I was planning to write “A Tale of Two Cities, Part II” and talk about how much better the city of Boston is compared to Denver. I could have taken some cheap shots about the quality of fans in New England and the fair-weathered bandwagon jumpers in Colorado, but I would just be preaching to the choir.

I have never felt so confident that the Red Sox are going to win the World Series as I do right now. Boston has big-game pitchers, clutch hitting, and more playoff experience than the Rockies. I don’t mean to insult both of Colorado’s season ticket holders, but these are the facts.

It’s not just the Rockies that the Sox would pound, it’s every team in the National League. The NL sucks. The best teams in the NL would be lucky to make the playoffs in the American League. But I guess Colorado already got lucky once and were able to back into the playoffs thanks to a stupid tie breaker. And I don’t want to hear about the Rockies winning 21 out of their last 22 games. Who cares? This just proves that they are the best out of all the mediocre teams. Now that is truly a great accomplishment. Rockie fans, be proud. You made the World Series. Unfortunately for you, there are only four games left in your season. Boston is going to sweep!

Check back tomorrow for the World Series breakdown of both teams.

Sign #3 that your baseball team is new to the playoffs: Not allowing your fans to purchase tickets to the World Series.

What a great idea by Rockies management. They finally have a decent team and are playing in their first World Series, and they reward the fans by only “selling” tickets online. I should say trying to sell tickets online. The Rockies, in their infinite wisdom, didn’t prepare for more than seven fans getting on the computer at the same time in an attempt to buy tickets. So of course the whole system crashed. So, no tickets for you Rockies fan.

Here is a novel idea for the Rockies owners: Open the ticket box office at the stadium. This way, both of your fans that have been following the team all year can go to the game. Instead of spending all of your time coming up with your fantastic playoff slogan, learn how to sell a ticket. I realize that this is your first time in the playoffs and you might be a little unsure of the proper protocol, but at this rate, in the event you happen to make the playoffs again, there might not be any fans left to attend.

I hate Dane Cook. I don’t think he’s funny. But I agree with him, there is only one October. I also like to think that there is only one November, one April, etc., etc. The Major League playoffs is the one event in all of sports that consistently delivers. What’s so great about the playoffs is you can never count a team out. No matter what the game count is, until you’ve won four it’s still anybody’s game.

Behind solid pitching and an offense that can score in bunches, Boston rallied from a three-games-to-one deficit to knock off the Cleveland Indians. It’s easy to compare this team to the 2004 World Series Champions. Both teams never say die and play hard until the final out.

In game seven last night, Dice K may have quieted the critics for a little while at least. Dice K came out of the gates smoking. He pounded his fastball and kept the Indians off balance with his off-speed stuff. The first three innings he was awesome. The fourth and fifth innings, Dice K allowed a couple of baserunners but was able to minimize the damage. He performed well last night. Let’s hope his new-found confidence will carry over to the World Series.

Speaking of confidence, is there anyone playing with more confidence than Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis right now? Pedroia is the Little Engine That Could. This guy goes up to the plate and just lets it rip. His two-run home run was the difference maker last night. He followed that up with a bases-loaded double in the eighth. Pedroia thrives under pressure. Not too bad for a rookie.

Youkilis is scary. The way he looks. The sweat constantly pouring off his head. The intensity that he plays with every game. Youkilis was the one guy in the Sox lineup that was consistent through out the ALCS. He batted .425 and had four home runs. These two guys have been the catalysts in rejuvenating the Boston offense. As the stage gets bigger, these two play better.

What makes this victory so special is not only the way the Red Sox came back, but the competition they did it against. The Cleveland Indians are a great team. They play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. They have a great lineup of young talent that never quits. They are a classy organization with passionate fans. They will build off this loss. I’m sure they’ll be back in the playoffs for many years to come.

The Red Sox are firing on all cylinders right now. The starting pitching has come around, featuring two of the best playoff pitchers of all time. The Sox offense has been scary, with everybody contributing. And the bullpen has been lights out. They will be facing a Rockies team that has won 21 out of the last 22 games. Of course, all of these wins came against the Junior Varsity that is known as the National League. Let’s hope the eight days off and the four inches of snow in Colorado have cooled them off.

The Red Sox are going to the World Series!!

More to follow…..

They say good things come to those who wait. Boston fans remained patient even when down three games to one. After being outplayed by Cleveland for three straight games, the Red Sox have battled back and have forced game seven.

Curt Schilling pitched a gutsy game last night (7 innings, 6 hits, 2 ER, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks), improving his postseason record to 10-2. He got into some trouble early in the game but was able to execute his pitches and get out of the jam. I’m not sure what I think of the 90-mph-fastball-Schilling. He doesn’t have that extra gear to blow the pitch by the hitter. I find myself on the edge of my seat when he tries to pitch inside to lefties. It seems he either gets the batter to pop up or hit a monster home run to right field. But to his credit, he has come to grips with his new style of pitching. He knows he’s not the strikeout pitcher of past seasons, so he relies on out-thinking the hitters. He was just what Boston needed last night. A big performance from a big game pitcher.

While we are still on the subject of waiting, there was a J.D. Drew sighting last night. After a long season of Drew performing below expectations, he blew open the game with a first-inning grand slam, 3 hits and 5 RBIs. This is exactly what Drew needed to get a clean slate from Boston fans for next season. Last night he was worth every penny spent on him. Suddenly, $14 million a year doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

All series long, people have been saying Boston needs other players besides the big three to step up. Last night it finally happened. Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis were awesome at the top of the order, getting big hits and setting the plate for Boston’s big hitters. If these two continue this hot streak, I don’t see anyone beating them. The Sox even got some production from their 8 and 9 hitters. Wonderboy Jacoby Ellsbury further enamored himself with Boston fans with an RBI and his all-out hustle. Even Julio Lugo contributed with a big double and two RBIs.

Everything seems to be clicking with Boston right now: Two quality starts in a row from their pitchers. The offense appears to be out of its funk. Heck, even Eric Gagne pitched a decent inning. But like Winston Wolfe said in Pulp Fiction, “Let’s not start sucking each other’s dicks quite yet.” The Indians are a good team. You can be sure that they are going to leave it all out on the field tonight.

Thefoulline.com baseball news and notes:

• I have a lot of respect for Terry Francona. He really cares for and trusts his players. He gives them every opportunity to succeed. He catches a lot of flack for his loyalty to his players, but his guys play hard for him. Let’s hope Boston management does the right thing and locks him up with a long-term contract.
• Before game 6, Fausto Carmona stated that he won’t be intimidated by anyone, especially not Curt Schilling. Wow! Way to back that up. You really showed them. Another bad playoff performance. He is turning into the skinny version of C.C. Sabathia.
• Travis Hafner is in a bad funk right now. He hasn’t had a hit in a couple of games and really appears out of sorts. Maybe it’s because his helmet is crushing his huge head. Have you seen this guy’s melon? His head makes his helmet look like the ones little kids eat ice cream out of.
• Coco Crisp has played his last game in a Boston uniform. He will be dealt in the offseason. Thanks Coco, you were fun to watch play centerfield.
• Maybe Cleveland shouldn’t have printed all of those 2007 World Series T-shirts when they were up 3-1.
• I really hope Boston resigns Mike Lowell. If they decide not to, I can see them ignoring A-Rod and going after the Florida Marlins’ Miguel Cabrera.

That’s all for now. Huge game tonight. Let’s keep this thing rolling.

Go Sox!

Great news FoulLiners: Jacoby Ellsbury is getting the start in centerfield tonight for game six. This just proves my theory that Terry Francona reads thefoulline.com on a daily basis. He heard all of your concerns and is doing the right thing to force a seventh game.

If fans at Fenway needed any help getting excited for this game this should take care of that. Like he has done since being called up from Triple A, Ellsbury will do something to impact tonight’s game. Whether it’s a clutch hit, stolen base or great catch, he will make his presence felt. This is the spark the Sox needed.

I have been really excited for tonight’s game since game five. I really believe that Curt Schilling is going to bring his A-game tonight. Schilling can be arrogant, pompous, and cocky, but he can back it up with his impressive postseason record. In game two of this series, Schilling pitched pretty well, but the big home run to Jhonny Peralta took the steam out of him, leading to his early exit. I don’t see Schilling making those same mistakes again. He has been in the role too many times to let his last performance affect tonight. This is what Schilling lives for: the chance to enhance his legacy on the biggest stage, in the biggest game of the season.

This isn’t time for a rah-rah speech. The Sox have the home crowd and the momentum. Boston has come back before. They will do it again.
Enjoy the Videos!

And one more for good measure.

The Sox win tonight, the series is over.

Go Sox!

The Red Sox may have finally turned the corner on this series. Their offense began to show some signs of life, putting seven runs on the scoreboard. The Sox were patient at the plate, looking at a lot of pitches and capitalizing on C.C.’s mistakes. It was nice to see Pedroia bust out of his slump and Youk continue his great series. Boston had opportunities early in the game to jump out to a big lead, but a couple of bases-loaded double plays and Manny admiring his long single off the wall just a little too long thwarted the rallies.

Coco Crisp may have played his last game of the ALCS. He played another horrible game: 0 for 5, 2 strikeouts, 4 runners left on base, and he couldn’t get down a sacrifice bunt resulting in another key strikeout. How does Francona not sit this guy for game six? Maybe a game on the bench will light a fire under him and get him to refocus for the World Series. Even if Ellsbury comes in and stinks just like Coco, he is the Red Sox centerfielder of the future. Let’s get him some playoff experience.

Before Boston fans get too excited about last night, let’s remember that Chocolate Cake Sabathia was pitching. This guy was an All-Star this year. He is the front runner for the Cy Young award. But when the playoffs start, he turns to crap. Maybe the C.C. stands for Chokey Chunkbutt?

The Sox looked better last night, but they were the beneficiaries of several Cleveland mistakes: Grady Sizemore dropping Youk’s triple, passed balls, Rafael Perez throwing away a sure double play. All these things padded the Sox lead. Boston is going to have to play better the rest of the way.

I wish game six was tonight. Fenway Park. Crowd Buzzing. Schilling on the mound. Sox with some momentum.

Buckle up! This series is just getting started.

After a few days at Disney World with the family I am back at thefoulline headquarters ready for Game 5. It’s game time, so this is going to be quick.

• Manny is an idiot. His comments contradict what every Boston fan is thinking. Every year matters. See my post Manny being Manny from September 4th for more thoughts on him.
• Signs your team and its fans are surprised they made the MLB playoffs
  1. Coming up with a stupid slogan. Example: “Rocktober.” I know that Colorado was amazed they made the playoffs with five no-name pitchers and a starting 9 that couldn’t be picked out of a police line-up, but this is really the best they could come up with? How about this one instead: Colorado Rockies: If we were in the AL, we would be watching the playoffs.
  2. Free towels to every fan that attends the game. Example: Cleveland’s “It’s Tribe Time Now.” This is without a doubt the dumbest thing they could have put on a free towel. It would make more sense for the Cleveland Indians owners to not only supply a towel to their fans but some soap and shampoo as well. This might help the bugs from swarming all of their stinky fans again.
• If Fox Sports shows that moron in the outfield playing the drum another hundred times tonight, I am flying to Ohio and punching that guy in the face. How does this guy play the Wizard Master in his bi-weekly Dungeons & Dragons game and still have time to play the drums at every Indians game? Oh, I know. I’m betting that he doesn’t have a girlfriend.
• How great is it to be a Red Sox fan? Down 3 games to 1 and nobody has pushed the panic button. Four years ago, people all over New England would be on suicide watch. Now, we are like, “they’ve been there before, they can come back.”

That’s all for now. I will be back first thing in the morning for the Game 6 preview.

Go Sox!

Well, I guess this would be a good time for the Red Sox to shake things up a little bit and win some games. I can’t really elaborate on this. The Sox have not been playing Red Sox baseball the last three games. It’s time to play desperate ball. They are capable of turning this thing around. After all, they’ve done it before.

With that being said, here are some baseball tidbits.

• I was walking around Disney World today with the family, and I could not believe how many people were wearing Yankee hats. There were quite a few Red Sox hats, but we were outnumbered at least 2-1. Don’t these guys know that their season has ended? Have they been working too many shifts at K-Mart to notice? Or could it be that there are some actual “real” Yankees fans out there. I will continue my investigation of this tomorrow. Stay tuned.
• The funniest thing I saw today was a guy wearing a Colorado Rockies hat. It was the old purple design. Now this hat must have been at least ten years old. What made this funny was that the hat looked brand new. It was like he remembered that he bought this hat on a family vacation to Colorado and threw it in his closet. Now that the Rockies are playing well, what a perfect time to jump on the bandwagon. Just like the rest of the fair-weathered fans in Colorado.
• Speaking of the Rockies, does anyone know when the NLCS starts? I can’t wait to see pitchers try to hit the ball.
• Being that I am on vacation from my “real” job for the week, I’ve decided not to shave. I asked my 3-year-old daughter what she thought of the beard I was working on. She replied that I look like Kevin Youkilis. Now I don’t know if I should spank her or buy her some ice cream.

That’s all for now. I’m saving myself for the next 3 games. Thanks for reading.

Go Sox!