Backs to the wall, Sox look to rebound in pivotal Game 5 by Mike Ghika
Meanwhile, Rays look like the hungrier and more composed team

In times like these, although many may find it difficult, we’ve still got to find room for optimism.

While manager Terry Francona has said "We need to find a way to get a win" in Game 5, it is starting to circulate that this season may not be as ‘special’ as 2004 and 2007. They say this postseason doesn’t quite have that same feel. The team is too beat up. The opponent is more superior. It was clear the Rays had different looks on their faces in Game 1 (David Ortiz foolishly was even nice enough to point it out for them in the papers). Since then, soon-to-be Manager of the Year Joe Maddon has transformed his club back into the dominant force it has been all season.

Not only did they tally more wins in baseball history (97) following a last-place finish the previous year, but these Rays are also the first team to score 9+ runs in three consecutive postseason games. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of our beloved Red Sox, who have evidently fallen off the map in the blink of an eye.

The Sox’ 9.62 ERA as a staff in Games 2-4 has been absolutely abysmal. More alarming has been the disappearing act of the Sox offense – the one that mustered just a sacrifice fly against Matt Garza in Game 3, and just a Kevin Cash homerun in Game 4 before crossing the plate a few meaningless times. Ortiz has forgotten about the hitter-friendly Green Monster (not to mention left-field altogether), while Jacoby Ellsbury has run into unforeseen postseason trouble and was benched in Game 4, and the Sox offense has been unable to get on-base frequently enough to even have the opportunity for timely hitting, which is something the Rays have thrived on. The Rays look patient, poised, and are clearly unfazed by the recent year-by-year success of the Boston team manning the opposing dugout.

Meanwhile, Carl Crawford became the seventh player in major league history to have a 5-hit game in the playoffs with his 5-for-5 Game 4 performance. Evan Longoria has set a rookie record with his 5 homeruns this postseason. Crawford is hitting .500 for the series, with Longoria at .294, Willy Aybar at .500, Carlos Pena at .333, and BJ Upton at .313. May I remind you these averages still look the way they do after gathering just 4 hits as a club in Game 1 against Daisuke Matsuzaka.

The Rays’ ridiculous success indeed brings us to Matsuzaka, who is forced to play the role of Josh Beckett circa 2007 in this year’s Game 5, again down three games to one. It is unquestionable that the Rays’ focus and determination are more assuring than that of the Indians last season, and it is also unquestionable that Matsuzaka is not the sure-thing stopper that Beckett was last fall. However, despite his bend-but-don’t-break mound mentality, CAN he be the guy to shut the door for seven innings? That answer is yes.

Sure, there are new faces like Jason Bay, Jed Lowrie, Justin Masterson, and Manny Delcarmen, but this team is still one that was consistently special all season long (just two separate 5-game losing streaks were their longest of the season). Dustin Pedroia, as previously noted, has re-found his stroke in the ALCS (.467, 2 HR, .556 OBP). You can’t count on guys like him, someone who has helped bring his team back from the depths before, to lay down and die. You wouldn’t expect guys like Kevin Youkilis, Ortiz, and Varitek, others who have been through this sort of feeling, to begin making winter plans either.

Larry Bird once said Game 5’s were the most pivotal. In fact, 2004’s Game 5 saw a walk-off extra inning hit pull out the chair from underneath the Yankees. 2007’s saw a dominant Beckett send an overmatched Tribe team back to Boston. In 2008, the Sox need that one, big spark to get the ball rolling, and then can look forward to what they hope will be a healthy Beckett in Game 6 and a rested Jon Lester in Game 7.

However, Game 5 is where it begins on Thursday night. And in a surprise move, the Sox fortunately get the left-handed Scott Kazmir at Fenway, who has allowed 11 HR in his last five outings and was shelled (5 ER in 4.1 IP) in Game 2. The Sox need another Game 1-like outing out of their gun from the rising sun, and the offense needs to make Kazmir throw pitches early and revert back to the plate discipline they had shown all season long.

See, all it takes is a little history, some heroics, and a ray of hope to find that optimism necessary for what could be another series comeback once again in 2008.


Published on October 15, 2008

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