Bring on the Guardians! I would've liked to see them go 5 games and wear out their pitching more, but I think we're ready regardless. We fared better against them in the regular season than we did against the Angels, still, I doubt that we'll sweep them too. They'll probably steal a game or two against Dice-K and Wake. But, the arms of Schill, Beckett, Papelbon, Okajima, et. al, along with the bats of Manny, Papi, Lowell, et. al, will be too much for them.
Let's hope it cools off in Cleveland so the damn bugs don't keep breeding.
I also feel good that Dice-K had a very strong start against them: 8IP, 0ER.
Think we should realize how fortunate we are that the chips fell our way the last week of the season. We were able to win the division and secure HFA, and Cleveland was able to pass LAA, thus giving us a matchup against a beat up, injured team that basically had no chance against us. This consequently put the Yanks against a dialed in Cleveland team.
It all worked out for the best; the two best records in baseball fighting it out over 7 games, and no Fox B.S. with the Yanks and Sox playing. It's an interesting feeling having advanced PAST the Yankees in the postseason.
First, the pitching matchups favor the Sox. Beckett has good numbers vs. Cleveland this year, meanwhile CC has some bad numbers against a few of the Sox players, namely Manny. Beckett, at home, has to have the edge. I'm on the fence about Schlling vs. Carmona in Game 2. Matsuzaka comes up big on the road vs. Westbrook, followed by Beckett shutting the Tribe down at home, then it's one of those 9-6 games with Wakefield in Game 5, mainly because whoever pitches in that game will be coming off tons of rest. I just feel like Beckett is going to coast through the playoffs and be the stopper the club needs and I reserve the right to not bother to back up this statement, because, well, every sox fan is thinking it too.
Offensively, the Sox absolutely have the Tribe covered. The head-to-head offensive numbers are not good for the Tribe. Only Garko is hitting over .250 with a significant number of at bats (.261 to be exact). The majority of the lineup has hit well against the Guardians, namely Pedroia, Youkilis, Lowell, and Manny (who is hitting .417 in 7 games this year). The Sox boast a 3.05 ERA this season against the Guardians in seven games, whereas the Tribe is at 4.43. Two of the pitchers that the Guardians had some success against are no longer with the team (Gabbard, Romero). Oddly enough, Papelbon is one of the guys with "poor" numbers against Clevland this year, of course he only had two innings of work against them, but still.
Obviously, there are also a few question marks....
- Coco has been useless against Cleveland this year, sporting a .525 OPS. If he isn't getting on base, swiping bags, and scoring runs, then how useful is he? getting any offensive contribution from him would be a huge plus. If he struggles in the first few games, do they call Ellsbury's number?
- J.D. Drew was worse, sporting a .095 BA and a .317 OPS, but has been playing a ton better lately. Does he get pushed aside for either Kielty or Ellsbury?
- Matsuzaka has one strong start against the Guardians and one not-so-strong start. He gets one crack at them in the ALCS. Which Dice-K shows up?
- Manny and Papi have carried the offense so far, can the rest of the team pick it up?
I firmly believe the Sox will be World Series bound in six games, but there just a few red flags that could really change this series.