PRELIMINARY ROUND
Series #116
1958 Boston Red Sox (79-75) vs 2008 Washington Nationals (59-102)
One of the biggest wonders in warehouse history is that the club could not win even one championship while Ted Williams was active. This 1958 team was a winning side, but did not have eough to challange for a championship and for the great Williams, his best days were now well behind him at 39 years old. In 129 games Williams still hit .321 with a typical .458 OBP and 26 home runs; even an older Williams was much better then most. Right fielder Jackie Jensen was the real hitting star on the club with 35 home runs and 122 RBI he had a .931 OPS. In between Williams and Jensen was Jimmy Piersall who only had a .653 OPS hitting only .237 and not providing much power. Frank Malzone hit .295 at third with 87 RBI and 30 doubles making noise without really being noticed. Dick Gernett also showed some pop out of first base with 20 home runs but his .237 average made the likes of Williams cringe. Pete Runnells kept up the tradition of solid second basemen for Boston hitting .322 with a .416 OBP and a dependable hitter from the left side. Don Buddin was the only player in the lineup to strikeout over 100 times and had an average glove and a 93 OPS+. Catcher Sammy White could handle the bat and was better then expected in a position that most teams had to settle with less. The Boston bench was very thin with Gene Stephens and Lou Berberet not much more then slap hitters and the overall team average of .256 was nothing very special, especially for a club that plays its games at Fenway. The pitching was not bad but definitely wasnt great. The top three in the rotation lead by Tom Brewer battled in their starts as Brewer held a 3.72 ERA in 227 innings while Frank Sullivan had a 3.57 in 199 innings with only 49 walks and 12 home runs allowed. The third man Ike Delock had a 3.56 FIP and a 1.31 WHIP to fit right in with the lukewarm staff. Dave Sisler made 25 starts but was hit very hard with a 4.94 so Ted Bowsfield took his role later in the season and performed better with a 3.84 and 4 wins in 10 starts. Lefty Leo Kiely was the main arm in relief and was deceptive allowing only 3 home runs at Fenway in over 80 innings while Murray Wall got in over 50 games and Mike Fornieles in over 30 as they were the two other main relief men on the roster. Boston did get an excellent draw with the 100 loss Nationals and should have enough to push through. Ted Williams at any age is still fun to watch hit a baseball.
Playing in a brand new park and a brand new city, the 2008 Nationals were still in the honeymoon stage even as they won only 59 games. Manager Manny Acta wasn't expected to field a winner but rather to build a culture that would finds roots for better days. Starting with the good new, the Nats did have a competent bullpen lead by an unexpected closer role from Jon Rauch who saved 17 games and looked quite comfortable with a 2.98 ERA. Joel Hanrahan was a good piece as a setup man while Saul Rivera appeared in 76 games and Jesus Colome when his control was good was also serviceable. The lack of a lefty that could get outs was a hole for this group. Tim Redding and John Lannan threw an identical amount of innings and the lefty was much more effective as Redding had a 4.95 ERA and lead the team in losses with Lannan having a 110 ERA+ even if he was 9-15. Odalis Perez made 30 starts and had a 4.62 FIP with a WHIP on the higher end at 1.48. Jason Bergmann and Colin Balester just were not MLB worthy arms and paid the price cobing to go 5-18 with 37 home runs allowed and a ton of hard contact. Starting pitching was definitely an issue for the Nats, and facing the likes of Ted Williams isnt going to help. Washington hit only 117 home runs in what was a pitchers home park as 23 year old Ryan Zimmerman hit 14 of them. The young third baseman was the best hope for this ballclub including hitting a walk off home run on opening day, his .774 OPS was just about as good as this lineup gets. Aaron Boone at 35 was playing first base and hit only .241 with 6 home runs and not much left in the tank. Austin Kearns was doing his best to fall of the map in what once was a very promising career, his .217 average and 32 RBI says it all. Christian Guzman was likely the best hitter for the entire scope of the season hitting .316 with 35 doubles and 183 hits; his glove could be suspect at times. Willie Harris hit .251 out of left field but did steal 13 bases while center fielder Lastings Milledge was an interesting case as the once highly regarded prospect was looking just to hold down a job at this point as he covered a good centerfield and stole 23 bases. The 23 year old did hit 2.68 with 14 home runs to be among the team leaders. Jesus Flores was a pretty good hitting catcher driving in over 50 runs but he could not take a walk and had an OBP under .300. Ronnie Belliard was a very nice piece off the bench to fill the middle infield and Dimitri Young was the counter to Boone at first and the slugger could still show some flashes. The Nats should not be able to muster much of a fight against even a flawed Red Sox team, but that is why they line em up and play the games.
Game 1 At Fenway Park
Partly cloudy 61
2007 Nationals..................1
1958 Red Sox...................7
WP: F. Sullivan (1-0) LP: S. Hill (0-1)
HR: F. Malzone (1)
POG: Frank Sullivan
1958 Red Sox lead series 1-0
Ted Williams drove in a 2 run single in a 4 run 3rd inning to pace the Red Sox to an easy win in game one at Fenway Park. Frank Sullivan went 9 innings allowing only one earned run while striking out two in a game he had total command on the mound. Frank Malzone also went 3-4 with a home run in what Boston hopes to be a trend heading into game two. Shawn Hill takes the deserved loss.
Game 2 At Fenway Park
Partly cloudy 64
2008 Nationals.........................2
1958 Red Sox..........................3
WP: G. Susce (1-0) LP: O. Perez (0-1)
HR: None
POG: George Susce
1958 Red Sox lead series 2-0
George Ssuce allowed two runs in the top of the first inning but shut the door on the Nationals the rest of the way. The Sox came back on a good Odalis Perez with the biggest hit coming from their best player again as Ted Williams delivered another two run single just as he did in game one. Susce allowed only 6 hits and once he got past his nerves, look to be coasting. The Nats head home without a win and their prospects of climbing back into the series seem remote.
Game 3 At Nationals Stadium
Clear 67
1958 Red Sox......................4
2008 Nationals.....................5
WP: S. Rivera (1-0) LP: T. Brewer (0-1)
HR: R. Belliard (1), R. Langerhans (1)
POG: Tim Redding
1958 Red Sox lead series 2-1
Pinch hitter Ryan Langerhans was down to his final strike with a man on in the bottom of the ninth and his team facing an 0-3 hole in the series. Tom Brewer left one over the plate and Langerhans drilled it 391 feet to right for a walk off home run and a Nationals win. Pete Runnels had given the visitors the lead in the 8th with an RBI single as Tim Redding went 8 innings for the Nats walking 5. Ronnie Belliard hit a two run home run in the third to built confidence in the home crowd but it all seemed for nothing before the heroic comeback in the 9th.
Game 4 At Nationals Park
Partly cloudy 68
1958 Red Sox........................2
2008 Nationals.......................3
WP: J. Lannan (1-0) LP: B. Monbouquette (0-1)
HR: L. Milledge (1), D. Gernert (1)
POG: John Lannan
Series tied at 2
John Lannan shut out the Red Sox for 8 innings and held Ted Williams hitless again and allowed a total of only 4 hits. Washington had a 3 run lead in the ninth before things got tense when Boston scored twice before Frank Malzone grounded out to end the game. Series is now tied at two a piece, Felipe Lopez went 3 for 5 and Lastings Milledge hit a home run.
Game 5 at Nationals Park
Partly cloudy 63
1958 Red Sox......................4
2008 Nationals.....................1
WP: F. Sullivan (2-0) LP: S. Hill (0-2)
HR: J. Jensen (1)
POG: Jackie Jensen
1958 Red Sox lead series 3-2
Frank Sullivan spun a gem in game five holding the home Nats to only one run on nine hits with some good defense behind him. Jackie Jensen hit a two run home run in the 3rd to put the visitors up for good and later Jensen would drive in a third run with a double. Ted Williams had a hit and walked 3 times but it was the Washington bats that had no answers in this one. Now Boston goes home seemingly in control where they played much better baseball to open the series.
Game 6 At Fenway Park
Partly Cloudy 50
2008 Nationals..................2
1958 Red Sox...................11
WP: G. Susce (2-0) LP: O. Perez (0-2)
HR: T. Williams (1)
POG: George Susce
Back in the confines of their home park the Red Sox jumped all over Odalis Perez and the Nationals and ended the series in 6. Ted Williams hit a 2 run home run in the first inning but the big break in this one came in the 6th inning when the Red Sox batted around and scored 7 times. Williams ended with 4 RBI and Jimmy Piersall another 3 while on the mound George Susce threw a complete game striking out three and allowing only 1 earned run. Boston ends this series emphatically.
1958 Boston Red Sox Win Series 4 Games To 2
Series MVP:
Frank Sullivan
(2-0, 18 IP, 1.17 WHIP, 1.00 ERA, 4 K, 2 ER, 2 CG)