If I didn't know any better, Shank seems
just a tad disappointed that the Red Sox won last night and didn't give him an excuse to light up David Price:
They got 14 outs from a former Cy Young winner. They got three big outs in the eighth inning from another former Cy Young winner. Meanwhile, the best pitcher on the staff was at Massachusetts General Hospital being treated for a stomach illness.
They got flawless work from the bridge bullpen guys. They got a bases-clearing double from their offensively challenged center fielder. They got a couple of doubles and an RBI from their MVP right fielder. They got another high-wire save from their suddenly skittish closer. And they got a full nine innings from their manager, who’d been ejected in the middle of Game 1.
It all added up to a 7-5, series-tying victory for the Red Sox in their ALCS with the world champion Houston Astros on Sunday night.
This is the part about Price's selection for Game 2 (which he was second guessing hours before the first pitch) and his subsequent performance:
Compounding all this, the Sox skipper elected to go with David Price in Game 2.
Yikes. In its moment of high anxiety, Red Sox Nation was forced to turn to one of the most buffeted hurlers in the history of postseason baseball. Price was 0-9 with an ERA of 6.03 in 10 postseason starts. His teams were 0-10 in his starts.
Given all of the above, there was serious concern that we might be heading to Fenway for the final time in 2018. Leaving Boston down, 0-2, to the dominant Astros was a tall order for any team, even for a team that won 108 regular-season games. It didn’t help when we learned that Sale was at Mass. General due to a stomach condition and would not be flying to Houston with the team after the game.
If the Red Sox lost last night, there's no doubt this column would have been harsher in tone.
No question the second set of paragraphs you cited were written before the game.
ReplyDeleteJust like the Super Bowl 36 article. No question Shank wrote his column with the full expectation the Patriots would lose the game.
The right-wingnuts who run this site are as hopelessly biased when it comes to sports analysis: Anyone in their right mind would have questioned Price's ability to win this game. As a matter of fact, he did NOT win the game. The outstanding Sox team won, and neither the trumpian bloggers who inhabit under this rock nor sportswriters of questionable talent, such as Shank, have the foggiest notion why this team is miraculous!
ReplyDelete