American League's World Series berth to be decided at Fenway
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
BOSTON -- This is what this postseason was waiting for.
After five series that went a combined one game over the minimum, the Indians and Red Sox are going the distance.
"When you're in a fist fight and your back is to the wall, that's a pretty good position to be in," said Indians outfielder Trot Nixon, who experienced an American League Championship Series Game 7 in back-to-back seasons with Boston in 2003 and '04. "The Red Sox were there the past few days, and now both teams are."
Either Beantown or Cleveland is going to have a glorious chapter added to its sports history. The other is going to have a heavy helping of heartbreak. Both cities have no shortage of material on either side.
For every key LeBron James bucket that sent Cleveland to the NBA Finals last summer, there's the image of Edgar Renteria's walk-off single in Florida, or Michael Jordan's winning shot, or Earnest Byner fumbling near the goal line in the final minutes.
Cleveland has Tony Pena and Tony Fernandez, both of whom hit clutch LCS home runs, but the city also has The Drive.
Boston has Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone. But Beantown also has David Ortiz's two-run homer in Game 7 of the '04 ALCS, Adam Vinatieri's Super Bowl-winning field goals, and that Larry Bird steal and pass to beat the Pistons in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals 20 years ago.
On one side or the other, this game is going to join those ranks. The momentum swings that shaped the last six games of the ALCS have all led to this.
"Hey, it's going to come down to Game 7 against the two teams that won more baseball games than anybody in the regular season, two teams that have beat up on each other a little bit over the course of the past week," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "And that's the way it should be. It's something everyone should look forward to."
The Red Sox certainly do. As manager Terry Francona reasoned, they're just glad to still be playing.
After standing on the brink of elimination the last two games, the Red Sox forced the first Game 7 at Fenway Park since the 1986 ALCS, when they finished off a comeback of three straight victories to beat the Angels. However, that's the only Game 7 the Red Sox have won at home; they dropped the deciding games of the 1975 and 1967 World Series here.
The only Game 7 Cleveland has faced in modern history, of course, came in the '97 World Series, when Renteria's single completed a late-inning Marlins comeback to win the game in extra innings. The only Game 7 the Indians have won in their history came in 1920, when Tris Speaker's club won five games over Brooklyn back when the World Series was a best-of-nine showdown.
If the Indians win Sunday, they'll become just the fifth team in LCS history to recover from a Game 6 loss to take Game 7. On the other hand, the Cardinals pulled off the feat last year when they fended off the Mets in the NLCS.
For teams that lose Games 5 and 6, winning Game 7 in the LCS is even rarer. Neither those '96 Cardinals nor the 2003 Cubs could do it, leaving the '92 Braves as the last to pull it off when Francisco Cabrera drove in Sid Bream to complete a ninth-inning rally.
As for home-field advantage, there is none. The home team is 7-5 in Game 7 of the LCS since it became a best-of-seven format in 1985.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Report: Indians' Byrd bought HGH, syringes from Florida clinic
By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
October 21, 2007
BOSTON (AP) -- Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd, whose win in Game 4 of the ALCS moved the Indians within one victory of the World Series, bought nearly $25,000 worth of human growth hormone and syringes from 2002 to 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.
Byrd, known for his old-school windup and savvy on the mound, purchased the HGH from a Palm Beach, Fla., anti-aging clinic under investigation by authorities for possible illegal distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, the paper said.
The allegations against Byrd came as the Indians prepared to play the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL championship series at Fenway Park on Sunday night. Cleveland led the series 3-1 after Bryd's Game 4 win but have lost two straight.
Byrd arrived at the ballpark about fours before the start of the game. He walked to Cleveland's clubhouse with teammates David Dellucci and Trot Nixon. Byrd planned to speak to the media before the game.
"I'm going to talk to my team first," he said.
During the time of the alleged purchases, the pitcher was with the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels. HGH was not banned by baseball then and was added to the sport's list of prohibited substances in 2005.
Major League Baseball said it will speak to Byrd before the start of the World Series, if Cleveland advances.
"We will investigate the allegations concerning Paul Byrd as we have players implicated in previous similar reports," the league statement said.
Also accused of buying HGH: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews, St. Louis outfielder Rick Ankiel and Texas Rangers infielder Jerry Hairston Jr.
Byrd, a 36-year-old devout Christian, has publicly denied using steroids in the past.
Indians general manager Mark Shapiro has spoken with Byrd about the matter, adding he didn't have enough information to comment further.
"He has been an important member of this organization -- on and off the field -- over the last two years and we support him in this process," Shapiro said in a statement.
Byrd won Game 4 for the Indians at Jacobs Field on Tuesday. In the AL playoffs, he earned the victory in Cleveland's Game 4 series-clinching win over the New York Yankees.
According to the Chronicle, which reviewed the clinic's business records, Byrd used his credit card and spent $24,850 on more than 1,000 vials of HGH, an injectable prescription drug with muscle-building properties. He also bought hundreds of syringes.
The Chronicle said it reviewed records of shipping orders and payment information on Byrd such as his Social Security number. The records were provided to the paper by an unidentified source.
Based on the paper's review, Byrd had some shipments sent to his home in Alpharetta, Ga., $1,050 worth of syringes and HGH to the Braves' spring training facility in Kissimmee, Fla., and a $2,000 order to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York, when the Braves were in town to play the Mets.
The Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, the clinic where Byrd made the alleged purchases, is part of a network of anti-aging clinics and online pharmacies targeted by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney for alleged illegal sales of steroids and growth hormone.
Citing an anonymous law enforcement source, the Chronicle said two of the prescriptions Byrd used to buy the growth hormone were written by a Florida dentist. The dentist's license was suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence. Byrd was slowed by an elbow injury in 2003, and records show he made six purchases of HGH.
Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA this season, his second with the Indians. He signed him to a two-year, $14 million free agent contract in December 2005, and Cleveland holds a club option on the right-hander for 2008.
After shoulder surgery in 2002, Byrd began toying with a double-pump windup favored by pitchers from decades ago. He found that the arm-swinging motion helped him better hide the ball from hitters, and the windup became his signature.
Byrd, who has a 97-61 career record, relies on location and off-speed pitches to get outs. Following Game 4, Byrd, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, joked about finding some extra speed on his fastball.
"I hit 90 mph," he said, "which happens a few times a year."
October 21, 2007
BOSTON (AP) -- Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd, whose win in Game 4 of the ALCS moved the Indians within one victory of the World Series, bought nearly $25,000 worth of human growth hormone and syringes from 2002 to 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.
Byrd, known for his old-school windup and savvy on the mound, purchased the HGH from a Palm Beach, Fla., anti-aging clinic under investigation by authorities for possible illegal distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, the paper said.
The allegations against Byrd came as the Indians prepared to play the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL championship series at Fenway Park on Sunday night. Cleveland led the series 3-1 after Bryd's Game 4 win but have lost two straight.
Byrd arrived at the ballpark about fours before the start of the game. He walked to Cleveland's clubhouse with teammates David Dellucci and Trot Nixon. Byrd planned to speak to the media before the game.
"I'm going to talk to my team first," he said.
During the time of the alleged purchases, the pitcher was with the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels. HGH was not banned by baseball then and was added to the sport's list of prohibited substances in 2005.
Major League Baseball said it will speak to Byrd before the start of the World Series, if Cleveland advances.
"We will investigate the allegations concerning Paul Byrd as we have players implicated in previous similar reports," the league statement said.
Also accused of buying HGH: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews, St. Louis outfielder Rick Ankiel and Texas Rangers infielder Jerry Hairston Jr.
Byrd, a 36-year-old devout Christian, has publicly denied using steroids in the past.
Indians general manager Mark Shapiro has spoken with Byrd about the matter, adding he didn't have enough information to comment further.
"He has been an important member of this organization -- on and off the field -- over the last two years and we support him in this process," Shapiro said in a statement.
Byrd won Game 4 for the Indians at Jacobs Field on Tuesday. In the AL playoffs, he earned the victory in Cleveland's Game 4 series-clinching win over the New York Yankees.
According to the Chronicle, which reviewed the clinic's business records, Byrd used his credit card and spent $24,850 on more than 1,000 vials of HGH, an injectable prescription drug with muscle-building properties. He also bought hundreds of syringes.
The Chronicle said it reviewed records of shipping orders and payment information on Byrd such as his Social Security number. The records were provided to the paper by an unidentified source.
Based on the paper's review, Byrd had some shipments sent to his home in Alpharetta, Ga., $1,050 worth of syringes and HGH to the Braves' spring training facility in Kissimmee, Fla., and a $2,000 order to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York, when the Braves were in town to play the Mets.
The Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, the clinic where Byrd made the alleged purchases, is part of a network of anti-aging clinics and online pharmacies targeted by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney for alleged illegal sales of steroids and growth hormone.
Citing an anonymous law enforcement source, the Chronicle said two of the prescriptions Byrd used to buy the growth hormone were written by a Florida dentist. The dentist's license was suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence. Byrd was slowed by an elbow injury in 2003, and records show he made six purchases of HGH.
Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA this season, his second with the Indians. He signed him to a two-year, $14 million free agent contract in December 2005, and Cleveland holds a club option on the right-hander for 2008.
After shoulder surgery in 2002, Byrd began toying with a double-pump windup favored by pitchers from decades ago. He found that the arm-swinging motion helped him better hide the ball from hitters, and the windup became his signature.
Byrd, who has a 97-61 career record, relies on location and off-speed pitches to get outs. Following Game 4, Byrd, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, joked about finding some extra speed on his fastball.
"I hit 90 mph," he said, "which happens a few times a year."
Red Sox 12, Indians 2 - One More Game Sunday - Game 7
What is it about the Boston Red Sox that they seem to pull victory from the jaws of defeat? Will they do it again?
BOSTON (ESPN) -- The ball cleared the center field wall, and J.D. Drew raised his fist in celebration.
A grand slam.
A curtain call.
And better yet: A chance to do it again in Game 7.
The struggling Red Sox right fielder drove in five runs, backing yet another postseason gem from Curt Schilling on Saturday night as Boston battered the Cleveland Indians 12-2 to tie the AL Championship Series at three games apiece.
Cleveland's 1-2 punch of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona haven't come close to acing this ALCS test. With Carmona's Game 6 loss, the duo falls to a combined 0-3 vs. the Red Sox.
"Hey, it's going to come down to Game 7, the two teams that won more baseball games than anybody in the regular season, two teams that have beat each other up over the course of the past week," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "And that's the way it should be. It's something everybody should look forward to."
Baseball and its fans are certainly looking forward to it in a postseason where four of the first five series ended in sweeps.
"There's nothing, I think, funner in sports than a Game 7," Schilling said.
Schilling improved his career postseason record to 10-2, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings.
Fausto Carmona failed to get anybody out in the third inning, giving up seven runs on six hits and four walks.
After failing to get a victory from co-aces C.C. Sabathia and Carmona, the Indians hope Jake Westbrook can save them on Sunday night.
The Red Sox turn to Daisuke Matsuzaka, who couldn't make it through the fifth inning in either of his previous postseason starts.
A third consecutive victory -- on the anniversary of Carlton Fisk's extra-inning homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series -- would put Boston back in the Series for the first time since 2004, when it rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS en route to its first title in 86 years. The Red Sox also came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Indians in the first round of the 1999 playoffs.
"It just has to stop, and it has to stop tonight," Wedge said. "They need to go to bed tonight with clear heads and think clear thoughts and come here tomorrow expecting to win."
After stumbling in his previous outing, Schilling came back to show why he is considered one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history. He gave up Victor Martinez's solo homer in the second inning and otherwise held the Indians scoreless until Ryan Garko tripled and scored on Jhonny Peralta's sacrifice fly in the seventh.
By that time, it was already 10-2.
Schilling got Kenny Lofton on a grounder and former teammate Trot Nixon on a fly ball to end the seventh, then left to a standing ovation. He took his hat off -- twice -- and waved up at the box where his wife and family sit.
"This was about our offense just doing a phenomenal job," Schilling said. "J.D. Drew is a special player. I'm sure he's not real proud of the year he had ... but he is the definition of 'even keel.' I mean, he doesn't snap. He doesn't get too high, too low. He just goes up and he plays the game. And tonight, that wins the game."
Drew has struggled to live up to the five-year, $70 million contract the Red Sox threw at him last winter even though no one else seemed interested in bidding. He was signed to protect David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the lineup, but manager Terry Francona dropped him from fifth to sixth in the lineup when he failed to deliver timely hits in the regular season.
Coming into the game, Drew was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, 1-for-11 in the two series combined and just .237 with a chance for an RBI in 2007 overall. When he came up with the bases loaded in the first inning against Carmona, he delivered.
Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis reached on infield singles, and Ortiz looked at six straight pitches for a walk. Ramirez struck out, then Mike Lowell was out on a shallow fly to right, not deep enough to score Pedroia.
All Carmona needed was to get Drew.
"He almost worked through that inning, and then J.D. got him," Wedge said. "And then things sort of dominoed on him. It just wasn't in the cards for us."
Drew hit a line drive into the camera box in straightaway center field to give Boston a 4-0 lead, raising one fist as he rounded the bases. Called back from the dugout by the same fans who had clamored for him to be replaced in the lineup, he gave a two-fisted wave.
"I've had a few of those in my career," Drew said. "None here so far. But it was great. I think the atmosphere was great.
"It has been a tough year, my expectations are high. I didn't have the year I would like to have, but I feel like I had a good September and started getting things turned around. Just wanted to go into the playoffs and have good at-bats."
Drew came up again in the third after Ramirez and Lowell walked to start the inning and singled to center to make it 5-0 and spark a six-run inning that essentially ended it.
But there was still time for one last redemption: Eric Gagne, the former star closer booed off the mound in previous postseason appearances, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
BOSTON (ESPN) -- The ball cleared the center field wall, and J.D. Drew raised his fist in celebration.
A grand slam.
A curtain call.
And better yet: A chance to do it again in Game 7.
The struggling Red Sox right fielder drove in five runs, backing yet another postseason gem from Curt Schilling on Saturday night as Boston battered the Cleveland Indians 12-2 to tie the AL Championship Series at three games apiece.
Cleveland's 1-2 punch of C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona haven't come close to acing this ALCS test. With Carmona's Game 6 loss, the duo falls to a combined 0-3 vs. the Red Sox.
"Hey, it's going to come down to Game 7, the two teams that won more baseball games than anybody in the regular season, two teams that have beat each other up over the course of the past week," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "And that's the way it should be. It's something everybody should look forward to."
Baseball and its fans are certainly looking forward to it in a postseason where four of the first five series ended in sweeps.
"There's nothing, I think, funner in sports than a Game 7," Schilling said.
Schilling improved his career postseason record to 10-2, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings.
Fausto Carmona failed to get anybody out in the third inning, giving up seven runs on six hits and four walks.
After failing to get a victory from co-aces C.C. Sabathia and Carmona, the Indians hope Jake Westbrook can save them on Sunday night.
The Red Sox turn to Daisuke Matsuzaka, who couldn't make it through the fifth inning in either of his previous postseason starts.
A third consecutive victory -- on the anniversary of Carlton Fisk's extra-inning homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series -- would put Boston back in the Series for the first time since 2004, when it rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS en route to its first title in 86 years. The Red Sox also came back from a 2-0 deficit against the Indians in the first round of the 1999 playoffs.
"It just has to stop, and it has to stop tonight," Wedge said. "They need to go to bed tonight with clear heads and think clear thoughts and come here tomorrow expecting to win."
After stumbling in his previous outing, Schilling came back to show why he is considered one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history. He gave up Victor Martinez's solo homer in the second inning and otherwise held the Indians scoreless until Ryan Garko tripled and scored on Jhonny Peralta's sacrifice fly in the seventh.
By that time, it was already 10-2.
Schilling got Kenny Lofton on a grounder and former teammate Trot Nixon on a fly ball to end the seventh, then left to a standing ovation. He took his hat off -- twice -- and waved up at the box where his wife and family sit.
"This was about our offense just doing a phenomenal job," Schilling said. "J.D. Drew is a special player. I'm sure he's not real proud of the year he had ... but he is the definition of 'even keel.' I mean, he doesn't snap. He doesn't get too high, too low. He just goes up and he plays the game. And tonight, that wins the game."
Drew has struggled to live up to the five-year, $70 million contract the Red Sox threw at him last winter even though no one else seemed interested in bidding. He was signed to protect David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the lineup, but manager Terry Francona dropped him from fifth to sixth in the lineup when he failed to deliver timely hits in the regular season.
Coming into the game, Drew was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, 1-for-11 in the two series combined and just .237 with a chance for an RBI in 2007 overall. When he came up with the bases loaded in the first inning against Carmona, he delivered.
Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis reached on infield singles, and Ortiz looked at six straight pitches for a walk. Ramirez struck out, then Mike Lowell was out on a shallow fly to right, not deep enough to score Pedroia.
All Carmona needed was to get Drew.
"He almost worked through that inning, and then J.D. got him," Wedge said. "And then things sort of dominoed on him. It just wasn't in the cards for us."
Drew hit a line drive into the camera box in straightaway center field to give Boston a 4-0 lead, raising one fist as he rounded the bases. Called back from the dugout by the same fans who had clamored for him to be replaced in the lineup, he gave a two-fisted wave.
"I've had a few of those in my career," Drew said. "None here so far. But it was great. I think the atmosphere was great.
"It has been a tough year, my expectations are high. I didn't have the year I would like to have, but I feel like I had a good September and started getting things turned around. Just wanted to go into the playoffs and have good at-bats."
Drew came up again in the third after Ramirez and Lowell walked to start the inning and singled to center to make it 5-0 and spark a six-run inning that essentially ended it.
But there was still time for one last redemption: Eric Gagne, the former star closer booed off the mound in previous postseason appearances, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Electric Beckett dominates Indians
Red Sox ace twirls another gem, forces Game 6 on Saturday
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- The Red Sox aren't just going back home. They are going back to play some more baseball. With elimination staring his team in the face, Josh Beckett never blinked, pitching yet another postseason gem in leading the Red Sox to a 7-1 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night at Jacobs Field.
Following an off-day on Friday, the Red Sox will again try to stay alive in Saturday night's Game 6, when they send Curt Schilling to the mound at what figures to be an electric Fenway Park.
The Indians lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2, meaning they still have two more chances to get to the World Series.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, knew their margin was at zero, and they played like it.
In particular, Beckett pitched like it while improving to 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA this postseason. Over eight innings, the Red Sox ace allowed just one run on five hits while fanning a season-high 11 batters.
"I felt good," said Beckett. "Like we always say, it's easy when you've got everything going. Once again, I had great defense and I held them off just long enough for us to put up some runs. It was a team effort. We know what we have to do now: We have to win."
That's all Beckett has done this October. And at the age of 27, he is quickly establishing himself as a legendary performer this time of year, pushing his career postseason record to 5-2 with a 1.78 ERA.
"He's the man. He's the man in the playoffs," said Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez, who has transformed into a media darling in this series while remaining a hitting machine. "That's why he's our No. 1 starter. We've got a lot of confidence in him."
The Red Sox are still alive in their quest to try to become the 11th team in the history of postseason play to rally back from a 3-1 deficit.
"We just have to keep grinding it out," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Our backs are still against the wall. We just have to play it pitch by pitch and go from there."
While Beckett was front and center in this win, the offense also regained its groove. Pedroia went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot. Kevin Youkilis homered and tripled while driving in three runs. David Ortiz added a hit, two walks and two RBIs, while Ramirez went 2-for-4 and narrowly missed hitting a home run.
The Red Sox didn't trail once.
"I think getting ahead was a huge factor for us in this game," said Youkilis. "We know when Josh Beckett is on the mound, we know maybe that one run could be all we need in a game."
Clinging to a 2-1 lead after five, the Red Sox finally got the insurance they seemed to be on the cusp of all night against Indians ace C.C. Sabathia.
Pedroia led off the sixth with a double to right-center and Youkilis brought him home with a triple that went off the glove of a diving Grady Sizemore. Indians manager Eric Wedge then lifted Sabathia in favor of Rafael Betancourt, and Ortiz lofted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 4-1.
"When we have the little guys getting on base, it's a totally different situation," said Ortiz. "We had the little guys on base and the middle of the lineup comes up to hit."
And hit they did.
The Sox broke it open with three in the eighth, sending eight batters to the plate.
"We really did a good job getting runners on base early, but we didn't do a whole lot with it," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "But we stayed at it and stayed at it and finally cashed in."
Looking to play with a lead, the Red Sox got one quick as Youkilis belted a solo homer to left with one out in the first. With two outs, Ramirez hit a double to left-center. Mike Lowell followed with a single to right, but Ramirez was thrown out at the plate by Indians right fielder Franklin Gutierrez.
The Indians bounced right back in the bottom of the first, as Sizemore led off with a bloop double down the line in left. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a single to right, setting up runners at the corners with nobody out. Travis Hafner then hit into a 6-3 double play, but Sizemore crossed home with the tying run.
"I thought I executed my pitches pretty well in the first inning," said Beckett. "Just unfortunately you give up a bloop hit to a guy that's ... good hitters find ways to get hits, and Grady is definitely one of those."
After that, Beckett basically pulled the plug on the Indians, throwing his mid-to-upper-90s heat on the corners and dropping in curveballs at will.
"He was unbelievable," said Ortiz. "We have a lot of confidence in Josh, and I'm pretty sure the rest of our pitching staff is going to put it together just like he did."
Back came the Red Sox in the third, with the top of the order again making things happen. Pedroia led off with a single to right. After Youkilis hit into a double play, Ortiz drew a walk. Up stepped Ramirez, who lofted a drive to right-center that landed on the top of the yellow line that rests above the wall before bouncing back into play.
Ortiz came home and Ramirez, who thought it was a homer off the bat, settled for an RBI single that made it 2-1 Red Sox. Ramirez and Francona both argued vehemently that it was a home run, but the umpiring crew, after huddling for a bit, stuck with the original call. According to the Jacobs Field ground rules, a ball must be hit over the yellow line to be a home run.
"I thought it was out [of the park], but what can I say," Ramirez said.
As it turns out, it didn't much matter.
The bottom of the fifth began with an interesting wrinkle. Kenny Lofton worked Beckett to a 3-0 count and then thought he had walked on the next pitch. But it was ruled a strike. Perhaps Beckett was upset that Lofton presumed he had walked. Because once Lofton popped the next pitch into shallow left, Beckett appeared to shout something in his direction. Lofton was not amused, and after turning the corner at first base, he went towards Beckett. Both benches emptied briefly but nothing came of it.
Beckett and Lofton had a similar war of words in 2005 during a Marlins-Phillies game.
"It was a lot of stuff," said Beckett. "It kind of goes back before today. Those things have a way of working themselves out though."
Casey Blake and Sizemore then produced consecutive singles, but Beckett blew a 97-mph heater by Cabrera to end that threat.
Though Beckett won't start another game in this series, he all but vowed to be there if his team needs him out of the bullpen in a potential Game 7.
"We'll delve into that later," Beckett said. "Obviously I'm preparing myself for them to ask me that, and as of right now, yeah, I think that would be something I could do."
But all Beckett was thinking about in Game 5 was getting his team another game. That mission was accomplished in dominant fashion.
"Awesome," said Pedroia. "He's been doing it all year long. That's why he's one of the best in the game. He dealt tonight."
And thanks in large part to that, Fenway Park is not yet closed for the season.
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- The Red Sox aren't just going back home. They are going back to play some more baseball. With elimination staring his team in the face, Josh Beckett never blinked, pitching yet another postseason gem in leading the Red Sox to a 7-1 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night at Jacobs Field.
Following an off-day on Friday, the Red Sox will again try to stay alive in Saturday night's Game 6, when they send Curt Schilling to the mound at what figures to be an electric Fenway Park.
The Indians lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2, meaning they still have two more chances to get to the World Series.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, knew their margin was at zero, and they played like it.
In particular, Beckett pitched like it while improving to 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA this postseason. Over eight innings, the Red Sox ace allowed just one run on five hits while fanning a season-high 11 batters.
"I felt good," said Beckett. "Like we always say, it's easy when you've got everything going. Once again, I had great defense and I held them off just long enough for us to put up some runs. It was a team effort. We know what we have to do now: We have to win."
That's all Beckett has done this October. And at the age of 27, he is quickly establishing himself as a legendary performer this time of year, pushing his career postseason record to 5-2 with a 1.78 ERA.
"He's the man. He's the man in the playoffs," said Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez, who has transformed into a media darling in this series while remaining a hitting machine. "That's why he's our No. 1 starter. We've got a lot of confidence in him."
The Red Sox are still alive in their quest to try to become the 11th team in the history of postseason play to rally back from a 3-1 deficit.
"We just have to keep grinding it out," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Our backs are still against the wall. We just have to play it pitch by pitch and go from there."
While Beckett was front and center in this win, the offense also regained its groove. Pedroia went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot. Kevin Youkilis homered and tripled while driving in three runs. David Ortiz added a hit, two walks and two RBIs, while Ramirez went 2-for-4 and narrowly missed hitting a home run.
The Red Sox didn't trail once.
"I think getting ahead was a huge factor for us in this game," said Youkilis. "We know when Josh Beckett is on the mound, we know maybe that one run could be all we need in a game."
Clinging to a 2-1 lead after five, the Red Sox finally got the insurance they seemed to be on the cusp of all night against Indians ace C.C. Sabathia.
Pedroia led off the sixth with a double to right-center and Youkilis brought him home with a triple that went off the glove of a diving Grady Sizemore. Indians manager Eric Wedge then lifted Sabathia in favor of Rafael Betancourt, and Ortiz lofted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 4-1.
"When we have the little guys getting on base, it's a totally different situation," said Ortiz. "We had the little guys on base and the middle of the lineup comes up to hit."
And hit they did.
The Sox broke it open with three in the eighth, sending eight batters to the plate.
"We really did a good job getting runners on base early, but we didn't do a whole lot with it," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "But we stayed at it and stayed at it and finally cashed in."
Looking to play with a lead, the Red Sox got one quick as Youkilis belted a solo homer to left with one out in the first. With two outs, Ramirez hit a double to left-center. Mike Lowell followed with a single to right, but Ramirez was thrown out at the plate by Indians right fielder Franklin Gutierrez.
The Indians bounced right back in the bottom of the first, as Sizemore led off with a bloop double down the line in left. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a single to right, setting up runners at the corners with nobody out. Travis Hafner then hit into a 6-3 double play, but Sizemore crossed home with the tying run.
"I thought I executed my pitches pretty well in the first inning," said Beckett. "Just unfortunately you give up a bloop hit to a guy that's ... good hitters find ways to get hits, and Grady is definitely one of those."
After that, Beckett basically pulled the plug on the Indians, throwing his mid-to-upper-90s heat on the corners and dropping in curveballs at will.
"He was unbelievable," said Ortiz. "We have a lot of confidence in Josh, and I'm pretty sure the rest of our pitching staff is going to put it together just like he did."
Back came the Red Sox in the third, with the top of the order again making things happen. Pedroia led off with a single to right. After Youkilis hit into a double play, Ortiz drew a walk. Up stepped Ramirez, who lofted a drive to right-center that landed on the top of the yellow line that rests above the wall before bouncing back into play.
Ortiz came home and Ramirez, who thought it was a homer off the bat, settled for an RBI single that made it 2-1 Red Sox. Ramirez and Francona both argued vehemently that it was a home run, but the umpiring crew, after huddling for a bit, stuck with the original call. According to the Jacobs Field ground rules, a ball must be hit over the yellow line to be a home run.
"I thought it was out [of the park], but what can I say," Ramirez said.
As it turns out, it didn't much matter.
The bottom of the fifth began with an interesting wrinkle. Kenny Lofton worked Beckett to a 3-0 count and then thought he had walked on the next pitch. But it was ruled a strike. Perhaps Beckett was upset that Lofton presumed he had walked. Because once Lofton popped the next pitch into shallow left, Beckett appeared to shout something in his direction. Lofton was not amused, and after turning the corner at first base, he went towards Beckett. Both benches emptied briefly but nothing came of it.
Beckett and Lofton had a similar war of words in 2005 during a Marlins-Phillies game.
"It was a lot of stuff," said Beckett. "It kind of goes back before today. Those things have a way of working themselves out though."
Casey Blake and Sizemore then produced consecutive singles, but Beckett blew a 97-mph heater by Cabrera to end that threat.
Though Beckett won't start another game in this series, he all but vowed to be there if his team needs him out of the bullpen in a potential Game 7.
"We'll delve into that later," Beckett said. "Obviously I'm preparing myself for them to ask me that, and as of right now, yeah, I think that would be something I could do."
But all Beckett was thinking about in Game 5 was getting his team another game. That mission was accomplished in dominant fashion.
"Awesome," said Pedroia. "He's been doing it all year long. That's why he's one of the best in the game. He dealt tonight."
And thanks in large part to that, Fenway Park is not yet closed for the season.
Joe Torre refuses to take pay cut, walks away from Yankees
BY MARK FEINSAND and CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, October 19th 2007, 4:00 AM
It's the end of an era.
Yankee skipper Joe Torre yesterday rejected a one-year, "performance-based," $5 million contract to return as manager of the Bronx Bombers, ending a historic run in which he took the team to four World Championships and 12 straight playoff appearances.
The end came after a face-to-face showdown in Tampa with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, in which The Boss refused to sweeten an offer Torre felt he could not accept.
The 67-year-old Torre, looking defiant but tired, returned in darkness to his home in Harrison, Westchester County, where he was met by a gang of photographers, flashes popping at machine-gun speed.
"It's been fun," Torre's wife, Ali, said after her husband walked into the house. "It's always difficult to say goodbye, but there's always hello."
As Torre slammed the door on prospects he might return to run the team he has managed since being hired in 1995, Yankees President Randy Levine said he was ready to find someone else to fill Torre's big shoes. "It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," Levine said.
Tributes to Torre, the first New Yorker to manage the Yankees, began pouring in as word of his refusal to bend to Steinbrenner's will rocked the sports world.
"This is a very sad day for anybody who is a Yankee fan," said Yankee fan-in-chief Rudy Giuliani. "Joe Torre was what I think athletes would describe as a class guy. Somebody who transcended baseball."
Mayor Bloomberg lauded Torre as a "great New Yorker who brought historic leadership and excitement - and incredible success - to the Bronx for the past 12 seasons."
Torre's fierce rival, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, added, "I think you're going to hear people in baseball, every area of baseball, say very, very kind, respectful things about Joe the next couple days, and they're all deserved."
Torre's fate had been hanging in the balance for 10 days, since the Yanks were bounced out of the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
During that time, speculation abounded that bench coach Don Mattingly, Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi or other baseball stalwarts such as Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and ex-Mets manager Bobby Valentine might replace Torre.
Yesterday, general manager Brian Cashman, Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost and Levine surprised Yanks watchers by flying Torre to Tampa to meet with The Boss.
Torre had been offered a one-year deal that would have boosted his pay to $8 million if the team made it to the World Series. He flew to Tampa to try to get Steinbrenner to agree to a two-year deal.
"Everybody in this room, including The Boss, wanted him back," Cashman said. But Steinbrenner wouldn't budge and Torre stood up, shook his hand and left, sources told the Daily News.
The offer was a substantial pay cut for Torre, who made $7.5 million in the final year of his three-year, $19.2 million contract - and was the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball.
"Joe Torre turned down that offer," Levine said after Torre flew back home.
Asked why, Levine said, "We're going to let Joe speak for himself." Torre is set to do just that today at a 2 p.m. press conference in Rye.
Levine explained the thinking behind their "performance-based" contract offer.
"We all have the same goal and that goal wasn't met," he said. "We thought we needed to go to a performance-based model."
Levine said the Yanks' failure to reach the World Series was "not one person's fault. ... It was collectively all of our faults."
Levine also said the offer was "very fair" and "clearly was at the top of the market."
Torre did not lose his cool during the talks.
"Joe was very respectful," Levine said. "He was the dignified man he has been. There was no acrimony, we had an open discussion and he declined the offer."
Superagent Scott Boras, who represents Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, said Torre had no choice.
"It is ... near impossible to accept a salary cut," Boras told The Associated Press. "Successful people can afford their principles."
After landing at Westchester County Airport, Torre drove home in his gray Mercedes. The house was decorated for Halloween with a Frankenstein hanging from a tree out front and a skeleton emerging from the ground beside an ominous RIP headstone.
Dressed in jeans and a striped shirt, and carrying an issue of USA Today and a briefcase, Torre left the car engine running and did not speak as he made his way to the door. His hand appeared to be shaking as he fit the key into the lock.
Minutes later, Torre's wife pulled up in a silver Mercedes and joined her husband inside. After about five minutes, she came out and turned off the ignition to his car.
"I've got to turn the light off," she said.
Torre has been the Bombers' manager longer than anybody except the legendary Casey Stengel - and the first to guide the Yanks to 12 straight postseason appearances. When Torre succeeded Buck Showalter, the Yankees had not won the World Series since 1978. Few expected the Brooklyn-born Torre to do much better. The Daily News greeted him with the headline, "CLUELESS JOE."
Torre proved everybody wrong. With a mixture of off-field stoicism and on-field success, he kept the meddling Steinbrenner at bay.
Torre also inspired many men to take better care of themselves by going public with his prostate-cancer battle.
Torre's end was foretold last year when he was nearly fired after the Yanks were ousted from the Division Series - despite having the most expensive payroll in baseball.
Just before the Yankees fell to the Cleveland Indians last week, Steinbrenner made it clear that Torre's head was on the block. At the meeting with Torre yesterday, the 77-year-old team owner let his sons, Hank and Hal, do the talking.
"The objective of the Yankees since the '20s has been to win the championship every year," Hank Steinbrenner said. "None of us think we can win the championship every year, but that's the goal."
Torre's exit also puts the future of possibly departing Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in doubt.
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, October 19th 2007, 4:00 AM
It's the end of an era.
Yankee skipper Joe Torre yesterday rejected a one-year, "performance-based," $5 million contract to return as manager of the Bronx Bombers, ending a historic run in which he took the team to four World Championships and 12 straight playoff appearances.
The end came after a face-to-face showdown in Tampa with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, in which The Boss refused to sweeten an offer Torre felt he could not accept.
The 67-year-old Torre, looking defiant but tired, returned in darkness to his home in Harrison, Westchester County, where he was met by a gang of photographers, flashes popping at machine-gun speed.
"It's been fun," Torre's wife, Ali, said after her husband walked into the house. "It's always difficult to say goodbye, but there's always hello."
As Torre slammed the door on prospects he might return to run the team he has managed since being hired in 1995, Yankees President Randy Levine said he was ready to find someone else to fill Torre's big shoes. "It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," Levine said.
Tributes to Torre, the first New Yorker to manage the Yankees, began pouring in as word of his refusal to bend to Steinbrenner's will rocked the sports world.
"This is a very sad day for anybody who is a Yankee fan," said Yankee fan-in-chief Rudy Giuliani. "Joe Torre was what I think athletes would describe as a class guy. Somebody who transcended baseball."
Mayor Bloomberg lauded Torre as a "great New Yorker who brought historic leadership and excitement - and incredible success - to the Bronx for the past 12 seasons."
Torre's fierce rival, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, added, "I think you're going to hear people in baseball, every area of baseball, say very, very kind, respectful things about Joe the next couple days, and they're all deserved."
Torre's fate had been hanging in the balance for 10 days, since the Yanks were bounced out of the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
During that time, speculation abounded that bench coach Don Mattingly, Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi or other baseball stalwarts such as Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and ex-Mets manager Bobby Valentine might replace Torre.
Yesterday, general manager Brian Cashman, Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost and Levine surprised Yanks watchers by flying Torre to Tampa to meet with The Boss.
Torre had been offered a one-year deal that would have boosted his pay to $8 million if the team made it to the World Series. He flew to Tampa to try to get Steinbrenner to agree to a two-year deal.
"Everybody in this room, including The Boss, wanted him back," Cashman said. But Steinbrenner wouldn't budge and Torre stood up, shook his hand and left, sources told the Daily News.
The offer was a substantial pay cut for Torre, who made $7.5 million in the final year of his three-year, $19.2 million contract - and was the highest-paid manager in Major League Baseball.
"Joe Torre turned down that offer," Levine said after Torre flew back home.
Asked why, Levine said, "We're going to let Joe speak for himself." Torre is set to do just that today at a 2 p.m. press conference in Rye.
Levine explained the thinking behind their "performance-based" contract offer.
"We all have the same goal and that goal wasn't met," he said. "We thought we needed to go to a performance-based model."
Levine said the Yanks' failure to reach the World Series was "not one person's fault. ... It was collectively all of our faults."
Levine also said the offer was "very fair" and "clearly was at the top of the market."
Torre did not lose his cool during the talks.
"Joe was very respectful," Levine said. "He was the dignified man he has been. There was no acrimony, we had an open discussion and he declined the offer."
Superagent Scott Boras, who represents Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, said Torre had no choice.
"It is ... near impossible to accept a salary cut," Boras told The Associated Press. "Successful people can afford their principles."
After landing at Westchester County Airport, Torre drove home in his gray Mercedes. The house was decorated for Halloween with a Frankenstein hanging from a tree out front and a skeleton emerging from the ground beside an ominous RIP headstone.
Dressed in jeans and a striped shirt, and carrying an issue of USA Today and a briefcase, Torre left the car engine running and did not speak as he made his way to the door. His hand appeared to be shaking as he fit the key into the lock.
Minutes later, Torre's wife pulled up in a silver Mercedes and joined her husband inside. After about five minutes, she came out and turned off the ignition to his car.
"I've got to turn the light off," she said.
Torre has been the Bombers' manager longer than anybody except the legendary Casey Stengel - and the first to guide the Yanks to 12 straight postseason appearances. When Torre succeeded Buck Showalter, the Yankees had not won the World Series since 1978. Few expected the Brooklyn-born Torre to do much better. The Daily News greeted him with the headline, "CLUELESS JOE."
Torre proved everybody wrong. With a mixture of off-field stoicism and on-field success, he kept the meddling Steinbrenner at bay.
Torre also inspired many men to take better care of themselves by going public with his prostate-cancer battle.
Torre's end was foretold last year when he was nearly fired after the Yanks were ousted from the Division Series - despite having the most expensive payroll in baseball.
Just before the Yankees fell to the Cleveland Indians last week, Steinbrenner made it clear that Torre's head was on the block. At the meeting with Torre yesterday, the 77-year-old team owner let his sons, Hank and Hal, do the talking.
"The objective of the Yankees since the '20s has been to win the championship every year," Hank Steinbrenner said. "None of us think we can win the championship every year, but that's the goal."
Torre's exit also puts the future of possibly departing Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in doubt.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Outburst puts Tribe one win from Series
Seven-run fifth inning helps Byrd earn Game 4 win over Boston
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- This Indians' story, remember, does not begin here in the present tense, in the pomp and circumstance of October baseball and the national spotlight that comes with it.
It has short-season A ball roots at Mahoning Valley, where Victor Martinez and C.C. Sabathia were teammates in 1999. It harkens back to the days when Jhonny Peralta, Fausto Carmona and Rafael Betancourt weren't postseason studs, but rather non-drafted free agents.
It is borne out of the lessons learned in the trauma of a 94-loss season in 2003 and the tease of a 93-win season in 2005 that fell short of a playoff berth.
It is the tale of a group of young players who not only share a locker room but also a common thread of Minor and Major League experiences that got them where they are today. And where they are today, specifically, is a lone win away from the organization's first World Series appearance in a decade.
A 7-3 victory over the Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at a sold-out Jacobs Field on Tuesday night has the Indians holding a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven slate and on the doorstep of the dreamland.
"It means a lot to every single person here in this room," Martinez said. "We came up from a long way, and to be in this spot right now is amazing. You look three or four years ago, and pretty much the same guys in this room were rookies."
Well, they weren't all rookies, and they weren't all here.
Paul Byrd, for example, is one of the Tribe's veteran hired hands, brought aboard in the midst of the journey to add some experience to the youthful unit. It was experience that revealed itself once again in six-plus innings of work in which Byrd successfully tamed a dangerous Red Sox lineup.
The Indians' bats also looked pretty tame early on in this one, until they awoke with a seven-run fifth inning off an unsuspecting Tim Wakefield and Manny Delcarmen.
A club getting assertive outings from its Nos. 3 and 4 pitchers, as the Indians have the past two nights from Jake Westbrook and Byrd, and getting big hits up and down the lineup -- as the Tribe did on this night from Martinez, Peralta, Casey Blake and Asdrubal Cabrera, among others -- can authoritatively be described as a club that's clicking.
And talk about good timing.
Only 10 of the 65 teams in postseason history who have taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven set have gone on to lose that series, so the past and the present are on the Tribe's side.
"It's not just one player," Martinez said of the Indians' postseason charge. "Every night, it's a different player. That's what makes this team really exciting. We expect anything from anybody."
A team never quite knows what to expect when a knuckleballer like Wakefield takes the mound. And for four innings, the only thing that came to be expected were the zeros Wakefield and Byrd were quickly stringing up on the scoreboard.
The Indians didn't get a hit off Wakefield until the fourth inning, and Byrd, not known for being prone to punchouts, struck out four batters in his first five innings of work.
"I didn't really expect to strike anybody out," Byrd said. "I was hoping to jam some people. But Wakefield was really tough. He threw a great game, and I wasn't expecting very many runs."
Seemingly out of nowhere, though, the runs arrived in the bottom of the fifth.
Blake led off the inning by slapping Wakefield's knuckleball out to the left-field home run porch to break up the scoring monotony. Franklin Gutierrez singled and Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch, and, suddenly, the Tribe's offense had some life.
After Grady Sizemore hit into a fielder's choice at second to put runners on the corners, Cabrera punched a bouncer up the middle that ricocheted off Wakefield's glove and fell in for an infield RBI single to make it 2-0.
When Wakefield got Travis Hafner to go down swinging for the second out, it appeared he'd get out of the inning without further harm. But an Indians team that, entering this game, had scored 22 of its 44 postseason runs with two outs once again showed a flair for the dramatic. Martinez grounded a single through the hole on the left side to knock in another run and end Wakefield's night.
In came reliever Manny Delcarmen, and out went Delcarmen's 2-1 offering to Peralta, who belted a three-run homer to right to make it 6-0.
"When I hit the homer," Peralta said, "I thought, 'That's the game.'"
Still, just for good measure, the Indians kept piling on. Kenny Lofton kept the rally going with a two-out single, and he stole second base to become the all-time stolen-base leader in postseason history. That swipe loomed large when Blake hit a fly ball to shallow center that just barely avoided Coco Crisp's diving reach. It fell in for an RBI single to complete the seven-run onslaught.
It was the second time this series the Indians have put up a seven spot -- the first coming in the 11th inning of the 13-6 victory in Game 2 at Fenway Park.
"Somebody gets it going," Blake said, "and there's maybe a little advantage, a little momentum going there, and it's just a combination of guys working the pitcher and just battling."
This battle, for all intents and purposes, was over, once that 35-minute fifth was finalized. The Red Sox kept it moderately interesting with consecutive solo shots from Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the sixth, but the Indians weren't going to cough this one up.
The Tribe's focus now is to not cough up a prime opportunity to wrap this thing up at home on Thursday night. They'll have their ace Sabathia on the mound, and another bustling Jacobs Field crowd behind them.
Only when -- and if -- that next victory comes will this story have the final chapter the Indians are seeking out.
"We're up, 3-1, and that doesn't mean anything," Martinez said. "We've got to finish them off."
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- This Indians' story, remember, does not begin here in the present tense, in the pomp and circumstance of October baseball and the national spotlight that comes with it.
It has short-season A ball roots at Mahoning Valley, where Victor Martinez and C.C. Sabathia were teammates in 1999. It harkens back to the days when Jhonny Peralta, Fausto Carmona and Rafael Betancourt weren't postseason studs, but rather non-drafted free agents.
It is borne out of the lessons learned in the trauma of a 94-loss season in 2003 and the tease of a 93-win season in 2005 that fell short of a playoff berth.
It is the tale of a group of young players who not only share a locker room but also a common thread of Minor and Major League experiences that got them where they are today. And where they are today, specifically, is a lone win away from the organization's first World Series appearance in a decade.
A 7-3 victory over the Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at a sold-out Jacobs Field on Tuesday night has the Indians holding a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven slate and on the doorstep of the dreamland.
"It means a lot to every single person here in this room," Martinez said. "We came up from a long way, and to be in this spot right now is amazing. You look three or four years ago, and pretty much the same guys in this room were rookies."
Well, they weren't all rookies, and they weren't all here.
Paul Byrd, for example, is one of the Tribe's veteran hired hands, brought aboard in the midst of the journey to add some experience to the youthful unit. It was experience that revealed itself once again in six-plus innings of work in which Byrd successfully tamed a dangerous Red Sox lineup.
The Indians' bats also looked pretty tame early on in this one, until they awoke with a seven-run fifth inning off an unsuspecting Tim Wakefield and Manny Delcarmen.
A club getting assertive outings from its Nos. 3 and 4 pitchers, as the Indians have the past two nights from Jake Westbrook and Byrd, and getting big hits up and down the lineup -- as the Tribe did on this night from Martinez, Peralta, Casey Blake and Asdrubal Cabrera, among others -- can authoritatively be described as a club that's clicking.
And talk about good timing.
Only 10 of the 65 teams in postseason history who have taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven set have gone on to lose that series, so the past and the present are on the Tribe's side.
"It's not just one player," Martinez said of the Indians' postseason charge. "Every night, it's a different player. That's what makes this team really exciting. We expect anything from anybody."
A team never quite knows what to expect when a knuckleballer like Wakefield takes the mound. And for four innings, the only thing that came to be expected were the zeros Wakefield and Byrd were quickly stringing up on the scoreboard.
The Indians didn't get a hit off Wakefield until the fourth inning, and Byrd, not known for being prone to punchouts, struck out four batters in his first five innings of work.
"I didn't really expect to strike anybody out," Byrd said. "I was hoping to jam some people. But Wakefield was really tough. He threw a great game, and I wasn't expecting very many runs."
Seemingly out of nowhere, though, the runs arrived in the bottom of the fifth.
Blake led off the inning by slapping Wakefield's knuckleball out to the left-field home run porch to break up the scoring monotony. Franklin Gutierrez singled and Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch, and, suddenly, the Tribe's offense had some life.
After Grady Sizemore hit into a fielder's choice at second to put runners on the corners, Cabrera punched a bouncer up the middle that ricocheted off Wakefield's glove and fell in for an infield RBI single to make it 2-0.
When Wakefield got Travis Hafner to go down swinging for the second out, it appeared he'd get out of the inning without further harm. But an Indians team that, entering this game, had scored 22 of its 44 postseason runs with two outs once again showed a flair for the dramatic. Martinez grounded a single through the hole on the left side to knock in another run and end Wakefield's night.
In came reliever Manny Delcarmen, and out went Delcarmen's 2-1 offering to Peralta, who belted a three-run homer to right to make it 6-0.
"When I hit the homer," Peralta said, "I thought, 'That's the game.'"
Still, just for good measure, the Indians kept piling on. Kenny Lofton kept the rally going with a two-out single, and he stole second base to become the all-time stolen-base leader in postseason history. That swipe loomed large when Blake hit a fly ball to shallow center that just barely avoided Coco Crisp's diving reach. It fell in for an RBI single to complete the seven-run onslaught.
It was the second time this series the Indians have put up a seven spot -- the first coming in the 11th inning of the 13-6 victory in Game 2 at Fenway Park.
"Somebody gets it going," Blake said, "and there's maybe a little advantage, a little momentum going there, and it's just a combination of guys working the pitcher and just battling."
This battle, for all intents and purposes, was over, once that 35-minute fifth was finalized. The Red Sox kept it moderately interesting with consecutive solo shots from Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the sixth, but the Indians weren't going to cough this one up.
The Tribe's focus now is to not cough up a prime opportunity to wrap this thing up at home on Thursday night. They'll have their ace Sabathia on the mound, and another bustling Jacobs Field crowd behind them.
Only when -- and if -- that next victory comes will this story have the final chapter the Indians are seeking out.
"We're up, 3-1, and that doesn't mean anything," Martinez said. "We've got to finish them off."
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Stoneman steps aside for Reagins
Successful Angels GM resigns to become consultant for club
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
ANAHEIM -- A door to a world of new challenges opened on Tuesday for Tony Reagins, selected to succeed Bill Stoneman as general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Stability, continuity and seamless transition were identified by club owner Arte Moreno as the primary reasons for staying inside the organization to replace Stoneman, who will serve as his advisor on baseball matters.
"This organization is not broken," Reagins said during Tuesday's press conference at Angel Stadium, presided over by Moreno. "I don't need to come in and try to reinvent the wheel.
"We know where we've been and where we're going. We're committed to remain steadfast to bring a championship contender to Angels fans across the country, year in and year out."
Stoneman was the GM for eight years, producing four playoff teams, three American League West champions and a World Series champion in 2002.
Referring to diminished energy and the desire to free up more time for family and other interests, Stoneman introduced Reagins after emotionally thanking numerous people who made his eight years as GM memorable.
"I've known Tony since coming on the job here," Stoneman said of Reagins, the club's director of player development for the past six seasons and a member of the organization for 16 years. "This is one of the brightest, most energetic and dedicated guys I've known. He's able to get things done, and he understands the game very well, [understands] players very well.
Ken Forsch, Angels assistant GM for 10 years, will remain in that capacity, and Gary Sutherland, special assistant to the GM, also will stay on, Reagins said.
Abe Flores was promoted from manager of baseball operations to fill Reagins' role as director of player development, with player performance analyst Tory Hernandez also gaining a promotion to Flores' former role. Eddie Bane will continue as director of scouting.
Reagins is the 10th GM in franchise history. He is the first African-American to hold the position for the Angels and the second African-American GM in the Majors, joining Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox.
Reagins has worked closely with Angels manager Mike Scioscia since the system provided six rookies for the 2002 club, Reagins' first year as director of player development.
Scioscia sees Reagins continuing the work Stoneman has done in creating a consistent winner in Anaheim.
"Bill's done a great job of laying the foundation for what we are right now," Scioscia said via conference call. "I know Tony has the same vision for where this organization should go.
"Tony has a lot of similarities to Bill in his sense of duty and diligence. He's not afraid to take chances, and he's a good [talent] evaluator. He's going to be great at this position. Tony's a good communicator, terrific with people. He's got the key components for a general manager."
Moreno said the organization would do everything "within reason" to give Scioscia what he needs to bring another championship to Southern California, adding that he "felt it was important to give Mike more responsibility."
Asked if he anticipated playing a more prominent role in personnel decisions with a less experienced GM on the job, Scioscia replied that he and his coaching staff always have had input on player moves.
"We've been given some terrific clubs, and I don't think that's going to change," Scioscia said. "To say I'm going to have a larger role, I don't know how I could have a larger role without moving into the general manager's chair."
That, he added, is something that has not come up in conversations with management, and he is not interested in leaving the dugout or having a dual role.
Repeating his state-of-the-Angels message delivered after they'd been swept by Boston in the American League Division Series, Scioscia said the club's primary offseason need is improving its slugging percentage.
"Although we made the most out of the offense we had," the manager said, "a little more batter's box offense, particularly in slugging percentage, is what we need at the Major League level.
"With outside sources, that's the No. 1 priority we're going to address, getting deeper in the batter's box."
He added that injury-free seasons from Garret Anderson, Casey Kotchman, Howard Kendrick and Gary Matthews Jr. could help significantly in that department. Each missed significant time with various injuries in 2007.
Matthews, Anderson and relief pitcher Justin Speier were among those attending Tuesday's press conference.
Working his way up from the ground floor, Reagins joined the organization in 1992 as an intern in baseball operations and marketing in 1992. He became a full-time member of baseball operations in April 1998, rising through the ranks.
"Under his direction, the Angels' farm system has developed the core of talent graded one of the top five in baseball the last five years," Moreno said. "I feel it's important to continue to build from within. It makes it easy for me to keep Bill at my side to help with baseball decisions and help Tony move forward.
"We talked about this when I bought the team [after the 2002 season]. We felt stability was important to the team. That's one of the reasons we felt this was an important decision."
Stoneman assumed the job on Nov. 1, 1999. Seventeen days later, Scioscia was named manager, and the two have worked in tandem to direct the most successful run in franchise history.
During the final week of the regular season, after the Angels had wrapped up the AL West title, Stoneman talked about what an exciting season it had been and that he was happy in Anaheim under Moreno.
"The decision is one I've known for quite a while I was going to have to make," said Stoneman, who had the option to remain in the GM's chair had he chosen to do so. "As time went on, I realized I'm getting older, and you really don't have the energy you once had.
"You have to face that as a fact. In order to do this job, you have to have a ton of energy. There are so many elements you think about. The main thing was, I was worn down and was coming to that realization.
"I don't have the same energy I brought into this job. It was really time for the betterment of the Angels to step aside for somebody who was a lot more energetic -- yet knows the Angels as well as I do -- to take over and provide a seamless transition in behind the scenes operations here."
Three other high-profile general managers -- Atlanta's John Schuerholz, Minnesota's Terry Ryan and St. Louis' Walt Jocketty -- recently have walked away from their jobs, citing the job's multiple and time-consuming demands.
Stoneman, 63, pitched for eight seasons in the Major Leagues and authored two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos. He took the Angels to unprecedented levels of success by focusing on player development and building from within while going outside to add key free agents such as Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Orlando Cabrera and Matthews.
Reagins has been chiefly responsible for the club's Minor League system, which includes seven affiliates and a club in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
Reagins, 41, is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton University. He's a native of Indio, Calif., where he was an all-CIF tailback on the Indio High School football team in the mid-1980s. He played American Legion baseball in Indio.
Reagins was joined at the press conference by his wife, Colleen, and their daughter, Kennedy.
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
ANAHEIM -- A door to a world of new challenges opened on Tuesday for Tony Reagins, selected to succeed Bill Stoneman as general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Stability, continuity and seamless transition were identified by club owner Arte Moreno as the primary reasons for staying inside the organization to replace Stoneman, who will serve as his advisor on baseball matters.
"This organization is not broken," Reagins said during Tuesday's press conference at Angel Stadium, presided over by Moreno. "I don't need to come in and try to reinvent the wheel.
"We know where we've been and where we're going. We're committed to remain steadfast to bring a championship contender to Angels fans across the country, year in and year out."
Stoneman was the GM for eight years, producing four playoff teams, three American League West champions and a World Series champion in 2002.
Referring to diminished energy and the desire to free up more time for family and other interests, Stoneman introduced Reagins after emotionally thanking numerous people who made his eight years as GM memorable.
"I've known Tony since coming on the job here," Stoneman said of Reagins, the club's director of player development for the past six seasons and a member of the organization for 16 years. "This is one of the brightest, most energetic and dedicated guys I've known. He's able to get things done, and he understands the game very well, [understands] players very well.
Ken Forsch, Angels assistant GM for 10 years, will remain in that capacity, and Gary Sutherland, special assistant to the GM, also will stay on, Reagins said.
Abe Flores was promoted from manager of baseball operations to fill Reagins' role as director of player development, with player performance analyst Tory Hernandez also gaining a promotion to Flores' former role. Eddie Bane will continue as director of scouting.
Reagins is the 10th GM in franchise history. He is the first African-American to hold the position for the Angels and the second African-American GM in the Majors, joining Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox.
Reagins has worked closely with Angels manager Mike Scioscia since the system provided six rookies for the 2002 club, Reagins' first year as director of player development.
Scioscia sees Reagins continuing the work Stoneman has done in creating a consistent winner in Anaheim.
"Bill's done a great job of laying the foundation for what we are right now," Scioscia said via conference call. "I know Tony has the same vision for where this organization should go.
"Tony has a lot of similarities to Bill in his sense of duty and diligence. He's not afraid to take chances, and he's a good [talent] evaluator. He's going to be great at this position. Tony's a good communicator, terrific with people. He's got the key components for a general manager."
Moreno said the organization would do everything "within reason" to give Scioscia what he needs to bring another championship to Southern California, adding that he "felt it was important to give Mike more responsibility."
Asked if he anticipated playing a more prominent role in personnel decisions with a less experienced GM on the job, Scioscia replied that he and his coaching staff always have had input on player moves.
"We've been given some terrific clubs, and I don't think that's going to change," Scioscia said. "To say I'm going to have a larger role, I don't know how I could have a larger role without moving into the general manager's chair."
That, he added, is something that has not come up in conversations with management, and he is not interested in leaving the dugout or having a dual role.
Repeating his state-of-the-Angels message delivered after they'd been swept by Boston in the American League Division Series, Scioscia said the club's primary offseason need is improving its slugging percentage.
"Although we made the most out of the offense we had," the manager said, "a little more batter's box offense, particularly in slugging percentage, is what we need at the Major League level.
"With outside sources, that's the No. 1 priority we're going to address, getting deeper in the batter's box."
He added that injury-free seasons from Garret Anderson, Casey Kotchman, Howard Kendrick and Gary Matthews Jr. could help significantly in that department. Each missed significant time with various injuries in 2007.
Matthews, Anderson and relief pitcher Justin Speier were among those attending Tuesday's press conference.
Working his way up from the ground floor, Reagins joined the organization in 1992 as an intern in baseball operations and marketing in 1992. He became a full-time member of baseball operations in April 1998, rising through the ranks.
"Under his direction, the Angels' farm system has developed the core of talent graded one of the top five in baseball the last five years," Moreno said. "I feel it's important to continue to build from within. It makes it easy for me to keep Bill at my side to help with baseball decisions and help Tony move forward.
"We talked about this when I bought the team [after the 2002 season]. We felt stability was important to the team. That's one of the reasons we felt this was an important decision."
Stoneman assumed the job on Nov. 1, 1999. Seventeen days later, Scioscia was named manager, and the two have worked in tandem to direct the most successful run in franchise history.
During the final week of the regular season, after the Angels had wrapped up the AL West title, Stoneman talked about what an exciting season it had been and that he was happy in Anaheim under Moreno.
"The decision is one I've known for quite a while I was going to have to make," said Stoneman, who had the option to remain in the GM's chair had he chosen to do so. "As time went on, I realized I'm getting older, and you really don't have the energy you once had.
"You have to face that as a fact. In order to do this job, you have to have a ton of energy. There are so many elements you think about. The main thing was, I was worn down and was coming to that realization.
"I don't have the same energy I brought into this job. It was really time for the betterment of the Angels to step aside for somebody who was a lot more energetic -- yet knows the Angels as well as I do -- to take over and provide a seamless transition in behind the scenes operations here."
Three other high-profile general managers -- Atlanta's John Schuerholz, Minnesota's Terry Ryan and St. Louis' Walt Jocketty -- recently have walked away from their jobs, citing the job's multiple and time-consuming demands.
Stoneman, 63, pitched for eight seasons in the Major Leagues and authored two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos. He took the Angels to unprecedented levels of success by focusing on player development and building from within while going outside to add key free agents such as Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Orlando Cabrera and Matthews.
Reagins has been chiefly responsible for the club's Minor League system, which includes seven affiliates and a club in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
Reagins, 41, is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton University. He's a native of Indio, Calif., where he was an all-CIF tailback on the Indio High School football team in the mid-1980s. He played American Legion baseball in Indio.
Reagins was joined at the press conference by his wife, Colleen, and their daughter, Kennedy.
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Yanks' meetings inconclusive on Day 1
Team has not made a decision regarding Torre's future
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
The Yankees executed a last-minute change of venue, steering their discussions away from Legends Field, but that was apparently the only decision finalized on their first day of season-end meetings.
With dozens of reporters waiting outside the Yankees' Spring Training home in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, club executives instead huddled for afternoon meetings at the nearby mansion of principal owner George Steinbrenner.
According to reports, the top hierarchy of team executives gathered for several hours. Yet the Yankees did not come to an official conclusion on the fate of manager Joe Torre, whose contract expires at the end of the month.
On behalf of the club, spokesperson Howard Rubenstein released a statement shortly after 4:30 p.m. ET, saying: "The meetings are adjourned for tonight. There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today. The meetings will resume tomorrow."
A final ruling regarding Torre's future is believed to be the first step in what figures to be a busy offseason for the Yankees. The 67-year-old Torre has made the playoffs in each of his 12 seasons at the helm of the club, but his Yankees have suffered first-round exits in three consecutive seasons, prompting some in the organization to consider a leadership change.
Before Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Steinbrenner said in a rare interview that the Yankees were not likely to have Torre back for 2008 if the club did not advance past the first round. The Yankees fell in four games to the Cleveland Indians and official comment from the organization has been sparse since their Oct. 8 elimination.
The afternoon brought a strange twist from a potential successor in the event that the Yankees wish to part ways with Torre.
A representative for bench coach Don Mattingly refuted a report published in the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, which claimed that Mattingly has told members of the organization that he is not ready to manage and does not feel comfortable replacing Torre.
Agent Ray Schulte called the report, which cited a Mattingly friend as a source, "completely false" and "totally fabricated." Schulte said that Mattingly was caught completely by surprise by the report, and that while he hopes Torre returns for the 2008 season, Mattingly would be ready to assume the reins of the club if offered the job.
The organizational meetings are scheduled to resume Wednesday and will feature direct influence from Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal -- both of whom will be taking on increased importance in the club's planning going forward.
In addition to settling the Torre issue, Yankees decision-makers are expected to tackle courses of action in dealing with the club's numerous potential free agents, including an expected contract extension offer for Alex Rodriguez and plans for lifetime Yankees Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, both of whom are seeking multi-year contracts.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
The Yankees executed a last-minute change of venue, steering their discussions away from Legends Field, but that was apparently the only decision finalized on their first day of season-end meetings.
With dozens of reporters waiting outside the Yankees' Spring Training home in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, club executives instead huddled for afternoon meetings at the nearby mansion of principal owner George Steinbrenner.
According to reports, the top hierarchy of team executives gathered for several hours. Yet the Yankees did not come to an official conclusion on the fate of manager Joe Torre, whose contract expires at the end of the month.
On behalf of the club, spokesperson Howard Rubenstein released a statement shortly after 4:30 p.m. ET, saying: "The meetings are adjourned for tonight. There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today. The meetings will resume tomorrow."
A final ruling regarding Torre's future is believed to be the first step in what figures to be a busy offseason for the Yankees. The 67-year-old Torre has made the playoffs in each of his 12 seasons at the helm of the club, but his Yankees have suffered first-round exits in three consecutive seasons, prompting some in the organization to consider a leadership change.
Before Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Steinbrenner said in a rare interview that the Yankees were not likely to have Torre back for 2008 if the club did not advance past the first round. The Yankees fell in four games to the Cleveland Indians and official comment from the organization has been sparse since their Oct. 8 elimination.
The afternoon brought a strange twist from a potential successor in the event that the Yankees wish to part ways with Torre.
A representative for bench coach Don Mattingly refuted a report published in the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, which claimed that Mattingly has told members of the organization that he is not ready to manage and does not feel comfortable replacing Torre.
Agent Ray Schulte called the report, which cited a Mattingly friend as a source, "completely false" and "totally fabricated." Schulte said that Mattingly was caught completely by surprise by the report, and that while he hopes Torre returns for the 2008 season, Mattingly would be ready to assume the reins of the club if offered the job.
The organizational meetings are scheduled to resume Wednesday and will feature direct influence from Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal -- both of whom will be taking on increased importance in the club's planning going forward.
In addition to settling the Torre issue, Yankees decision-makers are expected to tackle courses of action in dealing with the club's numerous potential free agents, including an expected contract extension offer for Alex Rodriguez and plans for lifetime Yankees Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, both of whom are seeking multi-year contracts.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Surging Rox making baseball history
Last place to first Colorado on a Cinderella run for the ages
By Jim Molony / MLB.com
DENVER -- When the 1976 Cincinnati Reds ran off seven consecutive postseason victories en route to a second straight World Series title it represented the pinnacle of the Big Red Machine's '70s dynasty.
While the 2007 Colorado Rockies certainly aren't in the class of those Reds, their 7-0 run to clinch the franchise's first World Series made the Rockies the first team in 31 years to go 7-0 in the postseason and also earned Colorado another rare place in baseball history.
Besides the streak, their sweep of Arizona in the National League Championship Series made the Rockies one of only five teams to finish in last place one year and reach the World Series the next, joining the 1991 Atlanta Braves, the 1991 Minnesota Twins, the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies and the 1998 San Diego Padres.
Baseball fans haven't forgotten the previous four teams to go from last place to the Fall Classic in one year, and it's doubtful they will soon forget a Colorado team which has won 21 of its last 22 games and was 6 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West as recently as Sept. 15. A year ago, the Rockies finished 76-86, 12 games behind San Diego and Los Angeles.
"These guys just don't quit," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "This has been fun to watch let me tell you."
The 21-1 run is incredible on its own, but it is even more amazing when you consider the Rockies are in the playoffs for only the second time in their 15-year existence and first time since 1995.
They became only the second team to sweep an NLCS since the seven-game series was instituted in 1985 and first since Atlanta swept Cincinnati in the 1995 NLCS.
"At some point, maybe the historic [magnitude] of this will sink in, but right now we're just a team that is enjoying playing the game and coming out expecting to win every day," Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins said. "What you're seeing is 25 guys pulling in the same direction."
And rewriting baseball history in the process.
The Wild Card Rockies did not have home-field advantage in either series, yet swept NL East champion Philadelphia in three games and NL West champion Arizona in four to complete their bottom to top jump that earned them a place along the other great turnaround stories in baseball history:
• The 1991 Atlanta Braves, a year after finishing last (65-97) in the NL West, went 94-68 to win the division, then beat Pittsburgh in the NLCS before losing to Minnesota in the World Series.
Those '91 Twins made a similar last to first leap. The '90 Twins finished 74-88 and in the American League West cellar, 29 games behind Oakland. When the Twins and Braves met in that memorable 1991 World Series it was the first and only time in the 20th century two teams that had finished last the year before met in the World Series.
• The 1993 Philadelphia Phillies made it to the NLCS and then the World Series, one year after finishing dead last in the NL East, 70-92 and 26 games out of first place.
• The only other team to go from cellar to World Series in one year was the 1998 San Diego Padres. The year before, that team finished in the NL West cellar, 76-86 and 14 games behind San Francisco. The '98 Padres finished the regular season 98-64, good for first place in the division, then beat Houston in the NLDS and Atlanta in the NLCS to advance to the World Series.
Now comes the Rockies, the latest team to climb from the cellar to the pinnacle in one season.
Even Cinderella didn't climb that far.
"If you would have told me back in Spring Training that we were going to the World Series I wouldn't have believed it," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "This has been an incredible run, we played so long where if we lost our season was over we've been playing every day like that's still the case."
Of the previous four to go from cellar to pennant, only the Twins went on to win the World Series. None of those teams went unbeaten in the postseason, let alone win 21 of their last 22.
The Rockies will face either Boston or Cleveland in the World Series with a chance to join Minnesota as the only team to finish last one year and win a Fall Classic the next.
Keep the history book handy. The last-to-first Rockies don't look like they are finished rewriting it.
Jim Molony is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Jim Molony / MLB.com
DENVER -- When the 1976 Cincinnati Reds ran off seven consecutive postseason victories en route to a second straight World Series title it represented the pinnacle of the Big Red Machine's '70s dynasty.
While the 2007 Colorado Rockies certainly aren't in the class of those Reds, their 7-0 run to clinch the franchise's first World Series made the Rockies the first team in 31 years to go 7-0 in the postseason and also earned Colorado another rare place in baseball history.
Besides the streak, their sweep of Arizona in the National League Championship Series made the Rockies one of only five teams to finish in last place one year and reach the World Series the next, joining the 1991 Atlanta Braves, the 1991 Minnesota Twins, the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies and the 1998 San Diego Padres.
Baseball fans haven't forgotten the previous four teams to go from last place to the Fall Classic in one year, and it's doubtful they will soon forget a Colorado team which has won 21 of its last 22 games and was 6 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West as recently as Sept. 15. A year ago, the Rockies finished 76-86, 12 games behind San Diego and Los Angeles.
"These guys just don't quit," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "This has been fun to watch let me tell you."
The 21-1 run is incredible on its own, but it is even more amazing when you consider the Rockies are in the playoffs for only the second time in their 15-year existence and first time since 1995.
They became only the second team to sweep an NLCS since the seven-game series was instituted in 1985 and first since Atlanta swept Cincinnati in the 1995 NLCS.
"At some point, maybe the historic [magnitude] of this will sink in, but right now we're just a team that is enjoying playing the game and coming out expecting to win every day," Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins said. "What you're seeing is 25 guys pulling in the same direction."
And rewriting baseball history in the process.
The Wild Card Rockies did not have home-field advantage in either series, yet swept NL East champion Philadelphia in three games and NL West champion Arizona in four to complete their bottom to top jump that earned them a place along the other great turnaround stories in baseball history:
• The 1991 Atlanta Braves, a year after finishing last (65-97) in the NL West, went 94-68 to win the division, then beat Pittsburgh in the NLCS before losing to Minnesota in the World Series.
Those '91 Twins made a similar last to first leap. The '90 Twins finished 74-88 and in the American League West cellar, 29 games behind Oakland. When the Twins and Braves met in that memorable 1991 World Series it was the first and only time in the 20th century two teams that had finished last the year before met in the World Series.
• The 1993 Philadelphia Phillies made it to the NLCS and then the World Series, one year after finishing dead last in the NL East, 70-92 and 26 games out of first place.
• The only other team to go from cellar to World Series in one year was the 1998 San Diego Padres. The year before, that team finished in the NL West cellar, 76-86 and 14 games behind San Francisco. The '98 Padres finished the regular season 98-64, good for first place in the division, then beat Houston in the NLDS and Atlanta in the NLCS to advance to the World Series.
Now comes the Rockies, the latest team to climb from the cellar to the pinnacle in one season.
Even Cinderella didn't climb that far.
"If you would have told me back in Spring Training that we were going to the World Series I wouldn't have believed it," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "This has been an incredible run, we played so long where if we lost our season was over we've been playing every day like that's still the case."
Of the previous four to go from cellar to pennant, only the Twins went on to win the World Series. None of those teams went unbeaten in the postseason, let alone win 21 of their last 22.
The Rockies will face either Boston or Cleveland in the World Series with a chance to join Minnesota as the only team to finish last one year and win a Fall Classic the next.
Keep the history book handy. The last-to-first Rockies don't look like they are finished rewriting it.
Jim Molony is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Fogg, Torrealba put Rockies 1 win away from sweep with 4-1 win over Arizona
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 15, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Rockies were one strike away from not even making the playoffs. Now, they're one win away from their first World Series.
With a cold rain falling, Josh Fogg shut down Arizona's bats in his first postseason start and Yorvit Torrealba hit a tiebreaking three-run homer to fuel the Rockies' 4-1 victory Sunday night in Game 3 of the NL championship series.
MVP hopeful Matt Holliday also homered as the wild-card Rockies took a 3-0 lead with their 20th win in 21 games, a streak that has taken Colorado from afterthoughts to the buzz of baseball.
"Tomorrow we're going to come here just like we have been doing," Torrealba said. "We're going to relax, watch TV, and when it's time to play, we're going to try to get one more win."
And not think about their first World Series until then.
"No, no, no, no, I'm not thinking about that," insisted the face of the franchise, Todd Helton, whose decade of disappointment has disappeared in one of the most incredible winning streaks in baseball history.
"We're still focused on the task at hand."
About two weeks ago, the Rockies had no control over whether they'd even make the playoffs.
The San Diego Padres could've eliminated Colorado on the final Saturday of the regular season. But Milwaukee's Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying, two-out, two-strike triple off San Diego's Trevor Hoffman that gave the Rockies a chance.
The next day, Colorado caught the Padres. The night after that, the Rockies beat San Diego in a 13-inning, NL wild-card tiebreaker.
Since then, the Rockies have been unbeatable.
Arizona, which has scored just four runs in the series so far, must win four straight times against a Rockies team that is the first since the 1935 Chicago Cubs to win at least 20 of 21 games after Sept. 1, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
They haven't looked back, sweeping past Philadelphia and taking the first three against Arizona.
They will try to sweep the Diamondbacks on Monday night when Franklin Morales faces Arizona's Micah Owings in a matchup of rookies who have never faced each other's teams.
The Rockies, who this season set a major league record for fielding percentage, turned three double plays in the first three innings.
"When you can take the sting out of them early ... I think it helped our confidence," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team to overcome a 3-0 hole to win a best-of-seven postseason series. Boston did it in the ALCS against the Yankees.
"Until they win four and we can't win four at once. We've just got to get one on the board first," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "That's what we've been trying to do all year."
Torrealba connected in the sixth inning, three pitches after watching one of Livan Hernandez's trademark "eephus" offerings poke across the plate for a strike -- so slow it didn't register on the stadium scoreboard radar.
Hernandez said he knew better than to throw an inside fastball to his buddy that he played with in San Francisco, but he had used all the pitches in his bag of tricks.
"It's the last pitch I want to throw," Hernandez said. "Yorvit is one of my best friends in baseball and I know he can handle the fastball inside very good. It's just the situation. I'd thrown everything: foul, foul. I know he can hit the fastball inside. Trust me, and he hit it out."
After a 60 mph bender that he fought off for a foul, Torrealba hit a fastball 402 feet into the left-field seats, then raced around the bases pumping his fists and hooting and hollering.
"He worked me really well all season long. He tried to throw me a fastball inside, and it stayed over the plate and I hit it really good," Torrealba said.
Torrealba, who is 8-for-21 in the playoffs with seven RBIs, nearly had a home run in the third when he doubled off the center-field wall. The stadium's pyrotechnics operator thought it was gone and set off some fireworks as Torrealba pulled into second base.
The real fireworks came three innings later from Torrealba, who had just eight home runs in the regular season.
"One pitch, one bad pitch all night," lamented D-backs catcher Miguel Montero.
"That's kind of been the theme of this series so far. They've gotten that one big hit where we haven't," Melvin said.
Holliday's homer in the first inning was the first by either team in this series. Hernandez fell to 7-3 lifetime in the playoffs, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Fogg, who won Game 2 of the division series over Philadelphia in relief of Morales, scattered seven hits, including rookie Mark Reynolds' solo home run in the fourth, in six stellar innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.
With the gametime temperature hovering at 43 degrees -- and quickly dipping into the 30s -- and a light drizzle falling, the crowd showed up wearing fleece jackets, gloves, wool caps and scarves, looking like they were headed for the ski slopes west of Denver, where it was indeed snowing.
Even Montero wore a ski cap beneath his catcher's helmet.
It was only fitting that the Rockies sent a pitcher named Fogg to the mound to deal with the elements in the first NLCS game in Denver in franchise history. The Rockies have lost just once since Sept. 16, and this win at Coors Field was their ninth straight victory overall.
A cool drizzle fell all day and continued into the evening. The grounds crew didn't even remove the tarp until an hour before the game. In between innings, they brought out bags of dry dirt to keep the infield from getting too slick. In the fifth, the crews poured a wheelbarrow full of "diamond dust" around home plate.
The TBS broadcast mentioned how the grounds crew ran out of the quick-dry dirt and started calling around. They said they found some in a warehouse and showed a truck rolling up to the stadium with extra bags.
Holliday, with only two other hits in this series, neither of which left the infield, put Colorado ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a high drive. Left fielder Eric Byrnes crashed into the wall chasing the ball, much to the delight of the crowd that razzed him every chance they got.
Forty-eight hours earlier, Byrnes suggested the Rockies were a lucky bunch who had actually been outplayed by the Diamondbacks in this series.
Although that drew the ire of the fans, Rockies rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said there was some truth to Byrnes' comments "and they can outplay us all four games. If we end up winning the series, I'll be fine with that."
Reynolds hit a 422-foot solo shot in the fourth to tie it at 1-all, sending a first-pitch breaking ball from Fogg halfway up into the left-field seats to quiet the sellout crowd of 50,137.
Jeremy Affeldt threw the seventh, Brian Fuentes the eighth and Manny Corpas the ninth for his fourth save of the playoffs. In Game 2 at Arizona, Corpas blew a save chance in the ninth inning.
The Rockies are trying for their first NL pennant in the franchise's 15-year history, and history appears solidly on their side.
"Nothing has gone our way so far," Byrnes said. "For whatever reason, that's the way it's been."
Notes
Before the Rockies, the last team to put together a 19-1 run was the 1977 Kansas City Royals, and Hurdle made his major league debut for the Royals during that stretch. ... Colorado is the second team in NL history to open the postseason with six straight wins, joining the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, which went 7-0 in the playoffs, sweeping the Phillies and Yankees.
October 15, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Rockies were one strike away from not even making the playoffs. Now, they're one win away from their first World Series.
With a cold rain falling, Josh Fogg shut down Arizona's bats in his first postseason start and Yorvit Torrealba hit a tiebreaking three-run homer to fuel the Rockies' 4-1 victory Sunday night in Game 3 of the NL championship series.
MVP hopeful Matt Holliday also homered as the wild-card Rockies took a 3-0 lead with their 20th win in 21 games, a streak that has taken Colorado from afterthoughts to the buzz of baseball.
"Tomorrow we're going to come here just like we have been doing," Torrealba said. "We're going to relax, watch TV, and when it's time to play, we're going to try to get one more win."
And not think about their first World Series until then.
"No, no, no, no, I'm not thinking about that," insisted the face of the franchise, Todd Helton, whose decade of disappointment has disappeared in one of the most incredible winning streaks in baseball history.
"We're still focused on the task at hand."
About two weeks ago, the Rockies had no control over whether they'd even make the playoffs.
The San Diego Padres could've eliminated Colorado on the final Saturday of the regular season. But Milwaukee's Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying, two-out, two-strike triple off San Diego's Trevor Hoffman that gave the Rockies a chance.
The next day, Colorado caught the Padres. The night after that, the Rockies beat San Diego in a 13-inning, NL wild-card tiebreaker.
Since then, the Rockies have been unbeatable.
Arizona, which has scored just four runs in the series so far, must win four straight times against a Rockies team that is the first since the 1935 Chicago Cubs to win at least 20 of 21 games after Sept. 1, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
They haven't looked back, sweeping past Philadelphia and taking the first three against Arizona.
They will try to sweep the Diamondbacks on Monday night when Franklin Morales faces Arizona's Micah Owings in a matchup of rookies who have never faced each other's teams.
The Rockies, who this season set a major league record for fielding percentage, turned three double plays in the first three innings.
"When you can take the sting out of them early ... I think it helped our confidence," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team to overcome a 3-0 hole to win a best-of-seven postseason series. Boston did it in the ALCS against the Yankees.
"Until they win four and we can't win four at once. We've just got to get one on the board first," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "That's what we've been trying to do all year."
Torrealba connected in the sixth inning, three pitches after watching one of Livan Hernandez's trademark "eephus" offerings poke across the plate for a strike -- so slow it didn't register on the stadium scoreboard radar.
Hernandez said he knew better than to throw an inside fastball to his buddy that he played with in San Francisco, but he had used all the pitches in his bag of tricks.
"It's the last pitch I want to throw," Hernandez said. "Yorvit is one of my best friends in baseball and I know he can handle the fastball inside very good. It's just the situation. I'd thrown everything: foul, foul. I know he can hit the fastball inside. Trust me, and he hit it out."
After a 60 mph bender that he fought off for a foul, Torrealba hit a fastball 402 feet into the left-field seats, then raced around the bases pumping his fists and hooting and hollering.
"He worked me really well all season long. He tried to throw me a fastball inside, and it stayed over the plate and I hit it really good," Torrealba said.
Torrealba, who is 8-for-21 in the playoffs with seven RBIs, nearly had a home run in the third when he doubled off the center-field wall. The stadium's pyrotechnics operator thought it was gone and set off some fireworks as Torrealba pulled into second base.
The real fireworks came three innings later from Torrealba, who had just eight home runs in the regular season.
"One pitch, one bad pitch all night," lamented D-backs catcher Miguel Montero.
"That's kind of been the theme of this series so far. They've gotten that one big hit where we haven't," Melvin said.
Holliday's homer in the first inning was the first by either team in this series. Hernandez fell to 7-3 lifetime in the playoffs, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Fogg, who won Game 2 of the division series over Philadelphia in relief of Morales, scattered seven hits, including rookie Mark Reynolds' solo home run in the fourth, in six stellar innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.
With the gametime temperature hovering at 43 degrees -- and quickly dipping into the 30s -- and a light drizzle falling, the crowd showed up wearing fleece jackets, gloves, wool caps and scarves, looking like they were headed for the ski slopes west of Denver, where it was indeed snowing.
Even Montero wore a ski cap beneath his catcher's helmet.
It was only fitting that the Rockies sent a pitcher named Fogg to the mound to deal with the elements in the first NLCS game in Denver in franchise history. The Rockies have lost just once since Sept. 16, and this win at Coors Field was their ninth straight victory overall.
A cool drizzle fell all day and continued into the evening. The grounds crew didn't even remove the tarp until an hour before the game. In between innings, they brought out bags of dry dirt to keep the infield from getting too slick. In the fifth, the crews poured a wheelbarrow full of "diamond dust" around home plate.
The TBS broadcast mentioned how the grounds crew ran out of the quick-dry dirt and started calling around. They said they found some in a warehouse and showed a truck rolling up to the stadium with extra bags.
Holliday, with only two other hits in this series, neither of which left the infield, put Colorado ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a high drive. Left fielder Eric Byrnes crashed into the wall chasing the ball, much to the delight of the crowd that razzed him every chance they got.
Forty-eight hours earlier, Byrnes suggested the Rockies were a lucky bunch who had actually been outplayed by the Diamondbacks in this series.
Although that drew the ire of the fans, Rockies rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said there was some truth to Byrnes' comments "and they can outplay us all four games. If we end up winning the series, I'll be fine with that."
Reynolds hit a 422-foot solo shot in the fourth to tie it at 1-all, sending a first-pitch breaking ball from Fogg halfway up into the left-field seats to quiet the sellout crowd of 50,137.
Jeremy Affeldt threw the seventh, Brian Fuentes the eighth and Manny Corpas the ninth for his fourth save of the playoffs. In Game 2 at Arizona, Corpas blew a save chance in the ninth inning.
The Rockies are trying for their first NL pennant in the franchise's 15-year history, and history appears solidly on their side.
"Nothing has gone our way so far," Byrnes said. "For whatever reason, that's the way it's been."
Notes
Before the Rockies, the last team to put together a 19-1 run was the 1977 Kansas City Royals, and Hurdle made his major league debut for the Royals during that stretch. ... Colorado is the second team in NL history to open the postseason with six straight wins, joining the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, which went 7-0 in the playoffs, sweeping the Phillies and Yankees.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Indians 13, Red Sox 6 (11 innings)
BOSTON (AP) -- Trot Nixon spent 13 years in the Red Sox organization trying to prove he could hit lefties.
That ought to be pretty clear to everyone now.
The longtime Boston outfielder snapped an extra-inning tie with a pinch-hit single, and the Cleveland Indians scored a record-setting seven runs in the 11th to beat the Red Sox 13-6 early Sunday and even the AL championship series at a game apiece.
"I think we all know how a player can cross over to the dark side, but I fully expect that I'm the enemy coming in here," Nixon said. "I was excited to finally get in there at 1:30 in the morning."
The anticipated pitching matchup of postseason star Curt Schilling and 19-game winner Fausto Carmona fizzled into a stalemate that lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes before Joe Borowski got Julio Lugo to ground into a game-ending double play.
The best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday night, when Red Sox rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Jake Westbrook.
"We'll go have our workout in about 10 hours," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It would be a nice idea if you could run through the postseason without losing. I don't know how realistic that is."
Manny Ramirez set a record with his 23rd postseason homer, and Mike Lowell followed with a shot that gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead in the fifth and a chance to take control of the series.
Then their big bats finally went quiet, and Boston dropped to 4-1 in the playoffs.
Tom Mastny got the win and deserved it: He retired David Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell in order in the 10th -- a task few pitchers would relish.
"I really didn't have a choice, did I?" Mastny said with a smile. "It's what we play for. It's exciting. It happened to be the heart of their order."
With Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon done after pitching two innings, Eric Gagne came in for the 11th.
The trade deadline acquisition fanned Casey Blake to start the inning, then gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
Nixon, the seventh overall pick in the 1993 draft, singled to right-center off Javier Lopez.
"I didn't hit it hard, but I hit it where I needed to," Nixon said.
It was his seventh postseason hit against a lefty in 132 at-bats.
"I've struggled at times against left-handers," Nixon added. "But I felt good. I felt like the first pitch I saw, I saw real well. You know, for some reason, I just felt a calmness out there in the batter's box."
The Indians, handcuffed by Josh Beckett and the Boston bullpen in Friday's opener, weren't done.
After a run-scoring wild pitch and Ryan Garko's RBI single chased Lopez, Jon Lester came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez -- the outfielder who squeezed Nixon out of the starting lineup -- that made it 13-6.
"Trot hasn't been playing much, but he's kept working hard," Garko said.
The seven runs for Cleveland were the most by a team in one extra inning in postseason history.
A career .224 hitter against lefties, Nixon was allowed to leave as a free agent last winter so the Red Sox could pursue J.D. Drew. But Drew also struggled during his first season in Boston and was replaced in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALCS against lefty C.C. Sabathia.
Nixon batted .251 with three homers and 31 RBIs this year, but didn't drive in a run after July 29 as Gutierrez took over the everyday duties. Nixon played one game in the first-round series against the New York Yankees, facing Roger Clemens and going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
Even when Nixon is out of the lineup, Indians manager Eric Wedge is glad he's around.
"He's taught a lot of our young players what it means to be a leader," Wedge said. "You've got to be your strongest when other people are sometimes at their weakest, and you've got to pick people up. Trot's season this year, whether he's playing or not playing, he's been very consistent in that clubhouse, on that bench."
Now, Cleveland hopes Westbrook, its No. 3 starter, can do what co-aces Sabathia and Carmona couldn't: Keep Ortiz and Ramirez off base, or at least keep Lowell from driving them in.
The third baseman, who had a career-high 120 RBIs protecting Ortiz and Ramirez in the lineup, has driven home a run in all five Boston playoff games. On Saturday, he hit a bases-loaded single in the third to knock in two runs and then joined Ramirez in back-to-back homers -- and curtain calls -- in the fifth when the Red Sox briefly took a 6-5 lead.
The Indians tied it in the sixth on Gutierrez's RBI groundout.
Ramirez's homer broke a postseason mark he had shared with former Yankees star Bernie Williams. The left fielder, who tipped his cap to the crowd when the accomplishment was noted on the scoreboard, also drew his third bases-loaded walk in two days, setting the record for one postseason.
Ortiz, who walked in the first and singled in the third, tied a postseason record by reaching base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before grounding into a fielder's choice in the fifth. But the big slugger hustled down the line to beat out a potential double play before Ramirez went deep.
Schilling made his first playoff appearance at Fenway Park since his second bloody sock outing, Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, when he took the mound with a surgically repaired ankle and allowed the St. Louis Cardinals just one unearned run in six innings.
He pitched seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in the first-round clincher.
But the Indians got to him quickly.
"Everything about this one falls on me," Schilling said. "It's about me coming up small in a big game."
Sizemore doubled leading off the game and scored on Victor Martinez's double. After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the third, Peralta put Cleveland back on top with a three-run homer to center in the fourth.
Sizemore made it 5-3 with his solo shot in the fifth, then Travis Hafner and Martinez reached on consecutive singles with two outs and that was all for Schilling. It was the second-shortest postseason start of his career, and his postseason ERA went from 1.93 to 2.53.
"We put together a great inning to take a lead, and I forced our bullpen into a situation. You're asking your bullpen to put up a lot of zeros and it's not fair," Schilling said.
Carmona also was chased in the fifth. He pitched nine innings of three-hit ball in "The Bug Game," an extra-inning victory over the Yankees in the division series.
That ought to be pretty clear to everyone now.
The longtime Boston outfielder snapped an extra-inning tie with a pinch-hit single, and the Cleveland Indians scored a record-setting seven runs in the 11th to beat the Red Sox 13-6 early Sunday and even the AL championship series at a game apiece.
"I think we all know how a player can cross over to the dark side, but I fully expect that I'm the enemy coming in here," Nixon said. "I was excited to finally get in there at 1:30 in the morning."
The anticipated pitching matchup of postseason star Curt Schilling and 19-game winner Fausto Carmona fizzled into a stalemate that lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes before Joe Borowski got Julio Lugo to ground into a game-ending double play.
The best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday night, when Red Sox rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Jake Westbrook.
"We'll go have our workout in about 10 hours," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It would be a nice idea if you could run through the postseason without losing. I don't know how realistic that is."
Manny Ramirez set a record with his 23rd postseason homer, and Mike Lowell followed with a shot that gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead in the fifth and a chance to take control of the series.
Then their big bats finally went quiet, and Boston dropped to 4-1 in the playoffs.
Tom Mastny got the win and deserved it: He retired David Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell in order in the 10th -- a task few pitchers would relish.
"I really didn't have a choice, did I?" Mastny said with a smile. "It's what we play for. It's exciting. It happened to be the heart of their order."
With Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon done after pitching two innings, Eric Gagne came in for the 11th.
The trade deadline acquisition fanned Casey Blake to start the inning, then gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
Nixon, the seventh overall pick in the 1993 draft, singled to right-center off Javier Lopez.
"I didn't hit it hard, but I hit it where I needed to," Nixon said.
It was his seventh postseason hit against a lefty in 132 at-bats.
"I've struggled at times against left-handers," Nixon added. "But I felt good. I felt like the first pitch I saw, I saw real well. You know, for some reason, I just felt a calmness out there in the batter's box."
The Indians, handcuffed by Josh Beckett and the Boston bullpen in Friday's opener, weren't done.
After a run-scoring wild pitch and Ryan Garko's RBI single chased Lopez, Jon Lester came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez -- the outfielder who squeezed Nixon out of the starting lineup -- that made it 13-6.
"Trot hasn't been playing much, but he's kept working hard," Garko said.
The seven runs for Cleveland were the most by a team in one extra inning in postseason history.
A career .224 hitter against lefties, Nixon was allowed to leave as a free agent last winter so the Red Sox could pursue J.D. Drew. But Drew also struggled during his first season in Boston and was replaced in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALCS against lefty C.C. Sabathia.
Nixon batted .251 with three homers and 31 RBIs this year, but didn't drive in a run after July 29 as Gutierrez took over the everyday duties. Nixon played one game in the first-round series against the New York Yankees, facing Roger Clemens and going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
Even when Nixon is out of the lineup, Indians manager Eric Wedge is glad he's around.
"He's taught a lot of our young players what it means to be a leader," Wedge said. "You've got to be your strongest when other people are sometimes at their weakest, and you've got to pick people up. Trot's season this year, whether he's playing or not playing, he's been very consistent in that clubhouse, on that bench."
Now, Cleveland hopes Westbrook, its No. 3 starter, can do what co-aces Sabathia and Carmona couldn't: Keep Ortiz and Ramirez off base, or at least keep Lowell from driving them in.
The third baseman, who had a career-high 120 RBIs protecting Ortiz and Ramirez in the lineup, has driven home a run in all five Boston playoff games. On Saturday, he hit a bases-loaded single in the third to knock in two runs and then joined Ramirez in back-to-back homers -- and curtain calls -- in the fifth when the Red Sox briefly took a 6-5 lead.
The Indians tied it in the sixth on Gutierrez's RBI groundout.
Ramirez's homer broke a postseason mark he had shared with former Yankees star Bernie Williams. The left fielder, who tipped his cap to the crowd when the accomplishment was noted on the scoreboard, also drew his third bases-loaded walk in two days, setting the record for one postseason.
Ortiz, who walked in the first and singled in the third, tied a postseason record by reaching base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before grounding into a fielder's choice in the fifth. But the big slugger hustled down the line to beat out a potential double play before Ramirez went deep.
Schilling made his first playoff appearance at Fenway Park since his second bloody sock outing, Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, when he took the mound with a surgically repaired ankle and allowed the St. Louis Cardinals just one unearned run in six innings.
He pitched seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in the first-round clincher.
But the Indians got to him quickly.
"Everything about this one falls on me," Schilling said. "It's about me coming up small in a big game."
Sizemore doubled leading off the game and scored on Victor Martinez's double. After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the third, Peralta put Cleveland back on top with a three-run homer to center in the fourth.
Sizemore made it 5-3 with his solo shot in the fifth, then Travis Hafner and Martinez reached on consecutive singles with two outs and that was all for Schilling. It was the second-shortest postseason start of his career, and his postseason ERA went from 1.93 to 2.53.
"We put together a great inning to take a lead, and I forced our bullpen into a situation. You're asking your bullpen to put up a lot of zeros and it's not fair," Schilling said.
Carmona also was chased in the fifth. He pitched nine innings of three-hit ball in "The Bug Game," an extra-inning victory over the Yankees in the division series.
Baker, Reds agree to three-year deal
ESPN.com news services
Dusty Baker has agreed to become the next manager of the Cincinnati Reds and is expected to be introduced to Cincinnati at a news conference Monday.
Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, accepted a three-year deal to skipper the team, beginning with the upcoming season. He will continue to work with ESPN through this season's League Championship Series and World Series.
The 58-year-old Baker's contract wasn't renewed by the Cubs after they finished last in 2006. Lou Piniella replaced him and led the Cubs to the division title this season. Chicago was swept in its first-round playoff series against Arizona.
By choosing Baker, the Reds have broken with their recent history of picking managers with little experience. They also have hired someone with a history of handling superstars -- Baker managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco and Sammy Sosa in Chicago.
Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL Championship Series in his first season.
Chicago had another winning record in 2004, its first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades. But the team unraveled in his last two years, and the Cubs let his contract expire after an NL-worst record of 66-96 in 2006.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Dusty Baker has agreed to become the next manager of the Cincinnati Reds and is expected to be introduced to Cincinnati at a news conference Monday.
Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, accepted a three-year deal to skipper the team, beginning with the upcoming season. He will continue to work with ESPN through this season's League Championship Series and World Series.
The 58-year-old Baker's contract wasn't renewed by the Cubs after they finished last in 2006. Lou Piniella replaced him and led the Cubs to the division title this season. Chicago was swept in its first-round playoff series against Arizona.
By choosing Baker, the Reds have broken with their recent history of picking managers with little experience. They also have hired someone with a history of handling superstars -- Baker managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco and Sammy Sosa in Chicago.
Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL Championship Series in his first season.
Chicago had another winning record in 2004, its first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades. But the team unraveled in his last two years, and the Cubs let his contract expire after an NL-worst record of 66-96 in 2006.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mazzone ousted as pitching coach of Orioles; no replacement named
By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer
October 12, 2007
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Leo Mazzone was fired as pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, less than a month after completing his second season with a struggling staff.
Mazzone worked wonders with the Atlanta Braves pitching staff from June 1990 through the end of the 2005 season but could not duplicate that success with the Orioles. Baltimore ranked 29th among 30 teams with a 5.17 ERA and yielded more walks (696) than any major league club.
"I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now."
Mazzone, who turns 59 on Tuesday, had one year left on the three-year contract he signed before the 2006 season. He was lured from Atlanta by then-Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, a longtime friend who was fired on June 18.
"This is just the business of baseball," Mazzone said. "I had a strong inclination that 2007 was going to be my last year in Baltimore when Sam Perlozzo was released and Dave Trembley was hired.
"While disappointed at not having the opportunity to play a role in the reconstruction of the Oriole pitcher development program, I understand and wish the team great success. I want to thank the Orioles organization for the opportunity to coach some great young talent. And I especially want to thank the fans in Baltimore who always made me feel at home."
Mazzone was proud of the work he did with starters Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen and Jeremy Guthrie, who have developed into solid major league pitchers. But he never could get through to Daniel Cabrera and some of the other pitchers on the youthful staff.
He hoped to finish what he started next year.
"I want to go until I'm 62, and I hope the rest of the way it's in a Baltimore uniform," he said during the final week of the regular season. "I mean this place, it's my home state and this is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States. All we have to do is start winning, and you'll never be able to get a ticket. These fans deserve that. They treat everybody very graciously.
"I expected to hear a few nasty things going out to the mound every once in a while. I don't hear them. They keep telling me to keep the faith, you're doing a good job. It's a wonderful place to be. Things have to be done to put this thing together."
Under Mazzone, the Braves led the NL in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons. He helped develop six Cy Young award winners and had 10 different pitchers named to the All-Star team, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:46 pm, EDT
October 12, 2007
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Leo Mazzone was fired as pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, less than a month after completing his second season with a struggling staff.
Mazzone worked wonders with the Atlanta Braves pitching staff from June 1990 through the end of the 2005 season but could not duplicate that success with the Orioles. Baltimore ranked 29th among 30 teams with a 5.17 ERA and yielded more walks (696) than any major league club.
"I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now."
Mazzone, who turns 59 on Tuesday, had one year left on the three-year contract he signed before the 2006 season. He was lured from Atlanta by then-Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, a longtime friend who was fired on June 18.
"This is just the business of baseball," Mazzone said. "I had a strong inclination that 2007 was going to be my last year in Baltimore when Sam Perlozzo was released and Dave Trembley was hired.
"While disappointed at not having the opportunity to play a role in the reconstruction of the Oriole pitcher development program, I understand and wish the team great success. I want to thank the Orioles organization for the opportunity to coach some great young talent. And I especially want to thank the fans in Baltimore who always made me feel at home."
Mazzone was proud of the work he did with starters Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen and Jeremy Guthrie, who have developed into solid major league pitchers. But he never could get through to Daniel Cabrera and some of the other pitchers on the youthful staff.
He hoped to finish what he started next year.
"I want to go until I'm 62, and I hope the rest of the way it's in a Baltimore uniform," he said during the final week of the regular season. "I mean this place, it's my home state and this is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States. All we have to do is start winning, and you'll never be able to get a ticket. These fans deserve that. They treat everybody very graciously.
"I expected to hear a few nasty things going out to the mound every once in a while. I don't hear them. They keep telling me to keep the faith, you're doing a good job. It's a wonderful place to be. Things have to be done to put this thing together."
Under Mazzone, the Braves led the NL in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons. He helped develop six Cy Young award winners and had 10 different pitchers named to the All-Star team, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:46 pm, EDT
John Schuerholz stepping aside as Atlanta Braves GM, becomes president
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 12, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- Fourteen straight division titles. Five trips to the World Series. And just one regret.
John Schuerholz stepped aside Thursday after 17 years as general manager of the Atlanta Braves wishing his team had captured more than one Series title during their unprecedented run of division titles.
Otherwise, he's perfectly content with his legacy.
"What else is there?" said Schuerholz, who will become team president and turn over the GM duties to his right-hand man, Frank Wren. "It would have been, unequivocally, the complete validation of the grand nature of this franchise. Nobody could have said anything about the Atlanta Braves and ended the sentence with the word 'but."'
After turning 67 last week and admittedly worn down by the grind of more than a quarter-century as a general manager, Schuerholz decided it was time to go.
He'll still be a key figure in the organization, but will no longer make the call on decisions such as trades, free-agent signings and deciding on the 25-man roster.
"The hardest thing for me was knowing I would have to separate myself from what I love most and what I do best," Schuerholz said. "Team building. That's working with scouts, getting judgments, analyzing reports, asking questions, listening to answers and analyzing information, all of that. I love that. I think I've done it fairly well."
Indeed, he has.
Schuerholz came to the Braves in 1991 after nine years as Kansas City's GM, taking over a last-place team that had signs of potential: pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery were just starting their careers.
The new boss quickly flushed out the roster with established veterans such as Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Rafael Belliard, a combination that took Atlanta from worst to first in the NL West and all the way to a Game 7 loss of a classic World Series against Minnesota.
Even though Smoltz is the only player who's been with the Braves throughout the Schuerholz era, the general manager kept a steady flow of talent moving through Atlanta.
Greg Maddux and Andres Galarraga were signed as free agents. Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield came to the team through trades. Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur worked their way up through the farm system.
And the division titles kept coming with numbing regularity, 14 in a row with an ever-changing roster, until the streak finally ended with a third-place finish in 2005. No other major-league team in one of the four top sports has won that many division titles in a row.
"Obviously, John has done an unbelievable job with the organization," Francoeur said. "He definitely deserves to retire and enjoy what he's accomplished. It's sad, because we didn't want to see him go."
Actually, he's not going anywhere. Schuerholz signed a four-year contract and remains second in command to chairman Terry McGuirk, but will be more involved in the business side of things.
Wren, a former GM with the Baltimore Orioles, spent the past eight years working as Schuerholz's assistant and hoping to eventually replace him.
"Our styles are different," said Wren, who also got a four-year deal. "But our philosophies are very, very similar."
Wren only got word Tuesday that Schuerholz was looking to move upstairs, even though the idea was first proposed by McGuirk six months ago. Schuerholz broke the news to his successor over iced tea after they watched a developmental league game in central Florida.
"I really had no inkling this was coming," Wren said.
The 49-year-old Wren turned down an offer to become Pittsburgh's general manager a few years ago and didn't pursue a couple of similar opportunities. Now, he's got the job he really wanted.
"We're going to keep doing things the way we've been doing them," Wren said. "The Braves way. It's been working pretty well."
While Schuerholz is willing to provide advice in player matters, calling himself a "mentor" and a "sounding board," he made it clear that he won't be looking over Wren's shoulder.
Schuerholz's door will be open. He won't go knocking on Wren's unless asked.
"I let people establish themselves, do their jobs and support them," Schuerholz said.
Atlanta's only World Series title came in 1995, a six-game victory over the Cleveland Indians that gave the city its first, and still only, major sports championship.
Four other times during the streak, the Braves lost in the World Series. They also were the losing team in four NL championship series, and were eliminated four more times in the division series.
After the team's ownership passed from Ted Turner to Time Warner, the Braves began to cut payroll though they remain one of the highest-spending teams in baseball. McGuirk said Schuerholz's new role had nothing to do with another ownership change from Time Warner to Liberty Media.
This season, the Braves missed the playoffs for the second year in a row with another third-place finish in the NL East.
Still, the postseason failures and recent slide do little to diminish Schuerholz's reputation for assembling talented teams year after year, with manager Bobby Cox running things in the dugout throughout the remarkable run.
The 66-year-old Cox has a year left on his contract and hasn't made any decision about whether he'll return beyond 2008. But the change in GMs shouldn't have an impact.
"I think everything's great," Cox said when reached on his cell phone. "Frank is extremely capable and a huge part of what we've done through the years already. The good thing is both of them are still here. It's business as usual."
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:33 am, EDT
October 12, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- Fourteen straight division titles. Five trips to the World Series. And just one regret.
John Schuerholz stepped aside Thursday after 17 years as general manager of the Atlanta Braves wishing his team had captured more than one Series title during their unprecedented run of division titles.
Otherwise, he's perfectly content with his legacy.
"What else is there?" said Schuerholz, who will become team president and turn over the GM duties to his right-hand man, Frank Wren. "It would have been, unequivocally, the complete validation of the grand nature of this franchise. Nobody could have said anything about the Atlanta Braves and ended the sentence with the word 'but."'
After turning 67 last week and admittedly worn down by the grind of more than a quarter-century as a general manager, Schuerholz decided it was time to go.
He'll still be a key figure in the organization, but will no longer make the call on decisions such as trades, free-agent signings and deciding on the 25-man roster.
"The hardest thing for me was knowing I would have to separate myself from what I love most and what I do best," Schuerholz said. "Team building. That's working with scouts, getting judgments, analyzing reports, asking questions, listening to answers and analyzing information, all of that. I love that. I think I've done it fairly well."
Indeed, he has.
Schuerholz came to the Braves in 1991 after nine years as Kansas City's GM, taking over a last-place team that had signs of potential: pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery were just starting their careers.
The new boss quickly flushed out the roster with established veterans such as Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Rafael Belliard, a combination that took Atlanta from worst to first in the NL West and all the way to a Game 7 loss of a classic World Series against Minnesota.
Even though Smoltz is the only player who's been with the Braves throughout the Schuerholz era, the general manager kept a steady flow of talent moving through Atlanta.
Greg Maddux and Andres Galarraga were signed as free agents. Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield came to the team through trades. Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur worked their way up through the farm system.
And the division titles kept coming with numbing regularity, 14 in a row with an ever-changing roster, until the streak finally ended with a third-place finish in 2005. No other major-league team in one of the four top sports has won that many division titles in a row.
"Obviously, John has done an unbelievable job with the organization," Francoeur said. "He definitely deserves to retire and enjoy what he's accomplished. It's sad, because we didn't want to see him go."
Actually, he's not going anywhere. Schuerholz signed a four-year contract and remains second in command to chairman Terry McGuirk, but will be more involved in the business side of things.
Wren, a former GM with the Baltimore Orioles, spent the past eight years working as Schuerholz's assistant and hoping to eventually replace him.
"Our styles are different," said Wren, who also got a four-year deal. "But our philosophies are very, very similar."
Wren only got word Tuesday that Schuerholz was looking to move upstairs, even though the idea was first proposed by McGuirk six months ago. Schuerholz broke the news to his successor over iced tea after they watched a developmental league game in central Florida.
"I really had no inkling this was coming," Wren said.
The 49-year-old Wren turned down an offer to become Pittsburgh's general manager a few years ago and didn't pursue a couple of similar opportunities. Now, he's got the job he really wanted.
"We're going to keep doing things the way we've been doing them," Wren said. "The Braves way. It's been working pretty well."
While Schuerholz is willing to provide advice in player matters, calling himself a "mentor" and a "sounding board," he made it clear that he won't be looking over Wren's shoulder.
Schuerholz's door will be open. He won't go knocking on Wren's unless asked.
"I let people establish themselves, do their jobs and support them," Schuerholz said.
Atlanta's only World Series title came in 1995, a six-game victory over the Cleveland Indians that gave the city its first, and still only, major sports championship.
Four other times during the streak, the Braves lost in the World Series. They also were the losing team in four NL championship series, and were eliminated four more times in the division series.
After the team's ownership passed from Ted Turner to Time Warner, the Braves began to cut payroll though they remain one of the highest-spending teams in baseball. McGuirk said Schuerholz's new role had nothing to do with another ownership change from Time Warner to Liberty Media.
This season, the Braves missed the playoffs for the second year in a row with another third-place finish in the NL East.
Still, the postseason failures and recent slide do little to diminish Schuerholz's reputation for assembling talented teams year after year, with manager Bobby Cox running things in the dugout throughout the remarkable run.
The 66-year-old Cox has a year left on his contract and hasn't made any decision about whether he'll return beyond 2008. But the change in GMs shouldn't have an impact.
"I think everything's great," Cox said when reached on his cell phone. "Frank is extremely capable and a huge part of what we've done through the years already. The good thing is both of them are still here. It's business as usual."
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:33 am, EDT
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Baseball Is Given Evidence of Player Receiving Drugs
Although baseball has come forth and introduced a somewhat stringent steroid testing policy, it still is meager and incompetent compared to that of other sporting institutions.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: October 11, 2007
Major League Baseball has been given documentary evidence by the Albany County district attorney’s office that a player linked in published reports to shipments of performance-enhancing drugs did indeed receive a banned substance, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.
The district attorney’s office is leading the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando, Fla.-based company that illegally provided clients with performance-enhancing drugs. Investigators are expected to provide baseball with evidence about other players in the coming weeks, an official affiliated with baseball said.
The law enforcement official and the baseball official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Baseball officials say they believe they need documentary evidence, thought to be shipping or pharmacy records, to ensure that an arbitrator will uphold whatever disciplinary action they take.
Major League Baseball introduced anonymous testing for steroids in 2003 and has increasingly toughened the policy since.
The periods in which the players are believed to have received drugs range from 2003 to 2006, and baseball plans to use the testing policy in place at the time a player received a shipment as a nonbinding guideline when determining discipline.
The policy in 2004 allowed a player to test positive for steroids once without being publicly identified or suspended, with only counseling being mandated. A second positive test required a suspension, but no major league player in 2004 was publicly identified with a positive test.
In 2005, the policy was toughened and first-time offenders were identified and suspended.
Although there is no reliable test for human growth hormone, the league banned its use before the 2005 season. That year the penalty for a first positive test for steroids was increased to 50 games from 10.
Three players — Jerry Hairston Jr., Gary Matthews Jr. and Rick Ankiel — reportedly received H.G.H. before 2005 and so are unlikely to be disciplined.
However, three other players could face suspensions if baseball can establish their guilt.
Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons reportedly received six shipments of H.G.H. and two shipments of steroids between October 2003 and July 2005.
Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus reportedly received multiple shipments of steroids between September 2003 and May 2004, and Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis allegedly was sent shipments of steroids between 2003 and 2004.
The identity of the player tied to the documentary evidence, one of the three players linked to the steroid shipments, is not known. None of the three have been publicly linked to a positive test.
Although baseball’s testing policy does not expressly address how a player should be penalized for having received a shipment of a banned substance, the commissioner can suspend the player based on just cause.
The players union can appeal a suspension on a player’s behalf.
Major League Baseball officials contend they can discipline a player more harshly if he is caught violating drug policy outside the testing system that was collectively bargained between the union and the league. The union’s position is that possession is less severe than a positive test; it has indicated it would likely fight harsher penalties.
None of players linked to the shipments are in the playoffs, and baseball will probably not announce any suspensions until after the World Series.
The district attorney’s office said in March that it would provide Major League Baseball and the National Football League with a list of players connected to shipments from the pharmacy. The N.F.L. was given the names of a coach, a player and a team doctor who were tied to shipments.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: October 11, 2007
Major League Baseball has been given documentary evidence by the Albany County district attorney’s office that a player linked in published reports to shipments of performance-enhancing drugs did indeed receive a banned substance, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.
The district attorney’s office is leading the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando, Fla.-based company that illegally provided clients with performance-enhancing drugs. Investigators are expected to provide baseball with evidence about other players in the coming weeks, an official affiliated with baseball said.
The law enforcement official and the baseball official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Baseball officials say they believe they need documentary evidence, thought to be shipping or pharmacy records, to ensure that an arbitrator will uphold whatever disciplinary action they take.
Major League Baseball introduced anonymous testing for steroids in 2003 and has increasingly toughened the policy since.
The periods in which the players are believed to have received drugs range from 2003 to 2006, and baseball plans to use the testing policy in place at the time a player received a shipment as a nonbinding guideline when determining discipline.
The policy in 2004 allowed a player to test positive for steroids once without being publicly identified or suspended, with only counseling being mandated. A second positive test required a suspension, but no major league player in 2004 was publicly identified with a positive test.
In 2005, the policy was toughened and first-time offenders were identified and suspended.
Although there is no reliable test for human growth hormone, the league banned its use before the 2005 season. That year the penalty for a first positive test for steroids was increased to 50 games from 10.
Three players — Jerry Hairston Jr., Gary Matthews Jr. and Rick Ankiel — reportedly received H.G.H. before 2005 and so are unlikely to be disciplined.
However, three other players could face suspensions if baseball can establish their guilt.
Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons reportedly received six shipments of H.G.H. and two shipments of steroids between October 2003 and July 2005.
Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus reportedly received multiple shipments of steroids between September 2003 and May 2004, and Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis allegedly was sent shipments of steroids between 2003 and 2004.
The identity of the player tied to the documentary evidence, one of the three players linked to the steroid shipments, is not known. None of the three have been publicly linked to a positive test.
Although baseball’s testing policy does not expressly address how a player should be penalized for having received a shipment of a banned substance, the commissioner can suspend the player based on just cause.
The players union can appeal a suspension on a player’s behalf.
Major League Baseball officials contend they can discipline a player more harshly if he is caught violating drug policy outside the testing system that was collectively bargained between the union and the league. The union’s position is that possession is less severe than a positive test; it has indicated it would likely fight harsher penalties.
None of players linked to the shipments are in the playoffs, and baseball will probably not announce any suspensions until after the World Series.
The district attorney’s office said in March that it would provide Major League Baseball and the National Football League with a list of players connected to shipments from the pharmacy. The N.F.L. was given the names of a coach, a player and a team doctor who were tied to shipments.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Extension shows Phillies' faith in manager Manuel after division title
By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
October 10, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Charlie Manuel might not be the only one earning a big contract from the NL East champs.
Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed their manager to a contact extension that could keep him in red pinstripes through the end of the decade, they're prepared to bump their payroll to a franchise high and ensure he has a contending team.
OK, so the payroll won't rival what the New York Yankees pay out every year, but pushing the salaries well past the nine-figure mark might be enough for the Phillies to keep All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand and add the pitching help they need.
Team president David Montgomery said on Wednesday that the Phillies spent about $103 million in player salaries in 2007 and expects next year's figure to be "in that ballpark, or higher."
The Phillies' opening day payroll has stayed steady at about $90-95 million the last few years. But with a need to sign key free agents like Rowand and reliever J.C. Romero, MVP Ryan Howard eligible for salary arbitration, and holes at third base and in the bullpen, the Phillies will likely have to go deep past that $100 million mark to make another run at the postseason.
General manager Pat Gillick expected ownership to be aggressive.
"It just depends on the players available," he said.
Their first choice would be keeping Rowand in center. Rowand was an instant fan favorite with his diving catches and scrappy attitude, and he emerged as a perfect fit in the clubhouse. But the Phillies might not be willing to give him a deal similar to the $30 million, three-year contract extension Arizona's Eric Byrnes signed.
"We like Aaron. Aaron likes us. Where the road leads us, I don't know," Montgomery said.
If Rowand leaves, they could fill his spot by moving speedy Shane Victorino from right to center or use Michael Bourn in center. But Gillick said starting next season with an outfield combination of Jayson Werth, Bourn and Victorino would "be a stretch."
Gillick's wish list also includes an upgrade at third base over the trio of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Abraham Nunez.
"We need to improve third base," Gillick said.
At least the Phillies are secure in who will manage the team.
Often ridiculed for his accent or his decision making, no one could doubt the way the Phillies responded to the folksy Manuel.
Manuel agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010 on Tuesday night after he led them to their first NL East title since 1993.
"The power the manager has, the hammer, is the length of his deal," Manuel said.
Manuel was rewarded for rallying the Phillies to the division title on the final day of the season. It took a historic collapse by the New York Mets -- they became the first team in major league history to blow a seven-game lead with 17 remaining -- for the Phillies to finish one game ahead in the standings.
The Phillies were swept 3-0 by the Colorado Rockies in Philadelphia's first postseason appearance in 14 years. The Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
"Winning the East was very big for us this year," Manuel said. "If we can improve our team a little bit, I see no reason in the world we can't finish our business."
The 63-year-old Manuel led the Phillies to an 89-73 record in his third season with the team.
"This is the best attitude, best chemistry of any team I've been around," Manuel said. "I'm very glad to be a big part of that."
Manuel, who previously managed the Cleveland Indians, is 262-224 in three years in Philadelphia. Among Phillies managers, Manuel reached 250 wins in the fewest games since Pat Moran managed the club from 1915-18.
"It never came to our mind that we'd make a change," Gillick said.
The Phillies fizzled in the playoffs and the league's highest-scoring team scored only eight runs in three games against Colorado and batted just .172 (16-for-93) with 26 strikeouts during the series.
The players, however, love Manuel, who hardly seemed bothered this season by his uncertain future. Manuel kept his team together through the slow start and injuries that decimated his staff.
The Phillies started 4-11 in April and, at one point, didn't have projected ace Freddy Garcia or Jon Lieber in the rotation and were without closers Tom Gordon and Brett Myers.
Both Garcia and Lieber went down for the season in June, and Gordon and Myers each missed two months. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, ace Cole Hamels, Victorino and Bourn and reliever Ryan Madson also missed significant time.
Manuel knows where he wants the Phillies to spend their free-agent bucks.
"We need a big pitcher to go with Hamels, for sure," he said.
Gillick and Manuel will discuss the future of the coaching staff this week.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 3:31 pm, EDT
October 10, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Charlie Manuel might not be the only one earning a big contract from the NL East champs.
Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed their manager to a contact extension that could keep him in red pinstripes through the end of the decade, they're prepared to bump their payroll to a franchise high and ensure he has a contending team.
OK, so the payroll won't rival what the New York Yankees pay out every year, but pushing the salaries well past the nine-figure mark might be enough for the Phillies to keep All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand and add the pitching help they need.
Team president David Montgomery said on Wednesday that the Phillies spent about $103 million in player salaries in 2007 and expects next year's figure to be "in that ballpark, or higher."
The Phillies' opening day payroll has stayed steady at about $90-95 million the last few years. But with a need to sign key free agents like Rowand and reliever J.C. Romero, MVP Ryan Howard eligible for salary arbitration, and holes at third base and in the bullpen, the Phillies will likely have to go deep past that $100 million mark to make another run at the postseason.
General manager Pat Gillick expected ownership to be aggressive.
"It just depends on the players available," he said.
Their first choice would be keeping Rowand in center. Rowand was an instant fan favorite with his diving catches and scrappy attitude, and he emerged as a perfect fit in the clubhouse. But the Phillies might not be willing to give him a deal similar to the $30 million, three-year contract extension Arizona's Eric Byrnes signed.
"We like Aaron. Aaron likes us. Where the road leads us, I don't know," Montgomery said.
If Rowand leaves, they could fill his spot by moving speedy Shane Victorino from right to center or use Michael Bourn in center. But Gillick said starting next season with an outfield combination of Jayson Werth, Bourn and Victorino would "be a stretch."
Gillick's wish list also includes an upgrade at third base over the trio of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Abraham Nunez.
"We need to improve third base," Gillick said.
At least the Phillies are secure in who will manage the team.
Often ridiculed for his accent or his decision making, no one could doubt the way the Phillies responded to the folksy Manuel.
Manuel agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010 on Tuesday night after he led them to their first NL East title since 1993.
"The power the manager has, the hammer, is the length of his deal," Manuel said.
Manuel was rewarded for rallying the Phillies to the division title on the final day of the season. It took a historic collapse by the New York Mets -- they became the first team in major league history to blow a seven-game lead with 17 remaining -- for the Phillies to finish one game ahead in the standings.
The Phillies were swept 3-0 by the Colorado Rockies in Philadelphia's first postseason appearance in 14 years. The Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
"Winning the East was very big for us this year," Manuel said. "If we can improve our team a little bit, I see no reason in the world we can't finish our business."
The 63-year-old Manuel led the Phillies to an 89-73 record in his third season with the team.
"This is the best attitude, best chemistry of any team I've been around," Manuel said. "I'm very glad to be a big part of that."
Manuel, who previously managed the Cleveland Indians, is 262-224 in three years in Philadelphia. Among Phillies managers, Manuel reached 250 wins in the fewest games since Pat Moran managed the club from 1915-18.
"It never came to our mind that we'd make a change," Gillick said.
The Phillies fizzled in the playoffs and the league's highest-scoring team scored only eight runs in three games against Colorado and batted just .172 (16-for-93) with 26 strikeouts during the series.
The players, however, love Manuel, who hardly seemed bothered this season by his uncertain future. Manuel kept his team together through the slow start and injuries that decimated his staff.
The Phillies started 4-11 in April and, at one point, didn't have projected ace Freddy Garcia or Jon Lieber in the rotation and were without closers Tom Gordon and Brett Myers.
Both Garcia and Lieber went down for the season in June, and Gordon and Myers each missed two months. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, ace Cole Hamels, Victorino and Bourn and reliever Ryan Madson also missed significant time.
Manuel knows where he wants the Phillies to spend their free-agent bucks.
"We need a big pitcher to go with Hamels, for sure," he said.
Gillick and Manuel will discuss the future of the coaching staff this week.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 3:31 pm, EDT
After strong division series ratings, championship series feature smaller-market teams
By RACHEL COHEN, AP Sports Writer
October 9, 2007
All those fans tuning into the National League division series games to see the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies received an introduction to the young, exciting teams that eliminated them.
Major League Baseball and Turner Sports executives now must hope the exposure translates into viewers for the NL championship series between two clubs with less tradition and from smaller markets: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
TBS's foray into televising playoff baseball drew strong ratings despite quick endings for the opening-round series. The 13 games attracted an average of 5.7 million viewers on the cable network. That was a 26 percent increase over last year's figures, which included games available to more people on over-the-air TV on Fox as well as cable broadcasts on ESPN.
"We are extremely ecstatic, if you will," Turner Sports president David Levy said Tuesday. "We didn't believe with three of the four series being sweeps that we'd get these kinds of numbers."
The division series included teams from the nation's four-largest TV markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The Yankees, Angels, Cubs and Phillies were all eliminated.
The Boston Red Sox, boasting a large national fan base and hailing from the seventh-largest market, remain. They are joined in the ALCS, which airs on Fox, by Cleveland (the No. 17 market). The Indians have the hook of not winning the World Series since 1948.
The NLCS on TBS pits the Diamondbacks (No. 12) against the Rockies (No. 18) -- both expansion franchises created in the last 14 years.
The Boston, Cleveland, Denver and Phoenix markets combine for 7.2 million households with televisions, according to Nielsen. That's fewer than the number in the New York area alone.
This year's NBA finals involving two smaller-market teams drew record-low ratings. Ratings for the Cleveland-San Antonio series were down 27 percent from the 2006 finals featuring Dallas and Miami. The Cleveland and San Antonio markets combine for 2.3 million households with televisions, compared with nearly 4 million between Dallas and Miami.
Levy is optimistic that the momentum of the division series will carry into the NLCS. He cited several factors for the strong ratings that he hopes will continue to hold true.
Later start times this resulted in fewer games being played while fans were at work. The large audiences of TBS and TNT meant that promotions for the playoffs reached a great number of viewers.
The sensitivity to scheduling is reflected in the NLCS games between two teams from the West starting at 8:37 p.m. or 10:18 p.m. EDT -- the first time baseball has scheduled West Coast night games in the LCS.
Beyond market sizes, the competitiveness of a series can make a considerable impact on ratings. An NLCS full of close finishes that goes to six or seven games would likely pull in the casual fan.
"As far as we're concerned," Levy said, "we've already hit a home run."
Updated on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 7:55 pm, EDT
October 9, 2007
All those fans tuning into the National League division series games to see the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies received an introduction to the young, exciting teams that eliminated them.
Major League Baseball and Turner Sports executives now must hope the exposure translates into viewers for the NL championship series between two clubs with less tradition and from smaller markets: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
TBS's foray into televising playoff baseball drew strong ratings despite quick endings for the opening-round series. The 13 games attracted an average of 5.7 million viewers on the cable network. That was a 26 percent increase over last year's figures, which included games available to more people on over-the-air TV on Fox as well as cable broadcasts on ESPN.
"We are extremely ecstatic, if you will," Turner Sports president David Levy said Tuesday. "We didn't believe with three of the four series being sweeps that we'd get these kinds of numbers."
The division series included teams from the nation's four-largest TV markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The Yankees, Angels, Cubs and Phillies were all eliminated.
The Boston Red Sox, boasting a large national fan base and hailing from the seventh-largest market, remain. They are joined in the ALCS, which airs on Fox, by Cleveland (the No. 17 market). The Indians have the hook of not winning the World Series since 1948.
The NLCS on TBS pits the Diamondbacks (No. 12) against the Rockies (No. 18) -- both expansion franchises created in the last 14 years.
The Boston, Cleveland, Denver and Phoenix markets combine for 7.2 million households with televisions, according to Nielsen. That's fewer than the number in the New York area alone.
This year's NBA finals involving two smaller-market teams drew record-low ratings. Ratings for the Cleveland-San Antonio series were down 27 percent from the 2006 finals featuring Dallas and Miami. The Cleveland and San Antonio markets combine for 2.3 million households with televisions, compared with nearly 4 million between Dallas and Miami.
Levy is optimistic that the momentum of the division series will carry into the NLCS. He cited several factors for the strong ratings that he hopes will continue to hold true.
Later start times this resulted in fewer games being played while fans were at work. The large audiences of TBS and TNT meant that promotions for the playoffs reached a great number of viewers.
The sensitivity to scheduling is reflected in the NLCS games between two teams from the West starting at 8:37 p.m. or 10:18 p.m. EDT -- the first time baseball has scheduled West Coast night games in the LCS.
Beyond market sizes, the competitiveness of a series can make a considerable impact on ratings. An NLCS full of close finishes that goes to six or seven games would likely pull in the casual fan.
"As far as we're concerned," Levy said, "we've already hit a home run."
Updated on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 7:55 pm, EDT
Rudy Giuliani - Booed By Yankees Fans
This is totally funny! Rudy Giuliani -- former New York Mayor and Presidential Candidate -- was booed at the New York Yankees game . Moreover, the blogger, as reported by FireDogLake, says that Rudy didn't seem to know the words to "God Bless America."
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
End of an era: Braves cut ties with center fielder Andruw Jones
After a disappointing and unproductive 2007 campaign, it will be difficult for Jones to receive the hefty contract that he's seeking.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
The Atlanta Braves are cutting ties with Andruw Jones, saying they can't afford to keep the perennial Gold Glove center fielder who's spent his entire career with the organization.
General manager John Schuerholz announced the decision Tuesday, shortly after breaking the news to Jones during a one-on-one meeting at Turner Field.
While hoping to stay in Atlanta, Jones wasn't caught off-guard by the team's stance. He made $13.5 million this season and was looking for a hefty raise despite slumping badly.
"I'm fine with it," Jones told The Associated Press when reached on his cell phone. "I'm appreciative of the chance they gave me to play for Atlanta all these years. I understand the decision they have to make. That's just the way it is. It's a business."
Indeed, the move was not unexpected as the 30-year-old Jones batted only .222 in the final season of his $75 million contract. He's eligible to file for free agency after the World Series.
"It just doesn't work for us," Schuerholz said. "It doesn't demean or diminish everything he's done, and I thank him for all his contributions. We all will have fond memories of him."
The Braves plan to use the money they'll save on Jones to bolster their starting rotation -- a glaring weakness beyond John Smoltz and Tim Hudson -- and to sign first baseman Mark Teixeira, who made $9 million this year and is eligible for arbitration.
Still, it was the end of an era in Atlanta. Jones first joined the Braves as a 19-year-old, hitting two homers in his first World Series game at Yankee Stadium in 1996. He has been one of the game's greatest defensive outfielders, winning nine straight Gold Gloves with his diving catches and over-the-wall grabs in center.
Jones would have preferred to stay with the Braves, but the team had no serious talks with his agent, Scott Boras.
"I thought there would be some negotiation or something," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur told the AP. "I guess that's what's so weird, that it happened so quick. It's obviously sad when you lose a teammate and good friend.
Jones was one of the game's top sluggers in 2005-06, combining for 92 homers and 257 RBIs, but his production tailed off dramatically this season. He fell to his worst average since becoming a full-time starter in 1997, with 26 homers and 94 RBIs.
Schuerholz said the team got an offer from Boras last December but quickly realized it was far more than anything they would consider.
Boras withdrew the offer, believed to be in the $20-million-a-year range, over the summer when the Braves never responded, Schuerholz said.
"What that did was to signal what we could fully expect," the GM said. Asked how much Boras was asking for, Schuerholz held his right hand over his head. "I can't reach that high," he quipped.
"It was so far removed from what we could even consider doing," Schuerholz added.
Jones is only the latest longtime Braves player to cut ties with Atlanta, following Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Javy Lopez. Once one of baseball's highest-spending teams under Ted Turner, the Braves cut their budget in recent years and went through a change in corporate owners.
"We have to use our assets in the most effective way to put the best 25 people on the field," Schuerholz said.
Jones spent much of the year preparing to play elsewhere in 2008.
"I've been telling people this for a long time," he said. "It's a business. You can't take it to heart. I just have to move on and start with a new team."
When it comes to contract matters, Schuerholz normally deals only with a player's agent. But he decided to call in Jones for a face-to-face meeting.
"It was appropriate for Andruw," Schuerholz said. "He deserved that."
Associated Press freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
The Atlanta Braves are cutting ties with Andruw Jones, saying they can't afford to keep the perennial Gold Glove center fielder who's spent his entire career with the organization.
General manager John Schuerholz announced the decision Tuesday, shortly after breaking the news to Jones during a one-on-one meeting at Turner Field.
While hoping to stay in Atlanta, Jones wasn't caught off-guard by the team's stance. He made $13.5 million this season and was looking for a hefty raise despite slumping badly.
"I'm fine with it," Jones told The Associated Press when reached on his cell phone. "I'm appreciative of the chance they gave me to play for Atlanta all these years. I understand the decision they have to make. That's just the way it is. It's a business."
Indeed, the move was not unexpected as the 30-year-old Jones batted only .222 in the final season of his $75 million contract. He's eligible to file for free agency after the World Series.
"It just doesn't work for us," Schuerholz said. "It doesn't demean or diminish everything he's done, and I thank him for all his contributions. We all will have fond memories of him."
The Braves plan to use the money they'll save on Jones to bolster their starting rotation -- a glaring weakness beyond John Smoltz and Tim Hudson -- and to sign first baseman Mark Teixeira, who made $9 million this year and is eligible for arbitration.
Still, it was the end of an era in Atlanta. Jones first joined the Braves as a 19-year-old, hitting two homers in his first World Series game at Yankee Stadium in 1996. He has been one of the game's greatest defensive outfielders, winning nine straight Gold Gloves with his diving catches and over-the-wall grabs in center.
Jones would have preferred to stay with the Braves, but the team had no serious talks with his agent, Scott Boras.
"I thought there would be some negotiation or something," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur told the AP. "I guess that's what's so weird, that it happened so quick. It's obviously sad when you lose a teammate and good friend.
Jones was one of the game's top sluggers in 2005-06, combining for 92 homers and 257 RBIs, but his production tailed off dramatically this season. He fell to his worst average since becoming a full-time starter in 1997, with 26 homers and 94 RBIs.
Schuerholz said the team got an offer from Boras last December but quickly realized it was far more than anything they would consider.
Boras withdrew the offer, believed to be in the $20-million-a-year range, over the summer when the Braves never responded, Schuerholz said.
"What that did was to signal what we could fully expect," the GM said. Asked how much Boras was asking for, Schuerholz held his right hand over his head. "I can't reach that high," he quipped.
"It was so far removed from what we could even consider doing," Schuerholz added.
Jones is only the latest longtime Braves player to cut ties with Atlanta, following Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Javy Lopez. Once one of baseball's highest-spending teams under Ted Turner, the Braves cut their budget in recent years and went through a change in corporate owners.
"We have to use our assets in the most effective way to put the best 25 people on the field," Schuerholz said.
Jones spent much of the year preparing to play elsewhere in 2008.
"I've been telling people this for a long time," he said. "It's a business. You can't take it to heart. I just have to move on and start with a new team."
When it comes to contract matters, Schuerholz normally deals only with a player's agent. But he decided to call in Jones for a face-to-face meeting.
"It was appropriate for Andruw," Schuerholz said. "He deserved that."
Associated Press freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.
Colorado 9, San Diego 8, 13 innings
Congratulations to the pesky and energetic Colorado Rockies.
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- They played as if they never wanted the season to end, and they had already gotten an extra day.
The NL wild card came down to a wild, 13-inning finish Monday night that put Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs and sent Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres home weary and dazed.
Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a three-run rally against the all-time saves leader, giving the Rockies a 9-8 win in baseball's longest one-game tiebreaker.
"It's been an incredible run from game 1 to game 163," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is just a snapshot of what we've been through."
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against Hoffman.
The Rockies won for the 14th time in 15 games and advanced to play at Philadelphia in the first round starting Wednesday.
Colorado trailed 8-6 when Kaz Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki, who had four hits, lined back-to-back doubles off Hoffman. Then Holliday tripled off the wall in right to tie it.
After Todd Helton was intentionally walked, Carroll lined out to right fielder Brian Giles.
Giles' throw home bounced in front of catcher Michael Barrett, who couldn't hold on as Holliday swiped the plate, then lay face-down after cutting his chin with his headfirst slide. Umpire Tim McClelland made a delayed safe call, and replays were inconclusive on whether Holliday touched the plate with his left hand or was blocked by Barrett's left foot.
Holliday said he wasn't sure if he touched the plate, although the ball bounced away anyway.
"The ump said I was safe," Holliday said. "I don't remember. But I hit my chin pretty good. I got stepped on and banged my chin. I'm all right."
Said Padres manager Bud Black: "It looked to me like he did get it."
While their MVP candidate was on the ground bleeding, the rest of the Rockies were celebrating.
Hoffman (4-5) could do little but walk off the mound with his head down. The closer, who has 524 career saves, blew his seventh chance in 49 tries this year.
On Saturday, Hoffman was one strike from clinching a playoff spot when Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying triple for Milwaukee, which went on to win 4-3 in 11 innings.
"I'm having a hard time expressing myself right now," Hoffman said. "I wish I could, but I can't after what happened tonight."
The Rockies won the longest game at Coors Field this season behind Holliday, the MVP candidate who clinched the NL batting title at .340. His triple also gave him the league RBI crown with 137, one more than Philadelphia's Ryan Howard.
It was sweet atonement for Holliday, who misplayed Giles' two-out flyball in the eighth inning into a tying RBI double.
"I'm glad we won or that might have haunted me for the rest of my life," Holliday said. "It worked out, and luckily I don't have to think about it."
Carroll entered as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in to play third base. He got one hit before finding himself in position to hit the sacrifice fly that won it.
"I was just trying to get a ball up in the zone," Carroll said. "Had a guy at third. Matty did a great job. Matty ran his butt off. I am so happy that we get this opportunity to go on."
Ramon Ortiz (1-0) got the win. He was the Rockies' 10th pitcher, taking over after Jorge Julio gave up Hairston's homer.
"All we kept saying was 'hold 'em at two, hold 'em at two,"' Hurdle said.
The Rockies are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1995, when they lost to Atlanta in the first round.
After stranding runners at second in the 10th, 11th and 12th off Matt Herges, the Padres broke through against Julio. Giles drew a leadoff walk and Hairston homered into the bleachers in left-center.
The Rockies didn't flinch.
Colorado and San Diego were tied at 6 in the first play-in game since the New York Mets beat Cincinnati 5-0 for the 1999 NL wild card.
In the bottom of the eighth, Holliday compounded his blunder in the field by stranding the go-ahead run at second when he whiffed against Health Bell, who relieved ineffective Padres ace Jake Peavy.
Manny Corpas went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, and Bell sent the game into extra innings by retiring the side in the bottom half, stranding the potential winning run at first base.
The big hit for Colorado earlier came from September callup Seth Smith, who tripled in the sixth and scored on Matsui's shallow sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead.
Colorado went ahead 3-0 early only to watch Adrian Gonzalez erase the margin with his first career grand slam in a five-run third inning, which Peavy ignited with a single.
The Rockies came back to tie on Helton's 17th homer in the bottom half and Holliday's RBI single in the fifth off Peavy, who looked little like the Cy Young Award candidate he's been this season.
Peavy allowed six runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings. He failed in his bid for his 20th win -- Boston's Josh Beckett was the only pitcher this year to achieve the feat.
Rockies starter Josh Fogg gave up five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
The Rockies won a franchise-best 90 games and are owners of the second-best record in the majors since mid-May.
Helton, the subject of trade rumors last winter, is heading to the postseason for the first time in his 11-year career. His 1,578 games in the majors are the third-most by any active player without a playoff appearance.
"That's the best shower I ever had in my life," a drenched Helton said in the clubhouse. "I never knew champagne could feel so good."
Notes
The Rockies thought Garrett Atkins homered in the seventh, but umpire Tim Tschida ruled it hit the yellow railing and bounced back. Crew chief Ed Montague told The Associated Press all six umpires agreed "it hit the yellow pad and came back. The yellow pad was in play. (Hurdle) said it was over. But we looked at that and there's no way it went over." ... It was the first time San Diego had a two-run lead in extras and lost since June 13, 2004, when the Padres dropped a 6-5, 12-inning decision at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- They played as if they never wanted the season to end, and they had already gotten an extra day.
The NL wild card came down to a wild, 13-inning finish Monday night that put Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs and sent Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres home weary and dazed.
Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a three-run rally against the all-time saves leader, giving the Rockies a 9-8 win in baseball's longest one-game tiebreaker.
"It's been an incredible run from game 1 to game 163," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is just a snapshot of what we've been through."
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against Hoffman.
The Rockies won for the 14th time in 15 games and advanced to play at Philadelphia in the first round starting Wednesday.
Colorado trailed 8-6 when Kaz Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki, who had four hits, lined back-to-back doubles off Hoffman. Then Holliday tripled off the wall in right to tie it.
After Todd Helton was intentionally walked, Carroll lined out to right fielder Brian Giles.
Giles' throw home bounced in front of catcher Michael Barrett, who couldn't hold on as Holliday swiped the plate, then lay face-down after cutting his chin with his headfirst slide. Umpire Tim McClelland made a delayed safe call, and replays were inconclusive on whether Holliday touched the plate with his left hand or was blocked by Barrett's left foot.
Holliday said he wasn't sure if he touched the plate, although the ball bounced away anyway.
"The ump said I was safe," Holliday said. "I don't remember. But I hit my chin pretty good. I got stepped on and banged my chin. I'm all right."
Said Padres manager Bud Black: "It looked to me like he did get it."
While their MVP candidate was on the ground bleeding, the rest of the Rockies were celebrating.
Hoffman (4-5) could do little but walk off the mound with his head down. The closer, who has 524 career saves, blew his seventh chance in 49 tries this year.
On Saturday, Hoffman was one strike from clinching a playoff spot when Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying triple for Milwaukee, which went on to win 4-3 in 11 innings.
"I'm having a hard time expressing myself right now," Hoffman said. "I wish I could, but I can't after what happened tonight."
The Rockies won the longest game at Coors Field this season behind Holliday, the MVP candidate who clinched the NL batting title at .340. His triple also gave him the league RBI crown with 137, one more than Philadelphia's Ryan Howard.
It was sweet atonement for Holliday, who misplayed Giles' two-out flyball in the eighth inning into a tying RBI double.
"I'm glad we won or that might have haunted me for the rest of my life," Holliday said. "It worked out, and luckily I don't have to think about it."
Carroll entered as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in to play third base. He got one hit before finding himself in position to hit the sacrifice fly that won it.
"I was just trying to get a ball up in the zone," Carroll said. "Had a guy at third. Matty did a great job. Matty ran his butt off. I am so happy that we get this opportunity to go on."
Ramon Ortiz (1-0) got the win. He was the Rockies' 10th pitcher, taking over after Jorge Julio gave up Hairston's homer.
"All we kept saying was 'hold 'em at two, hold 'em at two,"' Hurdle said.
The Rockies are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1995, when they lost to Atlanta in the first round.
After stranding runners at second in the 10th, 11th and 12th off Matt Herges, the Padres broke through against Julio. Giles drew a leadoff walk and Hairston homered into the bleachers in left-center.
The Rockies didn't flinch.
Colorado and San Diego were tied at 6 in the first play-in game since the New York Mets beat Cincinnati 5-0 for the 1999 NL wild card.
In the bottom of the eighth, Holliday compounded his blunder in the field by stranding the go-ahead run at second when he whiffed against Health Bell, who relieved ineffective Padres ace Jake Peavy.
Manny Corpas went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, and Bell sent the game into extra innings by retiring the side in the bottom half, stranding the potential winning run at first base.
The big hit for Colorado earlier came from September callup Seth Smith, who tripled in the sixth and scored on Matsui's shallow sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead.
Colorado went ahead 3-0 early only to watch Adrian Gonzalez erase the margin with his first career grand slam in a five-run third inning, which Peavy ignited with a single.
The Rockies came back to tie on Helton's 17th homer in the bottom half and Holliday's RBI single in the fifth off Peavy, who looked little like the Cy Young Award candidate he's been this season.
Peavy allowed six runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings. He failed in his bid for his 20th win -- Boston's Josh Beckett was the only pitcher this year to achieve the feat.
Rockies starter Josh Fogg gave up five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
The Rockies won a franchise-best 90 games and are owners of the second-best record in the majors since mid-May.
Helton, the subject of trade rumors last winter, is heading to the postseason for the first time in his 11-year career. His 1,578 games in the majors are the third-most by any active player without a playoff appearance.
"That's the best shower I ever had in my life," a drenched Helton said in the clubhouse. "I never knew champagne could feel so good."
Notes
The Rockies thought Garrett Atkins homered in the seventh, but umpire Tim Tschida ruled it hit the yellow railing and bounced back. Crew chief Ed Montague told The Associated Press all six umpires agreed "it hit the yellow pad and came back. The yellow pad was in play. (Hurdle) said it was over. But we looked at that and there's no way it went over." ... It was the first time San Diego had a two-run lead in extras and lost since June 13, 2004, when the Padres dropped a 6-5, 12-inning decision at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
