Oakland 5 Red Sox 1

If you're a College Football fan looking for the Weekend Preview, just check the entry below this one. I'm trying to stay on top of my goal of giving BAP analysis for every baseball playoff game, so there's no time to waste. As for the baseball fans, I realize I'm a couple of games behind, but hey, the first round is a killer. I figure I'll make a glorious come-from-behind-rally somewhere near the beginning of the World Series. Of course, that seems to be the Giants' plan too, and it's not working for them.

This is what I said last week about Todd Walker:

"I have nightmares of Todd Walker recreating the role of Bill Buckner. I hope I'm wrong."

It's actually one of the nicer things I said about him, and I did it just in time for him to hit a game-tieing three-run homer. Then, as he jogged around the bases with his second of two home runs in the first game, I knew that with my insults I had somehow Reversed The Curse, and made Walker a valuable contributor to a Championship squad. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't even last a full inning. Here is what Todd Walker has done for the Red Sox (or the A's) since he hit his second homer:

Made an error.
Flied out to center.
Grounded out to 2nd.
Made an error.
Grounded out to 1st.
Grounded out to the pitcher.
Grounded out to first.

Yikes! Walker won't start today, as even Grady Little can figure out that having this guy on the field when you're putting a groundball pitcher on the mound is suicide. And I'll say this about him: I actually like Walker off of the bench. With all of the hitter's in the lineup, play the better defensive secondbaseman (which in this case is Damian Jackson, but could be just about anyone), and use Walker as a pinchhitter for Jackson IF you're losing. When you're losing, you can gamble with the horrifying defensive player if he has a chance to get you a couple of runs.

The Numbers For Game 2

OBP - Bos .229, Oak .306
SLG - Bos .242, Oak .226
OPS - Bos .471, Oak .532
BAP - Bos .371, Oak .694
EBs - Bos 3, Oak 13
BA - Bos .182, Oak .194
SecA - Bos .121, Oak .194
BA+SecA - Bos .303, Oak .388

Slugging drops it's second game of this series, and is the only loser. The A's now lead the Sox in BAP bases for the series to the tune of 20-4. They also set a playoff record of 10 EBs in one inning. Check out this game log from ESPN (the EB scores are mine):

OAKLAND 2ND
-Bottom of the 2nd inning
-S Hatteberg grounded out to first.
-J Guillen walked.
-J Guillen to second on passed ball by D Mirabelli (1 EB).
-R Hernandez singled to right, J Guillen scored (1 EB).
-J Dye hit by pitch, R Hernandez to second.
-E Byrnes doubled to left, R Hernandez and J Dye scored (1 EB).
-M Ellis walked.
-E Durazo grounded out to first, E Byrnes to third, M Ellis to second (2 EBs).
-E Chavez safe at second on throwing error by second baseman T Walker, E Byrnes and M Ellis scored (5 EBs).
-M Tejada flied out to center.

5 runs, 2 hits, 1 error

Wow.

Bum of The Day - Take a guess.

Play of the Day - Take a guess.

Guy Who Will Talk About This Game When He is 80 - It would be Zito, except he's going to have many, many bigger days, maybe even this year.

The Standings:

BAP 7-0
OBP 6-1
OPS 6-1
BA 6-1
SLG 5-2
BA+SecA 5-2
SecA 4-3

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