aaron c beals

as much as game 1 was a showcase of Red Sox batting talent, last night was a showcase of the top-tier pitching talent. i knew Schilling and Pap would rise to the challenge, but it was great to see the rookie Okajima come in and throw 4 strikeouts facing 7 batters.

unfortunately (yes, i’m man enough to admit this), i fell asleep mid-game and missed the 3rd and 4th innings. it was only about 25 minutes, but i missed the Sox’ first run. cut me some slack — i’ve been battling sickness all week.

one non-game-related note: last night, they had the first (as far as i know) preview for season 7 of “24″. this happened at about the time i was waking up. dazed, confused, and wondering how i ended up on the couch, this was my one and only reaction:

between this and the new season of Lost (which, if i haven’t mentioned it before, Laura and i are both now addicted to), i’m going to be very short on spare time come January.

some thoughts as i watch game 1 of the 2007 World Series:

* i can’t believe the Sox are back in it. 2004 feels like forever ago and just yesterday, all at the same time. i’m giddy.

* what a start by Beckett — sure, he’s given up 1 run, but 5 strikeouts over two innings? nasty. just nasty.

* and how about Pedroia?!? the kid’s awesome. have you ever seen him stand next to Ortiz? the size differential is comical. there’s a sitcom brewing there.

* i listen to and watch a lot of comedy, but i’m apparently the only person who has never listened to Dane Cook. and after his playoff commercials, i aim to keep it that way. words that come to mind include “grating” and “jackass”.

* i spent the entire ALCS watching the game on FOX but listening to WRKO, because i couldn’t stand hearing Buck blatantly root against the Sox and McCarver’s idiotic musings. it worked out well — the sound wasn’t as rich as the TV, but i got to hear Joe Castiglione, and the sound was synced up almost exactly with the TV. but tonight, WEEI’s “we own Wednesday and weekend day games” clause kicked in, so i had to switch over. they’ve got a 3-4 second delay going. it’s painful. i tried for an inning and a half, but i just can’t do it. tomorrow, we go back to WRKO.

* given the choice of paying $300 to sit at Fenway in the cold rain and paying $0 to sit here on my couch and watch the game in HD? warm and relaxing, i choose you. of course, i say this having gotten my Fenway playoff fix at game 1 of the ALDS, watching Beckett’s complete-game shutout gem. go ahead, hate me. i’m shielded by my 2004 World Series hoodie.

* it’s not so much that i hate the Chevy commercial as much as i have now resolved to avoid purchasing a Chevy truck at all costs.

Summing up my feelings almost exactly, this quote is from an email I got today from my former boss and noted Red Sox author, Vin Femia:

“Year in and year out, decade in and decade out, century in and century out, the Red Sox will always roll over and play dead for the Yankees in any series after August 15 that means anything, and no lead is ever big enough for these guys, whether it is 14 games in the standings or a 5 run lead in the 8th inning. The only exception was those 4 games in 2004, and even in that the Red Sox showed stupidity by bringing in Pedro in the 7th inning of game 7 when there was no reason to do that.

“It is uncanny how the Red Sox almost always do this. It happened in the days of Ruth and Foxx, Williams and Dimaggio, Yaz and Mantle, Fisk and Munson, Nomar and Jeter, and now Ortiz and A-Rod. The consistency is astounding. Even Death and Taxes must be jealous.”

By the way, if you happen to read his book (and I encourage you to), what’s amazing to me is Vin’s uncanny ability to remember things from the past, in all aspects of his life but especially in sports. He can pull stats, figures, and events from years past without looking them up online, and 99% of the time, he’s spot-on. It’s eerie.