Championship Series Day 10

by Tom Dakers on Oct 20, 2008 10:43 AM EDT Comment 8 comments

Oh heck, you guys all know what happened, that was a great game and a fun series. Matt Garza pitched the way he pitched against the Blue Jays 4 times this season, 7 innings 2 hits, 1 earned off a solo homer in the first and 9 strikeouts. Jon Lester was almost as good, he seemed to tired in the middle there in the middle of the game for a bit, but he gutted out 7 strong innings, his team just didn't get the big hit at the right moment. The comeback came just that short this year for the Sox.

Canadians and former Jays in the game: Jason Bay was 1 for 3 with a walk, considering the Sox only had 3 hits that's pretty good. Gabe Gross got in the game as a defensive replacement, the way he's been swinging the bat, that's likely his role for the World Series. Eric Hinske still hasn't appeared in the playoffs.

Rays of the Day: Garza (.263 WPA), David Price (.204, 1.1 innings of no hit ball for the save), Willy Aybar (.169, 2 for 3, a homer, 2 runs and an RBI), and Evan Longoria (.111, 1 for 3 and an RBI). Suckage Ray B.J. Upton (-.122 and no home runs for a change).

Red Sox of the Day: Jason Bay (.113). Suckage Sox: Mark Kotsay (-.182, 0 for 4), Jason Varitek (-.177, 0 for 4, looking terrible at the plate), Ortiz (-.131, 0 for 3) and JD Drew (-.119, 0 for 3). Special Suckage Sox award to Coco Crisp who had he slid straight to the bag in the 8th would have been safe and who knows what would have happened after that. Crisp totally misread the play, thinking he had to take out Bartlett to break up a double play, when there was no chance at a double play. He should have gone straight for the bag. They could have been down by 1 with runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out.

Jason Varitek sure didn't raise his value going into free agency, striking out 3 times and hitting .050 with the 1 homer for the series. I wonder if he'll be retiring rather than becoming a backup somewhere.

Congratulations to the Rays. The World Series starts Wednesday in (I wonder what the Vegas odds were before the start of the season) Tampa Bay. I think our Jays should take some credit for this, if we hadn't played so crappy against the Ray none of this would have happened.

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I'm starting to get a little scared

that no other team is going to want Varitek to start and so we’re going to get him on a Barajas 2008 type deal. anyone else?

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Oct 20, 2008 11:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That thought crossed my mind.....

I didn’t want to say it out loud……he does handle pitchers well but he hasn’t hit at all this year. I wonder if he wouldn’t retire rather than go somewhere else?

by Tom Dakers on Oct 20, 2008 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

maybe

signing him to split time w/ Big Rod would perfectly fit the Jays MO for behind the plate for what feels like the last million years.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Oct 20, 2008 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

what are you guys so upset about?

wasn’t varitek an all-star this year?

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" --Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Oct 20, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well.....

he played in the All-Star game…..I’d argue that that hardly makes him an all-star.

by Tom Dakers on Oct 20, 2008 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh and by the way

I see I’m appearing a little self-absorbed (at least team-absorbed) when I’m responding to a post about the conclusion of a truly great playoff series and all I can talk about is my lingering, totally unfounded (maybe) fear that the Jays are going to bite on the underperforming Varitek. What can I say, I’m doing my part to make up for the rest of the baseball media’s “anti-Canada” bias, haha

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Oct 20, 2008 4:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

great series.

hopefully the world series will be as good.

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" --Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on Oct 20, 2008 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sweeping them late when it didn't really matter for us

but did for them meant we went 7-11 against the Rays. If we’d gone 9-9 (as we did against Boston and NY) the home field advantage wouldn’t have changed, since the Rays won their season series against the BoSox and thus would have still been the division winner with the 2 fewer wins.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Oct 20, 2008 7:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs