Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 182 Editor's Choice: 38
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The Series and A-Rod
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Boston played better. That's all. They pitched great. They got key hits. They play very good defense. Every day someone stepped up to provide the big play. Ellsbury passed his audition for the CF job on national television. Francona made good choices. It appeared the Sox' scouts did a great job dissecting the Rockies hitters and pitchers. The Red Sox showed everyone what they are -- a terrific team.
The Rockies got to the WS on an amazing 21 out of 22 streak. The streak simply ended four games too soon. They have good pitching, good young players and an energized fan base. We'll see them in the postseason again.
It would have been nice to have a 7-game series but sweeps can show you things, too. There were a lot of plays that could have gone either way if the ball or bat or glove was an inch or so this way or that.
Congratulations to the Sox.
The only bad thing was Scott Boras' obvious move to steal the Sox' moment by frantically trying to inform everyone that A-Rod was opting out of his contract. I thought Fox could at least have waited until the inning was over. I'm sure opting out was the plan all along. There is just too much money out there.
When A-Rod was available the last time, then-Mets GM Steve Phillips said the Mets wouldn't bid for him because it would set up a 24 to 1 clubhouse. He claimed A-Rod wanted special endorsement rights, to be the "face" of the Mets with his photo bigger than Piazza's in any advertising and other weird perks. At the time everyone thought Phillips was just trying to explain away the Mets' decision not to sign A-Rod. Turns out he was right.
Now Rodriguez says the Yankees are too much in flux for him. Rivera, Posada and others are not yet signed. Ha! A-Rod has the right to sign wherever he wants for as much as he can get, but spare me the notion that A-Rod gives a damn who his teammates are other than Hamilton, Jackson, Grant, Franklin and Salmon P. Chase (Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, inventor of the US savings bond, and on the $10,000 bill).
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The Series 2
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I would like to mention the Sox' scouting crew again. They appeared to have given the pitchers and the defense great advice about how to pitch and defend against the Rockies hitters.
Even when the Rockies got basehits the Red Sox fielder was always in the camera frame, meaning he was not out of position for that hitter. Even on drives to the wall, the outfielders were always quickly there to get the ball. Manny quickly got the ball into the infield to keep runners close. On the drive that got over Manny's head, he was hustling and he just missed what would have been a great catch. He was in the correct position for defense. I wish Fox had had the camera angle to show us what kind of jump he got on the ball. The prairie that is the outfield at Coors Field is much bigger than the patch of grass at Fenway. Some people expected this to cost Boston runs with Manny out there, but it didn't.
Papelbon's easy pickoff of Holliday showed the scouts had warned just how he went about stealing.
The Sox' win was simply great work by everyone in the organization from the players to the coaches to the scouts.
As for the 8-day layoff for the Rockies, I am sure it hurt them, mostly their relief pitchers. But it can only excuse Game 1.
The Rockies lost Games 2 and 4 by one run. In Game 3, they closed the gap to one run. Only one Rockie starter got past the 5th inning. How many times did the Sox score in the inning after the Rockies got close? At times the Rockies played poor defense. Hurdle made some mistakes such as bringing his infield in early in a couple of games.
The Red Sox starters performed better. The Red Sox relief corps pitched better. Papelbon pitched 4.1 innings in the WS giving up no runs. He pitched 10.2 innings in the postseason with no ER. Those are Mariano Rivera numbers.
The Rockies are not a bad team. They just ran into a better team that was also playing well. Talent usually tells. A hot team with a hot pitcher can run the table in the postseason as the Dodgers did in 1988 with Orel Hershiser. If only the Rockies had had a hot pitcher.
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Al is always right
[Read the article: Has Al Gore's fat lady finally sung?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why would Al Gore want to be president now? Next president will be dealing with the mess Bush left in Iraq and the Middle East. Dollar is south of Filene's Basement. Recession looms. 3 million families will have lost their homes. Rest of the world hates us or is laughing at us. It will take a decade to undo Bush's damage.
Meanwhile, Al is riding high. Oscar, Emmy and Nobel Prize all in one year. Events have proven him right about everything. Maybe AL was the smartest guy in the room during the Clinton years.
The world is his stage now. Being president would be a demotion.
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Best small car ever
[Read the article: The Smart car is coming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The best small car ever made ceased production in 1991. It was the Honda CRX, a 2-seater. It got 40 MPG but because of its weight (less than 2000 pounds) and short stature (just 13 feet long) it was a little rocket. It wouldn't pass safety muster now (no airbags, no ABS, no steel panels in the doors, etc.), but Honda could update it and make a fortune. Honda quality, 40 MPG and fun to drive. How could it lose?