ALDS GAME 2 LIVE BLOG

Pre-game - Craig Sager + Mint Green Suit = falling out of my chair awesome. I must be a glutton for punishment because I promised myself I wouldn't liveblog a game with the Dice Man pitching. He frustrates me to the point of no return. I'm hoping this will be therapeutic. Saw somewhere that the Thundersticks are coming back for tonight's game. Is there a cornier group of fans than Angels fans? Also, I'd like to note that Simmons brought up the fact that the Sox sound like a New England Prep School Student Body. Kudos, Sports Guy. As for predictions, I don't think the Sox can pull two in a row off here, but I love that a hopefully healthy Beckett is looming and two games in the Friendly Confines of Fenway. As for the lineup, Cora and Kotsay are in, Lowell and Lowrie are out. Interesting.

Top 1st - Jacoby Pinkhatsbury comes to the plate and all the females of New England swoon. Santana has never done much for me, though he does get strikeouts. I think it's crucial the Sox work counts against this guy tonight, no bailing him out with impatience. Ellsbury pops out, Santana looks filthy
- Laser Show time kids...quickly 0-2
-Turbo Stuff for Santana according to Soup Campbell. Whatever that means, he showed it against Pedroia there.
- Papi up, you can count on a grounder or a lazy pop up here. Sometimes I enjoy being wrong, he hits a laser to right for a single.
- I hate to second guess my boy Tito, but I hate the fact that they won't play Ortiz at first and add the speed/bat of Coco in a series like this. You could DH Drew and keep his back out of the outfield and then you'd have an even better outfield defensively plus add a ton of pressure to the Angels.
- A bloop by USE E LESS and we're in business here a little bit. Santana has looked good, but we're making him throw pitches and getting baserunners, so that is a plus.
- Has to be extremely hard to be JD Drew facing a guy with a TURBO fastball with his timing as poor as it is.
- Well played Sir...hard hit ball up the middle and we lead 1-0. Soup Campbell threw me under the bus, mentioning timing on fastballs is easy, its the offspeed stuff that is dangerous.
- Gay for Bay...and a chance to really give us a good start here for our Canadian friend. AND he's doing a great job laying off the soft stuff away.
- I'm BEYOND GAY FOR BAY. ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER MANNY!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
- I questioned whether this guy would be ready for the playoff atmosphere, I believe he has answered me.
- As important as the 4-0 lead is the 26 pitches they have made Santana throw, a complete turnaround from what the Sox did on Wednesday night. If Dice K wasn't taking the mound tonight, I'd call this game as over
- I think they lost the Thundersticks in Anaheim, why so serious Angels fans?
- Inning ends mercifully on a Varitek bloop...we'll take it.

Bottom 1st - Dice K doesn't get behind 3-1 and Figgins (my Series key for the Angels) gets out.
- Dice K starts 0-2 to Anderson. Ball gets hit hard, but its right to Drew and I'm excited about Dice K pounding the strike zone early. I'm thoroughly convinced with this defense, if he pounds the strike zone, we can be very tough to beat.
- He started Texeira with another strike, third guy this inning, but Texeira hits an eye high fastball to right on a line.
- Fourth first pitch strike from Dice K...I'm so thrilled with this beginning from him. Still though, Guerrero terrifies me until he's sitting on the bench. GRRRRRR...broken bat bloop single from Vladdy Daddy. Have faith in strikes DK.
- Fifth first pitch strike. Its almost like Dice K knows he'd kill me tonight by nibbling. Man, that was some seeing eye bullshit there boy...and Guerrero took another stupid chance, but Ellsbury couldn't get the ball out of his glove.
- So after a pitchers duel in Game 1, it looks like we'll have some fun here tonight. Super nice play by Cora gets us out of it. Most important in spite of the early run, Dice K only threw 16 pitches.

Top 2nd - How does Cape Cod have like 6 99 Restaurants and 0 Applebees, Chilis, or Ruby Tuesdays. I mean I know the 99 is the greatest restaurant ever created, but still. Between none of those and the absence of Arby's, the Cape is hard to deal with sometimes.
- Cora made a nice play deep in the hole to end the inning and wouldn't you know he comes up in the next half inning. Funny inbetween hop eats up Aybar...
- Have I mentioned how much I think the world of Craig Sager...who else would wear a suit like that following a Salmon suit two nights earlier. The man is a legend. Also, these are the things sideline reporters are supposed to bring to the broadcast. Sager talks about how right field is a difficult call at Angel Stadium because fans can reach over so easily. This is what fans want to know, not sound clips from managers talking about why they hit the righty against the lefty.
- Ellsbury with a classic Jacoby soft grounder that he just won't allow to be a double play.
- Can we get a Laser Show ticket please Dusty?
- Well that's about as far as you can hit one to left field in Angel Stadium. Hope that won't come back to haunt us.
- Santana has quickly gotten to 45 pitches in two innings, but he gets Ortiz on a weak grounder and the Sox can't capitalize on a couple hard hit balls and baserunners.

Bottom 2nd - Dice Man still throwing first pick strikes...still keeping me from the Angry Zone.
- This live blog thing is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. One game is easy for fresh material, but how many jokes can I make about Garrett Anderson's pinkeye from last year's playoffs without it getting stale? I'm hoping a lot.
- After a nice strikeout to Howie Kendrick, Dice K misses on his first pitch for the first time, but battles back to get ahead 1-2 and then throw a fastball by him. It is so crucial to get the bottom 3 or 4 guys of this Angels lineup out.
- I think I'm going to faint, Dice K has a clean, low pitch inning and Drew gets a great jump on a liner by Aybar. Inning over, 28 pitches through 2 innings. Who is this Dice K we're seeing so far?

Top 3rd - I have to say that playoff baseball seems to be a little more intense now than it was years ago. I think this has something to do with the disappearance of amphetamines/greenies in the game. Watching the Sox a little bit over the month of September, it seemed like the players didn't have the pep they used to have. The playoffs get that back just by being the playoffs. You don't need a greenie to get excited about a playoff game after a night off.
- Use E Less flies out, but its a typical Greek God of Walks at bat, grinding six pitches before flying out
- I totally think its a bad sign that JD Drew has had more epidurals in the month of September than most women with 3 kids have in their lifetime.
- As Drew is called out on a check swing strike, I realize that more home plate umpires are making that call on their own now. It seems odd that they have any angle to see the bat break the plane, but they seem to be making the call much more often than they ever did before.
- The Angel Killer from Canada steps in and quickly gets to 3-1 as Santana is being very careful, but they get him on a grounder to third.

Bottom 3rd - At some point Dice K throwing a first pitch strike won't be a story, but for right now its pumping me up.
- Another out for Figgins. The less he is on base, the better off we are.
- Easy play for Pedderass, two away.
- Cheapy for big Tex up the middle, clearly he's not afraid of the big stage either...somewhere in his evil lair, Scott Boras is laughing maniacally.
- Another couple of singles from Texeira and Guerrero. It struck me during that at bat that Guerrero is a miserable matchup for Dice K. DK likes to nibble and locate, Guerrero hits everything in every location.
- Great, Torii Hunter hitting one of Dice K at Fenway highlights, thanks TBS.
- Hunter has gotten a couple of good swings on Dice, but he's behind in the count 1-2.
- PHEWWWWW...and Torii Hunter just pulled the most boneheaded play of the playoffs so far as he hurts himself arguing about the call at first. He leapt in the air and obviously didn't come down right. Inning over, is Torii's night over?

Top 4th - Hunter apparently is fine as he's staying in the game and makes a play on Kotsay's liner to center.
- Varitek quickly follows up with a line shot down the line played well by Teixeria. Now Santana is trying to get out of an inning with just a few pitches.
- Man, Alex Cora is making Francona look like a genius. A nice hard hit ball up the gap for a double and red hot Jacoby will have a shot at driving him in and extending the lead.
- Jacoby hits a ball hard in the gap and its totally misplayed by Rivera. We'll take it and the 5-1 lead it represents.
- I'm officially canceling the Laser Show if Pedroia can't get an RBI single here. I know he crushed the ball last time up, but still...and he's out again. Another run for Dice K. Can he make it hold up?

Bottom 4th - UGH...a potential Bad Dice K sighting. Walking the lead off guy here. Come on Dice Man, make me wrong. Be Aces here!
- Just like that the Dice Man gets a quick strike out of Kendrick. I love the approach tonight.
- Bay can't make a great play on a blooper to left and now Dice K must find a way to get outs before the top of the order gets rolling.
- Let me also say this, if someone doesn't give John Farrell a managerial job after this season, they are completely nuts. The man dealt this year with a veteran knuckleballer, a japanese nibbler, a texan stud, a young lefty who's also a cancer survivor, a throwback veteran, a young sinkerball reliever, a veteran closer with migraines and shoulder issues, and the list goes on. He's also gotten the most you could expect out of nearly all of them. The only guy who didn't perform at a plus level was clay Bucholz and from the looks of things, his issue is in his head, not his arm.
- Dice gets the out as Aybar grounds softly to first, can we really continue to get Chone Figgins out every time he's up?
- DK is only at 61 pitches for the evening here after two outs in the fourth. He has a chance to give them 6 to 7 clean innings tonight. This would be huge.
- Dice threw a terrible fastball over the inner half on the second pitch, but Figgins swung through it and now we're at 2-2.
- A walk here would not be a good thing...
- Worse, its a line drive base hit in front of Bay and fortunately only one run comes in. Now Garret Anderson with no Pink Eye is coming up. I have a bad feeling about this.
- Nibbles McGee is back here. Got an 0-2 count on Anderson and now its quickly 2-2. I think Boras is behind home plate btw....
- Man, Bay has been so close to like five plays in the outfield the last two nights. That means he's either getting great jumps or awful ones, but who can complain about Bay right now.
- The Dice Man holds on, but he's to 71 pitches now. Great pitch.

Top 5th - It sure would be nice to get Ortiz going at some point here. Sager tells us Torii Hunter has a jammed knee, he's going to be really sore tomorrow, I promise you that.
- Hunter's injury immediately brings to mind the Frerotte head butt and the Grammatica celebration injury as great moments in sports history.
- Papi battles in this at bat, but he just doesn't seem to have the ability to turn on pitches anymore. I'm hoping that's because of the wrist, strikes out on a fastball away.
- Man, Youkilis is back to his warning track power and the Sox have officially had two balls taken off the wall tonight.
- That was way too quiet an inning for our boys, big Bottom 5th coming for the Dice Man.

Bottom 5th - Outside of a homerun, that was pretty much a worse case scenario at bat from Teixeira. An 8 pitch walk and now the Dice Man is above 80 pitches with a runner on and no one out.
- Guerrero terrifies me, I think that's a theme from the last two nights. Bad time for Bad Dice K to rear his nibbling head.
- A walk of course and the announcer just used my Bad Dice K line...no lead ever feels safe with this guy.
- Let's hope Hunter falls to the ground on that bad knee
- Man - the announcer just wants the Angels in this series so badly...due for a longball, blah blah blah
- Here's a shock...Dice K has gone to a full count.
- Growl, Snarl, remembering this is a family blog. On a side note, great slide by Teixeira.
- Trying to remember we still have a 5-3 lead...desperately trying to remember.
- This is the Dice K everyone who cheers for the Sox is terrified of. 3-1 to Rivera.
- Huge slider to get Rivera. A pretty damn good 100th pitch, but we need more.
- Ellsbury gets under a fly ball and even though Vladdy Daddy tags, the Sox get out number 2. Dice K just needs to hang on for one more out here to get us out of the 5th.
- 0-2 for Dice K. Time for him to really put this guy away.
- Dice Man pops him up, you would think his game is over, and the Sox survive the 5th inning. Bos 5 - LAA 3

Top 6th - Ervin Santana must feel like he hasn't pitched in an hour. He gets a nice pop out from Bay and there is quickly one away.
- One of the signs of the Apocalypse just occurred. Torii Hunter makes an error in Center Field and Kotsay is on with one away. Do you think the knee affected his ability to make that play on the run?
- I don't think I've ever seen a worse swing result in a hit than the one Tek just took. Santana gone, Arugulagonedomownowath will come in for the Angels.
- Hilarious. You can't tell they changed pictures. This guy looks exactly like Santana.
- Cora has worked hard to get this to 3-2. I would love to see him get a big hit here. We'll take the walk though.
- Load em up, one out, and the difficult to double Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate.
- Huge strikeout there for Arredondo. It'll be up to Pedroia to add some breathing room runs for the Sox.
- Napoli has been amazing with his ball in the dirt stops so far this inning.
- Pedroia hits the laser he needs, but right at Kendrick.

Bottom 6th - Okajima, according to Travis, is Japanese for one year wonder. I truly hope he's wrong in this case as he's in to work the 6th for the Sox.
- Huge play by Cora as he unloads a strike to first on a slow roller. When you watch the guy play, you're convinced he should be a starter in the big leagues. It seems however that this is the perfect roll for him and he always seems to take advantage of opportunities to pitch in.
- Figgins continues his woes and flies out to center.
- i would say that makes Anderson taking away Pedroia's home run even. Sox get out of the 6th...need some runs

Top 7th -Ortiz continues to just look awful at the plate. He's out on a pop up to right and as you can tell from the sporadic thoughts, I'm halfway out of this blog because of how late its getting.
- Phenomenal play by Aybar and there is quickly two away.
- Just as the announcer said earlier, Aybar makes the hard plays and boots the easy one. Drew to first on a, well we'll call it a hit, since it is by law.
- Bay singles in a great at bat and then Kotsay hits a shot to right that is tracked down by Rivera. Seventh Inning Stretch time and honestly, I may have to stand up for the rest of the game to stay awake.

Bottom 7th - Teixeira vs. Okajima. Gulp. Man, Teixeira hits another hard single. The question I have to ask though is when can this big hulking slugger hit an extra base hit. It's like walking Wade Boggs.
- Vladdy Daddy might just be ready to go long here.
- Another single and as I fade, so does the Sox's hopes for this game, someone needs to stop the bleeding.
- Master Lock comes in...Hunter immediately flies out to left and Teixeira moves up. Seems like a first pitch swing is not the best option in that situation. Now Masterson faces Rivera.
- GGGRRRRRRR. Rivera works a walk. Tying run moves to second. Masterson just has to trust his stuff and pitch to contact here. Huge strikeout from Masterlock and now he needs one more to push this game to the eighth.
- 3-1 to Napoli now...must throw a strike...must throw a strike...must....
- Walks him. A one run game now and the Sox are staggering. This all started because Francona stayed with Okajima too long. Guy never should have been able to put two people on before giving up the ball.
- STRUCK. HIM. OUT. All things considered, the Master Lock was huge there.

Top 8th -All Jason Varitek does right now is ground out to first. This time his bat explodes in the process. One away.
- Wow...that Cora at bat didn't take long at all. At this point its hard to have any analysis. Mostly I'm just exhausted and fearful. Dangerous combination.
- K ROD is in. This guy has totally underwhelmed me throughout his career against us. Reminds me of Manny's BOMB last year in a big spot. He better be careful here. Dusty has snapped off two lasers this game. One more is coming.
- Don't forget Ellsbury at first, I would definitely consider sending him here so worst case you lead off Pedroia in the ninth.
- And on cue...stolen base Jacoby. Boy oh man would a single by Pedroia be huge here.
- Damn nice play by Aybar...looks like its up to the bullpen now.

Bottom 8th - Master Lock comes back out for the 8th. Francona is really trying to piece it together here. And immediately, Figgins crushes a ball and flies to third for a leadoff triple. Welcome to the Series Mr. Figgins. Of course Masterson gets the hook now. Lady Mo has a rally monkey sitting on her shoulder.
- Papelbon gets Anderson to pop out in foul territory. Now you face two of the toughest outs in the world.
- You may want to get off the plate Mr. Teixeira. He induces the high weak pop fly to center, but it is enough to move Figgins home. Tie game, two outs.
- Paps does quick work of 2,3,4 but the run still scores. We're tied going to the 9th.

Top 9th - Huge shot by Ortiz, Willits can't reach it and the lead runner is on 2nd. Do you run for David here with Coco and sacrifice him? Tito does. Now its up to ARODs brother You Kill Us.
- In typical Use E Less fashion, he grounds to short which can advance no one, now its up to Drew to keep it going. Remember Soup says he'll have a hard time with breaking stuff.
- Coco almost got picked off and maybe he was even out. There is absolutely no excuse for that. It would have been devastating.
- Drew looks awful so far in this at bat. 2-2 count.
- WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!! JD DREW has hit his second huge home run in as many postseasons. Sox lead by 2. As bad as JD can look when he misses, that sweet swing looks better on real contact.
- KROD continues to underwhelm...
- First HR from Drew since July 26th...perfect timing.
- Tek continues his double play hitting bonanza. We go to the bottom of the ninth. Sox by two.

Bottom 9th -
-For some reason Torii Hunter bunts with a bad knee. Youkilis makes a phenomenal play and there is one away.
- Gary Matthews Jr. in to hit with one down.
- Matthews is battling and he's got it to a full count after 6 pitches.
- WOW. As much as I kill USE E LESS, he is an absolutely astounding fielder. He makes a heck of a pay there leaning over the camera pit and there is two away.
- I still wonder why the Angels would have picked the 3 man rotation series in this case. You know the Sox don't like to go to Papelbon on back to back nights with a lot of pitches. Plus it would have made Byrd or Wake pitch. If the Sox close this out, you have to beat Beckett, Lester, and Dice K back to back to back with the first two at Fenway. Yikes.
- 0-2 on Kendrick.
- Papelbon makes him look silly. Sox lead 2-0 and I have a sales meeting in 7 hours. More "analysis" tomorrow.

GO SOX!!!