by Alex Friedman
Sometime during Thursday's chess match, a baseball game broke out. Game Two at Fenway Park - the Red Sox 2-1 white knuckle victory over the gutsy Colorado Rockies proved one thing: there is nothing better than October Baseball.
Baseball is not merely a child's game played by men. There are magical, mystical and absolutely mythical moments that happen on the diamond, and a great - GREAT - World Series game like Thursday's reminds us of some of the unique qualities of the Game:
- There is no clock in baseball.
- It's the only sport where the defense controls the ball.
- The very best hitters in the game fail seven out of ten times.
- Coded hand signals are how coaches and players communicate.
- The game can be stopped at any time by a manager walking onto the field.
It's Chess... Chess with leather and dirt and wood and tobacco spit.
Papelbon Picking Off Mills
Allow me to wrangle my attentional deficiencies for a moment and share one notable play. A play that though lasting less than a second represented thousands of hours of work by many many people.
Top of the 8th inning, Red Sox lead by one run, Rockies up, two outs. Matt Holliday, the batting champion and likely MVP of the National League, and all-around Baseball Stud, is on first. The Great Flamethrower Papelbon has dramatically come in to close the game after a solid Schilling and brilliant Okijima.
Given the signal, from the dugout through Varitek, Papelbon comes to the set. BANG - Holliday is picked off at first and the inning is over. Huh? Papelbon doesn't ever even look at runners? Whahappen?
As Francona and Sox Bench Manager Brad Mills came out on the field before the pitch, to check on a shaken up Pedrioa, they noticed the Rockies first base coach jabbering wildly at Holliday. Mills pulled a color-coded chart out of his pocket - representing untold hours of scouting reports and arcana - and saw that Holliday likes to steal only on the first pitch when there's two outs.
He also knew that they knew that Papelbon doesn't try to pick off runners. You know what happened next? The FIRST PICKOFF EVER by Papelbon. Inning Over. The Rockies looked like The Shockies (sorry). Threat Averted, Red Sox Win.
Baseball is fascinating and beautiful game played by tremendous athletes, but strategy, and preparation, and intrigue, and subterfuge all come into the psychological battles waged between dugouts.
Through two games, the Rockies have not only been out-piched and out-hit, they have been outmanaged. Think of all the people who were involved in that split-second play, from Papelbon to the intern who runs the laminating machine. Helluva play, helluva game.
The Wild West
The Series has shifted West, and I really believe the Rockies are going to make a battle of it. I will be reporting from Denver beginning with Game 3 Saturday night, bringing my Kamikaze-pilot Halloween costume to support Matsuzaka-san.
My belief that the Rockies will win one of the next two has nothing - nothing - to do with my only having tickets to games 3 and 5. I'm really excited, and will faithfully represent Red Sox Nation and report back dutifully.
I must end here, as my friend in Colorado said no tickets - and he means it - unless I show up with 10 pounds of Vineyard Bay Scallops. I've got a lot of shucking to do.
Loving Every Minute,
Alex Friedman
Video
Alex Friedman checks in with a gaggle-o-girls (and guy) at Mocha Mott's to get their opinion on the Rockies and rally a little support for the Red Sox. It didn't take much.
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