are 2007
World Series Champions!
For the second time in 4 years the Red Sox are the World Series Champions! Looks like they are back to their winning ways when they won 5 of the first 15 contests of the best.
Like the White Sox two years ago, and the 2004 Red Sox before them, this years champs proved that pitching wins championships! The Sox pitching staff had an ERA of .250 holding the Rockies batters to a team average of .218, while Colorado's pitching racked up a 7.68 ERA and Boston got a hit once every three at bats! Let's not forget that certain bats came alive when they were needed. I don't have the stats in front of me but I know I'm not the only one who feels that David and Manny didn't really do much this series. The Sox relied on the speedy Elsbury, Lugo, and Pedroya (and the big bats of Youk (in Fenway) and Lowell) This just goes to show that this team is the best built team in the majors. David and Manny carried the team through the early part of the post season, then they got to rest and the remainder of the lineup took over (Even Bobby Kielty got in the mix with what turned out to be the game winning home run tonight!)
I'd like to go on the record saying that I still don't agree with Francona's decision to start Ortiz at first at Coors Field. While he didn't prove to be the liability in the field that everyone expected him to be (quite the contrary, truth be told, making several plays that I expected him to be unable to complete, including saving an error when Lugo made a terrible throw in tonight's game.) But his bat wasn't what we expected and Youk was on fire, batting over .400 in the series to that point and better than .350 in the playoffs. Whose to say that the Sox wouldn't have lost had Kevin been at first, but I think he might have been more productive at the plate than David was.
Looking back at the scoring that I had postulated pre-series, it looks like I was a bit off:
Game 1: 5 - 2 Sox
Actual: 13-1 Sox
Game 2: 8 - 3 Sox
Actual: 2-1 Sox (my game 5 happened, with a diff winner)
Game 3: 3 - 2 Rox
Actual: 6-5 Sox (One run...)
Game 4: 5 - 4 Sox
Actual: 4-3 Sox (Hey, 1 run and right team!?)
Game 5: 2 - 1 Rox
Actual: Unnecessary
Game 6: 11- 4 Sox
Actual: Unnecessary
But I'm not complaining!
Before the MVP award was bestowed, I had a list of possible recipients. I'd like to share that now:
Papelbon: Saved 3 out of 4 of the games. All three saves were more than one inning, one was a six out save, something he'd been unable to accomplish during the regular season. Little Pap's ERA for the series? 0.00.
Elsbury: Hit after hit after hit. Moved into the ever important lead-off spot when Youk had to sit in the NL park and shone! Had some game saving plays in the outfield and game winning hits at the plate. Set a record for most hits by a rookie in a World Series Game during game 3.
Pedroya: Willing to move into the #2 spot in the NL park and it didn't affect the effectiveness of the little man's huge swing. Lead off the series with a round-tripper. Gold glove performance in the field and you'd never know he was a rookie when he stepped up to bat. Better be American League Rookie of the Year!
Lowell: When David and Manny's bats cooled off his stayed consistent with key hits and huge RBI's. Unflappable defense (including handling the awkward throw by Lugo to get the lead runner at third yesterday) combined with clutch hitting is why Mike was my choice for MVP so I was thrilled when he was handed the trophy. (I still say that he'll finish third behind A-rod and Ordonez in the AL MVP voting. Though he should be second as A-rod did have a career year!)
Once again, I find myself admitting something a little out of the ordinary. I was ever so slightly hoping that the Sox might maybe possibly lose this game so there would be another one to watch. As I am not a member of cable-nation or satellite-ville it's been quite the treat to be able to watch every game. But the Sox outscored the Rox 25-10 in four straight games to take home the multi-flagged hardware. So really, I'm not complaining!
And leave it to A-Rod to try to overshadow the Red Sox victory. He's opting out of his Yankees contract and, barring some amazing turn of events, he will not be in pin stripes next year. With so few teams that can afford him and with the fans practically demanding that Lowell be signed (He's a free agent), unless the Sox trade Lugo it looks like A-Rod will be a Met next year. Maybe Texas will take him back, at least then they'd be paying themselves 21 million per year instead of the Yankees. (In case you are unaware, the Rangers paid the Yankees $21 million per year to go towards A-Rod's contract. Yeah, go figure!)
So, look for the Yankees to disintegrate this off season and, unless Toronto does something amazing, watch for the Sox to be the AL East champions next year too! Great young talent and talented veterans means that this team should only get better!
On a final note: my brother-in-law purchased a new couch on opening day during a promotion that promise that if the Red Sox won the World Series, all purchases that day were free. Yeah, he just got a free leather couch!
1 comment:
So Sweep!!
So sweep that I sent Kara to school in her Red Sox t-shirt today! She usually doesn't wear it because the other kids all have Titans stuff, not Red Sox. Today I told her "If they don't know who the Red Sox are, just think -- you're smarter than they are! Tell them 'The Red Sox just won the World Series. They are the best baseball team in the world.' " When she got out of the car at drop=off the library said "Oh, Kara, you're wearing a Red Sox t-shirt. They just won the World Series!"
I'm thinking if you're a kid living in the middle of TN and the day after the World Series you come in wearing a t-shirt for the winning team and the team isn't a local team -- you are about as cool as you can get!
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