook off some struggles to pitch five innings of two-run ball. "I felt with the momentum we had going into the game, there was no way we were going to lose." This was an offensive explosion led by a rookie second baseman whose bat had gone silent earlier in this series, only to deliver five RBIs and cite everyone else's positive energy. "You know, I think the veteran guys have kind of instilled (a) belief in us," said Pedroia.

 

This is a franchise that was famous for being eliminated – often in ghastly fashion. They no longer fear these situations (like in 2004, when they were down 0-3 against the Yankees), they seem to crave them. "When your season is almost over, we're down 3-1, you get that sense of urgency that we're going to play every inning, every pitch, everything as hard as we can," Pedroia said.

 

That's what the championship franchises do. Not just teams, franchises. Boston's never been that. But that's what it's become, the giant awakened just before it was too late, the team running up the score to punctuate a sweep back from the brink, the huge fan base bouncing out of a wild stadium to party the autumn night away, worried about nothing, sure of everything, just salivating over who's next.

 

Four falls after rewriting history, it's a new day here for this old team; a new deal completely.

[TedWilliams101]

WHOO!!!

 

I'm glad I was wrong about Pedroia, Drew, Matsuzaka, etc throughout the season. This is awesome.

[HeadOfSoxNation]

WHOO!!!

 

I'm glad I was wrong about Pedroia, Drew, Matsuzaka, etc throughout the season. This is awesome.

 

You were wrong about Pedroia...much like I was. Being wrong about Drew and Matsuzaka remains to be seen.

 

For $70 million, you should have more than 3 games with 3 or more RBIs in a season. He had a big game at a key time...he has to continue it on through the World Series if he's even to prove he's worth half of what he's getting paid.

 

For $103 million, I expect more than 9 2/3 IP in two ALCS starts. Had this not have been a game 7 "nothing to lose" situation, Matsuzaka would have lost that game. Anyone with eyes can see that he had totally lost it by the time he was pulled. Because it was game 7, win or go home, Tito was quicker to go to the 'Pen than he would have been regularly. He didn't have to worry about resting anybody and could use anyone with the exception of Schilling with no regard to overwork. If this had been the regular season, or even any playoff game besides 7, he would have stuck with Matsuzaka and he would have gotten crushed when he went back out for the 6th. I firmly believe that.

[das11209]

You were wrong about Pedroia...much like I was. Being wrong about Drew and Matsuzaka remains to be seen.

 

For $70 million, you should have more than 3 games with 3 or more RBIs in a season. He had a big game at a key time...he has to continue it on through the World Series if he's even to prove he's worth half of what he's getting paid.

 

For $103 million, I expect more than 9 2/3 IP in two ALCS starts. Had this not have been a game 7 "nothing to lose" situation, Matsuzaka would have lost that game. Anyone with eyes can see that he had totally lost it by the time he was pulled. Because it was game 7, win or go home, Tito was quicker to go to the 'Pen than he would have been regularly. He didn't have to worry about resting anybody and could use anyone with the exception of Schilling with no regard to overwork. If this had been the regular season, or even any playoff game besides 7, he would have stuck with Matsuzaka and he would have gotten crushed when he went back out for the 6th. I firmly believe that.

 

I do not like D-Mat if he was a $103 million man - but I am not going to add the $52 million posting fee. If we subtract the posting fee - I am happy what we got out of a rookie pitcher that is adjusting to a completely different league with lot of cultural shocks. Let's give him the adjustment period and see what he can bring to us next year.

 

Lugo on the other hand has not redeemed himself yet - And I don't even want to talk about Gagne. What a waste of our good prospects.

[TheKilo]

You were wrong about Pedroia...much like I was. Being wrong about Drew and Matsuzaka remains to be seen.

 

For $70 million, you should have more than 3 games with 3 or more RBIs in a season. He had a big game at a key time...he has to continue it on through the World Series if he's even to prove he's worth half of what he's getting paid.

 

Beating a dead horse is fun isn't it?

 

For $103 million, I expect more than 9 2/3 IP in two ALCS starts.

 

Damn, how do you afford electricity when paying him that much money?

 

Had this not have been a game 7 "nothing to lose" situation, Matsuzaka would have lost that game. Anyone with eyes can see that he had totally lost it by the time he was pulled.

 

I don't completely disagree with you but his sequence to Cabrera to end the game was magnificent. He threw a backdoor curveball that should have run Cabrera up and then got him to swing through and unreal changeup. I'd argue his breaking stuff to Cabrera was the best it was all night.

 

Because it was game 7, win or go home, Tito was quicker to go to the 'Pen than he would have been regularly. He didn't have to worry about resting anybody and could use anyone with the exception of Schilling with no regard to overwork. If this had been the regular season, or even any playoff game besides 7, he would have stuck with Matsuzaka and he would have gotten crushed when he went back out for the 6th. I firmly believe that.

 

But it was Game 7, so what point are you making exactly? Terry did a hell of a job getting him out before any additional damage happened. He managed the pen brilliantly last night.

[a700hitter]

You guys are all Theo apologists. This team is a joke. They won't even make the playoffs. Youkilis and Pedroia are busts. Terrible move by Theo not trading them. Theo sucks. You guys all suck. Apologists. Suck my dick.

Anyone connected with the 2004 team has a lifetime of admiration from me, but had it not been for the 2006 embarrassment engineered by a bungling FO that was more interested in power struggles than building a winning team, I don't think you would have seen the investment in the 2007 team that started in the Winter and has continued throughout the season with the acquisition of Gagne. Those bold moves I believe were directly attributable to John Henry stepping forward. Granted that some of those moves have not borne fruit. Theo to his credit took responsibilty for 2006. He made no excuses about retooling, etc. He called them what they were: bad moves and mistakes. He has rebounded nicely. If we win another World Championship, hopefully this time the FO will think more about continuing to build the franchise than fighting over the spoils of victory.

 

As for Youkilis, he is beloved by the fans, but he is a .260-.280 hitting first baseman/ third baseman with limited power (but who could tell after the Coke Bottle shot), but he has nerves of steel and balls the size of melons. He's a great value right now, but they should probably consider trading him while his value is high and before he starts asking for Superstar $. That may not be for a year or two, but he would be a very valuable trading chip.

 

As for Pedroia, he has the one thing that scouts can't see or evaluate, the heart of a 6'5" warrior in a 5'5" body.