Duos could be the difference
02.10.2007 06:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
Terry Francona says he didn't have a strong preference when the Boston Red Sox chose the American League Division Series spread over eight days rather than the one that lasts seven days. But the Red Sox might have done their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, a favor.
The Yankees are not facing the prospect of a five-game series with the Cleveland Indians that could have included four games against C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, one of the more formidable 1-2 pitching combinations in this year's playoffs. By opting for the series with an extra off-day between the first two games, Boston also sets itself up for double doses of another strong tandem, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar of the Los Angeles Angels. One-two pitching punches are one thing most managers don't want to come up against in a playoff series, especially the shorter and more unpredictable best-of-five Division Series. Ask anyone who had to face Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in the Arizona Diamondbacks' run to the 2001 World Series championship. Not all playoff teams have clear-cut 1-2's. For instance, the Red Sox will start Daisuke Matsuzaka after 20-game winner Josh Beckett in their playoff rotation, but is Matsuzaka the obvious No. 2 rather than Schilling or 17-game winner Tim Wakefield? But other combinations could change a short series. The Chicago Cubs' 85 victories are the fewest among playoff teams, but Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly can be formidable, especially now that Zambrano is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA since Labor Day. Chien-Ming Wang has been the most consistent pitcher, winning 19 games, on a Yankees staff that used 14 starters this year. Veteran Andy Pettitte comes next with 15 victories, but Roger Clemens is coming off a hamstring injury and will start Game 3. "These guys pitch a couple of times and they dominate," Yankees manager Joe Torre says of the Indians combo, who both finished in the top five in AL ERA. Indians aces lack experience Sabathia, with a 3.21 ERA, is scheduled to start Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 5. Carmona, whose 19 wins tied Sabathia, Wang and Lackey for second-most in the AL, will start just once, in Game 2. They're the franchise's first pair of 19-game winners since 1956 when Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Herb Score each won 20. Indians general manager Mark Shapiro says his combination is better than anyone Cleveland had during its five consecutive postseason appearances in the 1990s. "Yeah, with arguably the Cy Young winner (Sabathia) and one of the top three or four pitchers in the league," Shapiro says. "We had guys like Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez and Charlie Nagy back then. They had longer résumés but at that point weren't as good as these guys." Hershiser and Martinez were near the ends of their careers as those Indians annually struggled to find pitching to match its formidable offense. The tradeoff this year, though, is experience. Carmona, 23, has been in the majors less than two seasons. Sabathia, 26, has one postseason appearance, a victory against Seattle in the 2001 Division Series. "Anytime you head into uncharted territory, lack of experience is somewhat of a concern," Shapiro says. "I'll let you know in a month." The experience of Lackey, the Angels' top starter, is well-known, especially against the Red Sox. Lackey started and won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series but he has a career 6.27 ERA against Boston and this year allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in 9⅔ innings in two starts against the Red Sox. But he and Escobar have thrived this season on a friendly competition that began while they were working in the weight room during spring training, when Escobar said, "We should go for 40 wins and 400 innings." Lackey said, "Sure, why not?" They got the innings (419⅔) but fell short with 37 wins. Escobar won three times in September to get to 18 but of more concern was a four-start stretch in which he allowed 20 runs in 17⅔ innings. A strong game in his last start — one run and five hits in six innings after 10 days off to rest a sore shoulder — alleviated most of the concerns. Zambrano, Lilly: Chicago hope In Chicago, the trend has been in the opposite direction. Zambrano was booed after giving up eight runs in 4⅓ innings on Labor Day but allowed more than one run in only one of his five starts since. Plus, he's slated to open the Cubs' series in Arizona on Wednesday — and finish it should the series go five games — because he is 12-4 with a 3.06 ERA on the road, compared with 6-9, 4.96 at Wrigley Field. Lilly, meanwhile, has been the hidden ace, posting a 9-2 record in games he started after a Cubs loss and winning a career-best 15 times overall. Contributing: Mike Dodd, Jorge L. Ortiz
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