I’VE BEEN TALKING with old college buddy, Tony Desiere, the last few days. He’s a Rockies fan working and living in Colorado. He hosts the “Tony D and the Dawg Pound” show weekdays on ESPN 1300 AM out of Colorado Springs.
Here’s what Rockies fans are thinking entering Game 3 of the World Series. This from Tony D:
““After Game 1, many thought it was just a bad game, and (the Rockies) would rebound in Game 2. People did feel that if the Sox won Game 2, the series would be over. I anticipate on today’s show, the feeling will be it’s just a matter of time until the end.
“The layoff is still a mystery to me. If teams knew for sure that an eight-day layoff would be harmful to the team, then the Rockies would not have swept Arizona. They would taken their chances by going five or six games. Since they felt it would not be harmful, they finished off the D-Backs and took a break. I think the Rockies were caught up in the moment on Wednesday night. The pitching was much better in Game 2.
“If you gave me the score of Game 1 and asked me who won, I would have said Boston. They are more likely to win a game 13-1 than Colorado. If you told me the score of Game 2 without a winner, I would have guessed Colorado. A 2-1 game is more their style of baseball. Since Boston won both, it is very hard for me to see the Rockies coming back.
Even if they win Games 3 and 4, Beckett goes in Game 5. I have seen him pitch a few times here when he was with the Marlins. He knows how to pitch with the humidor and Colorado won’t get past him. Then it would be nearly impossible to win two straight at Fenway, ask Cleveland.”
“The Rockies have been rolling because they generate multi-run innings by inducing an avalanche of mistakes. Walk a few guys, then an error, a home run, more hits and its 6-1 in a blink of an eye. They have not gotten anything going in 18 innings of baseball.
“Anyway, it will be Boston in five games. Coors Field will give the Rockies one win in this series, but Boston won’t look terrible in the loss and win out.”
IN APRIL, when Jacoby Ellsbury made a trip to Manchester for a series against the Fisher Cats, he agreed to a photo session for our newspaper. The idea was to get Ellsbury together with his former Oregon State teammate, Aaron Mathews, for some pregame shots. Well, that’s not an easy task when nearly every minute is accounted for in pregame.
There’s team stretching, batting practice. Often players take extra cuts in the indoor batting cage. I had only met Ellsbury that weekend, and I must tell you, the kid was patient while we kept trying to coordinate with Mathews. We were on the field near the netting behind home plate, waiting, when I said to the 23-year-old, “Just think, someday you’ll be earning thousands while waiting for a photo shoot like this.”
He gave a polite laugh. I had told Jacoby how my wife was born in Oregon, and it seemed to go a long way. (I learned from Johnny Pesky years ago that Oregonians are a tightly knit group.) Photographer Mark Bolton ended up getting the photo, and Ellsbury went off at the plate that series, going 8-for-12.
Thursday night, he stole the first base of the 2007 World Series and earned a free taco for everyone in the U.S., thanks to a promotion by Taco Bell.
GAME 2 NOTES: That’s six straight wins by the Red Sox in the World Series. Curt Schilling now 11-2 in the postseason … Kudos to FOX for compiling a package of Jonathan Papelbon’s dance moves in the playoffs … The “FOX TRAX” pitch graphic needs to be eliminated … Compelling matchup between Papelbon and Matt Holliday in the 8th inning. Holliday’s fourth hit, a comebacker, knocked over the closer and nearly de-winged Dustin Pedroia at second base.
Holliday getting picked off first base was simply atrocious baserunning. The Rockies lost any chance of winning the World Series on that play. They had Papelbon pitching from the stretch with a runner aboard, with Todd Helton at the plate. Good note by Joe Buck, saying it was Papelbon’s first pickoff of the season.
Rockies pitchers are going to have nightmares over Kevin Youkilis … I’m already having nightmares about not loading up at Jordan’s Furniture in the spring.
STILL HAUNTED by the Jordan’s Furniture guys, we offer some random observations of the Fall Classic opener …
– With eight days to prepare, Colorado can do no better than sending Jeff Francis to the hill? This is the ace? Can’t touch 89 mph. Can’t throw strikes. Oh, man, are the Rockies in trouble this series. I actually picked the Rockies to reach the World Series when the playoffs started — and got lucky there.
– Tim McCarver said in pregame the long layoff won’t affect Colorado. Geez, what a surprise, he’s wrong. It’s now the fifth inning, and the Rockies are looking like it’s opening day of the Granite State Over-40 League. Matt Holliday couldn’t bend down to pick up a gap double by Ortiz that allowed Kevin Youkilis to score … Hitters are all taking home run swings against Beckett. They really look lost … The first three pitchers have been abysmal and couldn’t throw a strike if meant a date with Jeanne Zelasko.
— What’s funny is McCarver acting thrilled at the idea of a free Taco Bell taco if someone steals a base. Can’t you just imagine T-Mac sitting down for a hard taco and chalupa?
– Talked with David Smith of the Fisher Cats today. Said he had no idea who Jacoby Ellsbury was before playing against him in April. Baseball players live in such a bubble.
– Eight walks through six innings for Colorado pitchers. “With the lopsided score, one is more apt to say the layoff hurt,” T-Mac just said.
– Clearly Troy Tulowitzki (two doubles and nice play at short) is the real deal.
– That’s all I’ve got for tonight. Boring game. Dustin Pedroia flat-out rules.
CATCHING UP on the game after covering an awesome boys’ volleyball match tonight. Londonderry beat Pinkerton, 3-2.
3rd inning — Classic Manny. Unbelievable opposite-field shot, but he only advances 90 feet on the shot off the wall. Weird bounce. Must’ve had lots of backspin and caught the top of the wall just right.
4th inning — Have to wonder if Boston is going to end up losing this game after making too many mistakes. Coco Crisp’s failed sacrifice bunt killed a potential big inning. Tim McCarver actually thought Coco would still bunt with two strikes.
“5th –Wow. Manny, at the plate, has been getting every call with two strikes in this series. Manny draws a walk after C.C. Sabathia nearly struck him out on a borderline pitch. (And, no, I don’t trust the FOX pitch tracker graphic.) CC eventually gets out of the bases-load jam by retiring Bobby Kielty. Sox have stranded seven!
Pressing the mute button every time the Taco Bell big-brother commercial is played … How does Joe Torre turn down a $5 million contact that balloons another million with each series win during the postseason?
When hotheads collide: Josh Beckett and Kenny Lofton exchange words after Lofton flied out to left. Naturally, FOX displays a graphic during the initial exchange, and we miss the live action. Must wait for replays of the shouting match.
Runners as the corners: Asdrubal Cabrera is the guy Cleveland wants batting here. He’s hot … and so is Beckett, who gets the K on three pitches. It’s going to take Danielle Peck singing God Bless America for Beckett to lose his rhythm.
6th — Great “Sounds of the Game” from FOX, airing the comments made by home umpire Gary Cederstrom during the bench-clearing incident last inning. Love the part about Cederstrom telling the bullpen guys to “do their sprints” by running back to the ‘pen. I’d like to see Eric Wedge pinch-hit Trot Nixon for Franklin Gutierrez next time he’s due up. Gutierrez is batting .174 in the series with six Ks.
80 pitches for Beckett through six innings. Cleveland better hope Ms. Peck in the seventh inning — or those midge bugs — can turn the tide. Great line from Mike Mutnansky on WGAM Radio this afternoon, talking about the Beckett/Peck story: “I’m just wondering how the relationship ended. Who had hand?”
7th — CF Grady Sizemore botched the liner off the bat of Kevin Youkilis. Did you notice how Youk adjusted his hands and drilled the ball to right-center? He was deliberately trying to go the other way with a runner on second, and, as a bonus, he got a triple out of it. The guy’s a pro. It’s now 3-1, and this series is coming back to Fenway Park.
Lofton’s nearly dropped that basket catch in left field! Sox up, 4-1, and those holding Jordan’s Furniture receipts have a new lease on life … Didn’t “Transformers” come out over the summer? What’s the deal with FOX constantly rolling the movie graphic? Also, not a fan of the AT&T commercials. Need Dramamine to get through those herky-jerky scene swaps.
Leave it to Lofton to reach. Gutierrez pops out on a 3-1 count. Told you Nixon would’ve been my choice there. Beckett just popped 96 mph. Now he’s got 10 Ks … “Shop Victoriously” is clever marketing by eBay.
Does anyone have any advice on wood pellet insert stoves? That could be our next major purchase if the washing machine doesn’t die first.
8th — Sox up, 7-1. Can you say Fausto Carmona vs. Curt Schilling in Game 6? Like how Tito Francona inserted Jacoby Ellsbury into the game. Let the kid get a little game action to prep for Saturday night’s start in center field. Beckett keeps registering 96 mph.
9th — Should’ve spent about five grand at Jordan’s Furniture. I’m starting to get the sense Boston is going to win the World Series. Seriously. Good night.
UNH hockey begins the season at BU’s Agganis Arena Friday night with Dick Umile beginning his 18th season. How did that happen? As a student, I was involved with UNH hockey from 1990-93 while work-studying for the Sports Information Department. I was there for Umile’s first season and joined the team on some bus rides (getting paid about $4 per hour) during my college days.
I can vividly remember a trip to Boston University and watching “Silence of the Lambs.” On a weekender to Clarkson/St. Lawrence, we stayed at the same hotel as Joe Piscopo and tried to prank phone call his room. I told the hotel operator, “This is Joe Piscopo’s agent calling.” The operator’s exact words were “This is UNH hockey,” noting that I was calling from a designated hockey room … Also remember assistant coach Chris Serino commenting on the meatballs at the team dinner.
At Clarkson, play-by-play radio man Dick Osbourne had me join him as the color analyst for the entire game. Had no idea what I was doing, either. Ah, those were the days … Since then, Umile has won 399 games and uber-goalie Jeff Levy still hasn’t reached the NHL after leaving school as a freshman. Or sophomore?
IF WE START noting all the Tim McCarver screw-ups and bizarre comments, it’s going to be a mighty long blog for tonight’s Game 4 from The Jake. With that said, I’ll have no choice to mention a few McCarver Mishaps.
– Any Jordan’s Furniture commercial makes me sick. No, I don’t mind the old dudes, but I should’ve made some purchases in April when Jordan’s was offering that Red Sox promotion. This morning at preschool drop-off, a dad was telling me he’ll be reimbursed $3,600 worth of furniture if the Sox win it all.
– “Nano showers” and “midges” are on the forecast from The Jake.
– In a survey at Boston.com, a majority of fans believe Terry Francona/Theo Epstein is making the right call by starting Tim Wakefield over Josh Beckett (on three days’ rest). You’ve got to win four games, not two … I like the decision based on pure entertainment value. Sox fans will be going crazy if Wake has trouble (especially in the wet conditions), and everyone will be talking about Beckett’s classic Game 6 performance in the 2003 World Series in which he pitched on three days’ rest.
– If you have the Tim McCarver Blues, click here to share your misery with this guy and his six strings.
– Everyone except Joe Buck believes the Red Sox are making the correct decision by pitching Wakefield. Nobody except our editor Matt McSorley has mentioned the fact Wakefield is returning from a bad back and hasn’t pitched in more than two weeks.
– Oh, no. It’s McCarver’s 66th birthday. Do you think Deion Sanders will be sending a cake?
– We’re underway. 1B Victor Martinez made a nice catch on Casey Blake’s throw in the first inning to get Pedroia. Matt Garko would’ve flopped like a tuna, and Pedroia would be on second base right now. Notice I’ve stopped bolding names.
– Asdrubal Cabrera played against the Fisher Cats this season, and Craig Liadis wrote a nice feature on the infielder.
– “What did you do as a teenager? You flirted at corners. So did Paul Byrd,” — Tim McCarver, aka, T-Mac.
– Why doesn’t Kelly Shoppach sac bunt with nobody out, runner on the first, in the third inning? Instead he strikes out.
– T-Mac is taking it easy tonight, not saying as many head-scratchers . I don’t think he has recovered from last night when he talked about Asdrubal Cabrera’s positioning at second base, only when it was Pedroia playing second base.
– I know you are wondering. Jhonny Peralta is not related to Fisher Cat infielder Juan Peralta.
– Wake’s flutter ball is fabulous tonight. One hit through four innings. Paul Byrd is pitching over his head, too.
– How do you like that microphone FOX has planted near home plate? Every piece of contact sounds like Bill Mazeroski’s shot heard ’round the world.
– Random NH notes: Jeff Motuzas of Nashua served as bullpen catcher once again for Arizona this year. Caleb Ginsberg from Souhegan of Amherst was the Yankees’ bullpen catcher for the final two weeks … Shout out to Souhegan AD Bill Dod.
– Casey Blake’s homer off Wakefield looked like a carbon copy of Aaron Boone’s shot in the 2003 ALCS. Same trajectory. Similar swing … And Boone’s shot was four years ago tonight.
– Before Peralta hit the 3-run homer, I was about to type: You get the feeling the Indians are happy to be facing Manny Delcarmen instead of Wakefield.
– Still bottom 5th. Jacoby would’ve caught the flair to center field that Coco couldn’t get. 7-0, Indians.
– Left the room and returned to a 7-2 game. Did A-Rod homer?
– Now that is the difference in big-market and small-market teams. A Red Sox fan just PAID cash to the Cleveland fan holding the Ortiz homer ball.
– It really bothers me the way Manny admires his homers. How about that last one? Hey, guy, YOUR TEAM IS LOSING, 7-3! I really hope Manny gets dusted next time up.
– Did Joe Buck just say those were the first back-to-back-to-back homers in LCS history?
– Eighth inning. Rafael Bettencourt just threw an insane changeup to Ortiz, and then induced an easy pop fly. Two down. If the Indians are going to send a message to Manny, now’s the time.
– I will give FOX credit for this: With J.D. Drew batting, Joe Buck says, “another night, another game without without an RBI for J.D. Drew.” Then the camera locks in on Theo Epstein, the man who signed Drew for $70 million — or the equivalent of the gross domestic product of Belize.
– Indians win, 7-3. Thursday night is now an elimination game. Cleveland’s ace, C.C. Sabathia, is pitching that one against Boston ace Josh Beckett. Good night, T-Mac.
JED HOYER may be assistant general manager of the Red Sox …. He may have his own Wikipedia page … He may be the all-time saves leader at Wesleyan University. However, to me, he’s the greatest 9-year-old shortstop in the history of Plymouth Area Little League.
I actually played against Jed in the 1982 championship game. Rand’s Hardware beat VFW on that sunsplashed day at D&D Field, and I still remember Hoyer diving for grounders in the hole.
In continuing our look at Granite Staters within the Red Sox front office, here’s a teazer from Saturday’s story:
The 33-year-old Hoyer, who has been assistant GM since Theo Epstein returned in January 2006, pointed to the Curt Schilling negotiation as a turning point in terms of selling Boston to prospective players.
“The 2003 team made the Red Sox an appealing place to play again. They won a lot of games and clearly had fun doing it — something that players around the league notice,” Hoyer said. “The Schilling negotiation was the first time that we could point to this new face of Red Sox baseball.
“It worked pretty well with Curt and has really worked well ever since. Some players will not want to come to Boston for various reasons, but those instances have been extremely rare. For the most part, the thought of playing for a good team in Fenway Park in front of a sold-out crowd is really appealing for free agents.”
THROUGHOUT the postseason I’ll be checking in with New Hampshire natives who’re playing a significant role with the Red Sox.
Friday’s paper will have a story on Lebanon High’s Ben Cherington, Boston’s vice president of player personnel. Cherington played a key role in the trade that netted Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell in 2005.
Of course, the Red Sox lost Hanley Ramirez in that deal, but the trade worked out great for the Sox and Marlins.
Cherington on the deal:
“Since I had been the farm director previously, I was most involved in the evaluation of the players who were being asked about, which ultimately included Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Harvey Garcia, and Jesus Delgado. Everyone knows what Hanley has done since he left. Anibal and Harvey have both gotten to the big leagues, and Jesus has a chance to in the future.
“These players took on special meaning for me because I had overseen Latin American scouting prior to becoming farm director and was involved in signing Hanley, Anibal and Jesus. Garcia, ironically, was originally signed and then released by the Marlins. Miguel Garcia recommended we sign him after the Marlins released him, and then two years later we traded him back.”
“M-7″ is here. The seventh season in Monarchs history begins Saturday night at the Big V. In addition to the feature on coach Mark Morris in Friday’s newspaper, here are some extra quotes that were left on the cutting room floor.
Morris on the college atmosphere vs. pro atmosphere: “Everything is such a build-up every weekend in college. The harmful thing about playing less games (in college) is you can go through that whole week with a negative thought in your head, which isn’t great for development … At this level, you’re going to have setbacks, but it’s all about consistency.”
Morris on first-year Monarchs getting ready for battle: “Intimidation is such a big part of pro hockey. When you’ve got a young team, you’ve got to find a way to battle. There’s some scary human beings playing in the American Hockey League, whether it’s big bodies or guys who know how to get under your skin and knock you off your game.”
Defenseman Brendan Buckley: “I like the way (Morris) came in and wants to win. You’ve got to respect that. That kind of translates. At times, it’s a long season, you might not be happy, but at the end of the day, he wants to win. That’s the most important thing.”
Hubie McDonough III, director of hockey operations, on what makes Morris an effective coach: “He has very sound principles, and he instills that in the guys every day … The guys really bought into what he was trying to teach.”
NOW you have my World Series predictions. How can you not root for the Rockies after hearing about this?:
Colorado Rockies players have voted a full share of playoff money to the family of Mike Coolbaugh, a minor league coach who was struck by a line drive and killed this summer. Coolbaugh was first-base coach for Colorado’s Double-A team, the Tulsa Drillers.
For a heart-wrenching story in Sports Illustrated, click here:
