Guest Author - David Landry

Throughout this post-season the Red Sox have relied on their mainstays – David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Josh Beckett for success. In game seven, it was a troika of younger players – Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury who provided the offense. Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, wwith only three seasons of MLB experience between them, combined to hold the Tribe scoreless for the last four innings.

Pedroia’s post season seems to be mirroring his regular season. He started the season moribund at the plate and recovered by finishing tenth in batting average at .317 and as a legitimate for Rookie of the Year candidate.

In the ALDS, Pedroia went an anemic 2 for 13 (.154). In the ALCS, he batted .345 and slugged a whopping .552. The capper was his performance in Game 7. He had five RBIs from a two run homer and a bases loaded double that drove in three runs.

Youkilis has had a phenomenal post season thus far in 2007. In the ALCS, he batted 500 with a slugging percentage of .929, thanks to 3 home runs in the series. This is Reggie Jackson territory! He delivered in game 7, going 3 for 5 with a double and a home run.

The young pitchers also came through. Okajima inherited a 3-2 lead and delivered 1-2-3 sixth and a one hit seventh inning. He got into trouble in the eighth by giving up two hits, but Papelbon took over and retired three straight Indians. Papelbon returned for the ninth and retired the side after giving up a lead-off single to Jhonny Peralta.

The Red Sox have allowed their payroll to balloon to $143M. They’ve earned the nickname “Yankees Lite”. Game seven of the ALCS showed that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has also done a very good job of cultivating young players and getting value in parallel with his binge spending. Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Okajima and Papelbon combine for only $2.8M in salary, including $1.225M for Okajima alone.

Game 7 also showed that Epstein has been adept at overpaying for talent. J.D. Drew ($15M) had uncharacteristic heroics in Game 6 with a grand slam, but reverted to form in game 7 by grounding into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. This squelched any chance for Boston to break the game open early. Julio Lugo ($8.25M) committed yet another hapless blunder at shortstop by calling for a ball that should have been Manny’s and having it bounce harmlessly off his glove. He also grounded into a double play in the second.

Much has been made of the Rockies and their youth-driven success. They have won 21 of their last 22 games, so they are as hot as it gets. The Sox regained their fire in the final three games of the ALCS, outscoring Cleveland 30-5. Will the Rockies still be hot after a seven day layoff? Will Boston retain momentum? Watch this one closely!



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