2007 World Series, Game 3: BOS at COL
Posted by SBG on Saturday, October 27th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
I've mentioned more than once here that the first major league baseball game that I ever attended was on July 4, 1973. I was just eight years old and we sat in the cheap seats down the third base line. I don't know what the tickets cost back then, probably about $2 or $1.50 or something, but a seat like that would be pretty expensive now. Well, a seat in that type of location, I suppose. People probably wouldn't be too happy to drop about $40 or so to sit on bleachers.
Anyway, the game was very exciting for this eight year old, even though the Twins lost. My dad bought my brother and me each a plastic Twins helmet, which we wore proudly the next day. That next day we were driving down France Avenue and came across the Vikings headquarters. Now, it was the middle of the summer and the place was open, but no coaching or player personnel were there. My dad told the receptionist that we were from North Dakota and that we were wondering if we could get a tour of the Vikings facilities. The lady scolded my brother and I -- no wearing Twins helmets, this was VIKINGS territory. We quickly took off our shiny new helmets.
Whoever was there gave us a tour of the facility, showed us the meeting rooms, and gave us glossy photos of all the players with a inkstamp autograph on each them. Page, Eller, Marshall, et al. Fine pictures to hang in a young boys' room. Try doing something like that today and see how far you get.
When we got back from the big city, we showed off our bounty to the neighbor kids and regaled them with stories about the Vikings offices. Somehow, that left more of an impression than the game. Damned Vikings. Well, anyway, I did have that helmet from the Twins game. Except until the kid from down the street, Boone, wanted to try it on. He then proceeded to head down our basement steps and the helmet fell off his head (how that happened, I'll never now, but he was eight years old, too), hit the concrete floor, and broke. Damn, I only had that helmet for about three days. Eff you, Boone. Thirty four years later, I still remember how much I was crushed when I saw my helmet lying on the floor in about three pieces. I think they probably use a different type of plastic for those things now.
Somehow, I think that Rockies fans feel a little like I did back then. They freaking got the prize -- the NL Pennant and a trip to the World Series and their team was hot, to boot. Like me and my helmet (no one else in town had one), they were probably feeling pretty smug about life. But, just about as quickly, things have come crashing down. Hell, they haven't even gotten to fly their pennant yet and things look bleak. I tried to glue that helmet back together, but it was beyond repair. There's gonna be a big attempt at gluing the Rockies' dream tonight, too. Let's just hope that things aren't as bad as they were for that plastic helmet that I owned for about three days in 1973.
My friends Andy and Whitney are in Denver and are going to the game tonight. Not a bad first vacation as a married couple (besides the honeymoon).
Annoyingly enough, mlb audio won't give me the Rockies pre-game. I'm have to listen to the Red Sox pre-game instead.
That is the saddest story ever.
I've never gotten over it -- scarred for life!!!!
Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Watching the game from the UK...0130 in the morn here and no work tomorrow so I'll brave the night and hope for Rockie win to keep the series interesting. Was with my kids at a halloween party earlier and Sox fans were everywhere...unbelievable. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting another bandwagon jumper...even in England!
Welcome aboard!
FYP
'Ello guvna!
Welcome, JB. Is anyone over there excited about the NFL game being played in London tomorrow?
Well...it is the Giants and Dolphins, so that doesn't help. Not as much excitement as I would have hoped. I'm at an Air Force base and there's not even much buzz here. I know about 4 people heading out to the game and they're pretty pumped but for the most part it's kinda ho-hum.
Don't feel bad. I suspect even most Americans aren't too fired up about it.
They really should have had the Colts or Patriots or even someone like Green Bay go over there, not the absolute worst team in the league. I understand sending the Giants, being from NYC, but the Dolphins I just don't get.
I don't get doing it at all. If it had happened in MLB, I'd have been really upset. I don't care that much about the NFL, so I'm just annoyed. Still, the Giants have a shot at the playoffs this year, and you're screwing up their whole schedule just for some garbage about "expanding your market". It's just another way the NFL is saying that money is more important than the fairness of the schedule. I know it's not exactly big news that the NFL is interested in money, but it still annoys me.
Do they use a DH in Japan?
From BR.com:
Since Dice-K played for the Seibu Lions of Pacific League, I think it's safe to say he's not batted much in his career.
According to his Baseball Cube page, Dice-K is 3-13 in his career as a hitter--9 AB w/ the Lions last year and 4 AB w/ the Bloody Socks this year. All three hits were with the Lions. He's a triple away from the cycle in his professional career.
Also, no walks and no bunts for Dice-K.
How does the official beer of the World Series, Budweiser, feel about this game being played at Coors Field?
If this were the World Cup, they would have put tape over the "Coors" part of the park name.
I was thinking of the same thing after I said that. Those orange lion pants the Dutch fans had were awesome.
I would have been really pissed to fly all the way to Germany (which I'm still kicking myself for not doing) to have to drink Bud at the game in the middle of Bavaria.
I'm not saying the Red Sox haven't earned their victories, but does it seem like pretty much every break has gone their way?
Yes, but you could say the same thing about the Rockies for the month preceding these two games.
Ditto.
I knew they should have benched that bum Ortiz.
Whew. Close one.
Really a pretty good inning for Colorado. Boston got a couple of infield hits, but nothing hit that hard. Now if they can score some runs.
JB---is the baseball game on TV over there, or are you watching via computer?
I'm at a USAF base, so watching on Armed Forces TV, but the game is also on regular British TV...channel Five.
Another classic McCarverism....speaking about Dice-K, "When he gets two strikes on you, he can still strike you out".
Thanks for the insight Tim
It sucks that you can't get away from him on the other side of the pond. I wonder why they don't have British announcers doing the game, like how the US networks have their own announcers call soccer games.
It seems to me that it would be kind of cool to hear a British announcer doing a baseball game.
They do have two guys (one british, one american) who do in-between inning analysis. I don't usually watch them, but when I have it's been pretty ameteurish stuff.
The Brits do like their baseball though. I go to the annual SABR meeting they have over here and although it's made up of mostly transplanted Americans, there are always quite a few Brits there too.
Amateurish compared to Buck and McCarver?
What's Japanese for "Cat on the mound"?
Hello Kitty?
速い猫
Nice, E-6
Man, I cannot believe the Rox have to hand the ball to Josh Fogg today. He's like a poor man's Jeff Suppan. Below average K/9, average to below average BB/9, and an average-ish GB%, all adding up to a 5.25 xFIP.
ubelmann, the eternal optimist.
I'm a scientist by trade--optimism is an occupational hazard. (As is pessimism.) I do what I can to base my opinions on the evidence in front of me. (And that evidence suggests that, basically, Josh Fogg is no better than Ramon Ortiz.)
Well he has the whole Dragon Slayer nickname thing going for him, which is nice.
What the hell is McCarver calling Cap'n Tek a Sgt. Major for? He's a Captain, silly.
As for my prediction for this game, I think that Ellsbury is gonna hit for the cycle.
Sounds like that was quite a play.
Very nicely done by Tulowitski. Correct call by the official as well. He got him by about a 1/8th of a step.
Varitek as SgtMaj? I appreciate what they're trying to say, but it's completely off the mark. 'Tek would be a Master Guns.
Maybe a Master Chief?
If he's in the Navy, which I suppose is feasible if he's in Boston.
Then again, let's just be kind and say most Master Chiefs aren't quite in that kind of shape.
He's only about 2 hours from the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, CT.
Varitek (listed at 6'2") isn't tall enough to be a Coastie. You've got to be at least 6'5".
Don't tell my brother that. He's had his heart set on going to the CGA for 3 or 4 years now, and he's probably not going to get much taller than 6'1".
Height is a safety requirement - if the Coastie boat sinks, the entire crew will be able to walk back ashore.
HAHA! I love it. I'm telling him that.
His dream job with the USCG is to be stationed in the Florida Keys and chasing drug runners. I keep telling him he's going to get stuck on Lake Superior patrol.
Sounds like a tall tale.
It's an old Navy joke, so I can't take the credit. I love passing it on, though.
When I was getting out of the Corps I kept being told to join the reserves. I got sick of hearing it, so I started telling people I was going to join the Coast Guard Reserve and keep Lake Michigan free of Canadians.
Could a Marine like yourself get into the Coast Guard Reserve?
Yes I could. I wouldn't even have to go to boot camp.
How is that possible? Could you go to the Air Force if you wanted, or is it more of a Naval affiliation thing? I must admit I don't have the greatest grasp on military bureaucracy.
I don't know all the technicalities, but Marines can move from the Corps to any other service without going to that service's boot camp. Part of it is because our boot camp is twice as long as any other branch. I don't know about the Air Force, but if a Marine moves to the Army, he also is promoted one rank. A promotion in the Navy or Coast Guard would probably be contingent on one's MOS (job).
I would assume anyone joining the Coast Guard from another service would have to pass some kind of specialized swim qualification. Every Marine must pass one for the Corps, but I'm guessing the Coasties test for stuff other than one's ability (willingness?) to jump off high dives with packs and rifles.
Man, the stuff you learn at the WGOM Game Threads. That's really interesting.
In another life, I hope I joined the Coast Guard. It seems like an awesome, rewarding job.
I have no idea where Boog got the idea to be a Coastie, as you say. The McGuire's have been a proudly land-locked clan since the Civil War. The other side of the family is a bunch of pilots. Nowhere in the family does anyone own or even sailed on anything larger than a bass boat.
Luckily for your brother, bass boats probably make up the majority of actual Coast Guard vessels!
I always wanted to be a fighter pilot or even a helicopter pilot, but I was always worried about my vision and being too tall to fit in the cockpit so I forwent (WTF is the past tense of "forgo") the Air Force.
I'm not sure what the requirements are for being a pilot, but I've heard they're ridiculously selective (and for good reason, I suppose). However, I never want to fly in a military helicopter ever again. I've never seen so many wire splices in my life.
When I graduated HS I was still growing and I didn't want to end up out growing the requirements. I ended up with 2-3 inches to spare, but at the time I obviously didn't know how tall I'd end up being. I didn't want to get all the way through basic then be too tall to fly and have to do something else.
I've definitely got a lot more of my mother's side of the family in me with respect to flying. My grandfather has been flying since he was a wee one. He was a crash investigator for the NTSB. He was kinda like The Wolf-he was the one they called on the particularly difficult (read: grisly) accidents. My grandmother used to work on the wiring harnesses of Piper aircrafts before the closed the plant. It is actually the plant on that Wikipedia page.
my h.s. A.D. tried to get me to seek an appointment to the Coastie Academy.
but after having spent a week at Annapolis for a seminar the summer before my senior year, I was sure I wanted no part of military training or career.
Have you considered trying for a civilian pilot's license, Andrew?
Actually, I have been looking up flight schools in the Des Moines area since we started this little side bar. I took an introductory class in middle school, but I decided to put it off until I was old enough to obtain the license, and I never got back to it. My Grandpa did promise that if I wanted it he'd put me through flight school. My Uncle Bryon has a friend in Daytona Beach that will do my flight hours, so if I go to the 500 this year, I will put in a lot of hours down there.
If it's something that interests you, I'd say check it out. Kids will probably come soon enough, and then it'll be another 20 years before you get the chance.
Kids!? Whoa, whoa, slow down buddy. Who said anything about kids?
Varitek (listed at 6'2") isn't tall enough to be a Coastie. You've got to be at least 6'5".
Sure you ain't thinking of KLM Flight Attendants?
The Dutch are the tallest people in the world. [Washington Post]
That's gonna leave a mark.
Wow. Aitkins nailed. Nearly a beaning.
Thank you, SBG. I hear so many ignorant announcers use the term "beaning" to indicate any hit by pitch, regardless of where. I'm glad to see you use the term correctly. It may seem a small point, but it's a pet peeve of mine.
Hawpe. Looked more like a stumble.
Nice
A professor friend of mine who grew up in Colorado in the 1950s hosted our monthly music club meeting last night in his home. The last of us left his place at about eleven. At 4:15 he caught a taxi to the Madison airport, on his way to Colorado Springs so he could meet up with his brother and their tickets to the game tonight.
New Guy half way to his prediction.
Big deal. I didn't listen to all those Twins games for nothing. Leadoff doubles don't do a team any good.
Well, it didn't do the Rockies any good.
Helton just saved a run...for now anyway.
Never mind. Move along. There's nothing above to look at.
This World Series sucks. I want a do over.
This game is a long way from over, of course, but it really will stink if the Series turns into a four-game sweep. The Red Sox will like it, of course, but it would really be an anti-climax to what was a pretty good season and post-season.
Wouldn't it be something if the Red Sox ended up sweeping 2 of 4 World Series' after all those years without winning one?