Game 2 was more intriguing. It was closer, some better pitching from the Rockies, less offense from the Red Sox (direct connection between those two things), but still, the big hit escaped the Rockies. I was one of those who praised the Rockie offense but as we have seen time and time again in the postseason, it really is pitching that works the best. Look at the Yankees of the past couple years, they had ridiculously good offenses and....well, it didn't yield results. The Rockies however, despite what I have said, were not even hitting well coming into this series. Maybe I was just banking my prediction on their ridiculous numbers up and down the lineup from the regular season. They only hit .222 in the NLCS, luckily for them the D'Backs (I always am so close to calling them the D'Bags, is that wrong?) were just as inept. But against the Red Sox, that sort of thing is not going to work. We watched all year as the American League proved it was SO much better than the National League and yet the World Series happened upon us and people still thought the Rockies had a chance (including me). Now looking back on the postseason, and the teams from each league, does anyone actually believe that any of the NL teams could've beaten any of the AL teams (except the Angels who, with their injuries, were playing like an NL team...and I hate them)? I don't think so. Yankees-Phillies? Yankees-Cubs, D'Backs? How about Indians vs. those same teams? I mean, yes, the playoffs are random, for sure, that sort of thing happens. But most of the time the team that is better does win, and that is the case right now. And at this moment, the Red Sox are quite unbeatable right now. But of course, that could change when Dice-K gets on the mound in Coors Field where breaking balls break less and the outfield is monstrous (look for Manny to struggle covering that much ground). But with Okajima pitching like he did in the beginning of the year, and Papelbon just throwing gas, it doesn't look good. I mean, Dice-K is good for what? 110 pitches and about 4 2/3 or 5? Yeah, well, then all you need is one pitcher to get it to the 7th and Oki, and then maybe 2 from him, or 2 from Papelbon, and what does that lead to? Victory. Hey, I'm still rooting for the Rockies and yeah World Series' can change. '96 is the ultimate example for me, since I actually watched it. But for that to happen, the Rockies are going to need some help. Hopefully the expansive outfield and thin air will help them but...oh wait, the Red Sox, who are hitting exponentially better get the same thing...hmmm. That's interesting. I guess we'll just have to play the games, but isn't that always the case?
Oh, and a few notes about the broadcast and other things baseball:
-I am SO sick of shots of the Red Sox bullpen doing their stupid rhythm section crap. How many times do we have to see this? I mean, yes, it was very entertaining, the first time, and yes, it seems like they're having fun....but I get it. Enough.
-I don't know if this is just me, and maybe cause I have experience playing baseball, and catching, and therefore I see pitches from the best possible view, but it REALLY bothers me when so called experts like Tim McCarver cannot correctly tell me what pitch was just thrown. They have that stupid pitch track thing with the MPH of each pitch and everything, but still, they call change-ups breaking balls, and vice versa. They call splitters breaking balls and vice versa. It is just annoying. Give me some money, I'll get in the booth, and tell America what was just thrown.
-Supposedly there is a rule Major League Baseball has that says teams cannot announce important news during the World Series. Consequently, the league's marquee franchise, the Yankees, are currently involved in a high-profile search for their next manager. And supposedly, they are close to closing the deal (it looks like Mattingly with a possibility of Tony Pena as the bench coach, which Joe Girardi headed out west to the Dodgers, even though they have a manager...). Does anyone actually believe the young Steinbrenner's who have taken control will actually wait to announce this information? I don't think so. And even if they don't officially, they'll find a way to leak it out.
-I recently read an article about former Senator George Mitchell's steroid investigation and supposedly when he releases his report in November or December it will be "salacious" and will name names. Is anyone else kind of freaked out about this? I mean, we all know that everyone was on steroids (that is an exaggeration, but is it really?) and yet, will the naming of certain people hurt us as fans more than others? Apparently it is not bothering the regular baseball fan, since baseball set a new record for attendance this year. But maybe there is this mythic aspect we hold for these players and we don't want it to be violated. Maybe I'm a little bitter at some former Senator for potentially being the person to burst that bubble. All i'm hoping for is that my favorite players won't be on it, just for their reputation's sake. I mean, what can MLB actually do? It wasn't against the rules, so can they suspend them ex post facto? I don't think so. The best they can do is submit all of the information to the Feds and see if they can do something about it...though they probably can't. It will be very interesting I say. For our greatest heroes, I hope it ends well for them.
Anyway, that's what I have to say on this Friday morning. Let's see what happens when baseball resumes in the cold of Colorado on Saturday night.
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