And now, my Scott Ostler imitation, where I make several points that are unrelated to one another and call it a “thing I do” - because otherwise I would actually have to tie all the points together and, well, how? Today I’m calling it, “Bon Mots, Errant Throws, And Counting Crows.” Please don’t ask me why – but please do email me if you know.
• Just saying…The Rockies have a good ace (Jeff Francis) set to go against a better ace (Josh Beckett). Then in Game Two, the Rockies once again find themselves at a disadvantage, as they don’t have a solid #2 to match the experience/guile/toughness/ketchupy sockiness of the Red Sox’ #2 – who isn’t, by the way, as good as Francis. Given that a split in Fenway would put the Rockies in pretty good shape – and given the risk of Colorado losing the first two – wouldn’t it make a whole lotta sense to hold Francis back for Game 2? And at least have the pitching matchup to your advantage once? I know, makes too make sense to actually happen, but I just thought I’d throw it out there.
• Darn that Manny Ramirez! Just as the Red Sox had a perfectly good 3 games to 1 deficit going, he had to go and destroy his team’s morale with this, “If we lose it’s not the end of the world” nonsense. Some things in life are more important than baseball? How dare he put life in perspective. No wonder his team crumbled, winning three straight and advancing to the World Series. Manny, obviously indifferent to his team’s plight, barely got on base half the time. It was just sad to see. (Note: You should hear me when I get sarcastic – not pretty.)
• The old adage (or perhaps it’s a new subtractage) is holding true this post-season: The best teams don’t win a lot of one-run games because they are good enough to create a lot of blowout wins. Arizona got to the post-season despite being outscored for the year, only to see its magic quickly run out. Meanwhile Boston, faced with triple-elimination, simply outscored Cleveland 30-5 to advance to the World Series – not relying on one good bounce or bloop hit in order to survive. Just a little more fuel for those who believe one-run games have a high element of unsustainable luck and that the best teams don’t need to rely as much on winning them.
The World Series begins tomorrow at Fenway. Go A’s!
