I went to the Rolling Rally today, honoring the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. I took a long lunch with one of my co-workers and we headed over to Copley Square. We watched the Duck Boats roll by with the players and Red Sox staff on board. I took a bunch of pictures, and here are some of the best. The first few are are a few shots of the huge crowd that gathered to salute the champs.





Around 12:30 or so, the vehicles carrying the players started to come through Copley. The crowd was loud as the various World Series heroes came through. The Duck Boats are really the ideal vehicle for these types of events. They are open in the back, so the players can stand there and wave to the crowd and they're high enough so that pretty much everyone can see as the Ducks roll by.

The owners boat came through first. Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino (in the red hat) are pictured here.

Theo Epstein and the Baseball Operations staff

This is the best shot of the bunch. Curt Schilling holds The Trophy over his head.

Dustin Pedroia and Eric Hinske

Members of the Sox bullpen ride the back of a Duck

Kyle Snyder videotapes the festivities

Papelbon and Timlin ride on the back of a flatbed truck, along with the Dropkick Murphys

Coco Crisp and Doug Mirabelli

Big Papi looks cool as he surveys the crowd

World Series MVP Mike Lowell with Alex Cora

You all know that guy in the middle, right?

It was really a great and exciting time at the parade. Maybe the Patriots can arrange to have another one of these in February.

I spent most of today walking around with a big dumb grin on my face. I'm too tired for a long post, but I did want to leave you with this happy thought:

Terry Francona will be managing the American League All Stars in Yankee Stadium next July.

Yeah, the grin is back, isn't it?

I'm going to the Rolling Rally tomorrow and I'll have pictures here tomorrow night. Stay tuned!

The 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. I just can't say that too many times.

Wait, let me say it a few more times.

2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

OK, I think I have it out of my system for the moment.

It was a hell of a game, as the Sox won 4-3. As hoped, Jon Lester was outstanding, going 5.2 scoreless innings and getting the win. There were a few shaky moments, including a 2-run Garrett Atkins home run off Hideki Okajima to cut the lead to one run. Series MVP Mike Lowell had a big home run in the 7th and Bobby Kielty (?!?) hit a pinch homer in the 8th that provided the margin of victory. Paps came in for a five out save to nail things down.

My reaction this time was so different from the 2004 win. I think the last time my main reaction is stunned disbelief - something I had waited for since I was 10 years old and had snatched from me several times finally happened. This time? Just pure joy.

So, thanks to everyone with the Boston Red Sox for bringing us another World Series Championship. I can't wait for the parade!

And the children shall lead...

No, I'm not talking about one of the worst Star Trek episodes ever. I'm talking about rookies Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, who led the Sox offense in last night's 10-5 win in game 3 last night. The Rockies pitching just couldn't solve these guys as they went a combined 7-for-10 with three runs scored and 4 RBI.

I love seeing the Red Sox home grown players contribute in this way during a big game. As a Pawtucket native, I watched a lot of great players come up through the Red Sox farm system as I spent my summer nights at McCoy Stadium. I have to think it's extra gratifying to Theo Epstein and his staff when one of their draftees comes up big like Pedroia and Ellsbury have.

I don't want to forget Daisuke, who got me off my seat when he sent a bouncer between shortstop and third to drive in two runs in the third inning. Matsuzaka became the first Red Sox pitcher to drive in more than one run in a World Series game since Babe Ruth in 1918. Daisuke also gave us 5.1 quality innings and was pulled when he issued two consecutive walks in the 6th. Terry Francona seems to have a much quicker hook in the postseason. In a regular season game, I think he might give Matsuzaka a chance to work out of that jam, although he had thrown 101 pitches at that point.

So the Sox are up 3-0, and we have a chance for the ultimate storybook ending as Jon Lester starts tonight against the Rockies Aaron Cook. Lester, of course, was battling cancer at this time last year. Wouldn't it be amazing to see him win the World Series clincher just a year later? I think that anyone who isn't a Rockies fan has to be rooting for him tonight.

Enjoy game 4. It's just before 4 PM now, so hopefully we'll be celebrating a World Series championship in about 8 hours.

Major League Baseball needs to do something about the designated hitter.

In the first two games of the World Series, the Rockies had to use a reserve outfielder, Ryan Spillborghs as the DH, while the Red Sox used Big Papi. Now, as the series shifts to Colorado and the teams play under National League rules, Kevin Youkilis has to start the game on the bench so the Sox can keep Ortiz in the lineup.

It's pretty ridiculous that the two leagues play under different rules. You don't see the AFC and NFC dealing with this, or the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference in the NBA.

This puts the visiting team at a disadvantage in the most important games of the year. Teams build their lineups for the vast majority of the games they play, then have to make a big change for the World Series.

I have never been a fan of the DH. I think it distorts the game, with more offense and longer lineups. However, after more than 30 years I think it's time to sync up the rules in each league, even if it means adding the DH to the National League. With interleague play every year in addition to the World Series, it only makes sense to put all the teams on a level playing field.

OK, I'm off my soapbox. Enjoy game 3!

It's gotta be the hat.

Hoping to help change the Red Sox karma in the ALCS, I decided to wear my Red Sox cap while watching game 5. Of course, the Sox haven't lost since. So the hat stays on for game 3.

Now three guys named Schilling (5.1 innings, 1 run), Okajima (2.1 innings, no runs) and Papelbon (1.1 innings, no runs) may have had a little more to do with the Red Sox 2-1 win tonight than my choice of headgear. The Rockies pitching staff bounced back from last night's beating, but their offense wasn't able to do much with the Sox pitchers after the first inning.

Travel day tomorrow, as the teams move west to the Mile High City. I'll be offering some thoughts on the designated hitter (and lack thereof) in tomorrow's post.

Halfway there!

This will be quick, because it's late (thanks, Fox!)

So much for 21 out of 22. The Sox crushed Colorado 13-1, beating the daylights out of their ace, Jeff Francis. The Sox tied World Series records for doubles (8), extra base hits (9) and set the record for first game runs.

It was an incredible performance, both by the Sox offense and by Josh Beckett. Beckett is now 4-0 for the postseason. The Sox have outscored their opponents in the last four games 43-6.

An often used cliche is that momentum is only as good as your next starting pitcher, and we have one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history going tomorrow night with Curt Schilling. It would be great to go back to Colorado up 2-0, wouldn't it?

See you tomorrow!

My World Series prediction: Sox in 6 games.

It sucks that Tim Wakefield isn't going to be able to be on the roster because of his shoulder problem. Wake deserves to be in the World Series as much as anyone on the team.

This World Series has a much different feel for me than 2004. It had been 18 years since the Sox last appearance and, even though they had beaten the Yankees, we still had to beat St. Louis to finally eradicate the "curse". There was a bit of the "I just want to see them win it once before I die" mentality in that series for me.

This time, it's only been three years. I desperately want the Sox to win, but I don't think it will be as crushing as it would have been pre-'04 if they don't. A 2007 World Series championship fits more in the "I would love to have this happen" category than 2004, which was more of a "My life won't be complete if they don't win" kind of thing.

Enjoy game 1!

World Series bound, baby!

The Sox pulled off another amazing comeback, beating the Cleveland Indians 11-2 in a game that was much closer most of the way. Daisuke went 5, giving up three runs and then the bullpen took over, with Okajima and Papelbon combining for four scoreless innings. The Sox scored eight runs in the 7th and 8th, led by homers by Youk and Pedroia. Dustin had the game of his life, going 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.

The first 39 years of my life the Red Sox only went to three World Series (and I don't remember the 1967 Series). Now it's two in four years.

The Sox have a couple of days off before the Colorado Rockies come to Fenway Park for Game 1. Will an 8 day break cool off the Rockies? We'll see on Wednesday.

This must by my lucky day. Just before Casey Blake hit into the double play in the 7th, I said this to my friend The Hey, as we were IMing each other:

We could really use a double play now.

Seeing my success with this I tried again, just before the bottom of the 7th:

Can I have a couple of runs now?

Then Pedroia hits a two run bomb into the Monster Seats.

So, now I'm asking for a million dollars. I might have to try a scratch ticket on the way into work tomorrow.

Top of the 8th. More later.

There are few things in life I enjoy more than game 7.

It doesn't even have to involve the Red Sox. Game 7 is the end of the line for one team and continues the path to greater glory for the other. Everything the two teams have worked for since February comes down to one game.

The Red Sox earned their way to game 7 behind Curt Schilling's pitching and J.D. Drew's (J.D. Drew?!?) grand slam in the first, which set the tone for the Sox 12-2 game 6 win. The biggest thing about game 6, I thought, was that the Sox managed to score 12 runs with Papi and Manny only getting one hit between them.

So it's up to Daisuke tonight, although pretty much everyone except Schilling will be available if needed. Does the Tribe blow a 3-1 series lead, or do the Sox come up just short? I'll be back after the game, win or lose, to tell you what I think.

Enjoy the game!

- Josh Beckett showed why he is The Man last night, winning game 5 with an utterly dominant performance and bringing the series back to Fenway. Curt Schilling, who has had a bit of post-season success of his own, goes for the Sox against Fausto Carmona. Can Mr. Schill summon the magic one more time and get us to game 7? We'll see tomorrow night.

- If Coco Crisp starts in center field tomorrow night instead of Jacoby Ellsbury, Francona needs to have his head examined. Crisp watched one C.C. Sabathia offering right into the catchers mitt for strike 3 last night. I started yelling at the TV, "Coco, you have to swing at those!" while Tim McCarver wondered, "I'm not sure what he was looking for." Coco just looks lost up there. Ellsbury has to be an improvement; he certainly can't be any worse.

- Think Kevin Millar wishes he was still a member of the Red Sox instead of an Oriole? Hell, I think he'd wear the Wally suit or sell peanuts if they asked him to. This aired before last night's game on Fox.

It's win or go home tonight, so here are a few pre-game thoughts:

- I thought game 4 was the pivotal game in the series, and the Sox lost. Although it's far from impossible to come back from a 3-1 deficit, the Sox have a monumental feat ahead of them.

- They aren't going to come back if they don't start getting some offense from guys not named Youkilis, Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell. And even Lowell hasn't done much recently - he's 1-for-8 in the last two games. Pedroia, Coco, Drew, Lugo; some of those guys need to step up.

- I'm feeling good about tonight's game with Beckett pitching, but none of the other starters distinguished themselves. Again, if the Sox get past tonight, Schilling and Daisuke are going to have to pitch up to their potential if the Sox are going to pull this off and advance to the World Series.

- What do you think the Rockies are doing? You have to think that a team that is as white hot as Colorado has been wants no part of an eight day layoff. With the bizarre, TV driven playoff scheduling (why was there an off day in the middle of the three games in Cleveland?), it'll be interesting to see if the Rockies can keep it up when the World Series starts on Wednesday.

- These are really clever. The Denver Post is offering Rockies paper dolls that you can download, print on your computer and put together. Where the heck is the Globe or Herald with the Red Sox version?

- Finally, the Yankees practically made Joe Torre walk away from their contract offer, a 1-year contract with performance clauses and a pay cut to $5 million (from the $7.5 million this year). Why didn't the Yankees just tell him that they didn't want him to manage the team any more?

Can someone explain to me how the Sox offense can beat on C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, yet can't do anything with Jake Westbrook, other than a two run bomb by 'Tek.

The final was 4-2. Daisuke didn't make it out of the 5th, giving up all four runs on a two run homer by Kenny Lofton and a couple of runs in the 4th on a bunch of base hits. No one hit the ball particularly hard, they just hit them in the right places.

So the Sox are down 2-1 in the series, and we really need the Good Wake to show up tomorrow night. It appears that there is virtually no chance that Beckett will go on short rest, a decision I agree with, by the way. Pitchers today just are not designed to pitch on three days rest. Beckett isn't Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson. According to Fox's Ken Rosenthal, since 1995 pitchers who started on short rest in the post-season only won about 40% of the time.

Of course, one of the exceptions was Beckett in the 2003 World Series, but I still agree with the strategy in general. I was at Fenway when the Indians sent Bartolo Colon out on three days rest against the Sox in the 1999 ALDS. Colon lasted one inning, gave up 7 runs and the Sox ended up winning the game 23-7.

Let's hope Wake comes through tomorrow and we can generate a little more offense against Paul Byrd. Because, despite what happened the last time the Sox were in the ALCS, a 3-1 deficit is going to be tough to come back from.

Eric Gagne must go.

The erstwhile Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers closer set the stage for last night's seven run outburst by the Indians in the 11th inning. While Javier Lopez and Jon Lester are far from blameless, Gagne is the guy the Sox traded three players for to extend the bullpen. He needs to hold the line in these situations and he couldn't, and really hasn't been able to since he came here.

Here's my proposal. If the Sox make it to the World Series, Gagne needs to be removed from the post-season roster and replaced with Julian Tavarez. While Tavarez isn't my first choice out of the bullpen, he's proven to be more reliable than Gagne has been during his stint with the Sox. I would have felt a lot better with Tavarez coming out of the 'pen in the top of the 11th last night than I would have with Gagne.

Now this is more like it.

The Red Sox and Indians going at it like two heavyweight fighters. It's tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 10th as I write this.

One thing I wouldn't have predicted about this game is that both Curt Schilling and Fausto Carmona would have been knocked out before the end of the 5th inning. The offenses really took over early, with the Indians getting home runs from Jhonny Peralta and Grady Sizemore, while the Sox got back-to-back jobs from Manny and Lowell.

Top of the 11th now. Papelbon went two scoreless innings and now Gagne is in (gulp). If Gagne was ever going to make himself worth the players we gave up, now would be the time.

Struck out Casey Blake with a 95 MPH heater. Pretty good.

Sizemore gets a base hit.

Now he walks Asdrubal Cabrera. Trot Nixon is coming in to pinch hit, and Tito just pulled Gagne to bring in the lefty, Javier Lopez.

So much for Trot not being able to hit lefties. He dumps a single into center field and Sizemore scores. 7-6 Cleveland.

Remember Trot's home run against the A's in the 2003 ALCS? I hope he just didn't do it to us in reverse.

Wild pitch by Lopez. 8-6 Tribe.

Now it's 9-6. I think we'll give up on the blogging for tonight (or this morning, actually.) Of course, if the Sox pull a miraculous comeback, I'll be back.

That was a lot less stressful than I was anticipating.

The Sox beat Cleveland in game 1 of the ALCS 10-3. All you really need to know about this game are these four facts:

1) Josh Beckett was dominant for six innings, giving up four hits, two runs, striking out seven and walking no one.

2) Manny and Papi reached base 10 times in 10 plate appearances, racking up four hits, five walks, a hit by pitch, four runs and three RBI between them. Mike Lowell added three more RBI, cleaning up behind them.

3) Indians ace C.C. Sabathia didn't make it out of the 5th, giving up 8 runs (all earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

4) The Sox felt they were had a sufficient lead in the 9th to bring in Eric Gagne. He promptly loaded the bases before finally striking out Grady Sizemore to end the game.

So the Sox are up 1-0. Schill vs. Carmona tomorrow night.

A couple of really interesting articles on Yahoo! Sports today. This one, by Dan Wetzel, contained two statistics that really amazed me:

1) The combined payrolls of the Diamondbacks, Rockies and Indians are $21 million less than the payroll of the New York Yankees.

2) A-Rod is on an 0-for-48 streak in playoff games away from Yankee Stadium.

Another Yahoo! article worth reading is at the link and gives a nice look at some of the Rockies and Diamondbacks players. When you consider that most of the Rockies outside of Todd Helton were virtually unknown three weeks ago, and the most famous player on the Diamondbacks is Randy Johnson, who hasn't pitched since June 28, it's pretty helpful.

It's been an entertaining matchup so far between the Rockies Jeff Francis and the D'Backs Brandon Webb in game 1 of the NLCS. The Rockies are up 4-1 in the 6th as I write this. Can anyone beat these guys???

The Curse of A-Rod continues.

With the Yankees loss to the Indians in the ALDS last night, the Yankees results have gotten worse every year since they acquired Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers in 2004. Despite A-Rod's overwhelming regular season statistics, he hasn't helped the Yankees to another World Series championship or even an AL Pennant. Here's the proof:

2003 (pre-A-Rod): Yankees win AL East, lose to Florida in World Series
2004: Yankees win AL East, lose to Red Sox in ALCS (anyone remember that one?)
2005: Yankees win AL East, lose to Angels in 5 games in ALDS
2006: Yankees win AL East, lose to Tigers in 4 games in ALDS
2007: Yankees win wild card, lose to Indians in 4 games in ALDS

Need more proof? Here are the records of the teams A-Rod has left, both in his last year with the team and the year immediately following:

Seattle Mariners:
2000 91-71, 2nd place (wild card)
2001 116-46, 1st place

Texas Rangers:
2003 71-91, 4th place
2004 89-73, 3rd place

The Rangers finished last and lost more than 90 games in all three of Rodriguez's years with the team.

How can this be explained? By adding A-Rod, a team should get better. Obviously, it's not all on his shoulders. There are many other factors outside of a single player that affect a team's performance, but the coincidence is startling.

It was commonly said that Celtics legend Larry Bird made the players around him better. Is Rodriguez the anti-Bird, somehow depressing the performance of his team? It doesn't make much sense, but there has to be something going on.

As I'm writing this, it's the top of the 7th in game 4 of the Cleveland-New York ALDS, with the Yankees down 6-2.

If it were up to me, the Yankees would win this game, and game 5 would be a 15-14, 17 inning slugfest, totally draining both bullpens. And I don't really care who wins.

Yeah, I'm pretty indifferent as to who we play. Both teams have strengths and weaknesses. The Tribe has Sabathia and Carmona at the top of the rotation. The Yankees have that relentless offense, which is why I wouldn't be comfortable with a four run lead after six innings if I was Eric Wedge. They can put a big crooked number up in a hurry.

The point is, I feel good about the Red Sox. Everyone is rested. Papi and Manny appear to be hitting one of their unstoppable grooves. I feel good about the bullpen, Delcarmen, Timlin, Okajima and Papelbon specifically. Beckett and Schilling are more than reliable starters. Hopefully the rest Wake has gotten will get him back into the groove he was in before the back injury.

I'm confident the Sox can be competitive regardless of whether Cleveland or New York comes out the winner of this series. But it would be nice if they would beat the crap out of each other in the meantime.

That seemed a heck of a lot easier than it should have been.

The Sox swept the Angels today, taking the Division Series and moving on to the ALCS. It was a tight, 2-0 game until the Sox broke things open with 7 runs in the 8th. Curt Schilling was the hero, going 7 shutout innings for the win. The Sox were so far ahead, they let Eric Gagne pitch the 9th (and he gave up a run).

The Angels never seemed to be in this series. They only scored runs in two innings, and the only pitcher they seemed to have any success against was Daisuke.

The Yankees won tonight, preventing all four series from being sweeps. I'm hoping it goes five games, wearing out both teams pitching staffs.

Ten great things about being a Red Sox fan right now:

1. Up 2-0 in ALDS.

2. Manny!

3. Beckett pitching game 4, if necessary. I'm hoping it's not necessary because it starts at 9:30 Eastern Time. I have been dragging all day today (Saturday) after last night's 12:44 AM ending to the game. I don't want to think about what Tuesday will be like after Monday's game.

4. Yankees down 2-0 in ALDS.

5. A-Rod 0 for the series so far.

6. Zillions of bugs descended upon Jacobs Field last night, distracting Joba Chamberlain and contributing to the tying run in last night's Cleveland win. This proves that even the insect kingdom is against the Yankees.

7. Not a Cubs fan. The Cubbies were just swept by the Diamondbacks, losing 5-1 tonight. Maybe the 100th time will be the charm, Cubs fans.

8. Young Sox fan Danny Vinik becomes an instant Boston folk hero by snatching a Manny Ramirez foul pop out of the glove of Angels catcher Jeff Mathis, allowing Manny to work a walk, followed by a Lowell sac fly to tie the game. If Mathis makes the catch, Lowell's fly ball is just the third out. Vinik is sort of the anti-Bartman.

9. One of the greatest pitchers in post-season history, Curt Schilling, starts for the Sox tomorrow afternoon.

10. No need to pay even the slightest amount of attention to the Bruins. Does anyone know or care that they started their season last night? Didn't think so.

You have two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the score is tied 3-3. Julio Lugo is on second and Big Papi is coming to the plate. You certainly don't want Ortiz beating you, so you have your closer, Francisco Rodriguez, walk Papi and take his chances with Manny Ramirez.

How's that working out for you, K-Rod?

Manny hit a walkoff, three run homer over the Monster Seats and out onto Lansdowne St. Sox win 6-3 and go up 2-0 in the series.

Amazingly, this was Manny's first walkoff homer for the Red Sox, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

It's almost 1:00 in the morning, but it's going to be tough to sleep after that ending.

In the wake of the Cleveland Indians 12-3 beating of the Yankees tonight in game 1 of their ALDS series, I went back and extended my research on New York and the correlation between the game 1 winner and the results of the ALDS.

As you may remember, I discovered that over the last five years, 13 out of 15 teams that won the first of the five game division series ended up winning the series, as long as the series didn't involve the Yankees. In all five instances from 2002 to 2006, the team that won game 1 in a series involving the Yankees ended up losing the series.

Tonight I went back to Retrosheet and discovered that the last time the winner of game 1 of a division series involving the Yankees ended up winning the series was 1999, when they swept the Rangers.

So, don't get cocky, Indians fans. It isn't over yet.

Josh Beckett is awesome.

That's not a word I throw around easily, but it fits Beckett tonight. He pitched a complete game, four hit shutout of the Angels in game 1 of the ALDS. He never walked anyone (and I think he had only one 3 ball count). Big Papi and Youk hit home runs to provide more than enough offense, as the Sox won 4-0.

Game 1 always seems to be key in these 5 game series. In the 20 division series played over the last five years, 13 were won by the team that won game 1. In an odd twist, however, the winner of game one in all five of the series involving the Yankees over the past five years ended up losing the series. So, if you eliminate the Yankees series, 13 out of 15 of the game 1 winners won the series.

Leave it to the Yankees to screw up a good theory.

We have tomorrow night off and Daisuke makes his postseason debut Friday night at Fenway. Go Sox!

The Division Series matchups are finally all set, as the Rockies defeated the Padres in a game for the ages last night.

Unfortunately, I only made it through the 11th inning before I finally turned off the TV and went to bed, so I missed the wild finish. After the Padres took an 8-6 lead in the top of the 13th on a Scott Hairston home run, all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman came in to seal the victory, but the Rockies had other ideas. Extra-base hits by Kaz Matsui, Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday tied the score. With Holliday on third, reserve Jamey Carroll lofted a fly ball to right fielder Brian Giles, who threw home to try to get Holliday. There was a collision at the plate and the ball was knocked loose from catcher Michael Barrett. Despite the fact that Holliday may have never touched the plate, the umpire signaled him safe and the Rockies were in the Division Series.

The Rockies were amazing. They won 14 out of their last 15 to make the playoffs. They never quit, even against a Hall of Fame closer.

So the two miracle teams, the Phillies and Rockies meet in one of the NLDS series. Here are my predictions for the playoffs. Check back in about a month to see how I did!

ALDS:
Boston over LA Angels in 4 games
Cleveland over NY Yankees in 5 games

NLDS:
Phillies over Rockies in 5 games
Arizona over Cubs in 4 games

ALCS: Red Sox over Cleveland in 7 games
NLCS: Phillies over Diamondbacks in 7 games

World Series: Red Sox over Phillies in 5 games

What? Did you think I was going to pick someone else?

Irrefutable proof that baseball is my life...

I may be the only person in New England who has spent more time tonight watching the Padres-Rockies wild card play-in game than the Pats-Bengals on Monday Night Football.

Oh, the baseball game itself is pretty incredible, as the teams go into the 10th inning tied 6-6.