Homefield advantage does play a factor in post-season play, though not as big as the media would like you to believe. At critical points in the game, it does feel good to have the support of the crowd behind you, but the fans don’t necessarily make the difference between getting a hit and striking out. There are certain places where the fans try to make it uncomfortable for the opposing team by creating a hostile environment. Anaheim is NOT one of these places.

In my playing days, Anaheim was very family friendly. Disneyland is there, most of the crowd is made up of families, their unofficial mascot is a cute monkey, and they hit balloons together to cheer for their team. If the Red Sox are able to get to the next round, they may visit the Bronx… which is a different experience altogether.

The Red Sox have slated Jon Lester to pitch ahead of Josh Beckett for the opener of the American League Division Series in California on Thursday. The media has made an issue about the decision to put this year’s best pitcher on the staff (Lester) ahead of the pitcher with the excellent post-season track record (Beckett). It doesn’t matter which order you put those two guys in because the Red Sox plan to use Lester and Beckett twice each if the series is stretched to five games. If Lester starts the series, Beckett is in line to pitch in the 5th and deciding game of the series.

The Red Sox pitching matches up well against the Angels in this series as the Red Sox have faced the Angles starters many times in both regular and postseason play (it must be noted that Kazmir has pitched very well since being traded from Tampa Bay). Where the Angels can make life difficult for the Red Sox is on the base paths. Their lineup is loaded with contact hitters and smart and fast baserunners and I expect Mike Scioscia to be aggressive this series.

It will be a competitive series that I think will go the full five games. Hopefully, the Red Sox come out on top.

It took the Red Sox until the 8th inning of last night’s game to put together some offense and I just hope the hitters can continue to produce.  But now that the Wild Card berth into the 2009 Playoffs is securely in hand, perhaps this is a team that needs to rest.  The offense has looked flat over the past couple of weeks and it’s difficult to pin down why a team with this much talent and success for the majority of the season has given such lackluster performances over the past few weeks.

As I have stated for the duration of the season, the success of this Red Sox team will hinge on pitching.  Buchholz poor start last night was disconcerting, but he has looked good since being called up from Triple-A in July.  I assume that he will rebound from last night’s performance and continue his success as the third starter in the Red Sox rotation, which makes the reemergence of Daisuke Matsuzaka that much more important.

Daisuke, since returning from the disabled list, has looked like the pitcher he was two years ago rather than the struggling right-hander who was lambasted in the press at the beginning of this year.  He looks to have regained his command and his confidence, as evidenced by his performance in the Bronx this weekend. Daisuke threw 115 pitches and allowed 1 run over 7 innings against aYankee lineup that features a hitter in the bottom third of the lineup (Cano) who is batting .320 with 25 homeruns.

Since his return from the disabled list on September 15th, Daisuke has an ERA less than 2.00.  Much has been made of his unorthodox new approach to warming up before the game and between innings.  While this may have an impact on his command, I think focus on 3 or 4 different pitches, rather than trying to throw his whole arsenal, has lead to his improved results.

Despite the recent struggles of the Red Sox against the Yankees, we should remember that this team went 2-1 against the Angels this month and is 6-1 against the Tigers this year.  We probably all need some rest this week, but one week from today I expect everyone to be in postseason form.

Zack Greinke didn’t really impress me last night. He pitched well and maybe I caught him on a bad night, but to me he didn’t seem dominant. Greinke has may have the lowest ERA in the AL since Pedro Martinez in 2000, but he doesn’t strike me as the dominant force that Pedro was during his statistical peak. Don’t get me wrong, Greinke pitched very effectively but he was not the unhittable beast on the mound that Pedro or Clemens (or even Johan Santana) were during their reign of dominance.

He only gave up two hits in 6 innings but struggled with his command and, with 5 strikeouts, it’s not like he was punching tickets up and down the Red Sox lineup.

He reminds me of a right-handed Roger Moret. He has that long and lean frame but good speed on his fastball. Let me reiterate that this assessment is based on seeing him pitch once, and he was effective. He’s had a great season, but I need to see more from him before I call him a dominant pitcher.

The Yankees have clinched a playoff spot and will likely end the season with the best record in the American League, but don’t expect them to take their foot off of the throttle and coast into the post-season. The Yankees know that they may meet up with the Red Sox again in the postseason and will want to try to set a tone this weekend. I don’t expect to see any starters rested, the Yankees will be hitting on all cylinders and try to beat the Red Sox.

In terms of a match up against the Yankees, be it regular or post season, I still like the Red Sox chances against the New York Yankees. I still feel that we have the best pitching of all of the likely playoff teams, but to win against New York, the pitching staff can’t make any mistakes. The Yankees have a great hitting lineup and love hitting in their new (home run friendly) ballpark.

The Red Sox need to play hard this weekend and wrap up a playoff spot.

It was a big win last night for the Red Sox because the Angels are a team they are likely to see in the post season.  I know that people have argued that Brian Fuentes’ pitch to Nick Green was a strike, but the bottom line is that if the umpire calls it a ball - it’s a ball. In my opinion it was too close to take, but the walk still counts.

The single that ended the game was a situation where the outfielder (Rivera) didn’t make the play either because of inexperience or lack of interest.  During my era, I am diving for that ball because I know I have a very good shot at throwing out the runner if he tries to tag from third and score the winning run.  As a matter of fact, as long as the catcher can hold onto the ball, that runner will be out.

It gets a little easier for the Red Sox after this series, but it gets tougher for the Texas Rangers who now sit 6.5 games back in the Wild Card Race.  Daisuke, during his last start, looked like the pitcher he was 2 years ago.  The Red Sox may finally be putting all of the pieces together after 5 months of disorganization… just in time for October.

On this blog over the past couple of days I have acknowledged a lot of people who helped me over the years, but the person to whom I owe the biggest debt of gratitude is throughout my playing career and during these past couple of months is my wife.

Not only was she supportive during my playing career, but she is the reason I was able to participate in the retirement and induction ceremonies.  It was my wife who sorted out the logistics and I just had to show up.  All the autograph shows, all of the flights, the hotels, were all taken care of my wife.  I didn’t have to do anything, she did it all.  I just had to show up.  She is in South Carolina for a month relaxing, and she deserves it because I couldn’t have done it without her.

The retirement of my number 14 at Fenway Park was an emotional and sentimental experience.  Prior to the ceremony I was talking to Joe Cochran, the long time Red Sox clubhouse manager.  I asked Joe why he never gave out the number 14 to another player after my retirement in 1989; there had been hundreds of players added to the organization in the two decade gap between my retirement and the retirement of the number 14.  During those two decades I didn’t feel that 14 was “my” number, it belonged to the Boston Red Sox.

Joe’s response was that he never gave out my number because he liked me.  When I think back about the ceremony to retire my number, I’ll think about the fans, watching the game from the suite with my family, appearing on TV and the Radio with Mayor Menino, and also how fortunate I have been to make lasting relationships in and around the game I love.

The last month has been great! I’m tired and worn out and I’m still running around.  Without a doubt, my favorite part of the Hall of Fame induction weekend was the dinner after the induction.  At the end of the induction ceremony there is a dinner strictly for the Hall of Famers (the wives have a separate dinner).  It’s pretty informal and guys mingle and move around while having some wine and good food.  There isn’t a formal seating arrangement which allowed me to sit with some of the guys I knew well from my playing days: Goose Gossage, Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt, and Reggie Jackson.

This is the time when guys will ask other Hall of Famers for their autographs.  I saw some of the greatest baseball players in history walking around with autographed balls, books, and bats.  I have never been much of an autograph guy, but it didn’t matter because for the first time in years Rickey Henderson and I were rookies again and couldn’t get any signatures even if we wanted to.  The veteran hall of famers told us not to worry about autographs and sit down and talk.  It actually felt good to be a rookie again.

It was a great time to get together and share stories with guys who played throughout the history of the game and be surrounded by other grown men who are having fun and behaving like kids.  I’m really looking forward to going to next year’s induction ceremony.  It will be a lot less stressful and I won’t be a rookie anymore.