In the books

Another baseball season over. We couldn't have had a better ending. It `csort of feels like we're sneaking more and more toward total playoff dominance. 2004, we had the sweep, got beaten down for three games, and then won eight in a row to pick up the championship. Two rough years... we'll forget those ever happened. This year, the sweep of the Angels, picked up the first game, then three frustrating losses one after the other. Luckily, if there's one thing 2004 taught Red Sox Nation, it's that you can never, ever count this team out, even if it looks like there's not a shot. Seven games, seven wins later, and we had a pretty kickass parade today.

Once again, the Sox enlisted the Boston Duck Tour boats to carry the heroes of the day. I don't think the turnout was quite as huge as 2004, for a few reasons. It was a weekday... though I'm not sure that alone stopped anyone who already happened to be in the area. Mainly though, it wasn't as big a deal as it was last time around. Of course, that's not to say it wasn't a huge, huge turnout. And I was psyched to be a part of it.

The video segments kind of suck, but keep in mind this is all off my cell phone, and edited in about an hour in Windows Movie Maker.

Highlights for me:

• Jon Papelbon - just like everyone else. At this point, this kid is the biggest reason to watch this team. Per pitch, he is equal to Beckett for intensity, and is just all around fun to watch. If every game he successfully closed got the same reaction as the last few, then even Kansas City would be a thrill.
• The Bullpen - Fox was making jokes about it all month, but the Stomp stuff the guys out there have going on is a riot. Their duck boat was armed with a few single drums so they could amuse themselves and their fans.
• Dropkick Murphys - I have never heard of a band or other celebrity-type group getting such a boost off of a sports team like this. For the Murphys to be adopted by their hometown team must be incredible. And anyone who can claim to have had their career revived by the World Series Champions AND Martin Scorcese? Doing OK.

An awesome day, and a great end to an awesome year. The new season can't start soon enough. But before that? Winter Meetings!

Fall TV-in-Progress review

Fall TV In-Progress Review

So I’ve actually had a little bit of time to check out the new TV season. It’s nice. The networks have recognized that the people most likely to tune in religiously to a show are on the nerdy side of cool, and they’ve started playing to that in more ways than one. In some cases, it’s working. In others, it’s petty, shallow, and lame.

The Good (of the new)

Chuck
Far and away the Best New Series winner. It’s a cast of likable - if a little typical - characters, and even the ones you’re not supposed to like (Adam Baldwin’s NSA agent John Casey) are so clearly having fun that you can’t help but like them. The writing is nice and witty-snappy-smart, and the writers took notes from Heroes Vol. 1 about how to build a nice story arc. Chuck (Zachary Levi) is a pretty typical TV loser – clearly working well below his potential, and bound to reach that at some point in the show’s lifetime. The thing is, he owns the geek in there without remorse. Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) is the epitome of super-sexy-spy girl, and she does it well, but she also makes it believable that she would give Chuck the time of day. Sadly, I’ve only seen the pilot at this point, so I don’t know where the show is going yet. It will be fun to see.

The Big Bang Theory
Yes, I started enjoying this one before I found out Barenaked Ladies did the title theme, though that helped. Again, a likable cast who aren’t shying away from making these guys serious nerds, not hunks disguised as nerds. Not as progressive as it could be – the four main nerds are still the brunt of most of the jokes, but most of the stones are cast by their own. The humor pretends to be as smart as its characters, but in reality it’s all dumbed down, but it still works for a laugh. What sells the show is the dynamic between the four nerds, and how everything changes when you introduce Penny (Kaley Cuoco, a serious TV vet at 22) into the mix. It all works because while the social status gap is clear and obvious to everyone involved, Penny still legitimately likes these guys.

The Bad (of the new)

Bionic Woman
Lame, lame, lame. The premise for this update is presented with the same “what-if” idea as the original, which might work if we hadn’t been inching much closer to that if over the last twenty years. I don’t find Michelle Ryan particularly interesting, nor any of the supporting cast – save Battlestar Galactica vet Katee Sackhoff, but even she’s not enough to get me into another episode of this one.

Journeyman
It’s Quantum Leap, minus everything that made that show good (re: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell and any sort of soul). No thanks.

Cavemen
No, I haven’t seen it. But come on. It’s a sitcom that sprung out of a car insurance ad campaign. This tripe was barely tolerable in 30-second doses. I can’t imagine how painful 22 minutes at a time is.

The Unknown

Cane
Probably the most heavily advertised of the shows I have no interest in. Jimmy Smits is not gonna get me into a show, and a show about a sugar empire (They try to say it’s a rum empire, but its sugar, kids)? Meh. It’ll find an audience, but not me.

Pushing Daisies
I’ve heard from a few different sources that this is probably the best new show on TV, but I haven’t gotten there yet. Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth is a good start, and the premise does sound fun. It might be a DVD pick, but I might give it a shot at some point.

Moonlight
I couldn’t tell if they were trying to pick up Angel fans with this, or if they were trying to make it really clear that this had nothing to do with Angel, but either way I think they cancelled themselves out. I caught part of one episode, simply because of Jason Dohring’s presence, but I don’t think his underuse is going to be enough to keep me around.

Samantha Who?, Aliens in America, Carpoolers, Kid Nation, Back to You, Private Practice, Gossip Girl, Dirty Sexy Money, Big Shots, Women’s Murder Club

This is all the stuff I just don’t care about enough to try. I’ve either heard nothing, seen nothing, or don’t care to look into them. Sorry.

Now for the returning shows. A mixed bag here… here’s the stuff I care about…

The Good (of the old)

House, M.D.
Because really, how can House not be good? So long as Hugh Laurie is doing his thing, it’s really a win-win situation. His new team is getting narrowed down, with some promising and some designed to be disliked, and at least they found a way to keep the old guys around without being stupid about it. It’s only a matter of time before Omar Epps is back in Princeton as well. The new girl (“13”) and Kal Penn are destined to hang around for awhile, I think, but I’m not sure who will fill out the rest of the team. Wilson and Cuddy are as amusing as ever, and I’m ready for another fun season.

Heroes
I’m gonna put this under good, but I must say I have my reservations. This season doesn’t look nearly as put together and polished from Day 1 as the first season did, but I think that might be due to them finding such a hit on their hands, and expectations being so high. I’m not sure I like how things have been split so far… what’s good is that they’ve clearly recognized two of their most popular characters (Hiro and Peter Petrelli), and decided to give them in particular a little more depth and intrigue. Hiro’s story I’m cool with – this take on Kensei is a fun way to fill in their fun little mythology. Peter, I’m not sold on yet. I am assuming his exploits in Ireland will eventually uncover some sort of plot that will lead him back to the “Boogeyman” character who’s going after the old heroes, but right now, it looks more like they are aiming him toward a spinoff, which I know they’re not, but I don’t like the direction yet anyway. Still, lots of good stuff to look forward to – the Parkman/Mohinder/Noah team is cool, Claire is getting predictably anxious (even if I hate hate hate her new boyfriend, who is just bound to turn on her/die at some point), they’re just getting around to Nikki, lots left to explore with Nathan, and Kristen Bell’s debut is still on the horizon. Straighten out Peter, get Hiro back to help at some point, don’t waste the massive amount of talent they’re sitting on, and it’ll work out to another solid season.

Bones
I haven’t seen all of the new ones, but it seems like they’ve started pushing forward with the romance angle with renewed vigor. This is the only show that I’m really OK with absolutely no character evolution at all – most of the Jeffersonian supporting cast hasn’t really changed since day one – even Zack’s constant references to how he’s changed since returning from Iraq are made with full realization that he hasn’t changed a bit. And that’s why it’s funny. My only gripe thus far is that it looks like there’s a new department shrink, played by someone other than Stephen Fry, and that, I am not cool with.

The Bad (of the old)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Admittedly, this is a show for which I have no love to begin with. However, my girlfriend is somewhat obsessed, so we tend to catch it on Tuesdays. I think it’s my payback for making her watch Veronica Mars, which I could never get her to love nearly as much as I did. I’ve always found it boring, but the cases they investigated, while repetitive as all hell, were at least usually satisfying in their repetition. The last two weeks have been some miserable, miserable TV. Blatant rips at the predator-harboring nature of “Second Life” and other online non-“game” communities? Come on. This exceeds a simple warning of the dangers of such communities. And then last week? Clarissa and Beaver? Seriously??

The Unknown

Prison Break
I haven’t kept up with Scofield this year, though not because I didn’t want to. Opposition to Chuck is an unenviable position this year, I think. I will catch up eventually, as my brother tells me it’s still as insanely, improbably fun as it was last year, but I haven’t gotten there yet.

24
Naturally, since it’s not on the air yet. I gotta say, I’m nervous. Last season seemed to be stretching me a little more than even I wanted, and I give 24 a pretty wide acceptance of basically anything. The return of Soul Patch Almeida is promising, but I can see where it could also be a big disaster. Thankfully, the showrunners are aware that the show is in need of a different direction, and seem to be willing to give it that. News from Fox about the first different direction being nixed for budget constraints isn’t encouraging, though. We’ll see what happens.

So that just about covers what’s on my TV. Naturally, a lot of this is getting pushed to the side for the next two weeks or so while the Sox make their postseason drive – even my faves Chuck and Heroes are gonna have to wait tomorrow night. Nothing else show-wise has popped onto my horizon, but if it does, you know I’ll be back…

2 down, 9 to go

Prediction, cause in the end, the result is all that matters: Sox 5, Angels 2; Sox advance to the ALCS.

There's no denying that the Red Sox are rolling right now. Between the pitching match-up, the offensive dominance, and the general morale the Sox players must have coming into L.A., I've got absolutely no reason to believe that the trend will change. Here's why:

• Pitching
• On paper, these two are nearly a dead lock this season. Weaver (13-7) finished with a better 2007 record than Schilling (9-8). He threw ten more innings than Schill, but also allowed 13 more hits and 9 more runs. Weaver wins in strikeouts - 115 to Schills 101 - but Curt only walked 23 to Weaver's 45. Schill's control has been impeccable all year, especially in the second half when he's noticeably been mixing in more changeups and cutting down on the splitters. Weaver threw 10 1/3 innings against the Sox this season in two starts, going 0-1 with a not-too-solid 6.97 ERA. The hitters did their damage, 8 runs with a .311 average. Schill fared better against the Angels, going 2-1 in 3 starts with a better-but-still-less-than-awesome 4.05 ERA. Anaheim got him for .263, but got to him for 9 runs - but that's kind of OK, considering Schill threw 20 innings against them. 3 homers given up apiece. It's a real close match.
  
• As far as I'm concerned, though, this is Schilling's stage. This is what he does. It's not just the sock. I mean, the sock is a big part of it, but it's not just that. The reason Theo went after Schilling in the first place was his part in starting the Yankees' current ring drought with Arizona in 2001. He strives for the big game, he thrives in the big game, and he will deliver tonight. Is it going to be 2004 for Schilling? No, I think that guy is gone. But it's going to be the new Schilling that we've seen in fits and starts this season - a veteran who executes as well as anyone in the league, so long as he remembers that he can't blow guys away with power anymore. And honestly, there's probably a part of Schilling that has a little comfort knowing that even if he doesn't shut the door tonight, Josh Beckett is ready to slam the door tomorrow night. Certainly no one wants that, but working with a safety net guarantees a better show, because the performer has that extra confidence.
  
• All that being said, who knows? Jered Weaver has never made a playoff start. Maybe he will step it up to a level that will equal or top Schilling, and he'll keep the Angels in this thing for another night
• Batting
• Manny's back. Vlad is not. Papi is Papi again. Sounds like 2-0, Red Sox. Oh wait...
• No, seriously. I think everyone on the team is going to take some momentum off of Manny's walk-off the other night. They go into Anaheim as the team to beat, with morale and momentum on their side. These players feed off that feeling, I think better than any other team in the league. The Sox and the Yankees do it best, and right now, only one of those teams have given their fans anything to cheer about.
• Ball mashing - ten AL guys have hit homers in the playoffs thus far. Ten guys representing three of the four AL teams. Guess who isn't represented.
• We've got guys on streaks like nothing else. Drew has picked up the pace since September. Ortiz is looking more and more like the guy who threw the whole team on his back for the last three years. Mike Lowell is an RBI-hitting robot dressed like a third baseman. Manny is, by his own admission, a bad man - that three-run shot Friday night put him 2nd on the RBI list for the playoffs, behind Kenny Lofton. Then there's the wild cards - Dusty, Youkilis, Varitek, even Coco and Lugo will produce sporadically, and the first three are prone for hot streaks. Pedroia should be getting his Rookie of the Year trophy soon, and a nice showing in the playoffs can only help that.
• The Angels have only managed 3 runs in the first two games, and all three came off of Dice-K, who, let's face it, hasn't been quite what we expected. He certainly wasn't bad, especially not for a Major League rookie, but it's gonna take another season or two to get our money's worth for $100M.
• The Angels guys who got those 3 RBIs? Cabrera, Figgens and Mathis are 3-for-20 in the series, hitting a painful .150, and not a home run in the bunch. Our guys? Manny, Drew, Lowell, Papi and Youk combine for 10-30 - .333 ain't bad. 3 homers from the group thus far, and 10 walks - Papi has 5 by himself, with an ass-kicking OBP of .889. And with Manny looking like himself again, they're gonna have to start pitching to Papi again.
• No. Vlad.
• Fielding
• OK, I don't really know anything about fielding. But Youk and Dusty do ridiculous things on the right side, Lowell's got a Gold Glove and snags anything in his area, and we're not paying Lugo for his bat. Coco is a sprinting, diving machine, so as long as we can keep Manny from doing something stupid (like overrunning the bounce on Friday), we should fare OK. For the Angels... Cabrera is always solid, as is most of their infield, but I think Vlad on DH duty is hurting them in the outfield. That's a cannon they could use, especially since the Red Sox have a fast team (Lugo, Coco, Dusty, Youk - remember that inside-the-park homer this summer? I was at that game - and Ellsbury off the bench).

So yeah. Sox in 3, and a nice rest until the ALCS. As for the Yankees? I'd like to see them swept off the playoff map, especially with Clemens making his 18th "last start ever," but the Yankees don't go like that. They'll push it to at least a 4th, and quite possibly a 5th game. Clemens will hold on just long enough to get a win, before turning it over to Chamberlain, the real pitcher the Yankees ought to be building around. Of course, they will need some offensive help. At the beginning of the season, there were shirts being sold around Fenway that said "A-Rod: Mr. April, Miss October." The Yanks got to October, but A-Rod seems to be neutered. The first two games of the series with Cleveland, the clear-cut AL regular season MVP has gone 0-for-6 with 3 Ks and 2 walks. No homers, no RBIs, NOTHING. Maybe he will remember to turn on the hitting machine this afternoon, but oh well. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing that series go five games, cause regardless of who wins, they will go into the ALCS tired. And then the Red Sox, who I SWEAR are going to sweep this afternoon, will pick them off on their way to the World Series.

2 games down. Magic number is 9. GO SOX.