People have been warning me all year, "Don't say the Sox are going to win the World Series! You'll jinx them!" Come on guys (and girls), the Sox are already cursed; a jinx couldn't possibly be any worse. In all seriousness though, this is going to be their year. It's inevitable. The Red Sox have the best offense in baseball and the best starting pitcher in baseball. They are a Cinderella story, the underdog, America's team, the bandwagon team, THE team! Can you feel my excitement jumping off the page or what?
Okay, okay, I'm calm now. Sorry about that little episode. Now here's my top five reasons why the Red Sox will beat the A's in the Divisional Series:
Offense wins games; pitching wins championships.
This is the Divisional Series, not the World Series, and the Sox in a five-game series will easily outslug the A's. With Pedro pitching twice, Boston will only need to score a couple runs in his starts to win. The A's may have the best starting rotation in the American League even without Mark Mulder, but the Sox have had Rich Harden's number thus far this season, and Ted Lilly is hardly a savior in game three. The only chance the A's have of shutting down the Sox lineup is squeaking by in game one against Pedro and praying that the Sox bullpen flounders in game two. If the Sox come back to Boston with a split, you can be sure they will put on a hitting exhibition at home.
Home Field Advantage
I'm sure the A's have a great fan base and great support in Oakland, but no fans give their team support like Boston's fans. How can the Red Sox not win both games in Boston? Fenway is already one of the loudest baseball parks in America during the regular season, I can't even imagine what it will be like during the playoffs. You'd be able to power one of those "gas-free" cars with all the energy at Fenway Park.
Willie Mays Hayes: "I hit like Mays, and I run like Hayes."
Lou Brown: "Well, you may run like Mays, but you hit like shit."
This quote from my favorite movie, Major League, best describes the A's. They may have great pitching and fielding, but their hitting sucks! They batted a miserable .254 as a team on the season. Against a better hitting squad, I might worry about the Sox bullpen, but I think even Scott Williamson could retire the A's. And it should have surprised no one that Miguel Tejada followed up his MVP season with a very sub-par performance this season.
Hair styles: the mullet
Have you see Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon's hair? Damon looks like he came straight from his surfboard to the ballpark every night. The Red Sox have some of the best mullets in Major League baseball history, and Dennis Eckersley, the King of all Mullets, is an announcer for NESN! If that's not a reason the Red Sox will come out on top, I don't know what is.
It's destiny.
Do I need to say anything else?
NFL undefeated shockers
After four weeks of NFL play, six teams are undefeated. The two biggest surprises amongst the undefeated teams have got to be the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings.
With a new quarterback at the helm and their star running-back banged up, the Broncos have suddenly burst upon the scene as a member of the NFL elite. Who would have predicted that Jake Plummer would make Colorado fans forget they ever heard the name Brian Griese? John Elway who? Although the offense struggled a bit without Clinton Portis this weekend, Jake the Snake and company are averaging just under 30 points a game and 350 yards a game, while the defense has held its opponents to a measly 12 points per game. I can't really imagine the Broncos continuing this torrid pace and I see them finishing the year around 10-6, but even 10 wins would be a great accomplishment for this team.
The Vikings are one of the teams in the NFL that you either love or hate, and Randy Moss is the shining member of the "Love-Hate Club." Moss' three touchdowns this weekend in the absence of Daunte Culpepper makes me wonder whether it's Culpepper's fault that Moss has struggled at times over the past two seasons. Gus Frerotte, a last minute substitute for the injured Culpepper, reminded many Vikings fans of Randall Cunningham, throwing for four touchdowns and 267 yards against the 49ers.
I must say however, that I also see the Vikings stumbling a bit as the season progresses, finishing about 11-5, but easily winning the very weak NFC North division. The Vikings are far and away the most talented team in their division, and barring a season-ending injury to Moss, will still be around in early 2004 as the playoffs begin.