Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

There was a whole lot of noise in the dispatch office where I work last night when Jonathan Papelbon struck out that last batter in Denver.

Of course, it was all made by me.

But still...there was a lot of noise.

It was an unbelievable season for the Red Sox Nation this year. I can't remember when we have watched our Red Sox dominate the AL East for the entir season (except for just a handful of days), and have the best record in baseball for most of that season. And except for a few brief moments of tremendous anxiety, they rolled through the playoffs like a juggernaut, crushing everything in its path.

The amazing thing is this: The Sox outscored the Rockies 29-10 in the World Series. If you add that to the last three games of the AL Championship Series, they outscored their opponents by a whopping 59-15!! And how many home runs were hit during those 7 games?? Only 12. Only two in the World Series.

And that is how the Red Sox played all season long. The Red Sox were 18th in the entire major leagues in home runs this year. Below the middle of the pack. Yet they maintained the best record in baseball for most of the 2007 regular season. This is the ultimate in "small ball." This is how you win championships.

Ironically...who led the MLB in home runs? Well, Milwaukee actually led the whole MLB. They finished second, out of the playoffs. The Yankees led the AL, and were knocked out in the first round. Home runs do not equal championships.

I don't know how many records were crushed by the Sox during this Series and Playoffs. I'll have to research this. I do know that I disagree terribly with the majority on who should be the MVP for this World Series. It was awarded to Mike Lowell. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Mike Lowell and think he was an invaluable part of the team.

But I have to look at what Jacoby Ellsbury contributed to this team, especially during the series. Becoming the third rookie in MLB history to have a four hit World Series game, and combining with Dustin Pedroia to have an incredible game three...in my book Ellsbury is the MVP of this World Series.

I wonder where Coco Crisp is going to play next year? I betcha it won't be in center field for the Red Sox...either that or J.D. Drew will be out of a job. We'll see.

In other really fantastic news, A-Roid has chosen to opt out of his contract with the Yankees. What does this mean? Primarily that our home team, the Texas Rangers, will not have to keep paying for him anymore. This will save the Rangers about 21 million dollars. I wonder what Tom Hicks will do with that money? Probably nothing productive for his team or fans. That's just his way.

Maybe he'll go buy another soccer team.

Well, I have to take Stephanie to a doctor's appointment, so that's all for now.

TTFN, y'all....how many months until April??

Sweep Looks Possible

The Rockies tried to make a game out of it tonight, but the Sox were just too much for them. The Red Sox are crushing all kinds of records during this post-season. Tonight, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, they had the first time ever that two rookies got three hits each in a World Series game. Ellsbury was the third player in MLB history to get four hits in one WS game. He was also the first rookie to ever get two doubles in one inning. This happened in their third inning tonight.

Heck, even Dike-K got a hit tonight, driving in two runs.

After being behind 6-0, the Rockies scored 2 in the sixth and three in the seventh to make it 6-5. Okajima, who had not allowed any runs yet in post-season play, gave up a three run homer. Things looked tense for a bit, but then Ellsbury and Pedroia struck again, and the Sox scored 3 more runs in the top of the 8th, then one more in the 9th. Papelbon came in in the bottom of the 8th and closed things out in his fashion.

The Red Sox now lead 3-0, and I'm not uncomfortable predicting a sweep at this point. Jon Lester will be honored with the start tomorrow night. Lester was having a great season in 2006 when the Sox were stunned as he received a diagnosis of cancer. This was the crowning blow in their 2006 collapse. This year, he has returned, cancer free, and has not lost a single game yet.

Sadly, since tomorrow's game starts at 7pm our time, once again, I will have to leave for work before the game is over. You can be sure that I will be "DVR-ing" this game, too.

I'm sleepy. And I have to get up for church in 6 hours. Hah.

TTFN, y'all!!

PS...I know it's not a common practice, but I seriously believe that Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury should be named co-MVPs of the World Series. Assuming they do go ahead and win...

Sox Rock the Rox

Ok. I know. It's really corny.

But the Red Sox have taken a commanding lead in the World Series as they travel to Rocky Mountain High for the next game, scheduled in the Winter Wonderland on Saturday night.

The little guy, Dustin Pedroia shone again on Wednesday night, leading off with a home run, and becoming the first rookie in MLB history to lead off a World Series game with a home run. In fact only one other player has ever done that. MVP, maybe? Who knows? They are all performing pretty well. The first game wound up being a complete embarassment for the Rockies, as Josh Beckett completely shut them down, and the Sox bats went crazy. They were already ahead 6-1 when Rockies pitching had a meltdown in the 5th inning and the Red Sox scored 7 more runs, 3 of which were walked in by relief pitcher Ryan Speier. He faced 3 batters, walked them all, and was quickly removed. That would be the last scoring for this game. Final score, Red Sox 13, Rockies 1. The Rockies "Cinderella run" was abruptly squashed.

It didn't get a whole lot better for them Thursday night. The pitching was better for them, and, actually, this game was more of what I consider to be a "World Series caliper" game. Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez did a good job holding down the Red Sox, but still left the game with a 2-1 deficit. That would remain the score for the rest of the game. Curt Schilling was in his usual postgame mode, only allowing 1 run over 5 1/3 innings, with only 4 hits. My eyes kind of teared up when he left the game, as the Fenway Faithful gave him a roaring standing ovation. This was likely the last time Schilling will pitch in a Red Sox uniform. He will probably be a free agent after this season. We will miss him dearly.

Unless he winds up in Texas. Then we will get to see him pitch in a Rangers uniform.

Anyway...Okajima came in and pitched flawlessly for 2 1/3 innings, and the great one, Jonathan Papelbon came in one out early to pitch 1 1/3 inning, also pretty much flawless. He gave up one hit. He also picked off Holliday at first base to end the top of the 8th. Looked like Holliday kind of fell asleep or something.

The second game wasn't nearly the embarassment that the first game was, but the Red Sox still dominated. They've allowed only 2 runs to the Rockies. And they continue to outscore their opponents 45-7 over the last 5 games. They actually look better than the 2004 team.

I'm not ready to go out on a limb and predict a sweep, yet. It depends on what we see Saturday night in Colorado. They have to give up a major bat in Saturday's game, at least in the starting lineup. It may be that Francona gives both Youk and Papi a half game or something. My personal opinion is that Youk needs to play. Nothing against Papi, here, but his knee is in bad shape, and he probably can't field as well as Youk. And Youk's bat has been roaring during the post season. He's batting over .500 for the whole post season so far.

TTFN, y'all

World Series Time

I should have been here sooner, I know, but I wasn't. Not sure why.

Sunday night became a glorious game as the Sox blew it open in the 7th and 8th innings. It stayed 3-2 for several innings and a very tense game that could have gone either way.

But an unlikely hero named Dustin Pedroia was majorly responsible for blowing it open. He hit a two-run homer in the 7th to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the 8th, the Sox scored one, then loaded the bases. I was running back and forth from the dispatch office to the conference room, where the tv was. I walked into the conference room to see the score had advanced to 9-2 and little Dustin Pedroia was standing on second base! He drove in 5 runs. I was just in time to see Youk blast one that hit the giant coke bottle over the Green Monster right in the middle. If he hadn't have hit that bottle, that ball might still be going!

Final score, Red Sox 11, Indians 2. The Sox outscored the Indians 30-5 over the last three games of the series.

Tonight, game one of the Series is going on at Fenway.

It began in grand fashion with Beckett striking out the first three Rockies.

Then, guess who?? Dustin Pedroia strikes again. Rookie hits a home run over the Green Monster (well, not exactly "over"...it hit the top) in his first World Series at-bat.

I'll be leaving for work in about 40 minutes. The score at this posting is 4-1 Red Sox.

I have tomorrow night off for a vacation night, so I will get to watch at least one complete game.

TTFN, y'all!

Game Seven---Tonight---Fenway Park

What a game last night! The Red Sox dominated again, this time behind the bats of the lower part of the batting order! Papi and Manny hardly got on base last night, while, of all people, J.D. Drew got things started with a big bang with a grand slam home run! At one point, he was responsible for all 5 runs that had been scored. I believe he drove in some more later in the game.

Final score, Red Sox 12, Indians 2.

And Eric Gagne actually pitched well in the top of the ninth.

Game 7 tonight in Fenway Park.

You know...ironically, I originally predicted that the Sox would win the ACLS in 7 games. But I predicted it would be the Yankees, not the Indians.

Sadly, I will have to leave for work tonight before the game is over. Ugh. I'm going to be really tense.

TTFN, y'all!

FDA Makes Earth-Shattering Announcement

In a blaze of scientific glory, the FDA announced yesterday that...

wait for it...

WE SHOULDN'T GIVE OVER THE COUNTER COLD MEDICINES TO CHILDREN UNDER 6!!!!!

Man. Am I glad they told me that. Because I never thought to, you know...

READ THE LABEL ON THE PACKAGE???

Our nation is getting dumber and dumber by the minute. How long has their been a statement on over-the-counter cold remedies that tells you not to give it to children under, not 6, but TWELVE? It clearly states that you should check with your doctor before giving, say, Dayquil, to a child under 12. All dosages on those medications are calculated for adults.

Granted there are some meds that are formulated for children. But even those have an age limitation on the label.

But we needed the FDA to waste who knows how many of our tax dollars (probably millions) to tell us not to do what the label on the box already tells us not to do.

Sigh.

TTFN, y'all. Oh...and be sure not to put your fingers in the rotating blade of your lawn mower, ok?

There Will Be A Saturday Night At Fenway Park!

Yes!!!! Huzzah!!!!

The Red Sox dominated in their own fashion Thursday night at the Jake.

Beckett was simply amazing. He went 8 innings, only allowed one run (in the first inning, after a really lame pop fly that three people couldn't be bothered to catch), and struck out 11 batters! ELEVEN!! Beckett is THE MAN!!

He jolly well had better win the Cy Young award this year.

Game 6 will be played at Baseball Heaven at 8 E.T. Saturday night. We were planning to go to the State Fair of Texas Saturday and watch Third Day play a concert that night, but not now. No way! I've seen Third Day. Several times. I've never seen game 6 of the 2007 ACLS. Gotta watch my Sox.

You know...it's kind of funny. Being down here in Texas, I don't run into an overabundance of Sox fans. But we always connect when we see each other. All kinds of barriers fall when you see another person with that telltale "B" on their cap or a shirt that says "I support two teams: Boston and whoever BEATS NEW YORK!"

I've met a clerk at our local library branch who is a Boston fan. So now, whenever I go to the library on Saturdays, he is there, and we talk briefly about the Sox and the season.

I also have quite the reputation at work for being a staunch supporter of the Boston Red Sox. So much so, that every night this week (until last night) everybody at work walks up to me and says, "What's the matter with your Sox??"

It's cool being recognized as the company's biggest Boston fan, but, honestly, that was getting depressing! Hehehe...I actually got tired of hearing that. But then, when I realized that it meant that, hey...people know. I'm a Red Sox fan.

That's cool.

By the way...this Texan is a card-carrying member of the Red Sox Nation. In fact, my first year's membership card says I'm a "Founding Member." How cool is that?

Maybe we need to change the name, though...to something like...

The Royal Rooters.

"'Nuf Said" McGreevey would be proud.

And we could all sing....

"'Tessie,' 'Nuf Said Mcgreevey shouted,
'We're not here to mess around,
Boston...you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound...

Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Red Sox!! You are the only only only..."

Thank you, Dropkick Murphys!

Shake-up In New York

Well, it's official.

Joe Torre will not be returning to New York.

And who can blame him? They basically slapped him in the face with their offer. They offered him a one year deal for $5 mil. Geez. If I were him, I would have turned that down, too.

But that's the way baseball is. You get your team to the playoffs for umpteen years running, and they don't want you back.

There could be some drastic trickle-downs from this, many of which could actually affect the Texas Rangers very positively.

For one thing, A-Roid might be more apt to opt (hehe...."apt to opt") out of his contract, which would save the Rangers, oh...somewhere in the neighborhood of $21,000,000. Maybe they could afford a pitcher?

It is also almost certain that Mariono Rivera, aka "The Sandman," will opt for free agency. Could the Rangers possibly land him? I get chill bumps just thinking about that.

What about Jorge Posada? Is he a freebie after this season? Wow, could the Rangers ever use him!! A quality catcher...something they have not had since they foolishly let Pudge Rodriguez go.

The possibilities are endless. Never mind that this could shake up the Evil Empire so much that they aren't even contenders next year. *gasp*

After all, they really don't have any young players do they? All of their stars are getting old. Or worn out from illegal substance abuse. *cough*Giambi*cough*

Well, anyway....

Tonight is it. My stomach has been in knots since this morning. The Red Sox are in a must-win situation. They need to win this tonight or it's over for the season. And, to make matters worse, they have to play in the Jake one more night. But, on the positive side, Beckett is pitching. At least I hope it's positive. And last time Sabathia pitched, the Sox bats handled him easily.

We shall see.

Ok. It's Time to Panic

Yeah.

I'm officially worried.

Boston's down 1-3.

But I keep telling myself that this is exactly how I felt right before game four of the '04 ACLS game with the Yankees. And we all remember what happened that year.

At least last night, the Sox carved a little history.

Youk, Papi, and Manny went back-to-back-to-back big flies. In fact, Manny's was truly a "big fly," as it went an estimated 451 feet!

That had never been done before in a championship series game.

Unfortunately, that was all they did for the night.

One night off, then we get to see Thursday night if the Sox will get a chance to play before the Fenway Faithful again this year.

TTFN, y'all!

Yankees Go HOME! And STAY Home!!!

It was with great pleasure that I watched the Indians finish off the Yankees last night.

How ironic that a team that did not beat the Evil Empire once all season long, knocked them out of the playoffs.

At least one of the sportscasters opined that the Red Sox would rather play the Yankees with their "beat-up pitching staff" in the ALCS than the Indians. I don't know how the Red Sox team members feel about that, but I know how the fans feel. I don't know any Red Sox fans that want to be anywhere near the Yankees! I'm sure that there was great elation all throughout the Red Sox Nation last night as that last Yankee batter struck out.

So, the Sox face the Tribe on Friday night. In Fenway Park, of course. And let's see...not that it means anything, as evidenced by the series with the Yankees, but Boston's record against Cleveland this year is 5-2. A little less one-sided, and I don't see the Red Sox getting cocky. I do see them winning.

The Rockies face the Diamondbacks Thursday. The Rockies will win. I don't know if they will sweep, but they will win. We will have a Red Sox/Rockies World Series this year.

Of course, I could be totally wrong. Happens all the time. It's just a feeling.

Night of Praise with Dennis Jernigan

Saturday night, Christi, Stephanie, and I drove all the way up to Denison, TX, to take part in a Night of Praise with modern-day Psalmist, Dennis Jernigan. As always, it was an inspiring night. We sang most of the old favorites, along with some brand new songs, a couple even newer than the newest cd, "I Cry Holy." There were a few problems with the sound system at the church. At the beginning, Dennis couldn't hear his tracks from the monitor speakers (by the way, DJ uses an iPod for his tracks; this is an increasingly popular thing to do), and later, his powerful singing was simply blowing out the speakers and distorting them. But we still had a good time. Stephanie got to meet Melinda, Dennis's wife, and four of their kids were there...lessee...Asa, Ezra, Gayla, and Raina (not sure if I spelled those right or not), and Stephanie got to meet all of them, too. And DJ actually remembered her name! Now, that made her night, doncha know? I got a pretty good picture of Stephanie standing between Dennis and Melinda, so I'll post it here.



~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can't not write about the playoff results. I was disappointed that the D-Backs swept the Cubs. I was happy that the Rockies swept the Phillies, although, I must say I'm a little afraid of the Rockies. They are hotter than August in Texas right now, and have won 17 out of their last 18 games. Of course, I was ecstatic (and not in the least surprised) when the Red Sox swept the Angels. Manny was amazing. Sunday afternoon's game was close until the Sox blew it open in the top of the 8th inning. I almost felt sorry for the Angels. I said, "almost!"

Then the darned Yankees had to go and spoil it all by beating Cleveland last night. It was supposed to be straight sweeps across the board. But NO! We have to have another game, now. So, tonight...we'll be rooting for the tribe again. But you know what? I'm not the least bit afraid of the Yankees right now. This Red Sox team can handle them. I know the Yanks beat the Sox during regular season, but it's playoff time, now. The Sox are hot and out for rings. And it's time for New York's domination of baseball to be over.

TTFN, y'all!

MANNY!!!! MANNY!!!!

It's been a few days. I'll bet everything thinks I'm not watching the Playoffs.

Hah! Am so!!

And I'm...what's that rock song say? "Lovin' every minute of it!"

Except for the Cubs being humiliated by the D-Backs.

Anyway. Boston is two up on the Angels after last night's GLORIOUS walk-off home run by Manny. Did you SEE that?? It might have hit someone on the street behind the Green Monster!

And Manny, being Manny, just stood at home plate with his fists raised triumphantly in the air as if to say, "That'll teach you to walk Big Papi to get to me!"

Red Sox win, 6-3.

Earlier in the day, I watched as the Evil Empire fell to the Indians, yet again, in 11 innings, 2-1. That was an incredible pitcher's duel. Fortunately, Andy Pettit doesn't take a loss for that game, because he pitched really well for the Yanks.

Shockingly, the Indians are up 2-0 on the Yankees. I'm not believing that. I'm lovin' it, but it's still pretty shocking.

Seriously, that home run by Manny was amazing. I replayed it about six times. In fact, I'm going to go watch again, now.

Here is a link to the video of the home run

Here's a longer clip of just Manny Hmm....did he ever actually touch home plate? Hahahah....

This clip is of a rather bizaar play where a fan stole an out from the Angels catcher. This young man was very popular for a while...notice who is right behind him? Yep. That's Stephen King!

TTFN, y'all!