9 posts tagged “world series”

Amen. Print this Article E-mail this ArticleWhy the Red Sox beat the Rockies by Ben Jacobs October 30, 2007 When one team outscores another team 29-10 while sweeping the World Series, there are going to be a lot of reasons. Boston's sweep this season saw positive contributions from nearly everyplace imaginable. Start with the starting pitching, which was brilliant. Josh Beckett set the tone, allowing one run in seven dominant innings to win his fifth consecutive postseason start. But everybody expected the Boston ace to come through with a gem. The rest of the Red Sox rotation was much more questionable. Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester had combined for a 4.23 ERA during the regular season and a 4.42 ERA during the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the World Series, they combined to allow only three runs in 16.1 innings, good for a 1.65 ERA. All three also left their games with the lead. That none of those three pitchers was asked to finish the sixth inning is a tribute to manager Terry Francona. Knowing the offensive capabilities of the Colorado Rockies and the depth of his bullpen, he turned to the relievers as soon as his starting pitchers found trouble after the fifth. The bullpen wasn't as dominant as it had been at times during the season, but it did enough to make sure that all four starting pitchers got the win. Hideki Okajima, who had been nearly unhittable in the first two rounds of the postseason, allowed two big homers, allowing the Rockies to pull within a run in games three and four. But the one reliever who never wavered was closer Jonathan Papelbon. He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in the World Series, giving him a total of nine innings of shutout ball in the playoffs. His usage, again, is a tribute to Francona. During the regular season, Francona asked Papelbon to get more than three outs only four times in 59 appearances. In the playoffs, he changed strategies to maximize his best reliever, sending Papelbon out for more ...