ON MATT’S MIND- One big pitch hunt

Every fan treasures the moments
in sports history that grip the nation.
Whether it involves your team doesn’t
change how memorable that moment
is (maybe just the level of pain that
afflicts you).

In baseball, a special connection exists
between the pitcher and batter that
will sometimes etch a moment into the
record books that is forever inerasable.
Few remember the batter when a pitcher
reaches a milestone or has a banner
game, though. Name the last batter
retired in any of Nolan Ryan’s seven
no-hitters. Who was the final victim
when Roger Clemens became the first
to strike out 20 batters in a game? What
team did the Mets face this season when
Tom Glavine won his 300th game?

The batsman gets a free pass when
the pitcher shines. He walks back to
the dugout invisible and moves on with
his career.

Pitchers don’t have the same luxury
when it comes to being forgotten. Barry
Bonds’ quest to break Hank Aaron’s
historic career home run record of 755
had pitchers terrified of being forever
linked to No. 756 for Bonds. The victim
was Mike Bacsik of the Washington
Nationals, and his name will be common
trivia until Alex Rodriguez or someone
of the like becomes the next to break
the record.

Postseason baseball watches some
pitchers solidify while others crumble.

Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim
Wakefield is infamous for allowing a
walk-off home run to Aaron Boone in
Game 7 of the 2003 American League
Championship Series (ALCS). He’ll
forever be linked to that fateful pitch
that allowed the Yankees to once again
assert their dominance over the Red
Sox. (Fortunately for Wakefield, the
situation was remedied the following
season as Boston broke the “curse” and
won the World Series for the first time
in 86 years.) Red Sox manager Grady
Little pulled ace Pedro Martinez from
that game in a move that has been
questioned ever since; Martinez was still
in control of the game. The bullpen cost
the Red Sox their season and Little cost
himself his job.

Footage of Luis Gonzalez hopping
down the first base line after driving in
the game-winning run in the bottom
of the ninth inning for the Arizona
Diamondbacks has been shown on every
sports network imaginable. Anyone who
watched the 2001 World Series could
tell you that Mariano Rivera, arguably
the greatest closer in history, gave up
that hit and lost the championship as
the Yankees were dethroned.

Curt Schilling was a key figure in the
2001 Diamondbacks World Series title,
as well as the Red Sox’ championship in
2004. Who doesn’t remember the bloody
sock and sutures in the ALCS?

Manager Terry Francona has stated
that Schilling will be starting Game 2 of
the ALCS Oct. 13 against the Cleveland
Indians at Fenway Park. This is a critical
decision for Francona’s future and
for the club. So much hinges on the
pitching rotation in the playoffs and
when the manager decides to make a
pitching change in later innings of the
game. Schilling has continued to prove
his value in the postseason in this year’s
Fall Classic. He pitched seven scoreless
innings against a potent Anaheim Angels
batting order.

Francona must continue to trust
Schilling against the Indians. Don’t
give him the hook if he struggles out of
the gate. Schilling is known for getting
stronger as the game progresses. Chicago
Cubs manager Lou Piniella pulled ace
Carlos Zambrano prematurely last week
against the Diamondbacks. Francona
will hear jeers similar to those heard
at Wrigley if the Red Sox bullpen loses
Schilling’s start.

Manager Joe Torre might ultimately
lose his job with the Yankees after starting
Chien-Ming Wang on three days
rest. Rotation and bullpen management
are the most crucial roles the manager
must handle in the playoffs. The slightest
missteps could end his season . and
his career as a manager.