Hope this TOTAL is as easy as the 80-PERCENT System (33-8 in October) that I went with last night, which produced the UNDER. I am going the other way this evening.
Boston Red Sox O 10
Last night, Pedro Martinez on paper pitched a gem in what may have been his final start in a Boston uniform. However, I question just how effective Pedro was??? He threw a grand total of 52 PITCHES in the first 3 innings. In the first frame, the Cardinals LOADED the bases. In the 3rd inning, St. Louis has runners on second and third with NONE out. Of course, the Cards were held scoreless in the first 3 innings against Pedro due to glaring errors on the basepaths. Of course, the blunder by Jeff Suppan at thirdbase, which resulted in a double-play, will go down as one of the biggest miscues in World Series history. After being let off the hook, Pedro Martinez settled down and was dominant the rest of the way. But the fact of the matter still remains that St. Louis showed last night they a very close to breaking through offensively. In the last pair of games, Boston has had the luxury of starting their two aces in the hole (Schilling and Martinez). That will NOT be the case tonight, even though Derek Lowe pitched a gem in game seven of the ALCS (just ONE hit allowed in 6 innings at Yankee Stadium). I want you all to remember game ONE of the Fall Classic which was tied at EIGHT runs apiece in the late stages. That was the only game in this Red Sox/Cardinals series that did NOT feature one of the Boston aces! If you really think about it, the St. Louis Cardinals have been exposed as a great offensive and defensive team with MEDIOCRE starters. In 11.1 innings, the Cards starters have given up 15 runs on 20 hits, along with 8 WALKS. Is the situation going to get any better with Jason Marquis this evening? One thing I can tell you is that the DESIGNATED HITTER rule will be back in effect, even though this contest will be played at Busch Stadium. The reason for that is Marquis is a great ATHLETE who can actually HIT the baseball. That is one of the reasons why Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa wisely held Marquis back in game two at Fenway, because he knew that he could be a force at the plate with National League rules in game four. If you watch Marquis in batting practice, you would think he is a left-handed SLUGGER. He can ping the balls off the bleachers with the best of them. Do not forget that LaRussa once caused a stir by placing one of his pitchers in the NUMBER EIGHT slot in the batting order. The big question tonight will be whether the middle of the St. Louis batting order will get the "wake up" call, after going a combined 5-for-33 (Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds) at the plate in the Fall Classic. Actually, Rolen admitted last night that he actually is swinging the bat BETTER than in the Divisional and League Championship Series. St. Louis had the best offense in the senior circuit during the season, so if they have any shot at keeping this series alive, they must SCORE a ton of runs tonight in order to regain some lost CONFIDENCE at the plate. Even though Derek Lowe looked great in his last appearance, the fact of the matter is that he has pitched LESS innings that any of the Boston starters in the playoffs. One of the reasons for that is because he was horrible on the ROAD this season, posting a 6-8 record with a sky high 6.21 ERA. I am confident that the Cardinal bats will suddenly produce an ouput similar to game one at Fenway. I look for the Cards to jump on Derek Lowe EARLY this evening, considering that Boston has not lost a postseason game when scoring first. Of course, there has been nothing wrong with the Red Sox offense so far, as they have scored a grand total of 21 runs on 30 HITS. Getting back to Derek Lowe, he is a dazzling 14-5 OVER on the ROAD with a DOUBLE DIGIT posted total. Bingo!
Boston Red Sox O 10
Last night, Pedro Martinez on paper pitched a gem in what may have been his final start in a Boston uniform. However, I question just how effective Pedro was??? He threw a grand total of 52 PITCHES in the first 3 innings. In the first frame, the Cardinals LOADED the bases. In the 3rd inning, St. Louis has runners on second and third with NONE out. Of course, the Cards were held scoreless in the first 3 innings against Pedro due to glaring errors on the basepaths. Of course, the blunder by Jeff Suppan at thirdbase, which resulted in a double-play, will go down as one of the biggest miscues in World Series history. After being let off the hook, Pedro Martinez settled down and was dominant the rest of the way. But the fact of the matter still remains that St. Louis showed last night they a very close to breaking through offensively. In the last pair of games, Boston has had the luxury of starting their two aces in the hole (Schilling and Martinez). That will NOT be the case tonight, even though Derek Lowe pitched a gem in game seven of the ALCS (just ONE hit allowed in 6 innings at Yankee Stadium). I want you all to remember game ONE of the Fall Classic which was tied at EIGHT runs apiece in the late stages. That was the only game in this Red Sox/Cardinals series that did NOT feature one of the Boston aces! If you really think about it, the St. Louis Cardinals have been exposed as a great offensive and defensive team with MEDIOCRE starters. In 11.1 innings, the Cards starters have given up 15 runs on 20 hits, along with 8 WALKS. Is the situation going to get any better with Jason Marquis this evening? One thing I can tell you is that the DESIGNATED HITTER rule will be back in effect, even though this contest will be played at Busch Stadium. The reason for that is Marquis is a great ATHLETE who can actually HIT the baseball. That is one of the reasons why Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa wisely held Marquis back in game two at Fenway, because he knew that he could be a force at the plate with National League rules in game four. If you watch Marquis in batting practice, you would think he is a left-handed SLUGGER. He can ping the balls off the bleachers with the best of them. Do not forget that LaRussa once caused a stir by placing one of his pitchers in the NUMBER EIGHT slot in the batting order. The big question tonight will be whether the middle of the St. Louis batting order will get the "wake up" call, after going a combined 5-for-33 (Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds) at the plate in the Fall Classic. Actually, Rolen admitted last night that he actually is swinging the bat BETTER than in the Divisional and League Championship Series. St. Louis had the best offense in the senior circuit during the season, so if they have any shot at keeping this series alive, they must SCORE a ton of runs tonight in order to regain some lost CONFIDENCE at the plate. Even though Derek Lowe looked great in his last appearance, the fact of the matter is that he has pitched LESS innings that any of the Boston starters in the playoffs. One of the reasons for that is because he was horrible on the ROAD this season, posting a 6-8 record with a sky high 6.21 ERA. I am confident that the Cardinal bats will suddenly produce an ouput similar to game one at Fenway. I look for the Cards to jump on Derek Lowe EARLY this evening, considering that Boston has not lost a postseason game when scoring first. Of course, there has been nothing wrong with the Red Sox offense so far, as they have scored a grand total of 21 runs on 30 HITS. Getting back to Derek Lowe, he is a dazzling 14-5 OVER on the ROAD with a DOUBLE DIGIT posted total. Bingo!
