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Clearing the Bases Blog Index
October 17, 2007
Ready for Game 5?

For an off day, it sure has been busy (i.e. no time to blog, until now).

Here are a few things to expect for Game 5:

Boston will use the same lineup, except for Bobby Kielty in place of J.D. Drew in right field. Some may be calling for Jacoby Ellsbury to replace Coco Crisp (who is hitting .188 in this series), but that won't happen Thursday, with lefty C.C. Sabathia on the mound.

Sabathia should pitch better than he did in Game 1. He is back in Cleveland and there is not a lot of pressure on him, with Cleveland's 3-1 lead.

Red Sox hitters are already talking about being aggressive with the first pitch, assuming Sabathia has regained his control.

Josh Beckett should pitch well. There was a hint during the FOX telecast "from a Red sox source" Tuesday that Beckett experienced some tightness in his back in Game 1. There is also a widespread belief that the source was blowing smoke.

If you are looking for a repeat of the goofy (idiot?) 2004 Red Sox not letting the pressure get to them ... well, this 2007 team is different. Though they can still withstand pressure.

"You know, you can't force a personality on a team," Terry Francona said. "As long as they stay consistent in their approach ... that's probably the best thing we can do."

Francona remembers walking into the clubhouse before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS (with the Red Sox down 3-0). "They were watching Animal House, watching Belushi hit the guy over the head with a guitar ..."

Posted at 08:06 PM

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Kevin covers baseball for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He first reported on spring training games for the St. Petersburg Times in 1978. He wisely moved to Maine in 1994 and now writes about the Portland Sea Dogs and Boston Red Sox—when he's not coaching Little League baseball.

He is married to Nancy, and the couple recently completed their lineup card with the birth of their ninth child.



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