Calm Like A Bomb

If Alex Rodriguez wonders what it's like to be able to perform in the postseason, he should just ask Josh Beckett. Not that JB doesn't also have a firm grasp on things in the regular season as well, but his prowess when September ends is simply uncanny.

Showing yet again why is he is the ace of the Sox staff, Beckett absolutely dominated the Cleveland Indians last night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, setting up another Schilling-Carmona duel that I hope will live up to its billing a little moreso than it did the first time around. So how good was Beckett last night? Well, you tell me. 8 IP, 11K's, 1 ER and he threw GAS up through his last pitch. In the first inning he featured a 97 mph heater. In the 8th, it was 96. Not much fall off there. He is lights out in the postseason and he has been throughout his career. The scary part about that statement is that Beckett still has a long way to do in that career, barring injury. He's young, he's nasty and he's battle-tested. And he's going to be in a Sox uniform for a long time.

This all having been said, the Sox are still down 3-2 in a series that has seen the Indians have their way with everyone else from Boston with the exception of Beckett. Boston is looking at a glaring hole at the bottom of its order in Crisp and Lugo, so don't be surprised if the spry Jacoby Ellsbury is inserted into the lineup for Saturday's sixth game. For me, I could have been thrilled with Ellsbury in the lineup from day one of the playoffs, considering he ended the season smoldering at the plate and having played flawless defense in both center and left. The Sox need to do something about the bottom of their order, because right now there are two automatic outs down there and that is really helping out Cleveland pitching. Their lineup is a National lineup, only with two pitchers. It's pathetic and it simply has to be attended to.

The middle of the lineup is its usual stout self, even with Manny continuing to dog it on hits to the outfield and running the bases in general. It's hard for me to sit here and complain about him though. I mean, he is hitting .440 with 2 HRs and 7RBIs in the ALCS. Tough to argue with that, no matter how much of a dog he is. Ortiz is, well, Ortiz. Pedroia and Youkilis are starting to really heat up and Lowell is just plain solid in the 5 hole. Heck, even JD Drew is showing signs of a faint pulse in the batter's box. But 8 and 9 are severe weaknesses for this offense.

No matter what happens with the outcome of this series, I have a new respect for the Indians, their relievers and their lineup, top to bottom. They have probably the most consistent order in all of baseball with a bunch of guys who make contact and hit the ball hard nearly all of the time. I admit that I didn't see much of them in the regular season, nor did I think they would be this relentless in the postseason. They've outplayed Boston so far, but thankfully this is a best of seven series. As we all know at this point, the Sox need every game in order to come out on top.