What a great ALDS it was this past week, as the Sox advanced to the ALCS and the Yanks went down in 4 games to the Indians, for their 3rd straight 1st round defeat. Here's a recap:
SOX: You gotta be thrilled with this series as the Sox flat out dominated the Angels. In game 1, Beckett was amazing. 4 singles and 0 walks in a CG shutout. What better can u ask for? BRILLIANT. Beckett already has 3 CG in his young career. Hopefully he can continue it in the ALCS, as the Sox will need him against Carmona and Sabathia. In game 2, the Angels once again just couldn't find a way to beat the Sox. Dice-K struggled a little bit, but minimized the damage and the Sox bullpen held off the Angels the rest of the game. It's hard to believe that Manny has NEVER hit a walkoff HR for the Sox. But what better time than the playoffs? He crushed a 3-run HR off K-Rod that still hasn't fallen to Earth. That HR was crucial and pretty much locked up a series victory. Game 3 was close for a while, but the Sox offense came alive late. Schilling was brilliant, tossing 7 shutout iunnings. The Sox held on for the easy sweep.
The Sox are scary with an amazing pitching staff and a very good hitting team, led by the scary combo of Ortiz and Manny who each have 2 HR so far in the playoffs. They are built very well, maybe even better than 2004, to win a world championship. LETS GO RED SOX!
Yanks: It's sad really to think that the Skanks are out of the playoffs. 7 years in a row without a title...boo hoo. 3 years out of the 1st round...HAH. Everything fell apart again this series. The Indians dominated Game 1 12-3, and then won a tight game 2. Joba the hut blew it and Hafner came through late for the big victory. After a game 3 win, it appeared the Yanks would make a comeback, but the Indians were just too good and held on for a 6-4 victory in Game 4, led by the great pitching of Paul Byrd. Toree may be gone, so may Posada, Rivera, Clemens, and Pettite. Not to mention some guy named A-Rod. Should be an interesting offseason for the Yanks.
It should be a fun ALCS. LETS GO RED SOX!!!
