Game 2 - Boston 6, St Louis 2

Have I missed something? Is John Mabry being punished?

Tony LaRussa is slowly making his case for inclusion in the Assclown Hall of Fame. Saturday's headscratcher was his decision to use Reggie Sanders as his DH and have So Taguchi play left. Now I thought it was a terrible decision to leave John Mabry on the bench for the previous game, but I could understand the desire to upgrade your defense. Last night was another story. Not only did he not upgrade his defense, leaving Sanders in left, he used Marlon Anderson as his DH.

The Sox had RHP Curt Schilling pitching last night and Anderson, .237/.269/.379, and Mabry, .296/.363/.504, are both left-handed batters. So why exactly would you rather give Anderson the at bats? Are you saving Mabry for the big moment? If that's your plan, and it's a terrible plan, wouldn't the top of the 6th with two on and two out and rightie Sanders, .195/.317/.267 in the playoffs, due up be that moment? You were only down three, you were a swing away. What are you waiting for?

Were you waiting for the 9th inning when rightie Keith Foulke was in and you were down 4? Because Mabry hitting for Sanders would've made sense. Or better yet, for Mike Matheny, who's batting .205 in the playoffs and you still had Yadier Molina on the bench.


Why didn't the Cardinals bunt on Schilling? Don't you have to exploit your opponent’s weakness?


What more can possibly be said about the Sox' defense? Bill Mueller became the first man since Davey Lopes in '81 to boot 3 balls in a World Series game and Strollin' Mark Bellhorn ain't gettin' paid for his leather. You would think they might be well on their way to the record for most errors in a Series, but they're not even close. The 1909 Detroit Tigers punted 19 balls in a losing effort to the Pirates.

I take solace in two things: despite being given extra outs each night, the Cards have been unable to win a game and the Sox' defense just has to settle down. Doesn't it? They got through the first ten games of the playoffs with only one error, so sure, they were due. But now they've committed 9 in 12 games. On the other hand, the idea of watching Ramirez roam that spacious outfield in Busch is terrifying.


There's been talk that the DH rule in the Series would be to the Sox' detriment. How? Why? In Boston, the Sox' offense and defense remained intact and the Cardinals added So Taguchi to their line up for one night and Marlon Anderson for the other. Over the course of a season the addition of either one of those guys wouldn't have covered the 95 runs by which the Sox outscored the Cards - batting a pitcher ninth - this season. In St Louis the Cards' line up remains intact and the Sox lose Millar's bat. Millar is far superior to either Anderson or Taguchi offensively, but again, not 95 runs better. The other difference for the Sox is that Ortiz has to play the field. Is Ortiz a defensive liability? Of course, the guy's a born DH. But that drop off from Millar to Ortiz isn't that great. Surprisingly, Ortiz' zone rating and range factor are both better than Millar's, while Millar's fielding percentage is only 3 points higher.

Another factor in the Sox' favor is that they will have another strong bat on the bench while Tony LaRussa will continue to fruitlessly search milk cartons for John Mabry's whereabouts.


Game 3 - Boston @ St Louis
El Diva - I certainly hope Petey's ego got the stroking it needed in Game 7, 'cuz my dry cleaner says it's going to cost me about $30. Good lord. In his three playoff starts, he's gone 19 innings and allowed 10 runs, averaged a K an inning and issued 11 walks. He is yet again auditioning for what will likely be his last major payday, it is almost certainly his last start in a Sox uniform (please, God) and he's shown in the past month that all that activator has started to rot his brain. The Cards are hitting .239/.316/.373 after two games in a hitter's park and have struck out 18 times in 67 at bats. I see no reason to think Martinez can't give the Sox 6 inning of 3- or 4-run ball.

Jeff Suppan - Don't be fooled by the three quality starts he's spun this postseason. Suppan stinks. Like ass. A beefy WHIP (1.37), a love of the long ball (25 HR) and an inability to finish guys off (5.27 K/9IP) all add up to the kind of guy the Sox feast upon.

Seeing as Schilling (again) saved the bullpen from overuse and they're actually going to get their day's rest, you have to like the Sox' chances of making a ho-hum start by El Diva stand up.