Overwhelming in every way, the Red Sox swept to their second MLB World Series title in four years Sunday night. Jon Lester, Mike Lowell & Co. left little room for drama with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies in Game 4. Then again, no NL team could have blocked Boston this October. This was hardly a repeat from 2004, when the Red Sox ended their 86-year championship drought by beating St. Louis. Gone are those pleading, pathetic days when the Red Sox were practically begging to win a title. They've got this down pat now. At this rate, New England fans might get spoiled. Francona's team has become a perfect counterpart to coach Bill Belichick's bruisers on the Patriots. After trailing Cleveland 3-1 in the AL championship series, the Red Sox won seven straight games and won their seventh World Series crown.Lester, undergoing chemotherapy at this time last year for cancer, pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and Jonathan Papelbon closed with his third save of the Series. Lowell won the MVP award, though Boston had plenty of candidates. Especially in a year in which Japanese stars Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima helped put the world in World Series. Lowell led a team that hit .333 in the Series with a home run, double and headfirst slide to score a run Sunday. He also won a ring in 2003 with underdog Florida.
The wild-card Rockies, who won a remarkable 21 of 22 games to get this far, were a mere afterthought by the end. Brad Hawpe homered in the seventh inning and Garrett Atkins hit a two-run shot in the eighth that came too late. In the end, Jason Varitek caught the final pitch and tucked it in his back pocket as Papelbon threw his glove high in the air after striking out pinch-hitter Seth Smith. The Red Sox spilled out of the dugout to party between the mound and first.
There are so many good stories about this team. Thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury, America gets a free taco on October 30 between 2pm-5pm. The rookies really came through, but the veterans held the team together. If Theo and the owners don't resign Lowell, there will be riots in Boston. And if they even consider signing A-Rod, the riots will be worse. Let him go to Florida or California, but keep him away from Boston.
The final straw was the announcment during the eighth inning that A-Rod was opting out of his contract with the Yankees. Fine, good for him, but that announcement couldn't wait until after the game? Scott Boras, classless. And then the ignorant Fox broadcasters spent the inning discussing A-Rod's options, instead of calling the game. Hey jackasses, it's the friggin WORLD SERIES, not the A-Rod show. What idiots. I was on the phone with my sister and we were both ballistic. After the game, I switched channels to NESN to see what Jerry Remy had to say, and he and Jim Rice (god, I love that man) were just as pissed as my sister and I. I hope the Red Sox clear this up right away - resign Lowell, and don't even get into the bidding for A-Rod.
One final note. If you don't live in New England, you wouldn't know that Jordan's Furniture took out an insurance policy and said that everyone who bought a mattress, dining table, sofa, or bed at a Jordan's store location between March 7,2007 and April 16, 2007 would receive it for free if the Red Sox won the World Series. So congratulations to all those crazy, hopeful fans who bought furniture!
4 comments:
I'm going to link to a very astute post by a friend who writes on World Crossing - Resonance on the future of the Red Sox.
Please read, trust me, it's worth your time.
That is an excellent post.
I wonder if Lowell's contract was up last year how things would have gone, and if the Red Sox would have had the sack to re-sign him then! And if not we may have had a different team this year.
The Big Guys need to know this:
the contribution guys like Lowell and Schill give to the young studs is like paying for extra pitching, and infield coaches. The Red Sox have a deep well of future players to pull up if needed, just look at our two awesome rookies this year? Hey, we have plenty of backup.
We did well in Center field this year didn't we. That example alone tells me keeping these to fine players is the best thing to do.
Oh, and one more thing regarding Mr. Mike Lowell. We haven't paid him what he is worth as yet. The most shameful thing about Boston was the way the announcers kept saying he was a throw-in for the Beckett deal. We need to resign him and maybe at the end of this second contract he will have been paid exactly what he has been worth. The team NEEDS him.
Absolutely. He's been *underpaid* this past year, and he's more than earned a big raise and a three-year deal. I hope the Red Sox management agrees and will step up to the plate.
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