OAKLAND – It is October, when A’s stand for Angst. Three straight years a loser in Game 5 of a Division Series, Oakland has to get over the hump this week against the franchise that carries a piano on its back.
The Red Sox haven’t won a World Series since 1918. In all that baggage, this year’s version packs a wallop that, entering an eight-team postseason field minus a dominating pitching staff, could bang its way to a title and end the 85-year banging of New England’s heads on the wall.
Tonight, back in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, the Red Sox begin an excellent opportunity against an Oakland team with its own ultimate failure issues and, more important, not quite the pitching might of the last three seasons.
The A’s caught Seattle for another division title even after losing Mark Mulder for the year in early August. Former Yankee Ted Lilly, who came up large down the stretch, is now the third member (behind Barry Zito) of the not-quite-so-Big Three, headed by Tim Hudson, who goes in a headliner tonight against Pedro Martinez.
The way Hudson (16-7, 2.70, an even better ERA in 11 no-decisions) is coming into this October, A’s manager Ken Macha suggests you stay up tonight and watch.
“I think it’s the marquee matchup of the playoffs,” he said.
If Hudson, who pitched poorly with a bad hip in two games last year against Minnesota, needs any extra juice, he says, sure, he feels it.
“Pedro is a stud, one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher,” said Hudson. “He’s a guy I’ve always looked up to, has a reputation for a reason. But we’ve done as well as anybody against him.”
By that, he presumably means the A’s going 2-6 against Martinez in his career, about as good as anyone could ever expect.
“Obviously if their best pitcher is going in Game 1, it’s important for them, but they probably feel the same way about us,” said Hudson. “It works both ways.”
And both sides of the plate, which Hudson hit exquisitely in a 2-hit, 4-0 shutout of Boston on Aug. 11.
“Learn from it?” said Boston manager Grady Little. “The main thing we learned from it is that we hope he peaked right there. That was the best-pitched game against us all year.
“Good pitching does beat good hitting. Sometimes, you’ll have a well-pitched game against [this] offense, the best I’ve ever been around. But it hasn’t happened very often this year.”
Thus do the Red Sox have reason to believe this can be their year, finally, beginning their quest against another team due either to break through or to let down their fans again. Oakland has had a mind-boggling six games to finish off opponents the last three falls and fell each time.
“There is more determination this time, not that there wasn’t determination before,” said Macha, Art Howe’s bench coach during the three failures.