Quick reactions

ESPN.com ran the headline, "Twice in a lifetime" with a subhead that read:

The legend of Babe Ruth haunted Boston for some 86 years. The Curse of Doug Mientkiewicz? Merely three. Behind pitching as timely as their hitting, the Red Sox won another World Series.

Boston.com went with "Again!!"

My Aunt Phyllis who lives in the Red Sox Spring Training home of Fort Myers, FL probably feels the same way she did yesterday after the Game 3 win - "Great, that probably means even more tourists next year..."

Apparently they really screw up traffic.

(Image from Boston.com)

It's a bad night in the Bronx

I can just sit here and shake my head as the Red Sox lead 4-1 (now 4-3 by the time I'm ready to post) in the bottom of the eighth inning as it appears that Fox is trying its best to start a riot in New York City tonight.

If broadcasting the World Series with Boston up 3-0 heading into the fourth game wasn't bad enough, they've taken a little too much pleasure in announcing the apparent departure of Alex Rodriguez as well as rattling off the list of players who are free agents this year.

Sports Illustrated is reporting:

The Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Mets would appear to be the most logical pursuers of A-Rod. Although, the Mets would have to move at least one star player to accommodate A-Rod, who wanted to go there back in 2000 before Texas blew him away with their bid.

Can we add another iron into the fire by making sure everyone remembers that Rodriguez was originally a shortstop?

Also of note is the New York Daily News reporting that Joe Girardi is the frontrunner for the vacant position in the Yankee dugout, just days after stories that he was a goner for the manager's job.

All of this is just a little added flavor for Red Sox Nation which is taking this year's trip through the playoffs more calmly than the 2004 campaign. It's amazing what two trips to the World Series can do for a fan base, no?

I'll have to admit that this time around isn't quite as much fun as 2004 and I can't quite place why. I'd be lying if I didn't think that there's a greed factor involved - I've already let thoughts of a Series win in Fenway creep into my assessment of tonight's back and forth game.

I'm still contemplating something that Danny said last weekend - essentially that the Red Sox are the new Yankees. He's right and I think I first heard the sentiment for Red Sox blogs, but that doesn't make it any easier to process.

It's been hard to ignore the fact that Boston isn't the underdog this year and that there are thousands of young Rockies fans who are cursing the Red Sox and everything they stand for now, forging a hatred that will cause conflicts for years to come.

The biggest upside to the whole situation is that watching Fox try to pimp this series and Colorado's Cinderella season has provided quite a bit of entertainment for me this week. I'm pretty sure Joe Buck is about to start crying any minute from the stress.

(Image from: NYDailyNews.com)

The Curse of 2004

It's 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning in the Boston/Cleveland game right now, but there's still time for a quick post that was knocked loose in my head after seeing Kevin Millar throw out the first pitch tonight.

When the Indians went up 3-1 in the series last week I got a glimpse at just how distorted Red Sox baseball has become following the 2004 playoffs.

While most rational fans can take a series deficit like that and start to prepare mentally for elimination, the '04 playoffs make it difficult to keep from rationalizing unnatural comebacks in a fan's mind.

I am still working on whether or not that's a good thing.

If I see one worm, I'm not eating another apple again

So, amongst the chaos this morning at the hotel, I found a few minutes to flip on ESPN where The Sports Reporters were weighing in on the Paul Byrd story among other things.

The most ridiculous thing I heard in the opening 10 minutes was from Mitch Albom - I can't confirm this and I'm only relying on my shoddy memory, so I could very well be wrong on who said this - who said that the microscope was on Daisuke Matsuzaka after he signed his monster contract this season.

While I agree that he is seen as the key link to the Red Sox post-season, especially in light of tonight's do or die match up, I refuse to buy into the Sunday morning thesis. In short, the contention was that GMs across the league would be watching tonight as a litmus test on foreign born pitchers, how they handle the big games and whether they are worth the extreme investments.

This is in line with saying that Babe Ruth's switch from pitcher to slugger was such a success that every young arm should be given a bat.

I'm OK with playing up the pressure angle in tonight's game, but to make such a stupid blanket statement was enough to make me turn off the TV. Tonight will provide more information on one thing - whether or not Matsuzaka was worth the money - and not much else.

(Image from CNNSI.com)

Those numbers are ridiculous

Jake Westbrook's line for this season looked like this:

152 innings pitched / 4.32 ERA / Six wins, nine losses in 25 starts.

I know the playoffs are well known for guys stepping up and playing out of their minds for a few weeks, but Westbrook is a player so bad that I dropped him from my fantasy team.

Also, regardless of what Tim McCarver and Joe Buck say, forget starting pitchers on short rest if you're the Red Sox. Concentrate on getting the bats going, instead.

Nostra-dumbass

Well, I racked up a staggering 1-for-4 in the prognostication department, proving that I need to a.) never gamble a significant amount of money on any sporting event and b.) the dangers of doing "quick picks" on one's lunch hour.

For the record, here are my preseason predictions for the National and American leagues, respectively. Those weren't a total bloodbath, but they left much to be desired. Thank God I didn't try to predict a World Series winner that far out.

On the plus side, I placed the Reds dead-on in the NL Central, but that made me very happy on the personal side of things because of the comments section. This isn't to start a flame war, by any means and I pop over to Diamond Hoggers from time to time, but damn it, it was about the only prediction that stuck all year - sorry guys.

So, enjoy your Cy Young matchup with Josh Beckett and CC Sabathia on Friday night, where I should have cable television in the new apartment in Chicago.

Things will be hectic here with the move - stay tuned, there should be plenty to post this weekend.

(Image from: rwongphoto.com)

Steven King approves, shakes teenager

In a name that will surely join the Pantheon of Spectator Participation giants like Steve Bartman and Jeffrey Maier, there was a little fan interaction at Fenway tonight.

As I'm sure will be reported ad nauseum by Saturday morning, a foul ball off the bat of Manny Ramirez was taken from Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' mitt along the first base side with one strike and one out to keep the at-bat alive, eventually leading to the tying run that inning when Dustin Pedroia notched the third run for the Red Sox.

Below are screen caps from the TBS broadcast and no, I have no life - thanks for asking.


After the play, the section was pretty jacked up to have a bona fide hero in their midst, including Stephen King, who cheered and then shook the hell out of the kid.


When this guy turns 21, he'll never have to buy a beer within Boston city limits.

(Images from TBS)

It's not the end of the world... yet

Say it with me Cubs, Phillies, Angels and (more than likely) Indians fans - "It's a five-game series for a reason."

And while Chicago and California fans can at least shrug off losses on the road, judging by the game so far in Philly right now, that fan base - known for it's cheeriness - has a legitimate reason to start losing their minds.

As for everyone else, take a deep breath trust your team and maybe get ready to pee your pants if the next two days don't go very well.

Cubs fans, I'm looking at you - relax. Well, as much as you can with this shit starting up again.

We're watching you, Mariotti.

(Image from: ImpAwards.com)

Quick Picks

I'm home for lunch this afternoon and realized I hadn't done the required quick picks so that I might be mocked in a week.

Here's the quick rundown as I see it.

NL
Cubs over Diamondbacks in four.
Phillies over Rockies in four.

AL
Yankees over Indians in three.
Red Sox over Angels in five.

Thoughts on the NL Wild Card

Holy.

Crap.

How the hell will the Rockies top that? Prepare for some well-deserved complaining by the Padres, too.

(Oh, and just slap a hat on Matt Holliday... I'm sure he'll be fine.)

They couldn't find anyone better than Morandini?

Fresh off the front page of MLB.com tonight is word that seven of the eight playoff-bound major league cities will have "Rally Monday" tomorrow.

It all seems pretty standard - fans gather downtown, the club will play music, the mayor will speak, etc. - but it struck me as strange that the Cubs will not only offer the city's most powerful White Sox fan in Mayor Richard Daley, but also Micky Morandini?

Huh?

The Yankees do not appear to be participating, but the Padres will rally without even having a ticket to the postseason.

They will be playing the game on the Jumbotron tomorrow, though - if you're in the neighborhood in San Diego, head on over at 4 p.m., local time.

Oh, and try not to jinx the hell out of your team by participating, Padres fans. The whole thing smacks of bad juju.

(Image from: SharkForum.org)

I'm so sorry... I don't think I can make it in today...

The playoff schedules are being rolled out tonight for the National League - American League is already set and can be found here, where the NL should pop up this evening - but despite this wealth of information and on the Internet as a whole, there aren't enough web sites dedicated to slackers.

Yes, despite years of Madden Day promotions, there are big goose eggs on the board when you Google, "24 hour sick, sick for one day" or any combination of those important key words.

Most of us will be expected to "work" in order to collect a paycheck this week, regardless of the teams playing and your deep emotional involvement with them. I say if your place of employment can't provide you a few short hours of uninterrupted quality time with your television and team, it's your right as an American to take that time - by force if necessary. I think Thomas Jefferson said that.

Given the day baseball that will be played this week, I'm considering this a public service and will write off my time and the electricity involved to compose this post on my taxes this year.

Fatigue - This seems like a gimme for a potential truant, but be careful. While weakness and fatigue are full of plenty of nondescript symptoms that wouldn't keep you from returning to work the day after with no noticeable symptoms, be careful it can get a lot more complicated than you would like.

Thyroid problems and a host of other nasty sounding causes for these benign symptoms can have you answering more questions than you would like. Plus, it could lead to you needing to produce a doctor's note. No one wants that.

Sore throat - The old standby of a sore throat seems to be pretty safe, proving that there's a reason every kid trying to duck a math test cops to the sore throat defense.

Bonus points for allowing you to use this as a go-to illness once you've blown out your vocal chords at the bar the night before from a deadly combination of rot-gut whiskey and karaoke.

Stomach flu / Food poisoning - The twin threat of a 24-hour flu (perfect timeline!) or it's partner in crime food poisoning are God's gift to slacking fans. Hard to refute and leaving themselves open to plenty of disgusting details if your boss gets a little too nosy, the only problem with these illnesses are the fact that they're almost too perfect.

Still the threat of forcing a gassy, potentially explosive employee in to work is enough of a deterrent for all but the most hard core bosses.

Like this guy on the left.

Migrane - Migranes aren't just for your wife or girlfriend anymore. While it may seem like an illness that most men wouldn't think of off the bat, that is the secret to its strength.

Feel free to lay it on a bit thick and convince your boss that it's stress-related from your Herculean workload. It's like a license to print money.

Make sure they see you rubbing your temples the day before and it couldn't hurt to stop in the middle of the cube farm while crossing your eyes.

Rotavirus - I learned about this one from a friend whose kid took out a whole house of adults with a few dirty diapers. Drop a few hints about your friend / neighbor who has a newborn on Monday and reap the rewards mid-week. Make sure you don't talk about a direct family member if there isn't a baby in the family within 50 miles - you might need to falsify pictures and birth certificates to cover your tracks.

I'm pretty sure one of those is a felony.

Common cold - It's a little early in the season for this one, but there's something to be said for being the first one to the party, right?

Just keep track for when you need a day in December to go skiing.

According to WebMD.com: "On average, adults get two to four colds per year. Children tend to rack up between six and 10. In the U.S., common cold symptoms result in more doctor visits than any other health condition."

Budget them wisely.

Of course, these are just scratching the surface of the possibilities - it is allergy season, after all. Feel free to get creative and drop a little knowledge in the comments section.

We can't all have food poisoning on the same day in Philly, Chicago and New York. That would be suspicious, right?

(Images from: sports.espn.go.com / postmodernclog.com)

That beeping sound is the Cubs backing into the playoffs

Nothing like closing the regular season out with a loss hundreds of miles away, huh?

The Red Sox officially locked down the AL East for the first time since 1995 with a 5-2 win over the Twins coupled with a New York loss to Baltimore. The Cubs are back in the postseason in their yearlong attempt to destroy my pending nuptuals with a 6-0 win over the Reds and the Padres taking care of business in Milwaukee in a 6-3 win.

While both teams have had their ups and downs this year, Cub fans can't feel too confident about their chances in October, while Boston seems to have weathered the storm and won't face New York until the second round of the playoffs, assuming both teams advance.

This means that the American League is squared away now with Boston, Cleveland and Los Angeles winning their divisions and New York picking up the Wild Card.

The National League is still a bit murky, with the Cubs clinching the Central and Arizona locking up a yet-to-be determined spot. San Diego leads the Wild Card race by two games and the Phillies are up by a game in the East.

While there will be plenty of time to pick apart the matchups when the season concludes this weekend, everyone can prepare their favorite excuses about why the goat is a stupid curse, how two NL West teams actually have a shot at making the playoffs and why the AL East is primed for a fall.

Until then, enjoy the inner peace, Wrigleyville - this is the least stress you'll feel for at least a week. Maybe you should get out and get some sunshine or something this weekend.

Update: It will be Red Sox/Angels (like in 2004) and Yankees/Indians.

(Image from MLB.com)

Countdown to October

As I was wading through the rookie hazing links - check here and here and here - I ran across a series of black and white portraits on the Sports Illustrated site.

It's a strange mix - I really enjoyed the awkward posing done by Jeter and Rivera - of great portrait work and over hyped snapshots. I think it's good that Yankee and Red Sox players are finally getting their pictures online - their mothers must be so happy to finally have some sort of photographic record of their time playing in the big leagues.

Both of these occurances are surefire signs that the post-season is around the corner. Still time to screw around and take pictures or embarrass your rookies before the media comes down on your head for not paying attention to the business at hand.

As I keep an eye on the scoreboards tonight, the Cubs are officially losers in Florida as Dontrelle Willis successfully made it out of the second inning for the first time all season (8 IP, 7K, 2 ER) and thus kept the ball out of Kevin Gregg's hand in the late innings.

As a fantasy owner of both pitchers, this has only happened once or twice so far this season.

Milwaukee is smoking last year's champs, which will narrow the lead in the NL Central as the final week works itself out.

Cub fans are officially warned - it will be best to avoid the national media this week - it's going to get ugly.

(Image from SportsIllustrated.com)