Red Sox, World Series. Red Sox, World Series. It doesn't sound quite right at first without the typical "1918!" or "Buckner!" thrown somewhere in between. But for Sox fans, it's coming closer and closer to reality.
The bottom line is that there was no curse. There is no curse. Boston was a team better suited for the playoffs, pure and simple. Boston had better starting pitching, better defense, and more depth; no curse could change that. And it certainly doesn't hurt when David Ortiz goes from simply a slugging designated hitter to "Se?±or October" and ALCS MVP.
In the end, all the "Who's Your Daddy!" and "Yankees Suck!" and "1918!" chants didn't matter. The players on both teams were focused and played their hearts out. So where did New York go wrong? Many Yankee fans would argue that esteemed manager Joe Torre made errors in judgment that cost New York the series. Was Torre outmanaged by Terry "Tobacco" Francona? We'll get to that in a moment; first let's take a look at what was said about the managers in last week of "Inside the AL":
"When it comes to managing, New York certainly has a big advantage but it's not quite as big as many would have you believe. Sure Joe Torre has won many World Series and he's an excellent manager. But Terry Francona has done an admirable job thus far. Besides, even good managers can make a blunder from time to time; just ask Angels skipper Mike Scioscia."
Well we at "Inside the AL" don't like to toot our own horn (actually, that's a terrible lie). But that quote was right on the money. Torre is a great manager, no doubt about it, but he made some costly mistakes. He stuck with Ruben Sierra through thick and thin (mostly thin) and he wouldn't even use speedster Kenny Lofton to pinch run in key situations when Sierra managed to get on base. Torre also did the Sox a favor by letting first baseman Tony Clark bat in all sorts of big moments. Sox fans know Tony well and there's no one they'd rather see up in a big moment for the opposition than poor Mr. Clark.
Francona took a lot of heat in Boston in the first few games, but most of it was unwarranted. Sure, his bullpen usage was a tad odd in those mop-up games (wasn't Ramiro Mendoza on the playoff roster to eat up blowout innings?). And his third base coach, Dale Sveum needs to have his arms surgically removed so he stops waving people home. This guy is so primed to be the "Grady Little" of the World Series it's scary.
Yet Francona more than made up for any mistakes with adept use of the bullpen late in games. Bringing in Keith Foulke in the seventh inning in Game Four was exactly the right thing to do. To see Francona diverge from the stupid idea of a closer only pitching the eighth or ninth innings is refreshing.
Yet the smartest thing Francona did during the series was to stand by second baseman Mark Bellhorn. Wait, a contradiction you say since Torre was criticized for sticking with Sierra? Actually they are very different situations. Bellhorn has been a big contributor all season long, and no offense to Pokey Reese, but when Pokey's in the game you're basically giving away three outs at the plate. Everyone love's Pokey, but the poor guy looks like he's swinging with a stickball bat. Francona didn't cave and it produced big things for Boston.
Still, there was no real "outmanaging" here. It gets back to a bigger issue between the two clubs. Francona had a lot more tools than the Yankee skipper. He had better pinch runners, better defensive replacements, a few more respectable arms out of the bullpen, and a deeper starting core to work with. A manager is really only as good as the tools he has. How the Yankees can have a $183 million payroll and not have a real bench and only half of a starting rotation is a mystery. It's probably likely that Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman will be in for some sort of brutal torturing procedure courtesy of owner George Steinbrenner, or he'll get fired. Probably the latter.
The series ended up coming down to the starting pitching. "Inside" has been talking about the Boston advantage in this area since February and it finally came back to bite the Yanks. Curt Schilling's courageous performance was one of the all-time great moments in Boston sports history. Once he ignited the team in Game Six, there was no way they were going to back down.
But Pedro Martinez simply doesn't have the same stuff, even when he throws 97. "Inside the AL" may have to eat its words in the World Series, but Pedro starts aren't even close to guaranteed wins like they use to be. It's not a problem of desire; Pedro clearly wants to own the Yankees again. But Martinez can't spot his fastball nearly as well as he used to, and his curveball doesn't have the same snap. He doesn't miss as many bats which cause his pitch count to get high quickly. Who knows why he was out there in Game Seven.
Boston will have to continue its inspired play for the next week; they can't afford a letdown. They are going to need Manny Ramirez to step up and carry the offense, but the World Series victor will still be decided by starting pitching. Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling will need to be the difference makers in this series if Boston is to emerge victorious. Schilling has proven everything he needs to. At this point it probably wouldn't surprise anyone if his foot just broke off from his leg mid-pitch and he continued on for a complete game.
No matter what happens, the Red Sox earned respect and honor, and they showed that curses are for people who make excuses.
