What a supreme comeback by my beloved Boston Red Sox in the series against the Indians. 3-1 down in the best of 7 tie and then we steamroller them in the last 3 games. The pitching of Schilling and Dice K was awesome in the last 2 games and what scenes at Fenway in the last few innings last night. The Rockies have been waiting in the long grass having strolled through their divisional championship game but the momentum we have built up is going to be unstoppable. It’s like 2004 all over again. Let’s go Red Sox, let’s go.
Your good friend Ball ox has been attending Yankees games week in week out. You’re really missing out on his input for this thread. 
Flano wrote:
Your good friend Ball ox has been attending Yankees games week in week out. You’re really missing out on his input for this thread.
He won’t have been attending any recently seeing as the Indians disposed of them without any fuss whatsoever. Let’s go Red Sox, let’s go.
So we hammered them last night. 13-1 at Fenway and a chance to go 2-0 up in the series tonight. If we can manage that then it’ll be looking pretty rocky for Colorado.
Sox carry unfamiliar favourites tag against Rox
The play-offs have been dismal so far, but Boston and Colorado look set to produce a memorable World Series.
David Lengel
October 24, 2007 3:35 PM
As someone who covers baseball for an overseas audience, there’s an ambassadorial responsibility to help promote the sport, and that’s why I’m hesitant to negatively nudge our national pastime in front of an audience that doesn’t always embrace our little North American games. That said, I have to be honest here. Until the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians gave us a decisive Game Seven in the American League Championship Series, this post-season was as about as vanilla as you can get. The Rockies are a great story, no denying that; but the majority of the series and games have been lacklustre.
Yeah, the bugs attacking Joba Chamberlain in Game Two of the AL Divisional Series in Cleveland was fun (for some), and there was definitely electricity in the mile-high air when Colorado’s Yorvit Torrealba blasted a sixth-inning, three-run, tie-breaking homer in Game Three of the National League Championship Series. Eric Byrnes’ desperate slide into first base was also a memorable final out as the Rockies clinched the pennant in a (yawn) sweep.
Overall though, it’s pretty much been a dud, and thanks to Major League Baseball’s attempt at weatherproofing the schedule, it has been a dud with too many off days. Scheduling aside, there really isn’t anyone to blame, it’s just been one of those years - extraordinary spectacles are expected, but not guaranteed.
Sunday night went against the grain - we finally got a taste of play-off intensity as the Sox and Indians provided a winner-takes-all encounter at Fenway Park. The clich play-off microscope was out again, magnifying every pitch, swing, and play over the first six and a half innings before Boston broke out with eight late runs, completing another unlikely post-season comeback by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to send the Tribe home without a title for the 59th straight season.
It might have been different had Cleveland’s third-base coach, Joel Skinner, elected to send a streaking Kenny Lofton home following a Franklin Gutierezz double that smacked off the low fence in foul territory behind third base. Lofton would have scored the tying run easily if the third-base coach, who acts as a traffic cop for runners heading his way, didn’t hold him up. It’s those split-second decisions that can change the course of baseball history - unfortunately a base coach, rather than a player or a manger, made this one. Let’s not heap it all on poor old Skinner, though; there’s plenty of blame to go around. The performances of their aces, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, were sub-standard, and the Tribe’s line-up managed only five runs in the final three games of the series.
For Boston, Josh Beckett’s reputation as a money pitcher was re-affirmed on the road in Game Five, and Boston’s bats went berserk, lashing out 30 runs in the those three critical games. It wasn’t just the tandem of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez who slugged, the supporting cast, including the much-maligned J.D. Drew, had big hits as well. The players performed, but I’m giving this series to the manager. Terry “Tightrope” Francona walked the line successfully again, improving his record in elimination games to 7-1. After guiding the Sox back from 3-0 down in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, Francona shouldn’t have to prove himself to anyone, but any remaining sceptics were surely wiped out with this latest improbable comeback.
So Boston are back in the World Series, and are favourites for the third straight play-off round - something of a new identity for their fans. It used to be that the Red Sox Nation waited for the sky to fall, taking the role of the victim; a world-is-against-us, woe-is-me, super-underdog approach. Things have changed drastically in post-curse Red Sox land, and their fans are now transitioning to their new role - followers of a team with big-market money that is expected to win every year.
The little people in this World Series are the Rockies, and the odds-makers in Las Vegas aren’t giving them much hope - they’ve made Boston lower than 2-1 on favourites. It’s a wild set of odds when you consider that the Rockies have won 21 of their previous 22 games, including their first seven play-off encounters. Also to the Rockies’ credit are their victories over Beckett and Curt Schilling, who they lit up during their June visit to Boston. The only starter who shut down Colorado during that series was Tim Wakefield, and he is off the World Series roster with a shoulder injury.
These factors have been ignored by the bookies. Now do I believe that the eight-day lay-off will have some impact on Colorado, and that the AL is superior to the NL? Yes, but odds of better than 2-1 are way too much for a team that is definitely capable of winning this series. I’m not much of a gambling man, but that’s worth a Rocky Mountain flutter, isn’t it?
It all begins tonight with aces Beckett and Jeff Francis going at it in Game One. Because both teams lack a dominant second starter, taking the Series opener is a bit more important than usual, and it should make for a compelling start to the Fall Classic. Both of these teams are riding hot streaks at the right time - I’m hopeful we’ll have a World Series that’s compelling enough to keep European viewers awake deep into the night.
Here goes nothing: Rockies in six.
2-1 victory for us last night. If I had a shilling for every time Curt Schilling produced the goods when it matters then I’d be a very rich man. We’ll be heading to Denver full of confidence now. Let’s go Red Sox, let’s go.
I was watching that game on a bird’s MacBook in DCU last night, right into the small hours. I don’t even know the rules. http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif 
She playes softball and her grandad played with Babe Ruth or something.
10-5 victory for the Red Sox last night in Denver. We’re now 3-0 up in the series and no team has ever come back from that to win a World Series. We’re swinging the bat phenomenally as a unit and Dice K did the business with the minimum fuss.
I’m incredibly emotional this morning after we were crowned World Series champions last night.
Unbelievable scenes after the final strike out.
I’m sure every Red Sox lover who checks the baseball standings once every year in September to see if their favourite team made the play-offs, before checking the scores on the internet the morning after each of their play-off games will be feeling just as happy and emotional as I am.
Anyone watching this? Flano? Tinnion?
That was unreal by the Panda last night.
What country is he playing for?
Who’s in the final?
Yankees knocked out last night by the Astros in the one off wildcard game.
In the American League its the Texas Rangers v Toronto Blue Jays & Kansas City Royals v Houston Astros
The Chicago Cubs are back in post-season action for the first time since 2008 as they attempt to bridge the 107 wait for a World Series. They face the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in the wild card game with the winners to face the St Louis Cardinals. In the other National League tie, its the New York Mets v LA Dodgers.
Delighted to read about my beloved Astros flying high. Attended a game in Minute Maid Park back in '09 when I was in town for Wrestlemania and it seem like a real nice ball club.
The Blue Jays? ffs…
Wanna fucking do it mate
Result:
CUBS 4
Pirates 0
We advance to meet the Cardinals.
It is written.
1 Like
Arrieta stealing second after the fight was gas. Pirates were salty all evening, and Cole looked like a cunt trying to fight after looking clean dogshit on the mound.
Arrieta is incredible. Cubs are in with a big shout over the next few weeks.
Cubs hit three homers to beat the Cardinals 8-6 to wrap up the series 3-1 and advance to the National League Championship series.