Game 1 Thoughts

·         Fortunately for the used car salesman currently mismanaging major league baseball, the Red Sox hammering of the Rockies last night has completely overshadowed any questions or concerns about playing game 1 of the World Series in a continuous, soaking, steady game long rain last night. I appreciate why the game wasn’t halted once it started, but what I don’t understand is why it was started in the first place. I’m sure it all has to do with Fox’s TV schedule – having to quickly fill a sudden Wednesday night hole in the lineup and simultaneously pre-empting Friday’s shows – more so than the series and travel schedule being impacted. As per usual, though, MLB was nowhere to be found to explain or elaborate on their decisionmaking process. Glad to see TV, rather than competitive concerns, is calling the shots for the premier baseball event of the season.

·         Yaz read the BoSox lineup. I guess Johnny Damon wasn’t available. Where’s Dave Roberts these days? Is he under consideration. Has “Big Manny” read the lineup yet? If not, why?

·         Jeff Francis pitched like the 17 year old he superficially appears to be.

·         As I called it, the layoff did not help the Rockies’ streak. In fact, they looked like a team that hasn’t played in eight days which, of course, they haven’t.

·         3 straight walks with the bases loaded? Yikes, Ryan Speier.

·         The Red Sox lineup also got a good look at most of the Rockies bullpen. Won’t be any surprises for Boston players in matchups the rest of the series.

·         Amazingly, 11 of the Red Sox’s 13 runs were scored with two outs last night. Indeed, the damage in the disastrous fifth was all inflicted with two outs.

·         In a previous post, I mused about the no-call balk that Franklin Morales used to pick off Ryan Howard in game 2. Thanks to homeplate ump Ed Montague for reaffirming my belief that Morales’ move is indeed a balk. The only strange thing was listening to Buck and McCarver try to deny the visual replays and insist that Morales’ move was merely “funky” and, more importantly, that his right foot stepped toward first while it clearly stepped more to home.

·         I predicted a Red Sox victory in 5 games. After viewing the wreckage of last night I may need to amend my prediction. If Curt Schilling has one more big performance in him, he will put the hammer down on the Rockies and this series will likely be over before heading back to Denver. Heck, he might not even need a big performance, but just 6 solid innings and give up less than 9 runs the way his offense is currently hitting top notch the W.

·         It would only be fitting and appropriate for #38 to get one more big win in Boston and then pass his reputation as the premier big-game pitcher in baseball on to Josh Beckett.

·         Will Schilling’s Hall of Fame credentials be helped by a third World Series ring? Or will it cost him that he was only the second best pitcher on each of those championship teams (Big Unit, Pedro, and Beckett?) Will his next stop in 2008 be Philadelphia?

·         What are the random odds that the college backup QBs to each of the Manning brothers would 1) be playing baseball 2) make the major leagues and 3) be on the same team?