they COULDN'T make it easy, could they. not that it ever was, in my mind - i was nervous when it was still a perfect game with an 8 run lead, that is how much i respect the red sox offense (and how superstitious i am about broadcasters talking about perfect games makes me. those fox bastards made me made me want to pull a kevin brown on the television by mentioning it every two seconds). disgust at nearly blowing a ginormous lead and having to use mo aside, there is something important to take from this: the yankees won a game everyone expected them to get dominated in. voodoo works. schilling was brought to boston to be the difference maker and failed the first test. his creaky ankle means more is riding on pedro's shaky little shoulders. am i predicting anything? god, no. but don't count your chickens and all that. people bemoan the yankees staff and point to the boston 1-2, but even that guarantees nothing. i guess having seen the presses lost darlings, clemens-wells-pettitte, all lose control of big games makes me leery of that kind of talk.

The Red Sox would be wise to spare themselves the mirage of the late-night rebellion on Mike Mussina's perfect game, the injection of a little uncertainty into a Game 1 that had once looked impenetrable for the Yankees. It was largely irrelevant in the wake of the biggest, boldest truth of the night: The reason they believed this American League Championship Series would be different, this season liberating, had been battered and beaten.

Curt Schilling had been crushed. The way that troubled right ankle left him struggling to produce the power to bring those fastballs beyond a tame 88 miles per hour, bringing his sliders with bite, the Sox suddenly lost the sure thing they believed separated themselves from the Yankees.

"The Yankees beat me," Schilling said in the Sox' clubhouse late Tuesday night. "They beat me. The bell rang and I didn't answer it.

"If I can't go out there with something better than I had in the game tonight, I won't take the ball again."

Whatever drama the Sox delivered late into this 10-7 Game 1 loss, it had to be tempered with the demoralizing first three innings where Schilling was a shell of his greatness. The Yankees delivered a staggering TKO to the Sox' ace, turning all that Sox swagger to uncertainty, turning those World Series plans into downright disarray. The Sox could've lived with losing Game 1, but seeing Schilling - the reason they believed they were finally going to beat the Yankees - get utterly humiliated was a devastating sight. [bergen record]

other Things:

- moose can still bring it. bad line, great start. i'm just happy he got a postseason win. he's been one of my favorite pitchers since he came up with baltimore, and when he's On, i am a happy girl.
- bernie can still bring it.
- mo never stopped bringing it but i feel the need to bring him up.
- i know you're excited sheff, but please, no more of that chest bumping stuff with arod. you might break him.
- tanyon turned back into a pumpkin.
- the failed orlando cabrera attempt at the jeter jump n' throw had me in hysterics, as did jorge posada showing bunt.
- i have never seen such dumbass strike zones as i have this year.
- who was it that said something like i'm not crazy about those guys who drive in three runs and let in two? i'm looking at you, godziller.
- i love al leiter in the booth. i just wish those other two jackasses would let him say more than 20 words. i guess will forgive him for talking about the no-no, because he sounded genuinely excited.


so i'm not going to be able to watch both the nlcs and the alcs tonight? what kind of bullshit is that?

Labels: yanquis