Sometime in the last couple of weeks, maybe they've been out of luck, out of sorts, out of whack, out of time, out of money (on second thought, scratch that last one).
But simply out? Not a chance.
And until somebody in the opposing dugout figures out a way to get out David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez - if not both of 'em, at least one of 'em - this 2007 postseason will be over and out, flying by in a Boston minute.
No one this side of T-ball gets on base with the regularity that Ortiz and Ramírez have this October, a trend that continued in a shockingly easy 10-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series before 36,986 in Fenway Park last night. Both reached base five times in five plate appearances - four times apiece in the first six innings, by which time the Sox held an eight-run lead, C.C. Sabathia was C.C. see-ya-later, and Josh Beckett was enjoying an early exit of his own volition, one that could prove fortuitous if the Sox need him to pitch on short rest in Game 4.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, who knocked in three runs with a two-run double and sacrifice fly. "They're unbelievable. They're aggressive, they're patient, they're picking their spots, and it doesn't seem like it's just one thing. It's great for me, because they're always on base."
Ortiz has reached base 16 times (7 hits, 8 walks, 1 hit by pitch) in 18 plate appearances in four postseason games. He's averaging four times on base per game. Ramírez has been on base 13 times (5 hits, 8 walks) in 18 appearances.
"Video games, you can program to do whatever you want," said injured reliever Brendan Donnelly, whose official capacity is professional observer/cheerleader. "These guys are doing it in real life.
"But give a lot of credit to Mike Lowell. Whether these guys are getting on base via a hit or a walk, you've still got Mike Lowell to deal with. And that's where Mike Lowell has been big for us all year. You may walk a tightrope and pitch around those two, but you can't pitch around three."
Ortiz and Ramírez both singled in the first, Ramírez driving home Kevin Youkilis with Boston's first run, which erased the 1-0 advantage Cleveland had gained on Travis Hafner's home run over the visitors' bullpen.
Ortiz was hit by a pitch (more blouse than beef), and Ramírez, after falling behind, 0 and 2, walked in the third, when the Sox sent nine men to the plate and scored four times off Sabathia, whose Cy Young Award pedigree took a header on a night he gave up more runs (8 earned in 4 1/3 innings) than in any other start this season.
