Series thoughts
I will regrettably say congratulations to the Red Sox and fans out there. There are some I am truly happy for.
As for the rest of you...
Ah, I won't go into it.
But in all seriousness, despite the sweep this was an interesting series. The Rockies were good, and never gave up despite the deficit. But in the end the better team won, and that's perhaps what was most interesting. Of the past ten World Series, in my opinion the better team won only half of them. We could debate that exact number for hours, but some serious underdogs have managed to win.
I'll get back to that in a bit, but first some of my other thoughts from the series.
1) The Rockies' mascot is my new favorite. I'm not sure why it is a triceratops with his crest bedazzled (remember bedazzler machines, kids?!), but during the ninth inning of Game 3 I stopped watching the game and could not stop giggling at the mascot in the stands behind the backstop. I think he was turning his head around and trying to psych out Papelbon. Either way, it was funny. Pure mascot greatness.
2) There was a funny moment during Game 4, which I'm sure many of you shared wherever you were. I was in a crowded place, and when the FOX cameras showed Eric Gagne warming up in the bullpen, a large number of Red Sox fans actually shouted "No!" instinctively. It was unrehearsed, and nearly simulataneous.
Why was Gagne even on the roster? The only situation anybody could imagine him coming in was about an eight-run Sox deficit or more. Couldn't Wakefield, who is the longest tenured team member, fill that role with just as much mediocrity and not have to be embarrassed by not being on the roster? Help me on this.
Still, it was classic.
3- and most significantly) Jacoby Ellsbury got robbed of his rightful MVP award. Not to take anything away from Mike Lowell and the wonderful series he had on both sides of the ball. But Ellsbury was the spark that got this team rolling at times.
He batted .438 and had four doubles. But more importantly, he sparked the rally in both games in Colorado. He led off the six-run inning in Game 3, and doubled twice in that frame. The Sox ended up needing all those runs. Then he leads off Game 4 with another double and scores the first run. Had the Rockies taken a lead at home, this series might be tied. Ellsbury was the most significant player, not to mention he allowed the Sox to take Coco Crisp out of the lineup when he was struggling terribly.
4) The streak is over at seven straight years with a different winner. Still pretty impressive, and it was a lot of fun while it lasted. The new streak is at three. Let's keep it going.
5) Back to those Red Sox. I would say this is the best, or at worst second-best team since the 1998 Yankees. The team went through some growing pains with Schilling and Wakefield struggling at times, Lugo hitting worse than me for several months, and then Daisuke wearing down and Gagne... well, doing his thing.
But in the postseason this team played like the juggernaut it was constructed to be, and looked like through mid-June. Lester arrived, Drew showed why teams have always been somewhat reluctant to let him go, and the rookies may be the two best all-around players on the team.
Since those 1998 Yanks, there are only a handful of teams that I would put in a league with this one, some that won the title and some that did not. The 2005 White Sox were legitimately dominant with their pitching (and a lineup that deserved more credit for its balance than it got), the 2004 Cardinals had the best of both worlds (the WS sweep was just their second THREE-game losing streak all season, the other coming after they had clinched the top spot in the NL playoffs) and the 2001 Mariners were awesome before slipping up in the postseason (116 regular-season wins!). Other than that... not sure any teams truly compare as a whole. I can think of flaws for just about every other significant playoff team in that stretch.
As for the 2004 Sox, it's not even close. This team is far superior in just about every aspect.
In fact, I'd only say that Mariners team was better, but they didn't get it done in the postseason.
Here's the scary part. These Sox are going to keep nearly all the significant parts and many of them can conceivably get better. That list of players potentially on the rise includes Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Lester, Matsuzaka and "Sir Not Appearing in this Film" Clay Buchholtz. That doesn't include Josh Beckett, Papelbon and Youkilis, who are all relatively young but can't really get better than they were this year.
True, Manny, Papi and Varitek are probably on the back end of their careers, but they should still be productive and scary for another three or four years at least. Lowell might not end up back in Boston, and he is a key piece, but my guess is he'll return and in a couple years when he's getting up there in age, the Sox will find somebody suitable to replace him.
As much as I hate to say it, this is the team to beat for the foreseeable future. Baseball gods help us all.
As for the rest of you...
Ah, I won't go into it.
But in all seriousness, despite the sweep this was an interesting series. The Rockies were good, and never gave up despite the deficit. But in the end the better team won, and that's perhaps what was most interesting. Of the past ten World Series, in my opinion the better team won only half of them. We could debate that exact number for hours, but some serious underdogs have managed to win.
I'll get back to that in a bit, but first some of my other thoughts from the series.
1) The Rockies' mascot is my new favorite. I'm not sure why it is a triceratops with his crest bedazzled (remember bedazzler machines, kids?!), but during the ninth inning of Game 3 I stopped watching the game and could not stop giggling at the mascot in the stands behind the backstop. I think he was turning his head around and trying to psych out Papelbon. Either way, it was funny. Pure mascot greatness.
2) There was a funny moment during Game 4, which I'm sure many of you shared wherever you were. I was in a crowded place, and when the FOX cameras showed Eric Gagne warming up in the bullpen, a large number of Red Sox fans actually shouted "No!" instinctively. It was unrehearsed, and nearly simulataneous.
Why was Gagne even on the roster? The only situation anybody could imagine him coming in was about an eight-run Sox deficit or more. Couldn't Wakefield, who is the longest tenured team member, fill that role with just as much mediocrity and not have to be embarrassed by not being on the roster? Help me on this.
Still, it was classic.
3- and most significantly) Jacoby Ellsbury got robbed of his rightful MVP award. Not to take anything away from Mike Lowell and the wonderful series he had on both sides of the ball. But Ellsbury was the spark that got this team rolling at times.
He batted .438 and had four doubles. But more importantly, he sparked the rally in both games in Colorado. He led off the six-run inning in Game 3, and doubled twice in that frame. The Sox ended up needing all those runs. Then he leads off Game 4 with another double and scores the first run. Had the Rockies taken a lead at home, this series might be tied. Ellsbury was the most significant player, not to mention he allowed the Sox to take Coco Crisp out of the lineup when he was struggling terribly.
4) The streak is over at seven straight years with a different winner. Still pretty impressive, and it was a lot of fun while it lasted. The new streak is at three. Let's keep it going.
5) Back to those Red Sox. I would say this is the best, or at worst second-best team since the 1998 Yankees. The team went through some growing pains with Schilling and Wakefield struggling at times, Lugo hitting worse than me for several months, and then Daisuke wearing down and Gagne... well, doing his thing.
But in the postseason this team played like the juggernaut it was constructed to be, and looked like through mid-June. Lester arrived, Drew showed why teams have always been somewhat reluctant to let him go, and the rookies may be the two best all-around players on the team.
Since those 1998 Yanks, there are only a handful of teams that I would put in a league with this one, some that won the title and some that did not. The 2005 White Sox were legitimately dominant with their pitching (and a lineup that deserved more credit for its balance than it got), the 2004 Cardinals had the best of both worlds (the WS sweep was just their second THREE-game losing streak all season, the other coming after they had clinched the top spot in the NL playoffs) and the 2001 Mariners were awesome before slipping up in the postseason (116 regular-season wins!). Other than that... not sure any teams truly compare as a whole. I can think of flaws for just about every other significant playoff team in that stretch.
As for the 2004 Sox, it's not even close. This team is far superior in just about every aspect.
In fact, I'd only say that Mariners team was better, but they didn't get it done in the postseason.
Here's the scary part. These Sox are going to keep nearly all the significant parts and many of them can conceivably get better. That list of players potentially on the rise includes Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Lester, Matsuzaka and "Sir Not Appearing in this Film" Clay Buchholtz. That doesn't include Josh Beckett, Papelbon and Youkilis, who are all relatively young but can't really get better than they were this year.
True, Manny, Papi and Varitek are probably on the back end of their careers, but they should still be productive and scary for another three or four years at least. Lowell might not end up back in Boston, and he is a key piece, but my guess is he'll return and in a couple years when he's getting up there in age, the Sox will find somebody suitable to replace him.
As much as I hate to say it, this is the team to beat for the foreseeable future. Baseball gods help us all.
Labels: baseball
posted by Ryan Pipke at
3:13 AM
1 Comments:
The taste of victory is delicious.
1) Wouldn't YOU scream NOOOO when you see Eric Gagne warming up for you? When I was at ALCS Game Two I knew he would blow the game when he came in. There's a 10-Run Gagne Rule: That means if you're up by 10, he'll give up 8, but won't blow the whole game. That's the quota I feel.
2) I actually thought Papelbon would get MVP, the way Foulke should have. But I was rooting for Ellsbury.
3) The 2004 team was much better hitting wise. I was confident in every batter in that lineup. This one was a little shaky most of the year, especially at the bottom.
4) The Rockies were good, but were losing to either Boston or Cleveland. The NL should just get a DH.
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