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Florida Marlins (Brad Penny) at New York Yankees (David Wells)

Both teams used up their best pitchers in thrilling, high-scoring LCS seventh games. There's no inherent advantage to either staff; it's going to be an interesting weekend.

It's possible that David Wells will be off form because he pitched a relief inning Thursday, but the Babe-worshipping Boomer, on the game's biggest stage in the House That Ruth Built, is more likely to rise to the occasion. The corpulent lefty was 8-2 with a 3.40 ERA in the postseason before this year, and allowed a single run in each of his two playoff starts (the clincher against the Twins and a huge win in Fenway) before that homer to David Ortiz the other night. He's not completely unknown to Marlins hitters; Pudge has a fine 10-for-27 mark and .962 OPS, Conine is 9-for-38, but three homers raise his OPS to .828, and Encarnacion is 6-for-22 with an .895 OPS.


Brad Penny drew the short straw for the Fish. Ineffective (he was replaced after four innings on the short end of a 4-1 score) as the Game 1 starter in the NLDS, the big righty was banished to the bullpen for the rest of that series. In the deciding Game 4, he blew the save for Willis, but the Marlins rallied after Penny's 1.2 innings of work. Given another chance to start in Game 2 of the NLCS, Penny was absolutely horrible, giving up seven hits, two walks and seven earned runs in two innings. He turned in a shaky inning of relief in Game 4, then did get the job done in his Game 7 appearance, though I still don't understand why he, not Beckett, was awarded the decision. So he's officially 1-1, but his playoff ERA is 10.24 and let's just say his confidence isn't sky high.

I've made my series prediction elsewhere, and I think Game One will set the tone. The Yankees hitters will knock Penny out early, and the Marlins will be playing catchup. If Boomer weakens after five or six innings, there may be a narrow window of opportunity for Pudge and his mates, as I don't think Rivera will be asked for more than three outs. The second-best Marlins pitcher throughout the postseason, with five scoreless relief appearances, a solid start and a 1.74 ERA, has been Carl Pavano. He'll probably have to hold the fort after Penny departs, but I think he'll have more trouble with the Yankees than he did with the Giants or the Cubs.

If you get annoyed by the TV talking heads, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are calling the game on the radio. Play ball!
World Series, Game 1 (8 PM ET) | 41 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 08:12 PM EDT (#87943) #
A perfect beginning for the Marlins. Pierre pulled a beautiful bunt past Wells for a base hit. Castillo flared a 100-foot single over the glove of Johnson (it wasn't far from being a double play, as Pierre was running, but he ended up at third) and Pudge drove in the run with a sac fly to center.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 08:29 PM EDT (#87944) #
Nick Johnson is a good first baseman, but he hesitated on the Pierre bunt, which he should have played. It's unlikely Wells could have beaten Pierre to the bag, anyway. On the Castillo hit, Johnson would have made the play easily if he wasn't holding the runner. That's small ball at its best, illustrating the proverbial game of inches.

After Cabrera popped out to short, Castillo stole second with a huge jump off Boomer, but Lee was no match for the Wells deuce.

Soriano tried to answer with his own spectacular wheels, beating out a grounder to short and stealing second. But Nick the Stick swung through a 95-mph heater and Jeter popped out to shallow right, then Bernie Williams, hitting in what should be Giambi's spot, flied out to end the threat. 1-0 Marlins after one.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#87945) #
Nice hitting by Conine on his one-out single to the opposite field; when right-handed batters try to do too much against Boomer, they hit a lot of popups, but Jeff had a plan, and executed it. Encarnacion then flared one into center that a lot of guys (including Pierre) would have caught, but the increasingly cautious Williams let it fall in for a single. No harm done, as Boone turned a nifty 5-3 double play to get Boomer out of the inning.

Matsui, whose every move is a news story in Japan, flied to left on a full count, then Posada walked on four pitches. Giambi, the best 7-hitter in the history of baseball, just barely spoiled an 0-2 curve, fouled off a high heater that Fox clocked at 97, then swung over a low curve for the second out. Aaron Boone took a couple of mighty rips, trying to homer again, then got frozen by a good curve. They made Penny work, but he was up to the task.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:16 PM EDT (#87946) #
Boomer shut down the Marlins in the third, and the Yankees began to get to Penny, who has already pitched better than I thought he would. A Garcia leadoff double (actually a single, misplayed by the rookie Cabrera, back in left field) and a Jeter RBI single tied the game. It could have been worse, but Pudge caught Nick Johnson straying too far from third base to end the inning. What a throw!
_Gwyn - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:23 PM EDT (#87947) #
Great play by Pudge. I loved the 'oh s**t' look of shock and panic on Johnson's face before he tripped over his own feet trying to get back.

I was one of the many who thought the Marlin's were nuts ponying up $10 million for Pudge, but, given his playoff performance he's starting to look like a bargain.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:36 PM EDT (#87948) #
You also have to give Pudge credit for taking the one-year contact in his adopted home town instead of a multi-year deal for less than he knew he was worth. He's put himself in the driver's seat this winter; it would be very unpopular in Miami if they don't sign him, but he'll get a lot more serious offers than he did a year ago.

Giambi, with two on and none out, hit a harmless bouncer that Gonzalez turned into a double play. That's a big opportunity wasted for the Yanks, and Penny dodges another bullet. Good game; 1-1 through four is a lot better than I expected.
_Andrew Edwards - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:40 PM EDT (#87949) #
Coach - is this game on the radio? What channel?

(I'm at home, so swamped with work that I'm fucking working on a Saturday night)
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:46 PM EDT (#87950) #
Andrew, it's on The FAN and many other stations.

Conine drew a walk, and Encarnacion hit a broken-bat single over the infield. After a sac bunt by Gonzalez, Pierre hit a 2-run single to give the Marlins the lead. Questionable play by Boone to cut off Matsui's throw; they might have got Encarnacion at the plate. 3-1 Fish, and Boomer is not out of the fifth by any means.
_Rich - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#87951) #
Game should be on 590.

Damn, McCarver is an idiot. Since when is it the cutoff man's decision whether to cut the ball off or not and which base to throw to? I'm pretty sure that 8-year-old catchers learn to tell the cutoff man what to do, so how the hell is Boone at fault on Pierre's single? Yes, they had a play at the plate, but that's Posada's call.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 09:55 PM EDT (#87952) #
You're right, Rich, although it might be hard to hear each other out there. Maybe Posada yelled to cut it and throw home, but Boone misunderstood. Maybe Jorge wasn't sure they could get the second runner and believed his best play was to keep Pierre from going to second.
Gerry - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:00 PM EDT (#87953) #
Penny has been somewhat wild tonight but always seems to get the big out when he needs it. As long as he can dodge bullets for another couple of innings....
_StephenT - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:05 PM EDT (#87954) #
Can the ESPN Radio broadcast be received over-the-air in Ottawa?

I can get it on the Internet on fan590.com right now but it's 43 seconds behind the video, which is more than I'm used to (mlb.com was typically 15 seconds behind; I could get the local broadcasts there but I like Miller & Morgan). Once you get more than one pitch behind it becomes quite a distraction.

Joe Morgan said Boone is not supposed to cut off the throw unless someone tells him to.
_Gwyn - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:06 PM EDT (#87955) #
The Marlins are significantly better than lefties than against righties. Tonight (even though its away) could be there best chance.

vs Left - .290/.355/.466
vs Right - .258/.326/.407
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:11 PM EDT (#87956) #
Bernie Williams goes deep to make it 3-2. Yanks have had something going every inning, with the first or second batter reaching base, but they haven't cashed in. Yet.

I see Willis is in the bullpen and Pavano will be the Game 4 starter. That makes more sense; they don't have a reliable lefty reliever.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:24 PM EDT (#87957) #
Willis, who reminds me of Vida Blue, got squeezed on a few close pitches but retired Giambi, thanks to a spectacular play by Alex Gonzalez. If he doesn't pounce on that, barehand it and throw in the same motion, it's an 80-foot single.
_A - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:35 PM EDT (#87958) #
Ugh, God Bless America has NO place in a ball park.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:38 PM EDT (#87959) #
Wells walked Conine (again) to lead off the seventh, a sure sign that he's done. Encarnacion flied harmlessly to CF, and Gonzalez popped to third, then Pierre -- the star of the game so far -- got hit by a pitch. A clearly exhausted Boomer got Castillo to ground out and kept the lead at one.

The D-Train is still in there, after the loooooong seventh-inning stretch.
_StephenT - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:54 PM EDT (#87960) #
The fan590 server conked out. I'm trying the Yankees radio now off mlb.com. It's only 10 seconds behind the video. But the announcers aren't as good as ESPN.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 10:55 PM EDT (#87961) #
Jeff Nelson has obscenely good stuff. I don't know why he doesn't throw that amazing slider directly at right-handed batters, so it would snap in for called strikes while they flinch. Instead, he loves to try to get them to chase it away. The last two pitches in the Cabrera walk were just stupid. The kid didn't chase the first one; why try it twice more?
_StephenT - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:08 PM EDT (#87962) #
Listening to the Marlins broadcast now. I think it's Dave Van Horne doing the announcing. He's giving much more detailed descriptions of the game than the Yankees announcers were.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:11 PM EDT (#87963) #
Note to Carlos Tosca: see how McKeon stayed with his lefty, who has been lights-out, against Jeter? Jack could have "played the percentages" by bringing in a righty, but he stayed with the hot hand. He also turned Williams around and got a better matchup against Matsui, without having to use another lefty! Just reminding you, Skip -- you don't have to push every button you have, every game.
robertdudek - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:20 PM EDT (#87964) #
Van Horne is one of the best in the business. I listened to some Marlins broadcast a few years ago when I had MLB Gameday Audio.
robertdudek - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:52 PM EDT (#87966) #
Urbina was very lucky today. He had poor command and his fastball topped out at 90 MPH.
Coach - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:53 PM EDT (#87967) #
Did anyone notice that the old catcher, McCarver, lost track of how many outs there were in the bottom of the ninth in a World Series game?

Giambi led off with a walk, and naturally, was replaced by Dellucci, who could score on a double. Boone missed his first bunt attempt, then Torre switched to the hit-and-run, but Aaron couldn't hit the ball on the ground, flying out harmlessly to right. Pinch-hitter Sierra drew a base on balls, bringing up the top of the order. Soriano worked the count full, then inexplicably didn't swing at a very close pitch, and was punched out. Johnson, didn't miss the 2-0 fastball by much, but popped out to center to end it.

Terrific finish, though this whole night was strangely reminiscent of the first game between the Yankees and the Twins. The pinstripers are much better hitters than they showed tonight.
_Wildrose - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:56 PM EDT (#87968) #
Great middle inning's work by Willis saves the match, I love the unconventional(aged?) strategy by old trader Jack.
robertdudek - Saturday, October 18 2003 @ 11:59 PM EDT (#87969) #
Coach,

I agree, but one of their top hitters will be out of the lineup for games 3 to 5 and Pro Players is a tough park for lefthanded power hitters. That has to be a concern.
Coach - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 12:09 AM EDT (#87970) #
Robert, the way Nick Johnson has hit in October, he won't be missed. I questioned Torre's idea of putting him in the 2-hole for Game 7 of the ALCS, and he's now 0-for-8 there. Maybe a big pinch-hit in Miami will turn him around.
robertdudek - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 12:50 AM EDT (#87971) #
The Yankees offence is looking rickety to me (as I've spelled out before). With Soriano making so many outs at the top of the lineup and the pitcher having to bat, I'm not sure what kind of offence they'll be able to generate in Florida.
_Mick - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 03:04 AM EDT (#87972) #
Speaking as the voice of Bronx (OK, Staten Island) reason, yes, I'm extremely worried. The Yankees never lose the first game of a series and come back to win it ... oh, wait, they've done that twice this year already?

OK, but if they lose tomorrow and start 0-2 at home, it's pretty much over, I mean ... oh wait, they came back to beat the Braves in 1996 after losing the first two at home? (We love and revere Jim Leyritz.)

All kidding aside, seven solid innings from Wells really sets up the series nicely for the Yankees, win or lose Game 1. Rivera has had a couple of days off, the rotation will start to shape up better now, and frankly -- after watching UU here in Texas for far too long -- he should scare any manager who has to send him out there to close out a World Championship. Reminds me of Mitch Williams, the way he often succeeds despite looking overmatched or wild ... like today. And hey, that Mitch Williams reference brought smiles to the faces of Toronto fans, I'll betcha.

But, coach ...
Giambi, the best 7-hitter in the history of baseball

This may be one of the great rhetorical challenges ever posted to Da Box. My immediate thought was Johnny Bench, who often his seventh after George Foster started hitting home runs, but usually hit sixth. Who is the best 7-hitter in the history of baseball?
Coach - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 09:48 AM EDT (#87973) #
As you know, Mick, I'm not one to do a lot of research before offering an opinion like that. There have probably been many great players who were temporarily dropped to seventh because of a slump or an injury. It was really just a backhanded slap at Joe Torre, who was very lucky that Jason responded like he did in Game Seven.

He's cashing the big cheques, but I wonder how happy Giambi is in New York. That demotion wouldn't do wonders for his relationship with the manager, and the Boss already ran off his personal trainer.

Anyway, I'll stick with my off-the-cuff remark -- a 32-year-old superstar with a current streak of six straight 100 RBI seasons, who "slumped" to 41 HR and a .939 OPS this year, is my nominee as best 7-hitter until someone trumps him. Bench was a much better player for sure, but no match for Giambi's prowess with the lumber.
Craig B - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 11:51 AM EDT (#87974) #
Soriano making so many outs at the top of the lineup

This is what has to worry the Yankees. If Torre wants to monkey with his lineup, he'd be better off hitting Giambi first and Soriano seventh (or ninth) than the way he has it now.

Opposing batteries are giving Soriano no respect at all in the postseason. Rodriguez is setting up three feet off the plate at times, and Soriano's response is to swing at ball one, two, and three outside, and take strike three on the inside corner.

In 54 at-bats in the postseason, Soriano is hitting .222 with two doubles and no homers, and he has one walk and eighteen strikeouts. His line is a nifty .222/.250/.259.

If I were making out the Yankee lineup I would be hitting Matsui leadoff... Matsui-Jeter-Posada-Giambi-Soriano-Williams-Boone-Platoon-Johnson (Platoon being the Garcia/Rivera platoon). With men on base in front of him, Soriano's tendency to swing at pickoff moves might be somehat lessened.
_George Tsuji - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#87975) #
As you know, Mick, I'm not one to do a lot of research before offering an opinion like that.

Well, yeah, especially since one might argue that Jason Giambi wasn't even the best 7-hitter in Thursday night's game! :-)

Giambi, 2003 -- .250/.412/.527 (1.021 OPS vs.RHP, .794 playoff OPS)
Nixon, 2003 -- .306/.396/.578 (1.058 OPS vs.RHP, 1.061 playoff OPS)

Seriously, though, I find it hard to believe that there's ever been a bottom-of-the-order that could compare to what Nixon, Mueller and Varitek did this year...
Mike D - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 12:39 PM EDT (#87976) #
I don't agree with Craig's lineup. Matsui's too much of a contact hitter to lead off. He's not undisciplined, but he's not really a walker either; witness his 333/367 line in the postseason. His value is maximized by letting him hit the ball hard and in play with runners on and holes open in the defence. (I'm not going to get into a "clutch hitting" debate, but over the season, he was much better with RISP than with bases empty. Such is often the case with good contact guys.)

Maybe Jeter-Williams-Giambi-Posada-Matsui-Soriano-Johnson-Boone-Platoon. That strikes a good left/right balance, and uses the hitters' strengths effectively.

I impressed casual baseball fans at two parties last night by "predicting" that Pudge would set up a foot outside, and "predicting" that Soriano would chase it.
Mike Green - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 03:03 PM EDT (#87977) #
The reason that I dislike the Yankees is that they are able to waste huge gobs of money, and still have a chance to succeed. They started the year with a natural shortstop Soriano playing second base who fields poorly and has very poor strike zone judgment, but leads off. Their shortstop Jeter is a great hitter, but a famously bad fielder. Their centerfielder Williams is another great hitter, but has lost his range and arm.

Intelligent management would have moved Soriano back to shorstop, Jeter to centerfield, Bernie Williams to leftfield, and signed a free agent second baseman (Durham ideally or Kent). A lineup of Durham, Jeter, Bernie Williams, Giambi, Posada, Nick Johnson, Soriano, Boone and platoon woud have done the job, and the defence would be better at 3 positions.

When I root for the Marlins in this series, I'm rooting for the intelligence of Jack McKeon, over the wastefulness of the Boss.
_A - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 04:50 PM EDT (#87978) #
I don't think you make those drastic changes on a championship calibre ball club. I think you have to take into consideration the mental aspects of the game for veterns who are very set in their ways. Not to mention the catastrophy it could cause to team chemistry.

Why on earth would you play Soriano at SS when he can't field a ground ball on the right side of the infield? Soriano has been playing 2nd for a while, if he can't adjust by now then you've got to believe that moving positions doesn't work for everyone or that he's just a poor infielder. Either way, it's a reason not to tinker with success.
Mike Green - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 08:53 PM EDT (#87979) #
Well, I guess that it's a good reason to root for the Yankees to win the World Series. They won't make the necessary defensive changes for another year or two if they win, and this will give the Jays a fighting chance in 05.

I remember Pat Gillick's response to a question about bringing in a new catcher in '94 for Pat Borders: Borders brought us 4 division championships, 2 league champtionships and 2 WS Crowns, and we're reluctant to mess with success.
_Mick - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 11:21 PM EDT (#87980) #
Soriano is a shortstop like Shawon Dunston and Gary Sheffield were originally shortstops.
robertdudek - Sunday, October 19 2003 @ 11:35 PM EDT (#87981) #
Mick,

Dunston was a very talented shortstop when he first came up.
_Mick - Monday, October 20 2003 @ 09:58 AM EDT (#87982) #
Robert, I thought twice about including him, but honestly, I remember Dunston as a guy whose terrific arm made up for his poor fielding more often than not -- and got so much pub that everyone thought he was a good defensive player, sort of Jeter-like.
robertdudek - Monday, October 20 2003 @ 11:02 AM EDT (#87983) #
Dunston wasn't very sure handed, but he had great range (and of course a great arm) up until he was about 26 or 27. Sort of like Rafael Furcal is now.
World Series, Game 1 (8 PM ET) | 41 comments | Create New Account
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