Division Playoffs
MLB
Scores/Schedules
Standings
Statistics
Transactions
Injuries
Players
Weekly lineup

 Tuesday, October 19
Red Sox flop in the field
 
Associated Press

 BOSTON -- A routine throw ticked off first baseman Mike Stanley's mitt. A potential double-play grounder rolled to the wrong spot, second baseman Jose Offerman's glove.

And the Boston Red Sox season trickled away in a record-breaking display of fielding futility.

BUMBLING SOX
The Red Sox set an LCS record with 10 errors. Let's review:

Game 1: Nomar Garciaparra made two throwing errors and Jason Varitek dropped a foul pop but none of the errors factored in New York's 4-3 win. However, the Yankees tied the game in the seventh inning when Derek Jeter singled in Scott Brosius. Trot Nixon's strong throw from right was in plenty of time, but Varitek couldn't handle the throw. No error was charged on the play.

Game 2: The Red Sox made no errors in New York's 3-2 win.

Game 3: Garciaparra's error didn't lead to any runs as Boston won 13-1.

Game 4: The Red Sox made four errors in their 9-2 loss, leading to three unearned runs. The biggest came in the fourth when the Yankees took a 3-2 lead with two unearned. Bret Saberhagen dropped a throw while covering first base. In the ninth, second baseman Jose Offerman's throwing error helped lead to a six-run outburst.

Game 5: Two errors in the seventh led to two unearned runs, stretching New York's lead to 4-2. First baseman Mike Stanley dropped a throw from Garciaparra and Offerman booted a grounder.

"It's a situation where they weren't mental mistakes," Boston center fielder Darren Lewis said. "They're just physical mistakes. Nobody tries to do that. They just happened at the wrong time."

The Red Sox might have been eliminated anyway Monday night. New York pitcher Orlando Hernandez was that strong. But the Yankees got help from Boston's weak fielding for the second straight night.

The Red Sox committed four errors in Sunday night's 9-2 loss and two in Monday night's 6-1 setback that gave the Yankees a 4-1 victory in the best-of-7 AL Championship Series.

"When you start giving a team three or four extra outs a game, it can come back to bite you and it did," Red Sox reliever Derek Lowe said.

Boston's 10 errors set a record for an LCS of any length. Nomar Garciaparra, who committed two errors on Sunday, ended the series one short of the ALCS record for shortstops of five errors set by Boston's Spike Owen in 1986.

On Monday, Boston had a decent shot at a comeback in the finale as it trailed 2-0 through six innings. But the Red Sox had the AL's third-worst fielding percentage this season and it was easy to see why in the seventh inning when two errors led to two runs.

It seemed the parka-clad fans made better use of their gloves on a chilly October night at windy Fenway Park.

With one out in the seventh, Garciaparra cleanly fielded Derek Jeter's grounder. The throw was on target, but Stanley muffed it. Instead of two outs and no runners, Jeter was on second with one out.

Paul O'Neill's single sent Jeter to third and a walk to Bernie Williams loaded the bases. Chili Davis then hit the grounder to Offerman.

Had there been two outs, he could have thrown to Stanley to end the inning. With only one out, he still could have ended the threat by throwing to Garciaparra to start a double play. But Offerman never caught the ball.

Jeter scored on that play and O'Neill scored on Tino Martinez's single that made it 4-0.

It was just one inning of ineptitude, but it was costly. Just like Boston's fielding problems in the ninth inning of Game 4 allowed New York to pull away.

The Yankees led 3-2 going into that inning. But errors by Offerman and Lewis, one of baseball's best fielding outfielders, contributed to a sixth-run ninth in which pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee capitalized with a grand slam.

"You can't take credit away from them for coming up with the big hits," Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said.

The Yankees scored two other runs in the fourth when Garciaparra, who had a career-low 17 errors this season, and starting pitcher Bret Saberhagen made errors.

In the last two games, New York scored 13 runs but only three in innings in which the Red Sox made no errors. The Yankees committed five errors but they weren't nearly as costly.

"It seemed when they made a few errors they got out of the situation," Saberhagen said. "When we made a few errors, we didn't."
 


ALSO SEE
Yankees vs. Red Sox series page

El Duque closes out Red Sox in 6-1 victory

Red Sox don't lose, they tease