A Breath of Fresh Air from Bronson Arroyo

This is really great. Bronson Arroyo not only admits he used Andro until 2004 and would not be surprised if his name was one of the "magic 104". He also has some of the most level-headed comments on the whole situation I've heard from any active player. No moralizing, just honest. Like this:

"In my mind, I think you have to lump the whole era together," Arroyo said, according to the report. "A lot of people were doing it, a lot weren't. I think pitchers probably gained 3 or 4 mph on their pitches and power hitters got some more power.

"But guys like David and Manny, if they did something, it didn't make them who they were. Did it make them a little better? Probably"

And this:

Before 2004, none of us paid any attention to anything we took," he said, according to the Herald. "Now they don't want us to take anything unless it's approved. But back then, who knows what was in stuff? The FDA wasn't regulating stuff, not unless it was killing people or people were dying from it.

Mike Schmidt, who I love, noted in his book Clearing the Bases (which came out in 2006) that while he didn't try steroids, he could imagine being tempted, especially if everyone else was doing it - due to the competitive edge it may provide (or simply to keep up with the Joneses). It's time for everyone to stop acting surprised that a major league baseball player, particularly one who is paid to hit home runs, would do what the likely majority of his peers was doing, especially when it wasn't banned in baseball, especially when the rules weren't clear on what you could or could not do, and especially where if the roles were reversed, nearly every one of us would have done the same thing (or at least have been tempted).

I also liked this take by Jon Couture.

Big 100th Post Extravaganza

... Not really - I'm pressed for time.

The Baseball Update

Sox picked up Andy LaRoche from Pittsburgh - should slide in to a 3B/PH role and hopefully help out against righties. Sox also picked up Chris Duncan from the Cards for Lugo. Duncan seemingly replaces Mark Kotsay as 5th OF/general 1B utility guy. I hope he does well. Here are some reactions:

Neyer

ShysterBall

Via Leitch on why Sox fans will enjoy Duncan

Jere Smith

Update: More from the Hardball Times on the Duncan deal. And More from Pinto on the same deal.

My take? LaRoche has done much better in the second half than the first half and does reasonably well against righties, and makes a natural platoon w/ Lowell, but this is the definition of a marginal move - how many more runs will Laroche create than Kotsay (who is basically who he is replacing on the roster?) The Duncan move I guess has some upside if he can capture his '07 power, but the Sox did not improve themselves appreciably.

Meanwhile, we have these opposing tweets:

Sports Guy

John Henry

Meanwhile, meanwhile, Sox are down 3-1 as I write this, looking tired. Didn't most of these guys just have a few days off?

The Taxes Update

USA Today got Nancy Pelosi today to say that she could lived with a scaled-back surtax to fund health care. President Obama seemed to be o.k. with that in his presser tonight (while definitively killing the idea of scrapping the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care benefits).

What does this mean? Your taxes will not go up to fund health care unless you make > 500K (for individuals and gay spouses) or 1M (for hetero married couples).

The Death Update

R.I.P. Gidget.

Words fail.

Commando (and the daily updates)

The movie Commando (which happens to be on AMC tonight) stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alyssa Milano, Rae Dawn Chong and Dan Hedaya, among others. Alyssa Milano was 12 when the movie was filmed. Now both she and Governor Schwarzenegger are prominent Californians (Milano has her own clothing line for Chrissakes).

I wonder what it would be like to now be 36 or so, looking at a time capsule of sorts, that is continuously rerun on basic cable. If you didn't like the performance, or the way your rockin mid-80s outfit looked:



Here's the deal - Commando will be shown in heavy rotation on TNT, AMC, Spike, whatever mid-tier basic cable station decides it needs Testosterone Week. I'm sure Milano is getting nice residuals from the movie being shown so much, but it must be at least a little awkward to see your 12 year old self, a bit awkward, definitely not thespian-developed, trying to deliver silly one-liners across from the future Governator.

Maybe the money is really good.

The Baseball Update

Ugh. Sox get knocked out of first by the immortal Tommy Hunter and Jason Jennings. Time for the return of Three things I noticed:

(1) Jacoby Ellsbury will never be a fully successful major league hitter until he learns to take a pitch or two. The 0-4 tonight was partly a product of lack of discipline, particularly on his last at bat - a weak first pitch floater to CF.

(2) I think Francona has gotten a bit tentative with his 'pen in close games. I was surprised he left Beckett out there for the 8th after already getting through 100 pitches (particularly since in the 7th he let the first 2 guys on).

(3) Jere Smith is typically optimistic about the Sox, particularly given that they're sitting in the wild card, even after the loss, and that there is almost half a season yet to play. And yet.. and yet..

it is not traitorous to point out that the Sox have legitimate flaws. They haven't settled on a leadoff guy who can get on base with regularity (the indispensable John Couture pointed out on his blog the other day that the Sox haven't exactly been lighting it up from the leadoff spot. There are other flaws too - obviously the pen is in a bit of a funk. The 5th starter situation isn't fully sorted out. Lester still has bumps (witness last night). Drew and Bay are in a funk. And Ortiz, despite the semi-strong last month, still is not consistently getting the job done.

This is not to say that the Sox are in any danger of missing the playoffs, but a criticism of obvious weak spots and a hope that something is being done to address them (giving Buccholz a longer look is a good sign) is not inconsistent with being a fan.

The Tax Update

On hiatus for tonight.

The Death Update

I honestly had forgotten that we had female pilots in WWII. These were the WASPs (when the WACs were much more well known). Virginia Sweet, who passed away on July 12 at the age of 88, like her fellow WASPs, flew mostly transport and non-combat "ferrying" flights, sometimes in beat-up planes, so male pilots would be available for combat flights. A somewhat sad story, the WASPs didn't get the recognition they deserved (and apparently weren't eligible for the GI Bill when they were done - because they were civilians, but still). Here is an example of the shabby treatment they received:

Thirty-eight WASP fliers lost their lives while serving their country during the war. Because they were not considered to be in the military under the existing guidelines, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense without traditional military honors or note of heroism. The military would not even allow the U.S. flag to be put on fallen WASP pilots coffins.

The obit is here

John Smoltz and the Big Inning (Plus the Daily Updates)

John Smoltz wasn't exactly mowing them down tonight (although he did get his FB in the low '90s with movement), but he was plenty effective, through 5 IP he had allowed only 4 hits, 3Ks and no walks. Then it all fell apart - 2B, HR, K, 1B, K, HR, HR and he's gone. He ended up throwing 96 pitches in 5 2/3 innings.

This is not a new thing for Smoltz. In his July 6 start against the A's he allowed 4 in the 4th inning (although with less violence - no home runs). And in his first start of the season, against the Nationals (!!!) he allowed 4 in the first.

Scott Baker of the Twins is another guy who's been snakebitten by the curse of the "one big inning". In his 18 starts this season, he's allowed 3 runs or more in a single inning 10 times (including a 5 spot against the Royals). Baker's problem has mostly been the home run ball, with his HR/9IP rate way up over last year.

Now my gut reaction when I see something like that is to say, "well, take away those bad innings and Baker's got a 3 ERA" or "Smoltzy just needs to minimize the damage and he'll be an effective 4th starter".

But that's wrong.

Joe Posnanski makes the point today in a great post that is ostensibly about the Royals injury issues this year, and whether you can lay any of the blame for their horrible year at that door. Joe concludes not.

We will have to get better or make some changes, there’s no other way.”

Trouble is: That’s not the vibe I get from the Royals. Here’s the vibe I get: “Injuries killed us.” And, plainly, that just makes me ill. There’s an old saying: “Winners win and losers meet.” Well, I think it’s also true that “Winners win and losers complain about injuries.” Or “Winners win and losers gripe about umpires.” Or “Winners win and losers make excuses.” Or simply, “Winners win and losers lose."

The One Big Inning is like that. It seems aberrational until it's not. Eventually, the One Big Innings can't be excluded from the calculus. Sometimes a 5.4 ERA is a 5.4 ERA, it's not the product of bad luck. With Baker, yes, his high FB/GB ratio will get him in trouble when the wind is blowing out, and that's a fundamental flaw that will hold him back from his ace status. With Smoltz, it's still too early to tell and the Nats game can be explained away due to first game jitters, but it's not a good sign that the third time through the lineup tonight he wasn't fooling anyone.

The Baseball Update

As I write this, the Sox are down 6-2 and likely heading for the loss. The Yanks won on a walkoff from Matsui tonight. AL East = TIED.

Soxaholix said it best today. I dread the next 3 months if the Yanks pull ahead.

The Taxes Update

Really the Health Care Update, but the National Journal had a great exchange today about the proposed "surtax" on high earners to fund health care. Really good back and forth and enlightening for the views of left of center guys like William Gale:

It is poor leadership because it furthers the myth that we can solve our fiscal problems by taxing “other” people or with gimmick taxes. It has been said many times already and will be said many times again: we are going to need broad based tax increases and spending cuts to bring the fiscal house into order and the more politicians continue to act as if we can just foist the financing on a small group (be it rich people or foreign corporations or obese people or people who drink soda, etc.) the worse are our prospects for solving the problems.

As they say, read the whole thing.

The Death Update

Of course, Walter Cronkite's passing is the most prominent. Kottke.org has a great tribute up (probably over by the time you read this) to Cronkite, an online viewing of the Apollo 11 moon landing with Cronkite's commentary, at exactly the time it happened 40 years ago.

There are plenty of other appreciations of Cronkite on the web - the Atlantic's writers had some good ones.

In other death news - Gordon Waller of the '60s group Peter and Gordon. I have fond memories of listening to "A World Without Love" on the oldies station my dad listened to for a couple of years in the late '80s (Buffalo peeps - 104.1 or 103.3?) on the way to school in the mornings. It is a McCartney song. But despite the poppy, sing songy melody, the lyrics are kind of dark. Sample lyric:

Birds sing out of tune
And rain clouds hide the moon
I'm OK, here I stay with my loneliness
I don't care what they say, I won't stay
In a world without love

I read something the other day asserting that McCartney's songs were lacking in angst. I challenge anyone who's heard "For no One" or "World Without Love" to defend that statement.

Anyway, back to poor Gordon. The obit is here.

Lu-Gone

Our long national nightmare, yadda yadda yadda...

Julio Lugo has been designated for assignment.

Sox still owe him about $4 million for this year and of course $9 million for next, but it's great to see a major league GM recognize the concept of sunk costs. Truly addition by subtraction.

No Lugo post would be complete without a pic of his stellar defensive skillz:

Death, Taxes and Such

Well it's been too long since I've updated, and it may be months again since I do another update, but I have a few minutes, so here goes..

The Baseball Update

David Pinto is doing a quick series over on Baseball Musings, reviewing each major league team at the all star break. So far, he's tackled just the AL West, but eventually he'll get to the Sox. He presents how a team ranks in several stats, OBP, SLG, etc. I remember as a kid noticing the Sox always seemed to be at the top of the league in AVG and 2Bs, but at the bottom of the pack in SBs. This is not news.

The interesting thing (to me) is how much the team has changed since those days (and even since '04 or so). Now, Sox are middle of the pack in AVG, but toward the top in SBs (the perennial success in 2Bs must be a function of the park).

Again, this is not news. Everyone knows that Theo Epstein has made a point of emphasizing OBP and, apparently, has embraced the speed game more than his predecessors (of course, it helps that he has Ellsbury who has by himself more than 1/2 of the team's stolen bases). This is to his credit, but I don't think he gets enough credit. It's one thing to espouse a philosophy, it's another to successfully implement it. And Epstein's been able to do that in spades.

The Taxes Update

For me, it's all health care, all the time. Taxgirl, the Tax Vox Blog, Kausfiles and Robert Ross at HuffPo all had interesting posts in the past few days regarding the various tax initiatives being put forth to fund health care reform

David Brooks had a great op-ed last week noting that the combination of the various tax increases leave Obama with precious little dry powder for future domestic spending initiatives.

I agree with this. To review the bidding, Obama has already proposed/assumed that the Bush tax cuts on individuals earning over $250K will expire in 2011. Added to that since he ran are: (i) a cap on the deductibility of itemized deductions for high earners, (ii) a "surtax" from 1% to 3% on income over $350,000 (ramping up based on income) which Rangel introduced last week (iii) a potential cap on the tax exclusion of employer-provided health insurance (for plans that cost > $25K/year in premiums) and (iv) rumblings about imposing payroll taxes on capital gains and dividends (i.e., nonwage income).

Neither Obama nor Congress has seriously considered any tax increases on the middle class (such as the total repeal of the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance).

The price tag for the increased coverage Congress is discussing (which would *not* be universal) is ~$1 trillion (CBO estimate from July 3 reported $600M, but the $1T number is still the one that is most widely reported). Apparently gone is the argument that reform will actually save money (probably for good reasons politically, there was already too much discussion of which end of life interventions would not be covered by government provided health insurance due to lack of "efficiencies" - see below).

I am not morally against a tax hike to fund comprehensive health care coverage, but so far, the plans put forth would not accomplish that goal. It seems to me that if you are willing to wager the rest of your domestic policy agenda (because that is what Obama would be doing if all of the above tax hikes are necessary for a credible plan to be passed, which would leave room for no further hikes, probably including the expiration of the Bush tax cuts), then the payoff had better be more impressive than even the most recent CBO estimates of the increase in the number of people covered in this country. It had better be damned close to universal coverage (Medicare for all, as Mickey Kaus calls it).

I don't think that's what we will see.

The Death Update

Michael. Farrah. Ed. Oxy-Clean. Karl. Robert. Steve. And Waldo.

That would be Waldo McBurney, America's oldest worker. He was 106. He worked from age 13 to age 104. He took up distance running when he was 65.

I was listening to an Adam Carolla podcast on the way home from work tonight and in it he said he had asked his friend Dr. Drew, what was with the health care reform debate - what all the controversy was about, why costs were rising so much. Dr. Drew's answer was simple(istic). Everyone is living longer than expected. This *can* partially explain shortfalls in corporate and public pensions and of course the coming disasters in Medicare and Social Security. The cost issue though is extremely loaded when you start to bring patient age into the equation - issues of rationing and treatment decisions made by reference to the efficiency (or necessity) of a given treatment. Who knows how much "extra" costs we all bore to help Mr. McBurney live to 106. Surely he wasn't getting there solely on "juices and berries".

It's a difficult question. When dad finally accepted his likely fate (late stage small cell lung cancer), he decided he didn't want to pursue more chemo or crap that would just make him feel sicker than he was. That was his decision though. I can't imagine (and we're a LONG way in the discussion from this) someone else making that decision for him. Obama alluded to this in a discussion of his grandmother - even when it was clear she would not make it, she had a hip replacement. He admitted that he would pay for the procedure himself, but what if someone can't pay. As a lawyer, I hate slippery slope arguments and believe that we as rational humans don't need bright lines because we should be able reason between different cases based on their own facts, but that's much easier to do in the dry world of tax where it's just money, ultimately, and not someone's cancer-infected dad.

Addendum

This conversation on Slate.com is a good primer on where the Obama Administration (and Stephen Colbert, er, Peter Orszag in particular) thinks the cost savings will come from.

In addition, this blog post by Orszag lays out the ground rules for health reform being "deficit neutral". This is the corner they've painted themselves into.

Kickoff Thoughts

... Some random thoughts and predictions while waiting for Trent Edwards to throw his first 7 yard out...

-- This was the best news I saw all week.

-- I strongly recommend this piece at the Goose's Roost on what being a Bills fan is like.

-- Speaking of the Bills, I was back home a couple of weekends ago, visiting family and friends and was a little surprised at how economically depressed the general region is. Particularly the rural area where I grew up. The local grocery store (once upon a time Bells) closed up shop making the closest supermarket a 15 minute drive away. The closest movie theater to my mom is a 45 minute drive. You pass 3 different Wal-Marts on the way. Cause and effect?

-- And my mom is one of the lucky ones - owns her house, minimal debt, has my dad's pension to live off of. Most are much less fortunate.

-- Some quick predictions... AFC Division winners - Pats, Colts, Steelers, San Diego. Wildcards - Bills and Jags. NFC Division winners - Eagles, Packers, Saints, Cardinals. Wildcards - Cowboys and Vikings. Pats vs. Eagles in SB XLIII. Pats win.

-- Marshawn Lynch will rush for more than 1400 yards.

-- I will go under .500 picking against the spread.

-- I will enjoy several rums and tonic today.

-- Here are the quick picks (trust me, I had the Giants Thursday): Saints (-3.5), Eagles (-8), Dolphins (+3), Chiefs (-15.5), Steelers (-6.5), Ravens (+1.5), Lions (-3), Bills (-1.5), Jags (-3), Browns (+6), Panthers (+9), Cards (-2.5), Colts (-9.5), Packers (-2) and Broncos (-3).

-- The Sox will catch Tampa. They seem to be getting healthy at just the right time. Beckett looked strong Friday. Masterson has developed into a dependable 7th/8th inning guy. I would much prefer the Sox win the division and face the Central winner than get the wild card and face the Angels (although the Sox seem to have their number in the playoffs).

-- That's all for today. More interesting stuff later today or tomorrow.

Go BILLS!!!

Taking a Deep Breath

Lots to talk about today, first and foremost:

The Red Sox

It's amazing how something can go on for more than 6 months, night in, night out, and then be over in a flash - like the previous 6 months never happened. That's how I feel today after the Sox swept the Rockies. Forgotten are the calls to bench Pedroia for Cora, to trade for Jermaine Dye at the deadline and bench Drew, to go back in time and reverse the Beckett/Lowell for Hanley Ramirez/Anubal Sanchez trade, to inquire whether Ortiz and Manny have been juicing all these years. Forgotten are the picayune and picky - whether Beckett should have pitched Game 4 of the ALCS, whether Tito should have pulled him in Game 1 after 5, whether Julian Tavarez should have been on the postseason roster instead of Gagne. Today, there is just joy and relief and the fulfillment of expectations. That is the biggest change since '04 and the reason why many people now think the Sox are the new Yankees. Becuase we expect success and are gratified when it is achieved, instead of hoping for success and overwhelmed and surprised when it happens. A great change.

some wrap up thoughts:

-- This team was built, as Joe Posnanski so aptly pointed out before the ALCS, on imrpoved starting pitching, an improved bullpen and an improved Mike Lowell. Those three things, plus the emergence and contributions of Ellsbury and Pedroia were on full display the last week.

-- Someone at MLB - PLEASE order FOX to replace McCarver and Buck with an announcing team that actually is involved in the game, doesn't just promote the hot storyline and isn't reduced to spouting totally empty platitudes (actually Buck was not that bad this year, but McCarver has been reduced to a caricature of his already shopworn self).

-- I was not at all interested in the World Series last year - partly because work was absolutely insane, but more because the Sox were not involved and my dad had just died. I didn't think of him a single time last night. I'm not sure if that's progress or just life, but there it is.

The Blogs

Soxaholix are note perfect

Jere has his head in the clouds and has a really cool recording of the call of the end of last night's game. Give it a listen. Man, I miss Castiglione.

Away Team has a cool set of pictures celebrating last night's win.

If this video doesn't bring tears to your eyes, I don't know what to tell you (via Sox & Dawgs)

That's it on the Sox. I'll leave you with one picture (woke up this morning and had this greet me on the cover of the NY Times):



The Bills

Is it o.k., as a fan, to be extremely happy your team won, but still have dissatisfied, wondering how they did it, and worried for the rest of the season?

That's how I felt about the Bills 13-3 win over the Jets yesterday.

It's as though Jauron and the coaching staff (more Fairchild than anyone else) was trying to take away the Bills' chances of succeeding as well as screwing up. It's like when you're raising a kid (I can say this now that I have one) - you can't put them in a bubble - yeah, they'll fall, bump their heads, get hit by a car, whatever, but they'll also have a chance to succeed. Watching the first 3 quarters, it was apparent that while Edwards had been designated the starter, he wasn't "A Starter". Some examples:

-- Calling a shovel pass on 3rd and 8 in the Red Zone on the Bills' first successful drive. Yeah, they were in field goal range, but again, what is the risk of taking a shot at the end zone there? You throw a pick, you throw a pick - they're not making the playoffs so they should take more chances (note, this is exactly the OPPOSITE of the horrible call against the Cowboys when they were AHEAD by two scores to pass on a similar down, distance and situation).

-- Another conservative call in the third quarter when they were driving - 3rd and 4 and they call a flanker screen - it was busted anyway.

-- 3rd and short late in the game, and they run straight up the middle for no gain - the third consecutive handoff up the middle. A run is the right call, but why not a sneak, or an inside handoff (they got a FG to go up 6-3, but could have sustained the drive with a better call).

Luckily, they called a few downfield passes for Losman which put the game away - one which Roscoe Parrish should have hauled in, one that Evans improbably did.

Like I said, I like the result, but I doubt the plan.

The Bills blogs:


Goose's Roost has a great picture of Losman.

The prolific Brian Galiford over at Buffalo Rumblings has the game story and a piece on the "QB controversy".

My take on the "controversy" is that the team was built to run an offense that features a lot of downfield passing and a power running game. It was not built for a game manager, dink and dunk style game such as they have tried with Edwards. That woudl argue for Losman to start; however, either way, they HAVE to pick one guy or the other and run the offense they think gives the team the best chance to win WITH THAT GUY.

I'm happy they're 3-4 with the injuries they've had, but they should be 5-2, and that failure is due to a failure of process.

The Baseball Update

Last night, for only the second time this postseason (first was right before Game 5 of the ACLS), I was nervous that the Sox would not win the game. That did not last long. Ellsbury and Pedroia said "oh yeah?", kicked dirt in the faces of the Rockies and their fans and walked off with their girlfriends and the win.

I opened my big mouth in the third inning and asked the Taxwife whether it was too early to start considering WS MVP. After she punched me in the face, she said "yes". She was right. Although this morning - let's look at the candidates (As you will see, I take into account intangibles):



Jacoby Ellsbury: .417/.500/.667, 3 2B, 4-5 last night and the Stolen Base that Launched A Million Tacos.



Dustin Pedroia: .357/.438/.643, 1 HR, 4 RBI, clutch hit last night and the worst hairline I've ever seen on a 24 year old.



Josh Beckett: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 9 Ks, 1 BB and a huge set of huevos.



Jonathan Papelbon: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 Ks, 2 SV and some sick dance moves.



Hideki Okajima: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 Ks, 0 BB and a head jerk to third (thanks, Timm-ay).

I think if it goes 5 and Beckett gets another win, he'll be the MVP. If it's a sweep and Paps saves a close one tonight, it will be him. Otherwise, it's wide open and a clutch hit by Pedroia or Ellsbury (or Lowell or Drew (!) for that matter) will win it.

Of course, the Rockies could come back.

Some random thoughts from last night's game:

-- The best Rockies fans could do was a sign that said "Big Papi eats boogers"? That seems more appropriate for College Gameday.

-- Ditto the Halloween costumes - the Cat in the Hat and the Jolly Green Giant? WTF?

-- McCarver busting out the phrase "a bevy of fastballs" - I prefer a "veritable cornucopia" myself.

-- Okajima worked through trouble like the pro he is and struck out Atkins in the bottom of the 7th with an absolutely nasty splitter. I read time and tie again how breaking pitches don't break as much in the thin Colorado air, but Dice-K's curve was working and Okie's splitter was nasty.

Cruising the Blogs:

Red Sox Chick had this up pretty quickly after last night's game. I'm not sure anymore who McCarver and Buck root against. They seemed relatively fair and balanced last night - McCarver even gave Manny props on the slide into home (after I yelled at the tv for a minute or two).

Peter has his summary of last night's game - including mad props to Dice-K who was in command throughout (although I didn't realize until this morning that he topped 100 pitches).

Joy of Sox has all of the Sunday morning headlines.

NFL Picks in a bit.

Untitled

Always wanted to do that.

Anyhoo, crazy work day on Friday and G-D computer problems today delayed the bloggin' goodness.

So what did I miss?

-- Schilling coming up huge again. I didn't get the people who said he was washed up - he only had the one bad start against Cleveland. Otherwise, here is his postseason line:

19.1 IP, 16 H 3 ER 3BB 13K 3-0, 1.40 ERA.

F U Curly Haired B, I don't care how he's getting it done. He's getting it done.

-- McCarver again informing me about the length of various players' strokes. Keep it to yourself Timm-ay.

-- One worrying trend - lots of guys left on base by the Sox. This team loses games it shouldn't when it gets guys on and can't drive them home. Happened a bit in the Cleveland series (DPs) and happened in Game 2. Luckily the pitching was strong enough to overcome it. It won't be tonight.

My prediction for tonight - Dice-K goes 5+, but first guy in (Delcarmen) allows two inherited runners to score. Rockies win 5-3.

I hope I am wrong, but I did pick the Sox in 6.

Some blogs before I leave to finish my third drink of the night:

Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory has a good post taking apart CHB.

Red Sox Chick went to Game 1. Hereare the gory details.

Joy of Sox has the open thread and the headlines for tonight's game.

Peter notes that if the NL had home field, the game could be rained out, and Dice-K is the first starting pitcher from the land of the rising sun in the World Series.

That's it. Enjoy the game. Off to change into the lucky "Why Not Us" t-shirt. To wit:

The Baseball Update

Once again, I am late this morning with the update, but what a game. Even Buck and McCarver couldn't ruin my enjoyment (although they still caused me to talk to myself a lot more than I normally would).

Like Jere, I thought the Royce Clayton/Coco conversation was the humor highlight of the game, at least until McCarver told me that "usually the bigger you are, the longer your stroke". I think he meant it in terms of Matt Holliday's impressive short swing, but I could be wrong.

Three Things I Noticed: (1) Ed Montague was decent behind the plate, but actually had a rather small strike zone, except in the first when Beckett was pitching, and then toward the end of the game when he started calling the belly-button strike. He was giving Francis a few calls he wasn't giving Beckett which just shows you how great Beckett was last night. (2) I know from statistical data that Troy Tulowitzki is an excellent defensive shortstop, but did you see the highlight reel that Fox ran? You could not have come up with a mor anodyne set of clips if you tried. Basically they were "run to the left, plant feet, fire to first". None of the leaping grabs that he's actually made in the NLCS. Anyway, it immediately reminded me of Letterman's "Close Plays of the Month" when Marv Albert would come on and narrate a ridiculolusly average play as though it was something special. Unintentional comedy - thy name is Fox baseball coverage. (3) I was openly rooting for Tito to pull Beckett in the 6th. I mean, 13-1? I guess he's already made up his mind that Lester will be the game 4 starter, but that was a little curious. Allowed me to set up the TaxWife for a good joke, however. I told her that they should bring in Gagne in the 6th. She said no matter the score she doesn't want Gagne coming in in the 6th of any game. So she went to bed before the 9th inning and when she woke up asked me what the final score was. I told her, "you wouldn't believe it, they brought in Gagne and he gave up 6 runs. Paps had to close". She immediately yelled "I told you, I knew it, that guy sucks... etc". (she didn't actually say "etc"). I said, actually it was 13-1. 1-2-3 inning. Good times.

Some Good Blogs

The aforementioned post from Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory.

Keep Your Sox On is rocking Freddy Mercury this morning.

02145 says to keep a little perspective, Red Sox Nation (I agree, this is how we started the ALCS, remember?)

Joy of Sox has the front pages.

Soxaholix. No words necessary.

Pinto says it came down to throwing strikes. See above on the ump. Tight zone last night.

That's it. Busy day. Huge Tax Update should be due, but not sure if I'll get to it.

Oh Yeah

Sox in 6.

MVP: Manny just like in '04.

Number of dumb things McCarver will say? Too many to count.

World Series Limerick:

They've conquered the Angels and Tribe
Down three to one they survived
With the Rockies in town
Even if they get down
We know they will come back and thrive.

Sorry - I only had 10 minutes.

Enjoy the game!

Tito is a Good Manager

I was not among the Tito bashers when he went with Wakefield over Beckett in Game 4. The numbers were on Tito's side. Wakefield was fresh. Wakefield did not pitch a gem in Game 4, but he also was not the reason the Sox lost. Beckett then went on regular rest in Game 5, Schill was Schill in Game 6 and the Sox blew the Indians out of the water in Game 7.

And then there is this (from Buster Olney's ESPN chat today)

brendan(ny): What happened to Travis Hafner? How come he doesn't get the same treatment as ARod despite a miserable postseason?

Buster Olney: Brendan: His bat was incredibly slow the last three games. And there is some thought in the Cleveland family that facing Wakefield's knuckler may have fouled up some of the Indians' hitters for the last few days of the series

Excuse? Doesn't matter. Good call Tito.

The Baseball Update

Really, just a tour of pieces from the interwebs this morning. They're all saying it better than I can.

Charles Pierce defends Manny better than anyone I have seen so far.

You knew Keep Your Sox On would choose "Don't Stop Believeing" for their tribute to last night's game.

Peter is overjoyed.

Soxaholix has the first Flowers for Algernon reference I have seen in a long time.

Call of the Green Monster has the scoop on baseball lessens for Rockies fans.

Bills update and maybe Death and Taxes Updates later. I'm behind the 8 ball at work after watching so much baseball over the weekend.

This is nice

Evidence that Sox fans generally are good people, like fans everywhere. From Art Martone's indispensible ProJo Blog

BOSTON -- As the Indians' players made their way from their clubhouse to the team bus, which was parked in right field, they found themselves being honored by an unlikely group of people.

Red Sox fans who had stayed behind at Fenway Park for the post-clinching celebration stood to the sides and created an alley for the players to walk through. And as they passed, the fans applauded, making comments like, ''Good series,'' and ''Good luck next year.''

Ex-Sox right fielder Trot Nixon was the first to pass, and he seemed surprised by the ovation. The other Cleveland players passed stoically, but Travis Hafner had a smile on his face.

It all occured at around 1 a.m.

And at 1:04 a.m., with the field finally clear of Red Sox players but the lights still on and the grounds crew beginning its work, the Fenway Park organist began playing ''The Impossible Dream.''

Stay Classy, Boston

Job Well Done

Squanders in the first 3 innings. Nail biting in innings 4 through 6. Dodging a bullet in the 5th - with a little help from the second base ump. Then a breakthrough in the 7th, aided by an error and some luck. Then the floodgates opening in the 8th.

The Sox did it with a little more execution (specifically the pen), a few breaks (the Manny grounder off the lip that went for a single instead of a DP) and one bad call by the second base ump and an historic mistake by Joel Skinner.

Check the archives. I was never more than moderately nervous, and was actually pretty confident all through the series. Even in the dark day after going down 3-1. Team has too much talent and the breaks were due to even out. Now, the Sox get to face God's team. Good luck to them.

Enjoy the celebration. I am f-d at work tomorrow.

6 Down, 1 to Go

Just. Wow. This is why I love baseball. Well, this and the dingers. J.D. Drew, a guy who couldn't buy a big hit all year, who had fans mocking him, actually pining for Trot Nixon (!) after Game 2, who apparently had personal problems off field that may have contributed to his relative lack of production this year, was redeemed in a big way. All of a sudden, curtain call, standing "Os", possible chants of "Drew, Drew" (I couldn't quite hear them).

Some commenters on Deadspin were complaining about "Sox Fans" - to quote one:

You Red Sox fans are f*cking pathetic - rip J.D. Drew and then he saves your season like that so he's a God.

Yeah, that's about right. But you see, that is a fan's prerogative. I don't necessarily agree with booing your own players (well, I will make an exception for Gagne), unless they have come out and maligned fans or teammates, or generally acted like jerks. However, fans are absolutely entitled to complain about a guy, whine to talk radio, bitch and moan and then, when the moment is right, turn on a dime and cheer cheer cheer.

It's not two-faced. It's called being a fan. And last night Drew got to experience the good side of the equation. As did Sox fans everywhere.

Three things I noticed: (1) Schilling was actually pretty masterful. The picture of efficiency. He threw 90 pitches over 7 innings, never more than 18 in an inning. He never was in any real trouble, despite Joe Buck and Tim McCarver's fevered hand-wringing in the third inning when Cleveland cut it to 4-1 and had the tying run at the plate. He was the epitome of crafty. The only people who should have been surprised are people with poor memories. He pitched the exact same way against Anaheim. Too many people let the one bad start against Cleveland color their views.

(2) Speaking of McCarver. He's become downright unlistenable (I know - this is news?) What I mean is, I used to be able to listen to him at least for the unintentional comedy effect - like the other night when he expressed surprise that a lead-off home run will lead to more big innings than a lead-off walk. Something has changed, though. I don't know what - seems like he's forcing himself to find things to say. He actually said last night, apropos of nothing that the word "gameplan" has been used in football for a while and is now being used in baseball. Huh? What does that even mean? That people use gameplans in baseball now, or just the word? There were countless other examples, but he's not even funny anymore. He's just sad. Like the drunk uncle who goes from funny to quiet and distant. Sad.

(3) I've talked about it over and over again, but it was finally nice to see it acknowledged by a real baseball person. After the game, Eric Wedge noted that the breaks that had been going the Indians way, went the Sox way last night. Some borderline pitches by Carmona were called balls. A couple of little infield hits in the first loaded the bases. Drew's grand slam cleared the wall by about a foot. And then the late miscues came - lack of execution. The series has done a 180 since i wrote this, and I think it's 25% execution and 75% breaks falling in a different way.

Touring the blogs

Jere is luckily going to Game 7 tonight. He's too fixated on the Yankees though for my taste. I did not once think of the Yankees last night.

Sox Nest knows the meaning of redemption.

Keep Your Sox On echoes the theme of little moments making the big difference.

Peter has the money quote from Schilling about Dice-K ready to go out there tonight.

That's all for now on the baseball front. Unfortunately this is a work day for me, but I'll be back in a bit with quick NFL picks.

The Baseball Update

Ahhhhhh... back to business, back to Boston.

I watched the game last night from the bar at Morton's here in the city with a good friend from Boston who was down. Reminded me of the '04 ALCS when I watched the comeback games in San Francisco with the same guy, plus some other guys. Good transplant karma, I guess.

It still started out frustrating - like games 2-4 - the Sox were getting lots of chances, but not capitalizing - the Manny throwout at home, the long single, Lugo's DP (which I called). But the worm obviously turned and some of those breaks I've been talking about went the Sox' way - miscues in the field, ball 4 calls that were close - and timely hitting (not clutch, just timely).

Three Things I Noticed: (1) It was the curveball that did it for Beckett. The hook was nasty all night and the Indians just couldn't figure it out, even upon third viewing in the 7th and 8th. (2) Lugo is just terrible. I didn't get the infatuation last year when the rumors were heating up that the Sox would not resign Gonzalez and go after Lugo. He doesn't hit. He doesn't field. He's a 30 steal guy with a penchant for GIDPS. The only entertaining thing about him is his passion for cup adjustments, which he doesn't even seem to be doing as much. Ah well, I shouldn't be negative after a game like last night. (3) Joe Buck and McCarver were actually excellent last night. I had the sound off and can say that they have never sounded better.

Let's go to the Blogs....

Jere has a typically passionate take on the game and golden goblets.

Keep Your Sox On says that Beckett goes to 11.

Peter says that Beckett was Santa Claus (he has a lot of Mrs. Clauses, apparently).

Surviving Grady is calling for the Randy Johnson move from Beckett if it gets to 7. He also finds the hidden meaning in the art of holding a microphone.

Soxaholix say let the "real Indian" play.

Back later. Busy morning.

The Baseball Update

Here we go...

In under 4 hours, Dustin Pedroia will step into the box against CC Sabathia in the biggest game of his life. For all of the "we've been there before" stuff we've been hearing from Yoooooouk and others, for some of the key players (Pedroia, Lugo, Coco, Papelbon, Okajima), they haven't been there before. This isn't a post about pressure though. It's a post about how, in a season that lasts more than 6 months, over two hundred games, counding pre- and post-season, that goes from cold to hot and back to cold again, everything comes down to three or four chances at the plate and a half dozen chances in the field. How exhilirating must that be?

Mike & Mike this morning (shut up, I was getting dressed) were talking about this phenomenon - how casual fans sitting in the stands say things like "I'd kill for that guy's job" or "those players don't know how good they have it", when the player's perspective is, well, it's a job. Still, Golic admitted that there were times when he would step back, look around and say, "wow. This is pretty damn cool. I'm in the NFL."

I imagine tonight is one of those nights. Even on the road, even with the expectations. You have to think that when Pedroia steps in at 8:07 to face the real Hefty Lefty (sorry Jared, CC has you beat), he'll close his eyes and shake his head, as he does, step out, adjust the batting gloves and wait, just for a second, before stepping in and getting back to his job.

Bring it back to Fenway, guys.

Some pre-game blogtalk:


The Mighty Quinn reminds us that the Sox have faced this situation before. Often with worse odds (who thought Schilling would be able to pitch again in '04 Who thought the Sox would beat the Indians in '99 after going down 0-2 with that dead-ass pitching staff?)

Joy of Sox has the salient quotes for tonight.

Peter says it's Beckett or Bust and (rightly) defends Manny. Let's give the Manny-bashing a rest and YES, Mike No Talent Adams, I'm looking at you.

Triumphant Red Sox Fan thinks we need more Millar.

Red Sox Dad (wait that could describe me as well) thinks the Sox look nice and loose.

Go Sox.

Some Common Sense

From David Pinto writing at the Sporting News. Basically, the series has come down to timely hitting by the Indians, lack of same from the Sox and superb fielding by the Indians.

Hopefully those trends will reverse themselves soon.

(via Baseball Musings)