Living History
By How to put Schilling, Game 6, into historical perspective? The referents aren’t Koufax in 1965, Beckett last year, like that; he was outstanding, but it’s not about dominance per se. Lots of guys have thrown 7 innings 1 run in the postseason. It’s about drama, historical significance, not just quality. Connie Mack starting Emkhe and having him break the strikeout record, for example. Larsen’s perfect game combines the two. Pedro’s perfect six-inning relief job. I don’t know, but you have a power pitcher who could barely throw 85 and getting shelled last week, on an ankle that didn’t figure to heal much in the meantime, who looked certain to be out for the year, shutting down an exceptional offense on the road–in Yankee Stadium–to set up the possibility of the greatest series comeback in the history of American professional sports. It ranks up there.
The other thing is that this just felt like a game the Red Sox would blow. Every inning they got runners on and couldn’t put them away I sensed the inevitable. Ruben “Forever Young Except When He Got Prematurely Old” Sierra seemed like the perfect guy to hit a 2-out game tying homer. And Tony Clark certainly makes a matched set with Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone. I watched his AB with the remote in my hand so I wouldn’t have to watch a winning celebration.
But they held it.
Will they blow it tomorrow? Of course. But what a ride.