WHILE PINCH-HITTING for Hugh Hewitt on his radio show the other night, I predicted on air that the team that won Game 1 of the World Series would go on to sweep. My thinking was that if the Rockies could defeat Josh Beckett, they would get to the soft under-belly of the Sox’ pitching rotation, namely everybody else. What’s more, the Kid Rocks’ sense of invincibility would only grow if they registered such an upset.
But the Red Sox are on paper the better team. The Rockies’ greatest assets coming into the series were their momentum and confidence. If they lost Game 1, you could toss both of those off the upper deck.
So as a full-fledged member of Red Sox Nation, I’m feeling pretty good today. Last night went according to plan. Beckett solidified his reputation as this generation’s best big game pitcher, and the Rockies’ pitching staff appeared overmatched against the Red Sox’ offense.
On that latter point, I don’t think the rest of the baseball world understands what the Red Sox can do to a pitching staff when the Sox’ hitters are properly dialed in. You can’t get the Red Sox out if your “out” pitches aren’t in the strike zone. The Red Sox force their opponents to throw strikes. Even pitchers renowned for their control like the Indians’ C.C. Sabathia get flummoxed and flustered by the Sox’ approach.
If last night was indicative of the Rockies’ pitching staff, it will be a short series. Frankly, I know nothing little about the intricacies of the Rockies’ pitchers other than what I learned last night. At this stage of my life, I don’t keep a close watch on the National League. Frankly, I’m about as likely to watch a “Project Runway” marathon as I am a Rockies-Brewers doubleheader. Actually, thanks to spousal pressure, I’m more likely to watch the former, sadly enough.
The tension drained from Game 1 pretty quickly. I was therefore left to mock the announcers and muse on the greatness of Josh Beckett for the last two hours of the game. My favorite “dumb announcer moment” came in the 5th inning when the Rockies replaced starter Connie Francis with Franklin Morales. Morales gave up a lead-off single to light hitting shortstop Julio Lugo, and then rookie Jacoby Ellsbury retired himself with a mediocre bunt. Morales then enjoyed his high point of the evening when he induced smoking-hot Sox 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia to pop-up.
Immediately, announcer Joe Buck and Tim McCarver launched into an extended dialogue about Morales’s “electric stuff.” He had retired exactly one batter. I began ranting to my wife that it was a little early to be crowning the guy the next Pedro Martinez just because one guy hit a pop-up. By the time the inning ended, the Red Sox had scored seven times, putting the game well out of reach. I punctuated each Red Sox’ hit by rejoicing to my wife, “Where’s the electric stuff now?” Happily, Buck and McCarver subsequently informed us that tonight’s starter for the Rockies also has “electric stuff.”
THE WHOLE TOPIC OF “electric stuff” should naturally turn our attention to Josh Beckett. Back when the phrase actually meant something, commentators reserved it for guys like Beckett who had a number of ways to make opposing batters look silly.
About a week ago, a colleague sent me an email asking me if watching Beckett is the same as watching Roger Clemens in his prime. The answer was no, for a couple of reasons.
Clemens was a dominant pitcher. When he was at his best, each one of his starts brought with it the potential that he might pitch one of the greatest games ever. Every serious sports fan knows that he struck out a major league record 20 guys (each time allowing no walks) twice in his career, once in 1986 and once in 1996. What’s less well known is that in between these bookmark achievements, Clemens had a ton of similarly dominant performances.
I did a little research this morning to refresh my memory on a couple of Clemens’ starts from 1988. On May 10, Clemens shutout the Kansas City Royals (who, believe it or not, actually didn’t stink back then), striking out 16 and allowing one walk. He retired twenty-four batters in a row at one point. He threw a mind boggling 165 pitches in the game, getting the last out with the winning run at the plate.
On July 16 of that year, Clemens once again struck out 16 Royals while allowing one walk. This time he actually allowed a run and five whole hits. Clemens threw “only” 133 pitches in his July masterpiece, an amazing 97 for strikes. (The game was also played in an economical two hour and twenty-six minutes–aah, the good old days.) These aren’t particularly famous games in the Clemens catalogue. But that’s my point. He had so many games of this sort, they stopped being exceptional.
Josh Beckett is a terrific pitcher, but to the best of my knowledge he’s never had a single game like the ones mentioned above. He’s certainly never had a game like either of those during his tenure for the Red Sox.
But that’s partly what makes his post-season dominance so amazing. He’s a better pitcher when it matters most. What’s more, he’s a different pitcher. During the season, he’s just another good guy; no one has ever compared him to Pedro Martinez or Roger Clemens at their best, and he’s certainly not the best pitcher in the game by universal acclimation the way those guys were. But in the post-season, a different Beckett shows up.
There’s another critical difference between Clemens and Beckett. The dirty little secret about Roger Clemens’ career is that he never was a great or even very good big-game pitcher. He had some good big games, but he also had some real stinkers. Serious Red Sox fans who remain embittered about Clemens’ ugly departure from the Sox can usually be coaxed into telling tales about his postseason lowlights. As a Red Sox fan, you never felt comfortable or confident with Roger Clemens taking the ball in a big game. Even in his MVP season of 1986, Sox fans felt happier with Bruce Hurst pitching in the post-season.
What’s perhaps most amazing about Beckett is that he has become almost a sure thing in the big games. Over the course of his career, his post-season numbers barely resemble his regular numbers. Certainly no pitcher in recent history, including Curt Schilling, has raised his performance by such a significant level over so many postseason games.
THE MENTION OF SCHILLING means we must necessarily direct our gaze to the Red Sox’ uncertain future rather than their happy past. All of the Red Sox’ starting pitchers not named Beckett are eminently capable of making a typical Triple A team look like the ’27 Yankees. If the Rockies can get their swagger back, they should be able to score some runs. So, of course, should the Red Sox.
Am I sticking with my on-air sweep prediction? You have to understand, I’m a Red Sox fan of long standing. I cried after Jim Burton in 1975, wept after Bill Buckner in 1986. My kind has a deep strain of fatalism that one mere World Series title can’t completely extinguish.
But two World Series titles? Now you’re talking. You bet I’m sticking with the sweep prediction. The Red Sox are the better team, and they expect to win even when they’re trotting out as their starting pitcher, a 40 year-old relic who pitches 88 m.p.h. “fast” balls.
And even if we don’t sweep, we still have Beckett waiting to pitch Game 5.
Dean Barnett is a staff writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
