Rocks Swept Under The Rug

The Boston Red Sox proved me wrong by completing a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday night. Mike Lowell was named MVP, as the Red Sox won their second championship in four years.

The playoff road was similar to their 2004 championship: ALDS sweep, ALCS comeback, World Series sweep. These Red Sox were on their game, doing something that the Rockies could not, getting hits with runners in scoring position. They could not do any wrong.

Shoot, even Ronald McDonald Bobby Kielty got in on the action, hitting a solo shot in the eighth inning, proving to be the winning run.

The thing that sucks for Boston haters is that this team will be good for years to come. They have a solid bullpen, good starting pitching, and guys that can swing the bat. Kind of crazy how it looks like the Yankees are going in the opposite direction (more on that later).

I do not think the Rockies would have faired much better even if they did not have that long layoff... the Red Sox are just that good.

Congratulations to the Rockies for making that improbable run and to Ben Affleck. Your team won! Yeah right, you are a douche Affleck... sit next to me at Angels stadium and we will see how long you last.

I cannot believe JD Drew and Eric Gagne are getting World Series rings. Ah, I just threw up a little in my mouth.

I will miss you baseball, the focus of MLB will shift to awards and rumors.

World Series Game 1

Josh Beckett was at it again last night, pitching the Red Sox to another victory in the 2007 postseason.

Okay, maybe the rust was present in the Colorado lineup, but Boston is just clicking on all cylinders right now. Shoot, even Eric Gagne pitched a perfect inning last night.

They are coming through with hits when runners are in scoring position, fielding the ball well, and their pitching is lights out. It is quite sickening to watch this team hit double after double, scoring run after run. Even Julio Lugo could not be kept off the bases as we went 3-for-4 and had a walk.

The game was over by the fourth inning and should have been called after the fifth. It got so out of hand we even had a Alex Cora sighting.

All the game really was after the fifth was background eye noise, as music was turned up and attention away from the game.

Know doubt Boston fan thought that game was a "wicked pissah!" and will proclaim the series is over already.

Game was the anticlimatic that any non-Red Sox or Rockies baseball fans hate to watch. You want a competitive game to watch if your team is not in it.

Beckett is completely killing it in the playoffs. He dropped his career postseason ERA to 1.73, third on the all-time list for those with 70 or more innings. This year he has gone 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA while striking out 35 to issuing two walks. I need to write that again. In his four games this postseason, 35 have struck out against him, while only two have drawn a walk.

Was anyone else freaked out by Ashanti's hand during the seventh inning stretch? Her hand looked like the prosthetic hand of Happy Gilmore's golf coach, Apollo Creed Chubbs Peterson.

Game 2 tonight, 8PM ET.

World Series 2007

The 2007 Fall Classic is set to begin tomorrow evening at Fenway Park in Boston, with the Red Sox facing the Colorado Rockies.

So here it is. Wally the Green Monster v. Dinger. Soxtober v. Rocktober. AL. v. NL.
Personally I think the "Rocktober" slogan has a much better ring to it. Why does Boston have to copy?

As you may know by now, I am not a big fan of anything out of Boston. They have turned into monsters, not their players, but their fans (okay, some of their players).

Boston fans have essentially turned into what they hate, Yankees fans. But they have surpassed the Yankees fans in being more obnoxious, rude, and arrogant. Five years ago? I would have taken Red Sox fans over Yankees fans any day of the week.

Today, I would take Yankees and Dodgers fans in the same room with no way out, over three Red Sox fans in an empty stadium.

Oh yes, the World Series (I guess you can tell by now who I am rooting for).

The Rockies are coming off an eight-day layoff after their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Red Sox completed their series comeback versus the Cleveland Chokers Indians. Like I said in the past, I am not a fan of the long days off between games. I feel sorry for the Rockies.

The following are the pitching matchups for the first few games:

Josh Beckett v. Jeff Francis
Curt Schilling v. Ubaldo Jimenez
Daisuke Matsuzaka v. Josh Fogg
Josh Beckett v. Aaron Cook

The Red Sox have to love their chances with Beckett potentially starting three games in a seven game series (due to the fact that Tim Wakefield is not on the World Series roster). But I like the game 4 pitcher of Cook pitching against Beckett, saving Francis for game 5.

The sports nation outside of Colorado is giving the Rockies no chance at winning this series, and based on what we saw in last year's World Series I do not blame them. Let me say this though, this Rockies team is not the same as the Detroit Tigers of yesteryear that lost to the St. Louis Cardinals after their long layoff.

The Tigers were still the favorites going into the series even though they had a seven-day layoff. The Rockies would still be the underdogs even if they had won their NLCS matchup in seven games. It is always a dangerous thing to place a chip on the shoulder of a talented team.

These Rockies fought their way into the playoffs and they will be the first to tell you that they are not done.

Do not believe the hype, this series is going six or seven games.

My breakdowns:

Batting lineup
Boston has the two big bats of Ortiz and Ramirez, with Lowell capable of cleaning it up. And Colorado has five guys that hit 90+ RBIs during the season. The patience of the Red Sox gives them the edge. Red Sox.

Starting pitching
Boston has a veteran, playoff battled pitcher in Schilling, and a young playoff stud on a tear in Beckett. Colorado has a nifty lefthander in Francis and a hard-throwing young cat in Jimenez. It will be interesting to see how Aaron Cook pitches in his first postseason appearance this year. Based on the way Beckett is dealing I have to go with Boston. Red Sox

Bullpen
I know what you are thinking, Boston by far. But hold on Voltaire. The Rockies made their miraculous run into, and through the playoffs thanks to its bullpen play over the last month. As hot as they are, there is no denying their effectiveness. Rockies.

Intangibles
Yes, the Rockies are going in with eight days off, but like I said, they have a different makeup. Every night they have a new hero emerge during their current run. And that is a real intangible. Boston mystique, blah, blah. Rockies.

Mascots
On one hand you have a purple dinosaur representing the Rockies, and on the other you have a "Green Monster" representing a green monster wall. Although Dinger the dinosaur has a girlie purple color, I say he can beat up the Green Monster of Boston. Plus, Wally the Green Monster would not come down to my seats to face off against me when he was in Anaheim for game 3 of the ALDS. I called him down and he walked away. Coward. Rockies

With my heart I am picking the Rockies in seven.
With my head I am picking the Red Sox in six.

Normally I do not want the NL team to win it all unless there is a certain AL team in the World Series. Yes, you guessed it, that team is the Red Sox.

Go Rockies!

I Blame Red Sox Nation

Colorado Rockies fans are irate today over the internet sales of World Series tickets.

The ticket sales had to be suspended due a failure of the computer system. Many fans secured tickets in the system but were unable to go through the checkout process.

That has to be the worst feeling ever. Bad enough you have to sit on your computer in a panic; clicking away, heart pounding, and mind racing (I guess I have gone through it before). And it all comes crashing down when you get an "error" screen.

It has to be Red Sox nation hacking into the system and directing those from the Colorado area to the error screen. Expect to see 20,000 Red Sox fans at Coors Field when the series shifts to Colorado.

The Red Sox fans will no doubt get their tickets from season ticket holders of the Rockies. I saw this first hand with the Angels.

Outside the stadium a gentleman started talking to me and later revealed that he was a Red Sox fan. He was not wearing any Red Sox gear, saying he did not want to disrespect, so I just continued to talk to this man from Vegas. We talked for a few more minutes and told me he bought his tickets off of an Angels season ticket holder. He then had the audacity to ask if we had a good following here. Was that a real question, or sarcasm?

Poor Colorado, you do not know what you have to deal with. Good luck, do not take any crap.

The Angels playoff tickets were a mess as well. The computer systems did not crash, but you had to win in the "playoff lottery" for a chance to guy tickets. Luckily I had season tickets or else I would have flipped my noodle.

Go Dinger.

League Championship Series

The Colorado Rockies completed the sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Coors Field. They now face an eight-day layoff as they await the winner of the ALCS.

I picked them to win the NLCS, but I did not expect them to sweep the Dbacks. They are playing at an insane level right now. Every move that they Rockies are making are the right ones. Rockies Seth Smith pinch hit in the pitchers' spot in the bottom of the fourth inning and drove in two runs with a bloop hit.

Who is Seth Smith? Exactly. He does not even have a player profile on the ESPN website.

I do not like the eight days off for the Rockies, even though they assured the nation that they would be alright. It just reminds me of the Detroit Tigers last year, and how their bats went cold as they waited for the Cardinals.

Onto the ALCS...

Jake Westbrook and the Cleveland Indians took a 2-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox and their $100 million investment, Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Kenny Lofton continued to be the ageless wizard for the Indians, hitting a two-run home run off of Dice-K in the second inning after taking his time getting into the batter's box, much to the dismay of Jason Varitek. That'a'boy Lofton.

The Red Sox proved me right too... one of my keys to this series was to stay out of double plays. The Red Sox drove into three, including one each by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

I read a recap on ESPN in which it proclaimed that the "Indians, who haven't won it all since 1948, are in control of a best-of-seven series that seemed to belong to Boston after the opener."

So Boston was in the driver's seat after just one game? Ridiculous.

Game four is tonight with my buddy, Paul Byrd, pitching for the Indians.
Do that Byrd flap.

National League Championship Series Predictions

NLCS - Arizona Diamondbacks versus Colorado Rockies
Baxter the Bobcat vs. Dinger the Dinosaur
NL West vs. NL West

ESPN and other East Coast team lovers have to been kicking themselves right now. "You mean there are good teams on the West Coast?"

Brandon Webb v. Jeff Francis
Doug Davis v. Ubaldo Jimenez
Livan Hernandez v. Franklin Morales
(Rest of the rotations TBD)

Both teams are coming of a sweep of their respective victims. Colorado is extremely hot. Arizona has a killer ace.
The Rockies have won 17 of their past 18 games, with that loss coming at the hands of Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks.

Many people are making a big deal about that loss, but what else should be known is that Colorado took the next two games against them.

The big bats for the Rockies: Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton, and Matt Holliday, are all batting over .350 against Diamondback pitching this season. Webb may have not pitched well against the Rockies this season (5.77 ERA), but if he pitches like he did in game one in the NLDS then no one will be able to hit him. Hernandez had better success against the Rockies this season, allowing six runs in 35 innings.

Francis was brilliant against the Phillies in the NLDS, erasing the memory of two bad starts against them in the regular season.

I like the Rockies lineup better than the Diamondbacks because their players have essentially been in the playoffs for the past month fighting for a playoff spot. Each night they have a different hero come through in the clutch.

And Holliday is a beast. Rockies in SIX.

Game 1 tonight on TBS, 5:30 p.m. Uggh. I wonder what the broadcasters for TBS are going to talk about since they love the East Coast.