Monday, October 29, 2007
Lester - World Champions
It NEVER gets old. Papelbon with 3 crucial saves in the series - I don't think I've ever seen a 4-game sweep so close. Sheer heart attack. And it seemed almost everyone on the 25-man roster contributed, even Bobby Kielty, the ginger ninja, with what proved to be the game-winning homer. (Sorry Kyle Snyder.)
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox. AL East Division winners. Best record in baseball. AL Pennant winners. And of course, 2007 World Champions. How sweet it is.
It NEVER gets old. Papelbon with 3 crucial saves in the series - I don't think I've ever seen a 4-game sweep so close. Sheer heart attack. And it seemed almost everyone on the 25-man roster contributed, even Bobby Kielty, the ginger ninja, with what proved to be the game-winning homer. (Sorry Kyle Snyder.)
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox. AL East Division winners. Best record in baseball. AL Pennant winners. And of course, 2007 World Champions. How sweet it is.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Schilling - OK Corral
Schilling gets the win, Papelbon gets the save, but Okajima was the Man. Balls to the wall, flat-out great relief pitching. And huge credit to Francona for bringing him in there. Right time, right man.
Schilling gets the win, Papelbon gets the save, but Okajima was the Man. Balls to the wall, flat-out great relief pitching. And huge credit to Francona for bringing him in there. Right time, right man.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Beckett - History
Featuring the first World Series matchup named after a historian. (Okay, perhaps not: for all I know there was an Arthur-Schlesinger matchup sometime in the early 1900s.)
A record number of extra base hits. Lugo with 3 hits. The Sox were positively steamrolling the Rockies tonight. I only hope the Rockies didn't get out all the rust with this one game. And maybe in a weird way it would've been better to use a pitcher other than Beckett here, since 13 runs gets anyone the win. But who was to know we would light up Francis? (Man, I've been waiting to use that Stripes line.)
Featuring the first World Series matchup named after a historian. (Okay, perhaps not: for all I know there was an Arthur-Schlesinger matchup sometime in the early 1900s.)
A record number of extra base hits. Lugo with 3 hits. The Sox were positively steamrolling the Rockies tonight. I only hope the Rockies didn't get out all the rust with this one game. And maybe in a weird way it would've been better to use a pitcher other than Beckett here, since 13 runs gets anyone the win. But who was to know we would light up Francis? (Man, I've been waiting to use that Stripes line.)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Matsuzaka - Diced
I don't think an 11-2 game has ever felt so close. Sheer heart attack. Dice-K started out looking good but I was getting afraid of that dreaded 4 2/3 inning hump. I'll probably question Tito going to Okajima for the 8th (2+ innings?), but Francona gets the benefit of the doubt. And once again, Kenny Lofton is left grasping at straws. To be on the 2002 Giants, 2003 Cubs, 2004 Yankees, and the 2007 Indians is a pretty sad set of choking teams.
Although I wouldn't say the Indians choked. They gave as good as they got, and it was close all the way. But the Sox had the better set-up men, and we had the superb rookies... All the little kids in the crimson sox go: Cleveland, Rox.
I don't think an 11-2 game has ever felt so close. Sheer heart attack. Dice-K started out looking good but I was getting afraid of that dreaded 4 2/3 inning hump. I'll probably question Tito going to Okajima for the 8th (2+ innings?), but Francona gets the benefit of the doubt. And once again, Kenny Lofton is left grasping at straws. To be on the 2002 Giants, 2003 Cubs, 2004 Yankees, and the 2007 Indians is a pretty sad set of choking teams.
Although I wouldn't say the Indians choked. They gave as good as they got, and it was close all the way. But the Sox had the better set-up men, and we had the superb rookies... All the little kids in the crimson sox go: Cleveland, Rox.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Schilling - Mark
Since there are no famous authors named Schilling to make inappropriate allusions to, I shall have to reference Teutonic currencies. Which makes sense, since Schilling is money in the playoffs.
And to have: a J.D. Drew 2-out grand slam; a Lugo 2-run RBI; a perfect Eric Gagne inning. Um. I would drink to celebrate, but I'm already blown away.
Since there are no famous authors named Schilling to make inappropriate allusions to, I shall have to reference Teutonic currencies. Which makes sense, since Schilling is money in the playoffs.
And to have: a J.D. Drew 2-out grand slam; a Lugo 2-run RBI; a perfect Eric Gagne inning. Um. I would drink to celebrate, but I'm already blown away.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Beckett - Endgame
(Because hell, I'm pretentious enough to make Samuel Beckett references.) Josh Beckett should get the keys to the city of Boston when he lands in Logan. Brilliant performance. And despite the continued occasional squander (and the fact that Coco is essentially fried to a crisp), this was lots of fun to watch. And Manny is a bad, bad man. Screw Fox and all the handwringing over him not running out his single.
(Because hell, I'm pretentious enough to make Samuel Beckett references.) Josh Beckett should get the keys to the city of Boston when he lands in Logan. Brilliant performance. And despite the continued occasional squander (and the fact that Coco is essentially fried to a crisp), this was lots of fun to watch. And Manny is a bad, bad man. Screw Fox and all the handwringing over him not running out his single.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
ALCS Thoughts
14 outs. 4 2/3 innings. Why can't our starters get into the 5th inning? What's annoying is that in the losses the Sox have made a credible comeback attempt, only to fall short.
And bloody hell. Eric Gagne. Merde!
Oh well, not bridge jumping yet. The Tobin's a bit far to report to, in any case.
14 outs. 4 2/3 innings. Why can't our starters get into the 5th inning? What's annoying is that in the losses the Sox have made a credible comeback attempt, only to fall short.
And bloody hell. Eric Gagne. Merde!
Oh well, not bridge jumping yet. The Tobin's a bit far to report to, in any case.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
ALDS Game 2: Angels and Demons
What a game. Manny's first walk-off homer since his Cleveland days, apparently, which astounds me for a Hall of Famer. That ball never landed. I think it's in orbit now, blocking my GPS signal. "When you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's how you know you're a bad man" - that's the money quote. Manny is a bad ass. Long may he stay that way.
Meanwhile, bugs jobbed Joba Chamberlain, and helped send the Yankees back to New York down 2-0. Ah, the Biblical plagues have come. I see A-Rod got all prepared for his first-born being taken away by knocking up his wife again.
What a game. Manny's first walk-off homer since his Cleveland days, apparently, which astounds me for a Hall of Famer. That ball never landed. I think it's in orbit now, blocking my GPS signal. "When you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's how you know you're a bad man" - that's the money quote. Manny is a bad ass. Long may he stay that way.
Meanwhile, bugs jobbed Joba Chamberlain, and helped send the Yankees back to New York down 2-0. Ah, the Biblical plagues have come. I see A-Rod got all prepared for his first-born being taken away by knocking up his wife again.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Unstoppable force, immoveable object, yada yada yada
A random thought occurred to me: if not for Grady Little's lack of a brain, the offensive machine that was the 2003 Red Sox would have faced Beckett in the World Series. I can't tell if that makes me feel a little better about 2003, since you could argue that Beckett was so dominant that the Marlins would've beat the Sox any way, or worse, since that would have been a great matchup to watch.
A random thought occurred to me: if not for Grady Little's lack of a brain, the offensive machine that was the 2003 Red Sox would have faced Beckett in the World Series. I can't tell if that makes me feel a little better about 2003, since you could argue that Beckett was so dominant that the Marlins would've beat the Sox any way, or worse, since that would have been a great matchup to watch.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
ALDS Game 1: Josh Beckett tour de force
Man. Talk about dealing. The Angels seemed to have only two choices in this game: swing quickly for an out, or wait for a strike for an out. Those pitches were a thing of beauty - Beckett could place them anywhere he wanted, and got such crazy movement on some of them it was this close to being Bugs Bunny, pitching.
The AP report gives a good sense of just how much a throwback Beckett's CG shutout is:
Man. Talk about dealing. The Angels seemed to have only two choices in this game: swing quickly for an out, or wait for a strike for an out. Those pitches were a thing of beauty - Beckett could place them anywhere he wanted, and got such crazy movement on some of them it was this close to being Bugs Bunny, pitching.
The AP report gives a good sense of just how much a throwback Beckett's CG shutout is:
Christy Mathewson is the only pitcher with four postseason shutouts; Beckett tied Whitey Ford and Mordecai Brown with three.
LinkWith all the additional postseason games every year, it's pretty amazing that the other people with that many postseason shutouts still precede the division-play era (although obviously the demise of the CG is well documented). And it's a great list for Beckett to join. Although admittedly I can't imagine Beckett getting as great a nickname as "Three Finger".
Monday, October 01, 2007
Tito on the celebrations
One reason I think Terry Francona is a great manager for Boston is he knows how to work the media and give good quote (and shield his players in the process). I particularly liked his comments on Papelbon's celebrations:
One reason I think Terry Francona is a great manager for Boston is he knows how to work the media and give good quote (and shield his players in the process). I particularly liked his comments on Papelbon's celebrations:
"You mean, 'The Riverdance'?" Francona said. "That's one of the . . . he looked to me . . . I don't want to call him a moron, but the only thing better than that was when he was inside dancing, wearing only a jock. (Link)Ah, winning always creates levity.
Singapore Sox Fan
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