October 22, 2007 [LINK / comment]
Ever since 2004, everyone knows that the Boston Red Sox are capable of amazing series comebacks, so it wasn't a big surprise that they just did the same thing to the Cleveland Indians, who blew a 3-1 series lead. Since Boston already had a nine-run lead, Coco Crisp didn't have to chase down that long fly ball into the 420-foot triangle in the top of the ninth inning, but his spectacular catch made for an appropriate dramatic final out to end the series. Boston scored thirty (30) runs in the last three games, compared to just five by the Indians. What the heck happened? Some people have compared the overpowering Red Sox of today to Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" of the mid-1970s. Here's another comparison: The Red Sox are starting to look like the Yankees of the late 1990s, with a cadre of solid veterans and a steady inflow of high-priced talent such as J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell. Then there is Daisuke Matsuzaka; if "Dice-K" had not won Sunday night's game, that $100+ million deal would have looked pretty stupid. Manny Ramirez's nonchalance about winning or losing must have been very galling to Cleveland fans. But was he being cocky or sincerely unworried? Anyway, congratulations to the Red Sox, who on Wednesday will welcome the Rockies to town for the second time this year. Are the Red Sox ready to play in the snow at Coors Field?