Red Sox Take It From the Top Against Indians
Pedroia, Youkilis Provide the Offensive Boost That Complemented Big Hitters in Boston's Lineup

By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

BOSTON, Oct. 22 -- Early in the playoffs came the familiar poses, David Ortiz unfurling a ferocious swing and then lumbering around the bases, Manny Ramirez letting go of the bat, stretching his arms and his fingers and admiring his handiwork for oh, maybe five minutes. These are the constants in the Boston Red Sox' lineup, one that will roar into the World Series on Wednesday having scored 30 runs in the final three games of the American League Championship Series, three claps of thunder that deafened and debilitated the Cleveland Indians.

But late Sunday night at Fenway Park, it was Ortiz standing near the on-deck circle, the blaring of the crowd for someone else, for the little man running toward him. Dustin Pedroia leapt into Ortiz's bear hug, something of a Little Leaguer racing to embrace his Papi. His two-run homer was in the seats above the Green Monster, another reminder for all of New England that in order for this offense to truly go, there must be more than Ortiz and Ramirez.

"We've come to lean on them so much," Manager Terry Francona said Monday.

Look, though, at the way the Red Sox thumped the Indians, at the way they will have to hit if they are going to beat the Colorado Rockies. Pedroia, who looks more like a high school sophomore than a big league second baseman, and first baseman Kevin Youkilis, the second-place hitter, became terrors at the top of the order.

Ortiz and Ramirez, over the final three games of the ALCS, went a nothing-to-write-home-about 5 for 20 (.250) with five RBI and two extra-base hits between them. Pedroia and Youkilis, meanwhile, combined to go 15 for 26 (.577) with 12 runs scored, 11 RBI, 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3 homers.

That hug for Pedroia from Ortiz? Thanks for saving our season.

"Not to downplay the importance of David and Manny, because obviously they are a major reason we score runs," hitting coach Dave Magadan said Monday. "But we have to get contributions from everybody. . . . I think when you see the times where either the top of our lineup are not getting on base for the middle guys, or the bottom of our lineup is not doing the job, those are the times we score our three, four runs."

Sitting back and waiting for a three-run homer, perhaps the hallmark of Boston teams in the 1970s and 1980s, is long gone. Yes, the Red Sox scored the third-most runs in the AL. But they hit only 166 home runs, eighth in the league.

"We've got that type of explosion," Magadan said. "But when we're consistent with it, and it goes up and down the lineup, is when we can put together a good streak."

That the Red Sox would get deep into October and be relying on a player like Pedroia might have seemed ridiculous in April, when he hit .182 and, as Magadan said, "was making a lot of weak outs." He was, then, easy to pick on, because he hadn't put up numbers in an August call-up in 2006 (.191 in 31 games), and because he simply looks like he can't handle himself in the majors. Listed at 5 feet 9 and 180 pounds, he is a diminutive, walking cliche.

"He's always been scrappy," rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury said.

Sure. But the scrappiness might be overwhelmed by attitude. General Manager Theo Epstein recently said Pedroia "walks around like he's an Adonis." It's apparent in his swings, violent, pop-out-of-the-shoes cuts one might expect from a slugger 100 pounds heavier.

"To play this game at this level and be undersized and have people doubt you all the time, you have to have an edge to you," Pedroia said Monday. "I have to keep that. I'll have it my whole career. There's always going to be people doubting you, all the time."

He did not, however, have anything to prove to the Boston brass. Asked when he knew Pedroia could handle a situation such as this, Francona answered quickly, "Last September."

"Even when he wasn't hitting, we knew he knew how to play the game," Francona said. "That was never in question. I think he's taken some tremendous strides this year, but because, at times, the way he competes, we almost forget that he is a first-year player."

So when he began the ALCS with three hits in his first 16 at-bats -- all in the first four games, helping the Red Sox fall in a 3-1 hole -- there was some external impulse to sit him down. To hear Francona and others tell it, that was never an option internally -- not in the playoffs, not in April.

"He didn't like people in the media doubting him, and he probably used that as a rallying point for himself," Magadan said. "But we as a staff knew it was a matter of time before he was going to ignite us and lead the way for us."

With that, he hit .415 in May, and didn't have a month the rest of the season in which he hit lower than .299, finishing at .317.

The exceptionally patient Youkilis, too, entered the postseason with much to prove, considering he hit .238 after the all-star break and missed 10 days after getting hit on the right wrist by a pitch in mid-September. That unwelcome injury, Francona said, allowed Youkilis to recoup some strength in his legs. His 14 hits against Cleveland (in 28 at-bats for a .500 average) set an LCS record.

"He's rejuvenated himself both mentally and physically," Magadan said. "It shows. He's got a quick bat right now."

Two quick bats atop a lineup that heads to the World Series with more to consider than the old refrains of Papi and Manny, Manny and Papi. Throw in the Adonis-minded second baseman and the scruffy-faced first baseman, and that is a lineup with which to contend.