The 5.5 Hole

Someone impersonating AJ Burnett was pitching for the Yankees last night. Well, to be fair AJ Burnett was clearly pitching in the first inning when wildness allowed the bases to be loaded. Curtis Granderson saved him from a bases-clearing double. But after that, Burnett seemed like a different pitcher.

Through 5 2/3 innings, Burnett allowed just a solo home run and 4 hits. Coming into this game, Burnett's postseason road ERA was 10.50. Last night it was 1.59. While it was only one start, it was the biggest start of AJ Burnett's Yankee career. Pitching in an elimination game on the road, Burnett had the confidence of very few outside the Yankee clubhouse. But he put those fears to bed with a strong performance.

Burnett may or may not be able to replicate this performance if the Yankees advance to the ALCS, but he is the reason they even have chance to advance. His performance, and the Yankees offense, forced game 5 in the Bronx.

Ivan Nova will likely go on three days rest for the Yankees. Nova in game 5 yields much more confidence than Burnett in game 4, but without Burnett, Nova never would have had a shot to close it out.

One year after one of the most dominant pitching seasons in memory, the league again saw a great year for pitchers. That is until the postseason. Last year saw no-hitter after no-hitter, perfect games and near perfect games, and it was all capped off by Roy Halladay's Division Series no-hitter. This postseason, though, has been lacking any hint of dominant pitching.

We can't know how good game one of the Yankees/Tigers series could have been. C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander sounds like a pitchers duel on paper. But the game was suspended after just one inning, thus ending Sabathia and Verlander's performances until Tuesday. Yet, even in this suspended game, both pitchers had given up a run in the first inning.

Each of the four play-off series have played their first two games. None have gone extra innings. Therefore, 72 innings have been pitched in the postseason so far. 98 runs have been scored. In an environment where pitchers seem to be excelling far more often than hitters, the opposite seems true on the game's biggest stage. The combined ERA of pitchers this postseason is 12.25.

Sure, the sample size is relatively small, but the number of runs we've seen is surprising. The reason is pretty simple though. Superstar hitters are acting like superstars. Below is the list of star performances thus far:

Evan Longoria: 3/9, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Josh Hamilton: 3/7, BB
Miguel Cabrera: 3/7 3 RBI, 2 Runs
Jorge Posada: 3/7, 2 Runs
Ryan Braun: 6/10, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs
Prince Fielder: 3/8, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs
Justin Upton: 2/9, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs
Albert Pujols: 3/8, 1 RBI, 1 Run
Lance Berkman: 2/8, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 Runs
Ryan Howard: 2/7, 6 RBI, 1 Run

In the first two games of these series, the above hitters combined to go 30/80, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 15 Runs. These numbers are a far cry from what you would expect after the regular season. There's been one shut out in this postseason, but it will be interesting if these offenses can keep it up. One thing is for sure though, the league's biggest offensive stars have shined brightest this postseason.

Every now and again, there will be a change in baseball that shakes the very core of the game. Many may not consider Terry Francona's departure from the Red Sox one of these changes, but I do. This departure, whether it be mutual, forced, or otherwise, will not only affect the Red Sox from a managerial standpoint, it will affect the entire organization. Like an earthquake centered in New England, the loss of Francona will reverberate not just in Boston, but in entire baseball east. Maybe further.

Let's start with what seems obvious. Terry Francona was the best manager the Red Sox ever had. For a franchise buried beneath generations of failure, the combination of Theo Epstein and Terry Francona proved to be the savior Red Sox Nation needed. They won two World Series in the last ten years and have been competitive every year. But now comes life after Francona, and maybe life after Epstein.

Sure many will point to the reported disconnect between Francona and Epstein as reason for Epstein to celebrate the loss of his manager and continue on in peace as the Red Sox general manager. Yet, Theo, like Francona, has done just about everything he could do with Boston. He has the opportunity to be challenged elsewhere, to find success in another city buried under years of failure. Epstein may stick around Boston, but the consensus seems to be he's willing to look elsewhere.

Francona will land somewhere else. He will be allowed to start fresh, to command the respect of a clubhouse from day one rather than fight to win it back on a daily basis, and to utilize his talents as a manager in a way less scrutinized by the front office.

Yes, Francona and Epstein may move on, but will Boston? John Henry's Yankee-fighting juggernaut is being dismantled. Dirty laundry is being thrown from the windows. Rumors and truth are swirling together like a deadly elixir. The Red Sox are at a fork in the road even if Epstein sticks around. Seasons like this one tend to carry on and follow a team like an unwanted cat. One wrong signing in the offseason, the wrong managerial choice, or even a bad piece of off-field publicity could send this team from perennial competitor to a fight and scratch type club.

The potential falling of the Red Sox could open the door for Toronto and Tampa. Toronto continues to have winning seasons, but also continues to fall short of the play-offs. Tampa Bay has one of the best GM/Manager combinations in all of baseball. They continue to succeed with minimal payroll and should benefit from any hiccup in the Red Sox winning ways.

Boston, as of right now, has only lost Terry Francona. But that loss may be more than anyone could have ever guessed. It could lead to a domino-style destruction of the Red Sox to which we have grown accustomed. Tito gave the Sox everything he had. They rewarded him with respect and titles for so long. But when that faded, he and the organization had little choice but to part ways. Where both parties go from here remains anyone's guess.