Last minute thoughts

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I don't want to rehash all the previews, or go position-by-position on the Red Sox-Indians ALCS that starts tonight, but just a couple quick thoughts and some links for your reading pleasure.

If I had to pick one of the first two games that I liked more than the other, it would be the Indians stomping on Schilling's grumpy old neo-conservative fat ass Saturday night. Yes, he's tough, yes, he's had some postseason success (with a possibly fake bloody sock), but I think the Indians can retire his ass while we're busy doing it to other fat old pitchers. Fausto should be electric also, after seeing him face A-Rod in the ninth, I can't wait to see Big Papi and Manny face him.

If Manny launches a 700 foot home run against C.C. and sits at home plate and poses like he did against the Angels, I expect the next pitch he sees to be right into his thorax.

Not sure about the Amish look, but who am I to judge?



King Kaufman of Salon blames Borowski for his doubts about the Indians:

If the Sox can take a lead into the late innings, they should be able to hang on. You can't quite say that about the Indians.

It's kind of looking like the Red Sox's year, which is how it looks for two or three teams every season right before they get eliminated. The Sox appear to have the ever-so-slight edge because of their hitting and bullpen. Then again that might just be my astigmatism.

I'm going to go with the Indians because of those top two starters, and because I'm tired of Indians fans whining in the letters threads that the Indians get no respect because they're not the Red Sox or Yankees. Now they can whine that I've picked them, which of course means that this is the Red Sox's year after all.
Prediction: Indians in seven.

Slate Magazine (not exactly a big sports publication) actively asks "Do the Indians have the guts to dump Joe Borowski?"

Some great links-to-links. Deadspin is posting blog snippets about each of the surviving teams. "Why My Team Makes Me Happy." See the Indians posts here. Also the other teams here.

And my prediction: Indians in 6 games. Although I wouldn't mind them winning in 5--at home. Indians will rough up Schilling and Dice-K. Pronk will be going to town on that right field wall. And JoeBo will do just fine. The Red Sox might have two World Series MVPs starting the first two games, but hopefully in a couple weeks we can say we had one too.