Liveblogging: 2007 World Series, Game 2
5:00 PST: Okay, I'm back. Game 2 pre-game coverage is just about to start. I hear Zalesko (sp? again--I'm too lazy to Google her). She sounds like she has a massive crush on the Red Sox and the city of Boston (is she from New England? doesn't sound like it). It's like that scene in Ghost World where ScarJo says "He gives me, like, a total boner." Now, Eric Byrnes is on. He consistently strikes me as a douchebag.
5:03: The million dollar question right now, of course, is: can the Rockies bounce back from last night's fugly massacre? I'd like to say yes, but I don't know. The hot streak they were riding coming into this series was their single biggest asset. Now, it's unquestionably gone. This wasn't losing a close, Brandon Webb-pitched game, like they did last time they failed to put up a W. Last night's trouncing had almost nothing to do with Beckett. The Rockies allowed THIRTEEN RUNS. A banged-up, geriatric Tim Wakefield wouldn't have given up 14. To state the obvious, the key to tonight's match-up is Ubaldo Jiminez's ability to cool down Boston's bats, so the Rockies can take some sense of momentum back to Denver. They're not dead. It doesn't matter how big you lose one game because one loss is one loss, period, and a 1-0 series lead shouldn't send the Rockies into panic mode. But I disagree with Byrnes' claim that tonight's game isn't a must-win for CO--it is. Not quite do-or-die per se, but do-or-be-in-very-rough-shape-in-this-series, for sure.
5:12: Also, this is hilarious. "The Red Sox are once again trying to break the long curse of Doug Mientkiewicz." It was funny when they did this sketch a while back on the Yankees' championship drought, and it's just as funny this time around.
5:15: I'm sorry, but James Taylor is starting to look creepy. To say that he hasn't aged gracefully would be a staggering understatement.
5:18: For the record, Barry (like Joe Torre) has every right to be bitter. And I, for one, would love to see him play a year or two in pinstripes!
5:21: It's McCarver Time, peeps.
5:23: Referendum 67 = (evidently) still good for "trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits." Pass it on.
5:26: Jamey Carroll is reading the Rockies line-up tonight. He's more animated than Helton was last night. Maybe that's a good sign?
5:27: Another commercial break. Fox blows.
5:30: McCarver: "[The Red Sox] are playing an unconscious brand of baseball."
5:31: Willy Taveras is trying to bunt for a lead-off hit? Now, he's 0-2. Brilliant.
5:32: Nice, Schilling pegged him. I'm sure the Rockies will take baserunners any way they can get 'em right now. McCarver: "If you can't hit Schilling, let him hit you." That was actually sort of funny?
5:36: For myriad reasons, I think I dislike Curt Schilling more than I do any other active professional athlete. Kaz Matsui popped up deep...
5:39: Infield hit for Matt Holliday! Runners on second and third! Only one out! Now drive them in, Todd-O.
5:42: 1-0 Rockies on a fielder's choice from Helton. Nice, but don't strand the runner on third.
5:43: Darn. No dice. Inning over.
5:47: A quick bottom of the inning would be very good for Colorado. One down on a Pedroia pop-up.
5:48: Youkilis popped up, too. Two down.
5:49: Excellent. Ortiz grounded out. A 1-2-3 start for Jiminez is a promising sign.
5:52: Another lead-off batter on--Brad Hawpe hit a grounder through the gap on the right side of the infield for a single. Let's keep it going.
5:55: Tulowitzki strikes out after attempting to bunt. The Rockies should be more aggressive than that at the plate, especially at Boston when they're allowed a DH.
5:57: Speaking of which, do pitchers bat in Japan? If anyone reading this knows the answer, please email me (my name--with two n's at the end--at yahoo dot com) because I'd be interested to know. I ask since Matsuzaka is going in Denver for Game 3, and I wonder how he'll fare at the plate. (Inning over, btw.)
6:03: First baserunner for Boston. Jiminez, who's otherwise looking great early, nailed J.D. Drew in the leg.
6:06: No damage done. Jiminez struck out Old Man Varitek. (I know I'm over-stressing a cheap jab, but, seriously, I think Varitek just dropped a load in his Depends as he hobbled back to the Boston dugout. He makes Todd Helton look like a sprightly young pup...Okay, I'm done.)
6:13: Two down already--Carroll struck out and Taveras grounded out. Schilling looks better than decent. The Rockies need to work him hard.
6:14: Another strikeout for Schilling, and 1-2-3 inning for Boston. Looks like we might be in for a pitchers' duel tonight--the rookie phenom vs. the cantankerous geezer. It should at least be more fun to watch than last night's disaster...
6:19: On candid camera, CO pitching coach Bob Apodaca seems to be talking to Jiminez as if he was a literal baby. Pretty bizarre and actually slightly unsettling.
6:22: Baby Ubaldo walks Baby Dustin.
6:23: (Tag as "stating the obvious"): Jiminez needs to shut down Youkilis here, with Ortiz, ManRam, and Lowell looming. Full count...
6:26: Aaannnddd...he walked him. NOT GOOD.
6:30: Whew! Ortiz just scared the shit out of me with a just-barely-foul would-be three-run homer. Then Jiminez threw him something real nasty to strike him out and end the inning. Clutch!
6:34: Lead-off single for Holliday. Good deal. Let's chase Schilling before he goes all (fake) bloody sock on us.
6:37: Shit. Inning over already. The Rockies stranded another runner, which will likely come back to haunt them. Fifty bucks says this won't end a 1-0 game.
6:39: I'm not sure which I like more: the idea of Paul Giamatti as Santa Claus or the idea of Vince Vaughn as Santa's underachieving brother. I'm almost actually excited about this movie.
6:41: They're showing the between-innings interview with Clint Hurdle, who appears to have been drinking. After last night, I couldn't blame him.
6:43: Another walk, this one to Lowell. But still no...wait, I'm not gonna say it. You fill in the blank.
6:45: Hits. J.D. Drew just got one, so never mind about that. And as I type, OMV just scored Lowell on a sac fly. Tie game.
6:48: Another walk. For a guy who's still only given up one hit, Jiminez is starting to look kinda shaky...
6:49: Now Apodaca is shown talking to Jiminez on the mound, and sounds as if he's a stern dad lecturing his teenage son about wearing a condom. Ellsbury steals second. America gets free tacos. I could care less, being a vegetarian who lives in Canada.
6:53: And Jiminez got out of it. I'm gonna go make myself some dinner--and by "make myself some dinner" I mean put peanut butter and jam on bread, so brb.
6:57: Back. Lead-off walk to Derek Jeter Junior.
6:59: Successful sac bunt from Torrealba. Scoring Tulowitzki this inning to put the Rockies back on top feels key.
7:02: No such luck. Schilling pitched around it. Still knotted up.
7:04: Tonight's JLT/JLT gift for Old Man Varitek:
7:08: Buck: "Tonight's game is sponsored by a car you can't ignore, the all-new Chevy Malibu." Wanna bet, Joe?
7:09: Apodaca/Jiminez Cam Episode #3: Still bizarre.
7:12: Jiminez walks his fifth batter, Ortiz, to extend what should've been a quick, momentum-building inning. Now ManRam's at the plate...]
7:14: McCarver on ManRam: "He can strike like a cobra in a basket." LOL!
7:15: The cobra strikes with a two-out single.
7:17: Teresa and I discuss whether or not the Rockies' grey uniforms look like pajamas (I say yes), and Lowell knocks in the go-ahead run. Jiminez is done.
7:20: Teresa on the Samsung cell phone commercial w/ break dancers: "Is that Joakim Noah?" I think I can say with 100% certainty that those words would've never come out of her mouth had we never met.
7:24: Another walk. Another pitching change. Another commercial break. Bases loaded. Outlook not favorable for underdog-rooters.
7:30: Matt Herges got Old Man Varitek to pop up to end the inning. I guess OMV didn't get that Levitra yet.
7:36: More taco talk. Now, they're interviewing some Taco Bell guy. Exciting stuff, let me tell ya.
7:41: Schilling walks Helton. He's gone. Okajima's coming in with runners on first and second. This needs to be a big inning for CO, but Okajima has looked really good in the postseason.
7:50: That might've been Colorado's best shot to take back the lead, spoiled by an Okajima strikeout of Hawpe. We'll see how Boston's bullpen covers the next three innings? What say you? Okajima in the seventh and splitting the eighth with Papelsmear? Sounds about right.
7:53: Lead-off hit for Ellsbury. All the Sox fans who campaigned for Ellsbury over Coco Crisp have to feel pretty vindicated right about now.
8:01: 2 outs. Ellsbury at third. Herges vs. Youkilis. Huge at-bat right here.
8:05: Yikes, did that Youkilis foul ball just bounce off the top of someone's head in the crowd?
8:07: Walked him. Ortiz coming to the plate. Set-up man Brian Fuentes coming out of the CO bullpen. Commercial break. Stay tuned...
8:11: Ortiz popped up. I was going to make some comment about him not seeming as lethal as usual here lately, but I'm just superstitious enough to resist the impulse. Except that I sort of just did.
8:15: Joe Buck: "These days, it is good to be a sports fan in New England. Whether it's the White Sox..."
8:17: Okajima is making his job look easy. Two outs in the 7th.
8:19: McCarver calls Okajima "funky." Okajima strikes out Ryan Spilborghs to end the inning. Boyz II Men sing "God Bless America." I had no idea that they were still together. I actually saw them live a dozen or so years ago.
8:27: J-Pap is narrating his victory dance that followed the Sox winning the AL East. I can't place his accent.
8:29: Joe Buck: "Drew couldn't be any hotter!" I imagine those are words that Sox fans didn't expect to hear anytime soon.
8:32: Fuentes strikes out OMV. Let's see if the Rockies can put anything together in their half of the 8th.
8:36: Okajima strikes out Taveras looking. He still looks sharp out there.
8:40: Okajima strikes out Matsui swinging. J-Pap's coming in to face Holliday.
8:44: I wonder if that's his O-face, too? (Or rather: no, I don't.)
8:45: Infield hit Holliday! The inning continues with Helton coming to the plate.
8:46: Picked off at first! Wow, that stings.
8:51: One down in the Boston 8th.
8:52: Dos. Lugo tried to bunt, but the ball bounced up and hit him in fair territory. On the rare instances when this happens, I relish reliving it in slow-mo because the batter almost infallibly looks terrified.
8:55: From ESPN's play-by-play:
"J Lugo out (hit by own batted ball) to catcher." It just reads funny!
8:56: Pedroia got a hit--and managed to avoid being "hit by own batted ball."
8:58: Buck: "Papelbon with a combination of towels wrapped around his...moneymaker." McCarver: "Business partner." Buck: "Trying to keep it warm."
9:00: Anyway, inning over. It's go-time.
9:06: Helton battled, then struck out. One down. What happened to that late-inning Colorado Magic?
9:07: Atkins pops up to center. Ugh.
9:08: Brad is the Rockies' last Hawpe tonight. Sorry, lame almost-pun.
9:10: And he strikes out. Game over. The line about the Rockies during that incredible streak was that they could win in any number of ways. Now, they've lost a Game 1 blow-out and Game 2 2-1 pitching duel. Maybe they'll recover at home, but things aren't looking hopeful, at this point. We'll see. I'll be back live-blogging Saturday, same time (8/5), same place. Au revoir, for now, sports fans.
5:00 PST: Okay, I'm back. Game 2 pre-game coverage is just about to start. I hear Zalesko (sp? again--I'm too lazy to Google her). She sounds like she has a massive crush on the Red Sox and the city of Boston (is she from New England? doesn't sound like it). It's like that scene in Ghost World where ScarJo says "He gives me, like, a total boner." Now, Eric Byrnes is on. He consistently strikes me as a douchebag.
5:03: The million dollar question right now, of course, is: can the Rockies bounce back from last night's fugly massacre? I'd like to say yes, but I don't know. The hot streak they were riding coming into this series was their single biggest asset. Now, it's unquestionably gone. This wasn't losing a close, Brandon Webb-pitched game, like they did last time they failed to put up a W. Last night's trouncing had almost nothing to do with Beckett. The Rockies allowed THIRTEEN RUNS. A banged-up, geriatric Tim Wakefield wouldn't have given up 14. To state the obvious, the key to tonight's match-up is Ubaldo Jiminez's ability to cool down Boston's bats, so the Rockies can take some sense of momentum back to Denver. They're not dead. It doesn't matter how big you lose one game because one loss is one loss, period, and a 1-0 series lead shouldn't send the Rockies into panic mode. But I disagree with Byrnes' claim that tonight's game isn't a must-win for CO--it is. Not quite do-or-die per se, but do-or-be-in-very-rough-shape-in-this-series, for sure.
5:12: Also, this is hilarious. "The Red Sox are once again trying to break the long curse of Doug Mientkiewicz." It was funny when they did this sketch a while back on the Yankees' championship drought, and it's just as funny this time around.
5:15: I'm sorry, but James Taylor is starting to look creepy. To say that he hasn't aged gracefully would be a staggering understatement.
5:18: For the record, Barry (like Joe Torre) has every right to be bitter. And I, for one, would love to see him play a year or two in pinstripes!
5:21: It's McCarver Time, peeps.
5:23: Referendum 67 = (evidently) still good for "trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits." Pass it on.
5:26: Jamey Carroll is reading the Rockies line-up tonight. He's more animated than Helton was last night. Maybe that's a good sign?
5:27: Another commercial break. Fox blows.
5:30: McCarver: "[The Red Sox] are playing an unconscious brand of baseball."
5:31: Willy Taveras is trying to bunt for a lead-off hit? Now, he's 0-2. Brilliant.
5:32: Nice, Schilling pegged him. I'm sure the Rockies will take baserunners any way they can get 'em right now. McCarver: "If you can't hit Schilling, let him hit you." That was actually sort of funny?
5:36: For myriad reasons, I think I dislike Curt Schilling more than I do any other active professional athlete. Kaz Matsui popped up deep...
5:39: Infield hit for Matt Holliday! Runners on second and third! Only one out! Now drive them in, Todd-O.
5:42: 1-0 Rockies on a fielder's choice from Helton. Nice, but don't strand the runner on third.
5:43: Darn. No dice. Inning over.
5:47: A quick bottom of the inning would be very good for Colorado. One down on a Pedroia pop-up.
5:48: Youkilis popped up, too. Two down.
5:49: Excellent. Ortiz grounded out. A 1-2-3 start for Jiminez is a promising sign.
5:52: Another lead-off batter on--Brad Hawpe hit a grounder through the gap on the right side of the infield for a single. Let's keep it going.
5:55: Tulowitzki strikes out after attempting to bunt. The Rockies should be more aggressive than that at the plate, especially at Boston when they're allowed a DH.
5:57: Speaking of which, do pitchers bat in Japan? If anyone reading this knows the answer, please email me (my name--with two n's at the end--at yahoo dot com) because I'd be interested to know. I ask since Matsuzaka is going in Denver for Game 3, and I wonder how he'll fare at the plate. (Inning over, btw.)
6:03: First baserunner for Boston. Jiminez, who's otherwise looking great early, nailed J.D. Drew in the leg.
6:06: No damage done. Jiminez struck out Old Man Varitek. (I know I'm over-stressing a cheap jab, but, seriously, I think Varitek just dropped a load in his Depends as he hobbled back to the Boston dugout. He makes Todd Helton look like a sprightly young pup...Okay, I'm done.)
6:13: Two down already--Carroll struck out and Taveras grounded out. Schilling looks better than decent. The Rockies need to work him hard.
6:14: Another strikeout for Schilling, and 1-2-3 inning for Boston. Looks like we might be in for a pitchers' duel tonight--the rookie phenom vs. the cantankerous geezer. It should at least be more fun to watch than last night's disaster...
6:19: On candid camera, CO pitching coach Bob Apodaca seems to be talking to Jiminez as if he was a literal baby. Pretty bizarre and actually slightly unsettling.
6:22: Baby Ubaldo walks Baby Dustin.
6:23: (Tag as "stating the obvious"): Jiminez needs to shut down Youkilis here, with Ortiz, ManRam, and Lowell looming. Full count...
6:26: Aaannnddd...he walked him. NOT GOOD.
6:30: Whew! Ortiz just scared the shit out of me with a just-barely-foul would-be three-run homer. Then Jiminez threw him something real nasty to strike him out and end the inning. Clutch!
6:34: Lead-off single for Holliday. Good deal. Let's chase Schilling before he goes all (fake) bloody sock on us.
6:37: Shit. Inning over already. The Rockies stranded another runner, which will likely come back to haunt them. Fifty bucks says this won't end a 1-0 game.
6:39: I'm not sure which I like more: the idea of Paul Giamatti as Santa Claus or the idea of Vince Vaughn as Santa's underachieving brother. I'm almost actually excited about this movie.
6:41: They're showing the between-innings interview with Clint Hurdle, who appears to have been drinking. After last night, I couldn't blame him.
6:43: Another walk, this one to Lowell. But still no...wait, I'm not gonna say it. You fill in the blank.
6:45: Hits. J.D. Drew just got one, so never mind about that. And as I type, OMV just scored Lowell on a sac fly. Tie game.
6:48: Another walk. For a guy who's still only given up one hit, Jiminez is starting to look kinda shaky...
6:49: Now Apodaca is shown talking to Jiminez on the mound, and sounds as if he's a stern dad lecturing his teenage son about wearing a condom. Ellsbury steals second. America gets free tacos. I could care less, being a vegetarian who lives in Canada.
6:53: And Jiminez got out of it. I'm gonna go make myself some dinner--and by "make myself some dinner" I mean put peanut butter and jam on bread, so brb.
6:57: Back. Lead-off walk to Derek Jeter Junior.
6:59: Successful sac bunt from Torrealba. Scoring Tulowitzki this inning to put the Rockies back on top feels key.
7:02: No such luck. Schilling pitched around it. Still knotted up.
7:04: Tonight's JLT/JLT gift for Old Man Varitek:
7:08: Buck: "Tonight's game is sponsored by a car you can't ignore, the all-new Chevy Malibu." Wanna bet, Joe?
7:09: Apodaca/Jiminez Cam Episode #3: Still bizarre.
7:12: Jiminez walks his fifth batter, Ortiz, to extend what should've been a quick, momentum-building inning. Now ManRam's at the plate...]
7:14: McCarver on ManRam: "He can strike like a cobra in a basket." LOL!
7:15: The cobra strikes with a two-out single.
7:17: Teresa and I discuss whether or not the Rockies' grey uniforms look like pajamas (I say yes), and Lowell knocks in the go-ahead run. Jiminez is done.
7:20: Teresa on the Samsung cell phone commercial w/ break dancers: "Is that Joakim Noah?" I think I can say with 100% certainty that those words would've never come out of her mouth had we never met.
7:24: Another walk. Another pitching change. Another commercial break. Bases loaded. Outlook not favorable for underdog-rooters.
7:30: Matt Herges got Old Man Varitek to pop up to end the inning. I guess OMV didn't get that Levitra yet.
7:36: More taco talk. Now, they're interviewing some Taco Bell guy. Exciting stuff, let me tell ya.
7:41: Schilling walks Helton. He's gone. Okajima's coming in with runners on first and second. This needs to be a big inning for CO, but Okajima has looked really good in the postseason.
7:50: That might've been Colorado's best shot to take back the lead, spoiled by an Okajima strikeout of Hawpe. We'll see how Boston's bullpen covers the next three innings? What say you? Okajima in the seventh and splitting the eighth with Papelsmear? Sounds about right.
7:53: Lead-off hit for Ellsbury. All the Sox fans who campaigned for Ellsbury over Coco Crisp have to feel pretty vindicated right about now.
8:01: 2 outs. Ellsbury at third. Herges vs. Youkilis. Huge at-bat right here.
8:05: Yikes, did that Youkilis foul ball just bounce off the top of someone's head in the crowd?
8:07: Walked him. Ortiz coming to the plate. Set-up man Brian Fuentes coming out of the CO bullpen. Commercial break. Stay tuned...
8:11: Ortiz popped up. I was going to make some comment about him not seeming as lethal as usual here lately, but I'm just superstitious enough to resist the impulse. Except that I sort of just did.
8:15: Joe Buck: "These days, it is good to be a sports fan in New England. Whether it's the White Sox..."
8:17: Okajima is making his job look easy. Two outs in the 7th.
8:19: McCarver calls Okajima "funky." Okajima strikes out Ryan Spilborghs to end the inning. Boyz II Men sing "God Bless America." I had no idea that they were still together. I actually saw them live a dozen or so years ago.
8:27: J-Pap is narrating his victory dance that followed the Sox winning the AL East. I can't place his accent.
8:29: Joe Buck: "Drew couldn't be any hotter!" I imagine those are words that Sox fans didn't expect to hear anytime soon.
8:32: Fuentes strikes out OMV. Let's see if the Rockies can put anything together in their half of the 8th.
8:36: Okajima strikes out Taveras looking. He still looks sharp out there.
8:40: Okajima strikes out Matsui swinging. J-Pap's coming in to face Holliday.
8:44: I wonder if that's his O-face, too? (Or rather: no, I don't.)
8:45: Infield hit Holliday! The inning continues with Helton coming to the plate.
8:46: Picked off at first! Wow, that stings.
8:51: One down in the Boston 8th.
8:52: Dos. Lugo tried to bunt, but the ball bounced up and hit him in fair territory. On the rare instances when this happens, I relish reliving it in slow-mo because the batter almost infallibly looks terrified.
8:55: From ESPN's play-by-play:
"J Lugo out (hit by own batted ball) to catcher." It just reads funny!
8:56: Pedroia got a hit--and managed to avoid being "hit by own batted ball."
8:58: Buck: "Papelbon with a combination of towels wrapped around his...moneymaker." McCarver: "Business partner." Buck: "Trying to keep it warm."
9:00: Anyway, inning over. It's go-time.
9:06: Helton battled, then struck out. One down. What happened to that late-inning Colorado Magic?
9:07: Atkins pops up to center. Ugh.
9:08: Brad is the Rockies' last Hawpe tonight. Sorry, lame almost-pun.
9:10: And he strikes out. Game over. The line about the Rockies during that incredible streak was that they could win in any number of ways. Now, they've lost a Game 1 blow-out and Game 2 2-1 pitching duel. Maybe they'll recover at home, but things aren't looking hopeful, at this point. We'll see. I'll be back live-blogging Saturday, same time (8/5), same place. Au revoir, for now, sports fans.
posted by Josh at
4:56 PM
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