And then, in the 11th...

Things got kind of awesome (although less so for Eric Gagne). It was a tight, long slugfest. The Indians seemed kinda tired. The Sox seemed kinda unstoppable. Manny had a 0-2 count on him, had a little smirk and deposited the next pitch into the bullpen. I think he feels like playing. It was 6-6. Papelbon, doing that stupid thing he does with his mouth, pitched two solid innings. On comes Gagne, without consistency, blows the tie. Then Lester and Lopez throw fuel on the fire and the "faithful" filed out. It turned into a 13-6 near-pounding.

And who hit the winning run? Trot Nixon, former Red Sox nail eater. It was poetic. Tim McCarver said "For years, they cheered him in Boston. And now they cheer for him in Cleveland." See what you did, Eric Gagne? You made Tim McCarver philosophize. And I had to listen to it. Le cerveau il etait en option chez toi, Tim.

Day 4 of No Jays

Game 1s abounded yesterday



There was a filthy performance from a certain red-ass. There was a pitchers' duel for the ages. And there was a game I didn't watch at all.



Red Sox took the Angels and spanked them with homeruns. And I had to grudgingly admit that the other Marlin totally brought it last night. I muted the broadcast (usually McCarver is the only one to get that) because of the verbal fellatio going on with the TBS broadcasters. They started in on the glories of Beckett in about the 1st inning, and moved on to the dream world of Fenway and the whole glorious nation of New England. How could the Angels stand a chance when they had to face the Messiah?


Sox 4 Angels 0

I think if the camera filmed only Carlos Zambrano for an entire game, it would still be damn fine entertainment. The best part of the evening was Muhammed Ali being in the stands and then seeing O-Dog in the dugout and then imagining that the two met. Brandon Webb was pretty gutsy, as was Zambrano. But Carlos was pulled, after 6 innings and only 85 pitches, to keep him fresh for Game 4 and the pen wilted. Oh Lou, not so sweet. I didn't see the post-game press conference, but I bet it was pretty snarly. And Arizona closer Valverde did a pretty good Zambrano impression.

D-Backs 3 Cubs 1




I didn't watch the Rockies beat the Phillies, though I did just watch Kaz Matsui hit a Grand Slam in game 2. Canadian boy Jeff Francis pitched 6 solid innings.




Rockies 4 Phillies 2

Day 2 of No Jays

If I was a Padres fan, I'd be pretty pissed. Matt Holliday, who is many kinds of MVP fun, slid home in dramatic fashion, in the bottom of the 13th, ending an epic battle of tie-breaking regular season ending wildcardness. Holliday scraped his chin belly-sliding and seemed a little dazed as his teammates swarmed him and the Denver fans went mental. First Playoffs since 1995! WOOO!

Except, it seems Holliday was so dazed he forgot to touch home plate. Michael Barrett (who I believe was traded in a straightjacket by the Cubs) did a pretty awesome job blocking that plate, got a hold of the loose ball and tagged Holliday's MVP ass out. But the call had already been made and the ump probably misplaced his balls.



Trevor Hoffman, though he blew the save, still has awesome hair.



And I've pretty much decided that the Jays could've beat either of these teams.