THIS is baseball reporting

[pressmurphy]

I hear USA Today liked Edes' piece so much that they're going to run it . . . as a three-part series.

 

[schrdp2002]

(What follows is from the heart of the Gordon Edes game story on Game 2, the anatomy of a critical play in the 8th inning.)
******


The Sox won their sixth straight Series game and fifth straight of this postseason with one never-before-seen wrinkle. Papelbon, who had not picked off a runner since he broke into the big leagues in 2006, nabbed Matt Holliday straying off first base to close out the eighth inning. Holliday had nearly taken out both Papelbon and second baseman Dustin Pedroia with a line single up the middle, his fourth hit of the night. The ball appeared to glance off Papelbon's leg and caused Pedroia, who gloved the ball with a sprawling spot, to writhe in pain after he landed heavily on the left shoulder he'd dislocated already once this postseason.

At the plate was Todd Helton, the signature player in Rockies history. But he never saw a pitch in the eighth, as Papelbon whirled and picked off Holliday.

"Probably will go down as one of the biggest outs of my career," Papelbon said.

It was not happenstance. Holliday was intending to steal - he confirmed so after the game - and the Sox had a strong suspicion he was going.

They knew that the Rockies were scouting them in the Division Series against the Angels, when Howie Kendrick stole second and third unchallenged against Papelbon in the eighth inning of a tie game.

"If you were advancing us, you would have said the same thing, that Pap is 1.8 [seconds] to the plate, and he doesn't pick," (Sox bench coach Brad) Mills said. "But it was a different situation in the game against the Angels. We didn't care if he stole, because we had confidence in Paps getting the hitter and we didn't want to take anything away from him to try to get the runner on that situation.Continued...

"We know they're advancing us, they're watching it. That night I was talking to Pap in the shower about that exact thing, and about what was to come. [Bullpen coach] Gary Tuck was talking to him about it, [pitching coach] John Farrell talked to him about it, about different things we were going to do."


When manager Terry Francona went out with trainer Paul Lessard to check on Pedroia, Mills noticed that Glenallen Hill, the Rockies' first base coach, never stopped talking to Holliday. Mills also had a color-coded chart he keeps on every player, that showed that Holliday likes to steal on the first pitch with two outs. "It was right there in my pocket," Mills said.

Indeed, it was right there on the chart, multiple steal attempts Holliday had made on the first pitch with two outs.

"You put all those things together, and it comes up, 'Hey, we're going to pick once to see where he's at, and then we're going to slide-step.'

"And, we were watching. I got a big lump in my throat because he kept inching, inching, inching off, and Pap did a great job of holding the ball, letting him get off there. And then I'm sitting there, with a lump in my throat, hoping he doesn't throw [it] away."

Papelbon made the play, Mills said. "He made the great pick."

But while it was nowhere as dramatic as Kirk Gibson knowing that Dennis Eckersley was going to throw a backdoor slider on a full count before Gibson hit one of the greatest home runs in Series history, it was a stunning example of how inside knowledge and paying extraordinary attention to detail can turn a Series.

"There are a lot of times we don't want him to throw over," Mills said. "But in this situation with Helton and [Garrett] Atkins coming up, we couldn't afford it, and it just happened to work out."

Gordon is one of the best in the baseball business. I've been reading his work for years.

 

[estreetband75]

Gordon makes Red Sox-Rangers in the middle of August a good read.

Always good to read Gammons' Game 6 masterpiece every once in awhile.

If anybody has access to his Red Sox Game 162 (1978) story -- looking ahead to the next day's playoff, please post it.

 

[steveu]

The Globe may be going through upheavals like a lot of other places, but it is still a fine newspaper. Edes' writing proves it.

 

[BillyT]

I am also a Shaughnessy fan. Yes, we are out here.

I thought he did a nice job this morning:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/10/28/lesters_feel_good_story_never_gets_old/

 

[geoffcalkins]

Longtime listener, occasional poster.
Gordo's the best, a wonderful fellow, a relentless reporter and an eloquent writer. Read his work for a week, any week, and it will restore your faith in things.
Beyond all that, Gordo is also -- to steal from another thread -- one of the people who influenced me. I was working in Anniston, making $225 a week, when Gordo asked the Sun-Sentinel to hire a new Marlins beat writer so he could concentrate on national stuff. For no good reason, Gordo and Fred Turner picked me. It was a terrible hire. I had no business covering baseball for a paper that size. But Gordo helped me through, and helps me to this day.
Thanks, Dave, for shining a light on Gordo's work, and for giving me the chance to thank him semi-publicly.

 

[lone star scribe]

Damn, I love this place. Would never have seen that outstanding story otherwise; thank you for bringing it to our attention, Mr. Kindred.

Kudos to Kindred for pointing it out. He's a pretty fair writer in his own right.

 

[Birdscribe]

As one of Bill Dwyre's best hires, Gordon covered the Showtime Lakers for the LA Times during the mid-late 80s. Talk about the perfect storm of marquee team and marquee writers...

 

[Prince of Persia]

I am also a Shaughnessy fan. Yes, we are out here.

I thought he did a nice job this morning:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/10/28/lesters_feel_good_story_never_gets_old/

Not to thread jack, but didn't know Gabe Kapler was a minor league manager now. How his name has not been associated with steriods yet baffles me. Just maybe, maybe he was naturally able to get jacked as he was.

 

[Clerk Typist]

Edes' piece was outstanding.
Read in a long-ago Wall Street Journal profile of Gammons that he wrote his late gamer on Game 7 of the 1975 series in something like seven or eight minutes. Not sure I could type that fast on anything. Don't know if he had a manual, an electric, or that newfangled PortaBubble.