2007 ALDS (Game 3)

We are in the post-season for my 2007 DETROIT TIGERS Season Replay, in which I will be playing out the other playoff series that may have been altered during season match-ups.

I would like to mention that it was pointed out to me (repeatedly by one person) that my research on the match-up for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would never happened due to the old rules that were still in place before the 5th playoff team (2nd wildcard team) was added.

For that, it's good to know, but too late since I have played the first 2 games for the 4 teams in the ALDS already -- maybe, I will go back and do an alternate & more accurate MLB finish to this, but then again.. this is my alternate replay, this is my APBA project, and this is how my 2007 DETROIT TIGERS Season Replay will be conducted for the time being.

We left off with the Los Angeles Angels up 2-0 in their series against the Detroit Tigers, while the New York Yankees find themselves in a 2-0 hole against the Boston Red Sox.

We go out to New York for Game 3 in Old Yankee Stadium...

GAME 3 - ALDS
Boston at New York (A)

Two veterans starting pitchers go head-to-head in this one, and both are no strangers to post-season glory -- Curt Schilling (C-YZ / 9-8, 3.87 ERA & 101 K's in 151 innings) for Boston & Andy Pettitte (C / 15-9, 4.05 ERA & 141 K's) for the Yankees. Pettitte would go on to win 19 post-season games, posting a 3.81 ERA in 276.2 innings; Schilling would not win as many post-season games as Pettitte, but was definitely more impressive (11-2, 2.23 ERA & a outstanding post-season .968 WHIP).

So would this go on to be a great pitchers' duel?
No.

Andy Pettitte would get injured on the second out of the 2nd Inning while covering first, while Jason Varitek steps on Pettitte's foot. Phil Hughes would take over for Pettitte out of the pen, he would go perfect for 1.1 innings, until Boston would score in the top of the 4th, on a error by Alex Rodriguez.

Top of the 5th - Boston takes commanding 4-0 lead, after a two-run home run by David Ortiz, and RBI double by Mike Lowell.

Ortiz flexing some muscle with 2nd HR of the series.

Hughes would only last 3 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 earned runs (4 runs), while walking 3 batters, with no strike outs.

Top of the 6th - Manny Ramirez would add a two-run double, while Mike Lowell collects his 2nd ribbie of the night, with RBI single. Boston leads 7-0.

Unusual good series for A-Rod.

Boston's Curt Schilling was mostly in control the first 5 innings, he would get touched up for three runs in the bottom of the 6th by Alex Rodriguez's two-run triple (A-Rod's 2nd triple of the series) -- while Alex would score on a ground out by Hideki Matsui.

Boston's great bullpen would take over, the final three innings, keeping the Yankees off the boards. The Yankees would use 8 pitchers in this game, as they lose 8-3 and are swept by the Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez, historically a playoff goat, goes 4-for-13 in the series, with 4 RBI & 3 runs (Yankees only scored 9 runs all series); Derek Jeter went 6-for-11, but his 2 errors in Game 2 cost the Yankees dearly.

Bostons' heroes: Kevin Youkilis went  4-for-9, also drawing 4 walks, with 4 RBI; David Ortiz went 4-for-10 with 2 HR with 3 RBI & 6 runs (3 walks) & Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-12 with a HR & 2 RBI (5 runs).

The Yankees were outscored 22-9 & while Boston out-hit them 29-21. Boston made no errors in the series, while New York made 3 errors.

BOSTON RED SOX 8
NEW YORK YANKEES 3

Boston sweeps series, 3-0

GAME 3 - ALDS
Los Angeles (A) at Detroit

The Detroit Tigers find themselves in a 2-0 hole, as the Tigers' lineup will have to do their best in keeping the Tigers in this one with Nate Robertson on the mound; Robertson (C / 12-12, 4.84 ERA & 104 K's) will face the Angels' Jered Weaver (C-YZ / 13-7, 3.91 ERA & 115 K's in 161 innings).

The Angels strike first with a one-out, two-run home run by the dangerous Vladimir Guerrero in the top of the 1st. Vlad was quiet in the second game, after reaching safely in all four plate appearances in Game 1 on 2 hits & 2 walks. The Tigers would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning, as Curtis Granderson, who led with a double, reached home on a fielding error by Chone Figgins.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd, Marcus Thames (getting his 1st series start) would knock in Carlos Guillen on a RBI double.

Top of the 3rd, a lead-off double by Guerrero for the Angels, while Garret Anderson would collect his 5th RBI of the series, with an RBI single; Angels lead 3-2.

Bottom of the 5th - Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez leads off with a double for the Tigers, while surprisingly stealing third, Angels' catcher Jeff Mathis would throw the ball past the third baseman into left field, as Pudge would score easily, tying the game. A.L. Batting Champion - Magglio Ordonez (.377) would hit his 2nd HR of the series, to give Tigers a 4-3 lead.

Golden Halo: Maicer has had an amazing series for Angels.

The Angels though would silent the Tigers crowd in the top of the 6th though, Zach Miner in relief, would load the bases up for Maicer Izturis; Izturis would send it deep for a Grand Slam! Izturis has been amazing this series for the Angels -- 7-for-11 (.636), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 runs & a stolen base... he would add another single by end of game to raise average up to .750 this series.

Big, bad Marcus Thames lights up Game 3.

The Tigers, now feeling the pressure of a 7-4 game deficit, would get a run back in the bottom of the 6th, with another RBI double by Marcus Thames.

Trailing 7-5, Ryan Raburn would hit a solo HR off of reliever Justin Speier, to make it 7-6 Angels. The Tigers' reliever Tim Byrdak would pitch a shutout 8th inning in an attempt to keep the Tigers in the game.

Bottom of the 8th - Scot Shields on the mound for the Angels; Shields gets the first two Tigers in Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen to fly out. The Tigers decide to pinch-hit Timo Perez for Sean Casey, and draws a walk; Tigers pinch-run Omar Infante for Perez. With two outs, Marcus Thames makes Shields pay with a mistake pitch left over the plate -- two-run blast for Thames; Thames is 3-for-4 this game, with 2 doubles, HR & 4 RBI.

The Tigers have now pulled off another late comeback, and now have a 8-7 lead, thanks to Thames. Bobby Seay would come out of the pen for the Tigers, and complete the Save, while Tim Byrdak is credited with the win.

The Tigers are hoping this game can spark some life into the remainder of this series, they must win Game 4 to force this series back to California though.

DETROIT TIGERS 8
LOS ANGELES ANGELS 7

Tigers had 7 hits, no errors; Angels had 8 hits on 2 errors.

Angels leads series, 2-1

BoS Power Rankings (July)

Adam Bomb: Panthers hope Wainwright can give Panthers that extra push.

The Power Rankings for the month of July 

(October 5th - November 1st on League Manager - Calendar).

The top three teams in the Portland Microbrewers, Traverse City Panthers & Chicago Nine have separated themselves from the pack, and appear to be the cream of the crop. Recently, the Chicago Nine took 5 of 6 from Portland in Chicago... while the Panthers are trying to fend off division rivals Holland Hitchhikers and the upstart Urbana Locomotives.

Traverse City hopes to get past Portland in the upcoming NLCS this year, after losing in a hard-fought seven-game series: A series that featured a instant classic Game 6 that dragged out for 20 innings, with T.C. pulling off the victory to force a Game 7.

Abreu: Seeking the Crown, plus two other awards.

Meanwhile, Jose Abreu of the Corktown Tamales, in heavy pursuit of the Triple Crown. Abreu leads the American League with a .314 batting average & 30 home runs, while he is tied for the league in RBI with 70 (tied with Chicago's David Ortiz). He also the easy favorite for Rookie-of-the-Year, and will also have a great shot at landing the league's Most Valuable Player Award.

Early Predictions on MLB Free Agents

Johnny Cueto is among heavy free agent class.

My predictions of who's going where in Major League Baseball. I like any fan has been reading plenty of the rumor mill articles on sites such as Bleacher Report, ESPN & numerous other baseball sites and have took some of this input and came up with my own choices.

Here they are...

Jordan Zimmermann - Cubs
The Chicago Cubs will probably go for two steady and dependable starting pitchers to add to Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. Zimmermann is probably the most effective and affordable & would fit perfectly with the Cubs.

The Cubs have the lineup, now add pitching, and the team should only get better, even if they are in the toughest division in all of baseball.

Ben Zobrist - Yankees
The Yankees for the last few years have been plugging veteran pieces in their infield slots with little success -- they should put more faith in their prospects, but likely will keep going for a veteran signing. Zobrist would be the best signing of the bunch, and would give the team flexibility without breaking the bank. Yankees should be able to outbid their opponents on Zobrist.

Yoenis Cespedes - Yankees / Marlins
There are many reports at the moment that the Miami Marlins will land the recently well-traveled Cuban stud -- but I would not be surprised to see the Yankees over-pay for lightning in a bottle, he is exactly the type of player the Yankees would spurge on in the past. Yankees probably would be hoping for a Reggie Jackson impact, but end up more with a Danny Tartabull, Ruben Sierra, or Jesse Barfield.

I do think Cespedes gets too much grief for being traded plenty of recent, with many questioning his mind frame for the game, but I think adding him to a team is always a upgrade despite a low career On-Base Percentage -- His arm in the outfield, and power surges do make up for plenty of that, and it has been statistically proven that his teams (with the exception of Boston) play better when he is in the lineup, compared to when out of the lineup

[See Oakland's 2014 second-half collapse & get back to me on that]

Jason Heyward - Re-signs with Cardinals
Heyward is an interesting free agent with plenty of tools, at times he comes off as over-rated and then he comes off underrated. I do think Cardinals get it done by resigning him, unless a big market team overpays for him.

Johnny Cueto - Red Sox 
Johnny Cueto is exactly the big signing that new GM Dave Dombrowski is looking for. The Red Sox need an ace to anchor a rotation that still needs work -- landing Cueto, will bring in other dependable starters as well.

Alex Gordon - Resigns with Royals... or St. Louis?
I have read reports about the Houston Astros being in hunt for Gordon.. but would not be surprised if the St. Louis Cardinals jump in, if Jason Heyward does not resign with Cards. Plus Gordon would completely fit into Mike Matheny & the Cardinals' way with no problem. Cardinals fans would love to see him in Cardinal red.

Doug Fister - Tigers
Okay, okay... This is definitely wishful thinking. I personally hated watching the Tigers trade Fister to the Washington Nationals, and in hindsight that deal ended up being a bust for the Tigers, even though Fister didn't have the same success in Washington than he did in Detroit.

Maybe teams will be weary of Fister's recent injuries, undervalue him, and the Tigers swoop in and sign him to a three-year deal. Fister would help solidify a rotation that is desperate need for balance right now, add that to a reemergence of Justin Verlander, a hopeful rebound for Anibal Sanchez, and the emergence of Daniel Norris -- The Tigers would suddenly have a rotation again.

Hey, Tiger fans can dream, right?!

Chris Davis - Rangers
The Texas Rangers love their sluggers, so why not bring in a guy who started his career in Texas? The Rangers' division rival, Los Angeles Angels may also jump into the fun as they try to transition Albert Pujols towards full-time DH.

Greinke had huge season with Dodgers.

Zack Greinke - Giants / Dodgers
When looking at the possibilities, considering he turned down a great option -- He would only get a huge contract from either Los Angeles team. But sources have mentioned the fact that Greinke really hit things off with San Francisco Giants players and Giant Manager Bruce Bochy (during All-Star break), feeling a good comfort level. Greinke once battled anxiety problems, so San Fran would probably be more his fit, although he had his best stretch of career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 57-17 (.770 winning percentage) in a 3 1/2 season stretch. Dodgers still have a shot at re-landing Greinke.

David Price - Any team with a huge piggy bank
If the price is right, some team will be happy with landing David Price -- the question remains, who? The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox all seem to be great suitors.

It would be interesting to see if the Chicago Cubs, and even the New York Mets (who have enough pitching) tip the scales, and try to wing it with a lineup that needs offensive and defensive upgrades.

I actually have heard the Detroit Tigers still wanting to bring him back, but with the team being strapped, I think they try to fill in the holes on their rosters with hopeful bargain signings.

My gut says either the Dodgers or Yankees get it done, but don't count out the Cubs.


POSSIBLE Upcoming TRADE ACQUISTIONS

Stephen Strasburg (SP-Washington Nationals)
With the Nationals being a mess, and with Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmermann hitting free agency, it may be the best time to trade Strasburg while his stock is up. There has been connections that the New York Yankees would try to land Strasburg -- The Nationals could bring in some pieces, particularly pitching in maybe players like Adam Warren with a bundle of prospects. The Nats still have Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and the possibility of resigning either Fister or Zimmermann -- The Nats are definitely reshuffling the deck, especially since they have already reshuffled possible managers a couples times, and now has Dusty Baker at the helm... who seems to be a manager that knows how to fix a mess.

Another team would be the Dodgers, who probably have more attractable pieces to offer the Nationals than the Yankees.

Justin Verlander (SP- Detroit Tigers)
Okay, I jumped the gun about a season to season & half ago, saying Justin was back -- now, confidently, and the fact that he finished the 2015 season strong, he may just be back.

Is he the old Cy Young stud from 2011/2012 period?
No, probably not.

Is he closer to the 2009-2010, 2013 version?
Yes

I have made it no secret that Justin Verlander is my favorite player in Major League Baseball, and saying that, I would hate to see the Detroit Tigers ever trade him... but if the Tigers are not in the hunt for true playoff contention by All-Star Break 2016, and Verlander is pitching strongly like he shown in the second-half of 2015, it may not be a bad idea for the Tigers to get possible contenders with huge bank accounts in the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, or Los Angeles Angels to bite on his huge yearly salary.

At this point, I do not see Tigers any better than 2nd place, if not more like a third-place team. He would be perfect for the Chicago Cubs to make that next huge step in late 2016.

Just saying.

Big Names, New Places (Boys of Summer - League Update)

McCutchen is hoping to be the answer for Chicago.

The third season of the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League is half-way through, and we are starting to see teams move their chips, place down their cards...

Who's all in? Who is out?

The league was quiet for the first couple months after the season started, but then the Chicago Nine broke the silence by picking up veteran Justin Morneau in exchange for speedy, plus-outfielder Anthony Gose; The two players have a stark contrast in terms of power, but both give their teams something that they seek.

The Portland Microbrewers (back-to-back National League Champions) once again have the best record in the entire league (in seek of the 1st BoS World Championship) made a huge splash in acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki; Portland also acquired reconstruction relief project Neftali Feliz in the deal, while the Corktown Tamales get themselves a catcher (which they desperately needed) with a little pop and reliable, consistent reliever Mark Melancon.

The Traverse City Panthers were close into landing two big-name starting pitchers from two other franchises, but had to settle on Adam Wainwright from the Kingsley Brownbeards. Things will get interesting as the Panthers will not have Wainwright, Alex Cobb, Drew Smyly, and Henderson Alvarez for the 2016 seasons (due to MLB injuries) -- but will have Matt Harvey returning, to go along with Corey Kluber and a down-year from Julio Teheran (who was finding his way in 2nd-half for MLB). The Wainwright trade comes with another price, the Panthers traded Tampa Bay's Nathan Karns (7-5, 3.67 ERA & 145 K's in 147 IP) who had a good season for the Rays, with Yankees' pitcher Adam Warren (7-7, 3.29 ERA & 104 K's in 131.1 IP), plus T.C.'s 2nd Round Draft pick for upcoming draft. The Panthers acquired scrap in pitchers Roberto Hernandez and Rex Brothers, who will both not play a role in the team this season, and will find themselves most likely available after the season.

The Panthers are rumored to have been shopping Brandon Finnegan, Teheran, Alex Cobb and Dalton Pompey in an attempt to bring a bigger name than Wainwright.

Wanted Man: San Diego, 3rd team to land Puig.

Two big trades went down on November 1st, the Chicago Nine, no strangers to making a deal (I believe they have made the most deals in the league's brief history), landed Andrew McCutchen. In exchange for McCutchen, the Nine send Cuban star outfielder Yasiel Puig, young ace Danny Salazar of the Indians, and Chicago's third-round draft pick. Chicago acquired Puig from Traverse City prior to the 2015 BoS Draft in a blockbuster trade that watched the Nine send Miguel Cabrera, Drew Smyly, Josh Harrison, Leonys Martin & a Chicago 3rd Round Draft Pick (that ended up being Dalton Pompey) to Traverse City; Puig was sent to Chicago with pitchers Yu Darvish and Cody Allen, plus first baseman Brandon Belt & T.C.'s 1st Round Pick (Rusney Castillo).

Miguel Cabrera happened to be acquired hours before the Chicago-Traverse City Puig-Cabrera deal, when Chicago acquired Cabrera and Wade Miley from the Buffalo Yankees in exchange for young phenom Chris Archer and second baseman Ian Kinsler. Chicago having a knack for landing big players and trading big players, also landed Adam Jones and Elvis Andrus from the World Champion Fairgrove Tigers, in exchange for Carlos Gomez and Shelby Miller.

Johnny Cueto & Holland shooting for division title & more.

The other big trade on November 1st was between the South Side Spartans and Holland Hitchhikers. In a attempt to try to keep up with the N.L. East leading Panthers, the Hitchhikers landed ace Johnny Cueto and two veteran relievers (Jordan Walden and Joel Peralta) in exchange for a equally impressive package of shortstop Andrelton Simmons, starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, outfielder Adam Eaton and the Holland's 2nd Round Draft Pick.

We are at the closing hours, as the BoS has until November 6th (8:00 am) to get in any more deals before the Trade Deadline.

2007 ALDS (Games 1 & 2)

My 2007 Detroit Tigers Season Replay has the Detroit Tigers facing the Los Angeles Angels, while the New York Yankees enhance their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. Boston and the Angels have home-field advantage in this series, hosting Games 1&2, and Game 5, if necessary.

The National League will not be altered in anyway, due to my inter-league games not making a huge difference, for example, I didn't beat up on the Philadelphia Phillies more often than in real-life & lose more to the Mets, which could have helped the New York Mets win the division. Remember in real life, the Mets had a historical collapse of sorts.

So with no altering, the Colorado Rockies are destined to still reach the 2007 World Series, the question remains, will it be real-life opponent Boston, or any of the other three teams in Detroit, L.A., or New York?

GAME 1 - ALDS
Detroit at Los Angeles (A)

Lackey was in control for the Angels of Anaheim.

Justin Verlander (B-X / 16-8, 3.61 ERA & 208 K's) will face off against the Angels' John Lackey (B-YZ / 19-9, 3.01 ERA & 179 K's).

A pitcher's duel was on display, as both starting pitchers would not allow any runs during the first 6 innings. Verlander was a little sloppier with his control, and got out of some sticky situations.

Bottom of the 1st, loaded the bases up with a single by Vladimir Guerrero, walking Garret Anderson and plunking Gary Matthews, Jr. with a pitch... but Casey Kotchman grounded out to second for the final out.

Bottom of the 5th, Verlander would once again plunk Matthews with a pitch to load bases, but got Kotchman to strike out for final out that time.

Top of the 7th, Brandon Inge of all people for the Tigers, would hit a solo HR, he reached base on all three plate appearances that night with a single in the 2nd, and a walk in the 5th. Inge gave the Tigers, a 1-0 lead.

Bottom of the 7th - The Angels strike back, Justin Verlander walks lead-off man Chone Figgins, Orlando Cabrera would hit into a fielder's choice to get the lead runner for out number one. Vladimir Guerrero would make Verlander pay with an RBI double. Manager Jim Leyland goes to the pen, for Tim Byrdak, Verlander done for the night.

Verlander went 6.1 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 walks, and 2 HBP, while striking out 8 Angels hitters. He is responsible for Guerrero at second.

Byrdak would give up an RBI double to Garret Anderson, as the Angels take a 2-1 lead. Gary Matthews, Jr. (probably steaming from getting hit by two Verlander pitches) launches a two-run homer to give the Angels a commanding 4-1 lead.

Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez ("K-Rod") finish off the Tigers in 8th & 9th inning relief.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 4
DETROIT TIGERS 1

Angels had 6 hits, no errors, while the Tigers had 5 hits and 2 errors.

GAME 1 - ALDS
New York (A) at Boston

Big Time Beckett: Josh owns Yanks.

"The Rocket" Roger Clemens (C-Y / 6-6, 4.18 ERA & 68 K's in 99 IP), who once again came out of retirement, faces Boston's Josh Beckett (B-XZ / 20-7, 3.27 ERA & 194 K's), a gritty pitcher that has been compared to Clemens from time to time in his career.

Clemens shows his age early by loading the bases up in 1st inning with one out to Manny Ramirez, he would force in a run on a walk to Kevin Youkilis. Mike Lowell would fly out for out number two, with no runners advancing. J.D. Drew hits two-run single, driving in David Ortiz and Ramirez, for 3-0 lead. Jason Varitek strikes out to end inning.

The Red Sox were at it again, in the bottom of the 2nd, with lead-off double by Julio Lugo. With two outs, David Ortiz draws a walk. With runners on 1st & 2nd, Manny Ramirez delivers RBI single to right, scoring in Lugo. "Big Papi" would score off a RBI single by Kevin Youkilis.

The Red Sox jump to 5-0 lead and never look back, Clemens was lousy and lasts only 3 innings for the Yankees, allowing 6 hits & 4 walks, along with 5 earned runs, with only 1 K.

Josh Beckett on the other hand was spectacular, pitching a complete-game shutout, allowing only 5 hits & 2 walks, while striking out 7 Yankees.

BOSTON RED SOX 5
NEW YORK YANKEES 0

Yankees only managed 5 hits, Boston collect 9 hits; No errors for either team.

GAME 2 - ALDS
Detroit at Los Angeles (A)

"Little Sarge" putting charge into series.

The Detroit Tigers who are no strangers to having their backs to the wall, find themselves trailing the series 1-0, they will send out Jeremy Bonderman (C-YZ / 18-7, 3.52 ERA & 161 K's) who led the Tigers in victories & ERA to face off against Kelvim Escobar (B-Y / 18-7, 3.40 ERA & 160 K's), who had similar stats for the Replay season.

Bonderman was far from sharp, and appeared rusty, walking off lead-off man Chone Figgins, followed by a single by Orlando Cabrera. Vladimir Guerrero bounces into a fielder's choice, as the Tigers get Cabrera in a force at second. With one out, and runners on 1st & 3rd, Garret Anderson hits three-run homer to get the Angels off and running. Bonderman fields an infield grounder by throwing the ball over first baseman Sean Casey's head at first, the hitter Casey Kotchman would reach second on the play. With two outs (after a Howie Kendrick pop-out), Gary Matthews, Jr. adds an RBI double. Angels lead 4-0 after one.

Top of the 2nd - Gary Sheffield, after a single & steal (and advancing to third on a ground out) scores off a sac-fly by Carlos Guillen.

Bottom of the 3rd - Matthews keeps taking it to the Tigers, scoring Casey Kotchman from third on a sac fly -- this is already "Little Sarge" Gary Matthews' 4th RBI of the series.

Magglio Ordonez gets his 1st hit of the series, a solo HR in the 4th, as Tigers still trail 5-2 -- But that will be as close as it gets, as the Angels will do the Tigers in with the long-ball in the late innings. Maicer Izturis was 4-for-4, with a two-run HR in 5th, plus a steal; Izturis is 6-for-10 in the first two games. Mike Napoli and Howie Kendrick add solo HR's.

The Tigers have no answers for the Angels offense so far this series, as Angels collect 12 hits in Game 2. The Tigers trail 18-14 in hits this series, which is not much of a different, but have not been able to capitalize as the Angels have.

Kelvim Escobar pitches 7 strong innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs, no walks with only 2 K's -- while Jeremy Bonderman allowed 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks in 3.1 innings with 4 K's. The Tigers' bullpen is getting worked early in this series, while Angels are in the driver's seat.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 9
DETROIT TIGERS 3

Tigers had 9 hits with 2 errors (4 for the series), while Angels had 12 hits and 1 error.

GAME 2 - ALDS
New York (A) at Boston

Youkilis putting together some good numbers against Yanks.

It's the sign of the times, with a Southeast Asian match-up of Chien-Ming Wang (B / 19-7, 3.70 ERA & 101 K's) will take the mound for the Yankees, while Boston counters with Daisuke Matsuzaka (C-X / 15-12, 4.40 ERA & 201 K's).

"Big Papi" David Ortiz struck first for Boston with two outs in the bottom of the first, with solo HR to right. The Yankees quickly answered back with a RBI double in the 2nd by Jorge Posada, RBI double by Bobby Abreu in the 3rd, and a RBI single by Johnny Damon in the 4th. Damon's RBI single was the 6th hit for the Yankees in the game, out-weighing the 5 total hits they collected in Game 1 off of Josh Beckett. Yankees leading 3-1 after top of the 4th.

Just when the Yankees looked like they were going to make this a game, the bottom of the 4th became a quick mess. Derek Jeter's off-throw pulled first baseman Andy Phillips off the bag, putting Dustin Pedroia on; Ortiz followed with a single, advancing Pedroia to third, with Manny Ramirez following up with an RBI single. Kevin Youkilis comes up big once again, with an RBI double, to give Boston a 4-3 lead; Youkilis is having a great series at this point, 3-for-5, reaching base 4 out of 6 plate appearances, plus 4 RBI.

Unlikely Goat: Jeter makes two throwing errors.

The bottom of the 5th, started off the same way the previous inning with a throwing error once again by Derek Jeter. Coco Crisp smacks an RBI double to add to the lead, making it 5-3. The Yankees pull Chien-Ming Wang out of the game -- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER (6 runs) with 3 K's and bring in Mike Mussina to face Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia would make Mussina pay with two-run blast, breaking the game open 7-3 for Boston.

The Yankees would make things interesting, only later with a two-run triple by Alex Rodriguez, in the top of the 9th, that helped generate 3 runs. Hideki Okajima holds on in a non-save situation, to help hold down a 9-6 victory that was further than the final score indicates.

Even though Derek Jeter would reach base all five times at the plate in Game 2, with his 3 hits, and two walks... his two throwing errors sparked two big innings for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox and Yankees would each collect 10 hits in this one, while Boston made no errors.

BOSTON RED SOX 9
NEW YORK YANKEES 6

Both the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees find themselves in 2-0 series holes, will a return in front of their hometown fans help bring these teams back from the depths?