It’s Not Tribe Time Yet

I know momentum is only as good as your next starter, but things sure do look better today than they did a couple of days ago. Beckett was brilliant again — eight innings, 11 strikeouts, one run (in the first inning).  And the starting lineup delivered.  Everybody got a hit except for Coco Crisp, and even he got on base because of an error and came around to score.  Manny had the longest single you’ll ever see, courtesy of the yellow line at the top of the right field wall. Speedster Kevin Youkilis managed a triple, a homer, and a walk. They did hit into two more double plays, tying an LCS record of ten, but the rest of the offense made up for it.

The Cy Young votes are already in, since they are strictly based on regular season performance, and nobody really knows whether it’s going to be Sabathia or Beckett who wins.  Their records and ERA were pretty similar, but Sabathia pitched about 40 more innings.  Many people seem to think that will give him the edge.  Right now, those extra 40 innings seem to have taken away his edge in the postseason.  He’s had three bad starts, looking tired and frustrated, while Beckett has been even better than he was all year.  In his 3 playoff starts, Becket is 3-0, his ERA is 1.17, he’s pitched 23 innings and had 26 strikeouts, with only one walk.  Opponents are batting .160 against him.  Meanwhile, Sabathia is 1-2, with an ERA of 8.80, he’s pitched 15.1 innings with 14 strikeouts and 13 walks, and the Yankees and Red Sox have hit .350 against him.  If he ends up with the Cy Young, it’ll look pretty silly.

In any case, there will be baseball on Saturday night, and I can’t wait to see what Schilling can do.