The Baseball Desert

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Well, Clement didn't walk anybody, but that's about as good as it got last night. The fact that Scott Podsednik - he of the 59 regular-season stolen bases, the symbol of the White Sox' vaunted 'small-ball' approach - hit his first home run of the season tells you pretty much all you need to know.

It's always said that good pitching beats good hitting - yesterday's game allows us to add Amendment 1(a) to that particular pearl of wisdom: good pitching beats bad pitching and mediocre hitting. Francona will no doubt be crucified for leaving Clement in too long, but that's only part of the problem - Contreras had the Red Sox' number from the very first inning and they never looked like mounting a serious threat. They could have batted all night and still not scored more than the two runs they got on the board.

The White Sox came into the playoffs looking for some of the respect they felt they hadn't got during the regular season, and they got it. Anyone who was watching will have sat up and taken notice of a team that should be taken seriously. Now it's the Red Sox' turn to show that they're capable of getting up off the floor and putting up a decent fight.