Comments on: Heartbreak alert …

By: What I’ve Learned So Far » Blog Archive » Do you save face? Or try to win?

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:26:35 +0000

[...] at throwing out the book and doing what needs to be done to win. A fine example of this comes from a long blog post that Joe Posnanski did this week. Primarily it’s about the baseball playoffs (Joe is the [...]

By: Cleveland FAn

Cleveland FAn — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:57:12 +0000

TRIBE WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nuff said

By: The Assimilated Negro

The Assimilated Negro — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:35:17 +0000

And the beautiful unpredictability of sports — this time embodied by Paul Byrd — comes and bites this post in the butt. There’s plenty of logic here, the same logic that lines baseball previews and predictions at the beginning of the season. All works on paper, but goes out the window on the field. Scores of Paul Byrd’s litter the playoffs, reminding us it’s not just about the stars. It takes 5, or 25 … or however many you got. That’s why they play. That’s why we watch. The day you/we figure it out, is the day it no longer matters. Lucky us.

By: Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:22:49 +0000

Wha……? Dude, Sabathia led MLB in innings pitched this year, and was clearly not in top form in Game 1. Byrd just needs to keep it close, and may surprise with his junk….then if it goes back to CLE, Sabathia is rested and Fausto is ready for Game 1 vs Beckett, with CC against their #3 or 4.

By: Simon Oliver Lockwood

Simon Oliver Lockwood — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:29:40 +0000

The difference between what Pinella did and what Wedge is doing is that Pinella was saving Zambrano for a Game 4 that he wasn’t certain of having. Plus, pulling his ace in a 1-1 game probably decreased his chances of winning Game 1.

Wedge knows he has two games in which to get one win. It’s very likely that he thinks he’s got a better chance of getting that win with Byrd on full rest tonight with Sabathia AND Carmona ready to go in Game 5. It would be asking a lot of C.C. to put him out there in the biggest game of his life, on short rest, against the best hitting team in baseball.

By: Steve Simon

Steve Simon — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:08:38 +0000

Sports fans in the Queen city miss your writing.

By: Chris Spada

Chris Spada — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:06:34 +0000

I think this is a fascinating argument. I personally agree that Sabathia should take the ball on three days rest in Game 4, and for not one but TWO major reasons.

1) Sabathia, even on three days rest, gives the Indians a better chance to win Game 4 than Paul Byrd. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe Byrd pulls a great game out of his hat and eliminates my Yankees, but he has a rough history against New York. He doesn’t walk anyone, so if the Yanks can’t swing the bats tonight they would be in trouble. I would say early run support could benefit Byrd, but he did not escape the 4th inning when staked to a 5-0 lead against Randy Johnson and the Yanks while with the Angels in the 2005 ALDS. Point being, if Sabathia is the ace people claim he is, he could beat the Yankees on three days rest, and Eric Wedge has to give him the opportunity.

2) By not starting Sabathia in Game 4, Wedge will feel obliged to start his ace in a potential Game 5, rather than Fausto Carmona. And with all due respect to C.C. Sabathia, but Carmona is the last pitcher I want to see as a Yankee fan, given his 9-inning, 3-hit, 1-run performance in Game 2. Were Sabathia to start Game 4, it would allow Carmona to start Game 5 for the Indians, at home, on full rest. As it stands, I would love to see Carmona again in this series, because than it means the Yankees will have won Game 4, and will have already knocked Sabathia out of Game 5 with stalwart Andy Pettitte protecting a lead that could send them to the ALCS.

So you see, this decision not only could help the Yankees in tonight’s game, but in a potential Game 5 as well. It’s a scared decision, made by a manager more reluctant to lose than willing to win. The Indians might still win this series, but if they don’t this will be a decision they’ll sorely regret.

By: JE Payne

JE Payne — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:32:42 +0000

I was watching the Indians-Yankees game last night and every time they showed Wedge on TV (during the first few innings–when the Tribe still had the lead) I swear he looked like HIS team was down two games to none, his boss had told him HIS job was on the line, and he was about to hurl his dinner at any moment. He may want to work on his poker face a bit before tonight’s Indians loss (um game).

By: Ahmad

Ahmad — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:04:59 +0000

With all this talk I really dont know what to think, as a die hard indians fan, I would keep my fingers crossed and say its in god’s hands now.

By: Jim Evans

Jim Evans — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:49:20 +0000

Go Tribe! I agree with the Colorado-Cleveland WS goal. I lived in Cleveland for the Drive, Fumble, and Shot, so I feel your pain. But here’s one trend– OSU loses in the championship game in football and basketball. Cavs get swept in Finals. Ohio teams are 0-6 in title games this year. And we know the Browns won’t be there!

I live in AZ now, and the D-backs are wild. It’s like Earl Weaver’s ghost is helping the team. Pitching and defense just need the occasional 3-run homer to win. You look at Paul Blair, Mark Belanger and some of the other old Orioles– that team was built just like the D-backs. And they won some World Series.