Milton blog

Good Canadian boy Jeff Francis gets the Game One start leading the red-hot Rockies into the World Series vs. the Red Sox

2007 World Series Preview

Having won 20 of their last 21 games, the Rockies enter the 2007 World Series on an unprecedented hot streak. After scoring three runs in the bottom of the 13th to eliminate my Padres in a one-game playoff (I’m still not sure Matt Holliday touched the plate, but that’s a discussion for another day), then shredding the Phillies and Diamondbacks effortlessly, they look almost unbeatable.

That is, until they were forced to wait 9 days to begin the World Series thanks to the deep-thinking baseball schedule-makers. This will be the Rockies’ longest layoff without playing a game since February! Combine that with the fact that they’re matched up against a Bosox team that just rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to beat a very talented Indians squad, outscoring them 30-5 over the last 3 games, and suddenly you realize that even though they’ve won 20 of 21 (I still can’t believe that), they come into Fenway Park tonight as a huge underdog.

Although the Red Sox relied heavily on a couple of rookies (Youkilis and Pedroia) in winning the ALCS, you have to like their experience with many of the players still around from the 2004 championship team that rallied from 3-0 down to take out the Yanks and then the Cardinals for the title. Todd Helton is the token wiley old vet on the Rockies’ roster, but he had yet to reach the postseason before this year.

This should be a good series if you like offence - both Fenway and Coors Field are two of the best hitters’ parks in the game, humidor or not. Boston’s pitching should be ok though - I can’t see Colorado hitting Beckett at Fenway, although they may score some runs off a tired Dice-K as the series moves along, and I’m interested to see if Francona pitches knuckleballer Wakefield in the thin air in Denver in games 3, 4 or 5. The talk is that the higher altitude could really wreak havoc on that knuckleball, so that could be fun. Otherwise, I can’t see Boston’s offence letting up after they completely dismantled the Indians pitching staff. Colorado has some nice arms, and Canadian Jeff Francis has been impressive, but this isn’t your average cream puff National League lineup. The Red Sox have an intimidating array of hitters and I’m afraid things may get ugly…

I can see the games in Boston getting out of control quickly if the young Rockies start to fall behind and get rattled by the tough Fenway crowd. The games in Denver could get ugly also if guys like Ramirez and Ortiz start nailing 400+ ft. homers in the thin air and the Rockies’ offence sputters…

Basically, what I’m saying is that despite the streak, I just don’t like the Rockies’ chances here. Believe me, I have no love for the Sox and will be openly cheering against them (imagine adding Colorado to the list of newer teams that have won championships over the last few years that are just hard to accept: Angels, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Lightning, Ducks, Hurricanes to name a few), but it’s their year. They’ve been the best team in the majors all season and they enter the World Series arguably as hot as the Rockies given their pounding of the Indians, and they’re much more ‘fresh’, having only 2 off days to Colorado’s 9.

My prediction then? Well, I’ll have to say Red Sox in five games. Things could get interesting if Colorado can come up big and steal one of the first two in Fenway, but I see things shaking down like this: Boston easily sweeps the first two at home, then they go up 3-0 in Colorado before the Rockies take one only to lose in 5. I’m also predicting that the Sox victories will be big - much like the last 3 games vs. the Tribe where they unmercifully just kept piling on the runs.

Let’s hope the Rockies make it a series, but my gut is telling me that between the Red Sox and Patriots, it’s a good year to be a sports fan in Beantown.

Now Milton, what do you think?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 1:00 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.