Red Sox / Yankees Game 2 Diary

Two big games on tonight - plus the final Presidential debate.

I will watch the Red Sox / Yankees game in one room but have the Cardinals / Astros game on in the other room and I'm sure my clicker will get a workout. As far as the debate is concerned - I'm pretty sure that C-Span will re-run it in its entirety later - so I'll catch it then.

I'm feeling pretty confident that Pedro will come up big tonight. People betting on the game must agree because Pedro is a pretty big favorite (-$153 Red Sox vs. +$138 Yankees - which means you would have to risk $153 on the Red Sox to win $100 or risk just $100 to win $138 on the Yankees). The over / under for tonight is 10 runs.

Personally, I never bet on the Red Sox because I don't think it is right and it soils my rooting interest (I want to root for the Red Sox not for me to make money - full disclosure: I've been guilty of violating this rule many, many times - it's more of a guideline really).

My pregame prediction - Pedro goes 7 and gives up 1 run while striking out 7. Lieber goes 5 innings but gives up 5 runs on 10 hits (including 2 HR). How's that for a detailed prediction?

Is Nelson de la Rosa at the game? If he is - do you think he's sitting on somebody's lap?

Who at Fox chose Billy Squire's Rock Me Tonight? Is there an inside joke somewhere? Isn't the video to that song considered the gayest video ever made? Didn't the video to that song single handedly ruin Squire's career? Strange choice. I would have went with Back in the New York Groove instead.

I'm surprised that the Taco Bell commercial includes the phrase "hot steaming".

Yes - Johnny Damon does throw like a girl. Why do you ask? Yes - Tim McCarver has turned into a blithering idiot. Why do you ask? 1-0 Yankees but Pedro looks good.

I don't think that the "Who's your daddy?" chants make a dent on Pedro. I also think it takes away from the "Hoosier Daddy?" chants that should be copyrighted to Bobby Knight.

As far as TV entertainment - this year's series is much better than last year's for the Red Sox fans because no Jeff Nelson or Karim Garcia on the Yankees and for Yankees fans it is better because no Ben Affleck / Jennifer Lopez overload (although Ben will probably be at Fenway). In addition - Al Leiter is MUCH better than Brett Boone.

After 2 innings - Pedro is up to 45 pitches. He needs a quick 3-up / 3-down next inning.

Great just 11 pitches for Pedro in the third. BTW - Fox Sports New England has a Celtics pre-season game on - so no Astros / Cardinals for me.

This site pretty much explains why Tim McCarver is so annoying:

He likes to over explain things. (What we mean is that he likes to explain things in much more detail than he has to. Like, let's say someone hits the ball into a double play. He would say the double play occurred because the defense got both players out in time by controlling the ball and stepping on the bases quicker than their opposition).
He over criticized many ball players to the point where Deion Sanders emptied a huge bucket of liquid onto his head.

Pedro is up to 91 pitches after 5 innings. Unless he has a quick inning - the sixth inning will be his last.

John Olerud hits a 2-run homer. Yankees take a 3-0 lead. That sucks. Pedro is probaby done after 113 pitches. Final line - 6 innings, 3 ER, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts.

Off topic but if St. Louis makes it to the World Series - do you think they will have Ozzie Smith throw out the first pitch?

Jon Leiber throws 7 shut out innings. I hope he's done for the night. My prediction - Sox score 4 runs off Mariano Rivera to win the game.

3-1 but Damon striking out to end the 8th has taken quite a bit of the wind out of my sails. Maybe I should have watched the debate instead?

OK - so the Red Sox didn't score 4 runs off Rivera. It is still a 7 game series and the Yankees have only won two. Back to friendly Fenway we go.