Sox in ALCS & Mountaineers

            The Boston Red Sox don’t make it easy for themselves in the playoffs. The Red Sox have survived numerous near death moments in the October: Being down three games to none against the Yankees in 2004… losing two straight on the road in the ALCS in Cleveland in 2007… and now in 2013, starting the ALCS against Detroit by going 15 straight innings without a hit.

But with one swing of the bat, the whole season turned around. As they say in Boston, “It ain’t over ‘til the Big Papi swings.”

            That was the case on Sunday night. It was the eighth inning of Game 2 in ALCS against Detroit. The Red Sox were losing 5-1. The best offense in the MLB had gone ice cold. But when you’re down by four and the bases are loaded, there is no guy who you’d rather have up than David Ortiz.

            “I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball,” Ortiz said after the game. “My idea wasn’t just to go up there and hit a grand slam.” But when Ortiz got the first pitch changeup that he was looking for, he put a great swing on the ball and gave it a ride into the Red Sox bullpen.

            We now go to Detroit for three games to face one of the best postseason pitchers of this generation, Justin Verlander, and then Doug Fister.  John Lackey will take the rubber in game three for Boston and Jake Peavy in game four.

            I think that the Tigers may have an edge from here on out because we now have to play three straight games at Comerica Park in Detroit. Ordinarily I’m not big on home field advantages but here it matters for a few reasons: 1. John Lackey has remarkably better numbers at home. 2. Comerica Park is huge and it will pose a challenge for outfielders. 3. The Red Sox as a team in the regular season were 53-28 at home and 44-37 on the road.

            One the other hand, the Red Sox scored more runs than any other team in baseball so if those bats light up, watch out. There are ups and downs for the rest of the series for both teams.

            Game three of the American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and the Tigers is tonight at 4:00 pm on FOX.

***

            On another note, the Vermont Mountaineers are gearing up for their 2014 season and there is some very encouraging news for Mountaineers fans about the upcoming season.

            The Mountaineers announced to the public in their newsletter that manager Joe Brown will be back for the 2014 season.

            “I felt very confortable that he did a good job with the team and he brought in a good roster of players,” said long time Mountaineers GM Brian Gallagher.  “He had good leadership under a tough situation when we had all of those injuries.”

            Brown lead the Mountaineers to a 24-20 regular season record, good for second place the NECBL Western Division.

            For Brown, it wan “an interesting decision” to come back to Vermont. “I enjoyed it up there,” he said. “It’d be nice to see how we could do with a group of guys from the start of the summer to the end of the summer.”

            For most Mountaineers fans the offseason is just the offseason and they wait until June 5^th to start thinking about the team too much but for Gallagher, Brown, and the rest of the Mountaineers organization, the recruiting for next year is well under way.

            The recruiting “is probably about 75% done,” Brown told me. “We’ve been very fortunate to get some of the kids we wanted.”

            “So far I’ve sent out 20 contracts,” Gallagher said. “We still are very short on pitching right now but the guys we have coming in are very good. We just haven’t gone after a lot of pitching yet.”

            The entire Mountaineers community has also been very closely following the story of Mountaineers OF from last year, Pat Wiese. Pat was diagnosed with bone cancer in September.

            Pat hit .306 in 21 games with the Mountaineers before leaving with an injury in his knee that was later found to be a tumor.

            “We’re all pulling for him and he’s had a heck of a battle. His baseball career is pretty much done with, but at this point we just want him to beat cancer and come back and have a healthy and productive life,” Gallagher told me.  “It’s been pretty inspiring to see how much support he’s gotten from Vermont. He had surgery in early October, and he’s now going though treatments to try to get this thing taken care of.”

            While Brian and everyone else with the Mountaineers got to know him over the summer, the connection was made long before then for coach Brown and Pat. “Being a central New York coach, I’m only 25 minutes from his campus,” said Brown. “And having known Pat in high school so I certainly feel for the whole family and I give him a tremendous amount of credit for how he’s handling it.”

            I personally would like to send my thoughts and prayers to Pat and his family.

            You can follow Pat’s story online at www.CaringBridge.org/visit/PatWiese2.

            Follow Jasper Goodman on Twitter:

@Jasper_Godman

Column--9/15/13 (Mariana Rivera)

“And here comes Mariana Rivera out of the bullpen” may be the most dreadful sentence to hear in the 9^th inning.  When I walked into Fenway Park early to see the Red Sox honor that man who has put the dagger in our hearts so many times, I was a bit skeptical at first.

            In Minnesota, the Twins gave Mo a rocking chair made out of all of the bats that he broke there; in Texas, the Rangers gave Rivera cowboy boots and a cowboy hat for his last game there; in Tampa Bay, the Rays gave him a sandman; in Cleveland the Indians gave him a framed golden record.  And then there’s Boston.  How would the Fenway faithful react? I wasn’t sure myself upon walking in through the gates.

            But instead of sending Rivera off with a wet kiss like the rest of the league, as emcee Dave O’Brien put it in the ceremony, we’ll send you off with a roast instead of a toast.  The Fenway Park jumbotron then showed the famous moment in 2004 when Mo blew the save in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) that ultimately led to the Red Sox winning the World Series that year.  Kevin Millar and Dave Roberts gave the commentary as they showed Millar get walked on five pitches by Rivera, Dave Roberts pinch running and stealing second base, and Bill Muller driving in the tying run to send the game into extras which the Red Sox later won on a walk off in the 12^th inning.

            Mo and the rest of the Yankees dugout were exploding with laughter and took it in stride while Red Sox Nation got one last laugh as we said goodbye to the great Mariano Rivera.

            When WEEI Red Sox Radio Network asked listeners what should the Red Sox thank Rivera for in his last voyage to Fenway, one fan texted in: “The 2004 World Series.  We couldn’t have done it without you.”  I thought to myself what a classic Red Sox fan answer that was.            

But in all seriousness, Mariano, congratulations.  You are the best closer that this game has ever had.  Every time I’ve seen you come out of the door in right field to enter the game in the 9^th inning, I would think to myself: “Oh no, here comes Mo to drive a dagger into the hearts of Red Sox fans.” 

But on this Sunday night it was our turn, as Red Sox fans, to salute you and appreciate your greatness.  While what we gave you may not match up to the Chevrolet Corvette that you got at the All-Star Game this year, what you got from us is in some ways harder earned. The respect of Red Sox Nation isn’t something that is easy to get.  Just ask A-Rod.  When a Yankees player of any position or any year walks out onto the green grass of Fenway Park and gets cheered, that means something.  So to add to your very impressive collection of accomplishments, including 13-time all-star, five-time World Series champion, World Series MVP, MLB record for career saves, three-time delivery man of the year award, and many others, we add that you got a standing ovation from Red Sox fans as a New York Yankee.

            The celebration of Mo that has been going on all year long at numerous ballparks is something that has never really been done before.  It’s not often that those who are as great as Rivera retire and in his case it wasn’t just because of how he played on the field. 

Mo was and is a class act.  He always shakes the hand of his catcher when he gets a save, and he respects his opponents more than anyone else on that field. Mo is the definition of a good sport.  That is why he is getting the respect that he does from his opponents. 

There’s an old saying that they often tell us at school, and that’s what goes around comes around.  Mariano Rivera is the perfect example to illustrate that point.

            ***

            On a much more serious note, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to this year’s Mountaineers outfielder, Pat Wiese and his family. On September 10^th, Pat was diagnosed with bone cancer in his knee.  All has gone well thus far for Pat and I hope that it continues that way.  I wish all my best to Pat and his family as they fight to win this battle against cancer.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

Check out Jasper’s blog:

www.goodmansports.blogspot.com

Column--9/1/13 (Second Time is the Charm)

            The 2013 Major League Baseball regular season has been fun and exciting but all good things must come to an end and when one good door closes, another one opens.  It’s time for the games we’ve all been anxiously awaiting.  The 2013 MLB postseason is here.

Although my opening day predictions were dreadful (I had the Blue Jays winning the East and the Sox coming in fourth), I’ll go for round two on this year’s playoffs. The playoffs start on Thursday and Friday.

           

Boston vs. AL Wild Card:

I think that regardless of who wins the AL wild card game the Red Sox have the upper hand in the series.  With the lineup that they have I just don’t see either of the two wild card teams stopping them. You’re talking about having Jacoby Ellsbury (.298) and Shane Victorino (.294) in the same top of a lineup, and David Ortiz (.309) and a red hot Mike Napoli (.321 in Sept.) batting next to each other.  They look to have the strongest lineup in the American League.  The wild card game between the Rays and the Indians is coming up tomorrow at 8:00 on TBS.

Detroit vs. Oakland:

            Everyone makes fun of the Oakland A’s—calling them the Jokeland A’s of the Brokeland A’s, but this time the joke may be on the name-callers.  The A’s have been able to win the division for the second year in the row and it’s not just one player who sticks out to me on that team as the person who is going to carry them to the ALCS.  Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp (both former Red Sox) have been great for them in the outfield but the A’s get it done as a team and I think they will continue to do so into the ALCS.

St. Louis vs. NL Wild Card:

            The Cardinals are my pick to win not just the divisional series but also the National League.  They have one of the better rotations in the NL with Adam Wainwright leading the way.  Also with Jon Jay, Matt Holliday, and Carlos Beltran all hitting over .270, I think that the Cardinals have the best offensive outfield in baseball.  The NL wild card game between the Reds and the Pirates will be tonight at 8:00 on TBS.  I’m picking the Pirates to win the wild card game.

LA Dodgers vs. Atlanta:

            I give the Braves an enormous amount of credit to be able to go through this year without veteran third baseman Chipper Jones and be an effective enough team to win 95 games and the NL East.  However, I think that due to the Dodgers’ depth in the outfield and aces Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke leading their rotation I don’t see the Braves getting by them.  Young star Yasiel Puig absolutely turned the Dodgers’ season around.  Having a young star like Puig come up like he did midway through the season can really spark a team and it did just that for the Dodgers.  Puig hit an astonishing .321 this year.

            I won’t make any predictions past the divisional series yet but stay tuned for more postseason predictions in my next column.

***

            The Boston Bruins will be visiting Waterbury this afternoon and I would strongly suggest you make the visit to the Waterbury Ice Center to see them.  It all begins at 1:30 this afternoon at the Ice Center when the Bruins will hold a practice that is open for the public to come and see.  Bruins players Johnny Boychuck, Chris Kelly, Brad Marchand, Dennis Seidenberg, and Shawn Thornton will stay for 30 minutes after the practice to sign autographs.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

Check out Jasper’s blog:

www.goodmansports.blogspot.com