Bruce Campbell in the New York Times

Not sure how he pulled this one, but Bruce Campbell got a short profile in last Friday's New York Times. Blame his new stint on Burn Notice for the attention, but I don't think any fans are going to complain. It's short and sweet, but writer Joe Rhodes does nail one or two points on why people, myself included, like the guy. Specifically:

Mr. Campbell, with his masculine looks and comedic inclinations, seemed poised for a traditional Hollywood action-hero career. He moved to Los Angeles in 1988, did his share of TV drama guest shots, and had recurring roles on “Xena” and “Hercules” and his own series on Fox in 1993, “The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr.” But he was always just a little too twisted to be a leading man.

“I’m not interested in playing the straightforward square-jawed type. I never was,” he said. “I’d be doing soap operas and hourlong dramas right now if I was really into that. But I was always looking for stuff that was more off-kilter.”

For the rest of the piece, head over here: Bruce Campbell's Prime-Time Moment

On a related note for any Bruce fans who might stumble across this blog because I just typed his name, check his website for the city closest to you that he'll be bringing My Name is Bruce. Like he says, "Low-budget movies aren't released; they escape."

A Very Cool Day

So because my company spends money to advertise, we occasionally get invited to events put on by media outlets as a sort of "thank you." Granted, they have to get fairly far down the list of advertisers to get to us, but every so often...

The Boston Globe had an event this afternoon. Softball at Fenway Park. My boss is nice enough to offer some of the baseball-themed events to me, so here's a taste. They had a miniature diamond set up in the outfield - no way we were getting on the infield. Afterwards, a mini tour of the park - box seats for some team history, press box for a rundown of the park's history, and monster seats for... well... to sit in the monster seats. One hour, and the three best seats I'll ever have. Afterwards, some free ballpark food at the Absolut lounge, and thus concluded my Fenway adventure.

Create a Free Slideshow

Not shown - my one at-bat in the softball game. I had a bat. I hit a ball. I reached a base. I can now forever say that I got a base hit at Fenway Park. A-MA-ZING.

The Manny Debate

Figured I'd return from a nearly 9 month vacation to throw out a couple thoughts on the Sox. Fair warning... this ended up as much longer than I thought it would.

At this point, anyone who knows what a baseball looks like is probably aware that the Boston Red Sox shipped Manny across the country to the LA Dodgers this week, thus ending 7+ years of unpredictability and varied levels of Boston-based discontent for one of the best hitters who ever lived. Manny leaves with two World Series rings, a World Series MVP, and lots of memories, though not all of them are about him playing great baseball.

In return, the Sox wind up with former Pittsburgh Pirate Jason Bay. There's more to this deal - Boston also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh, while the Dodgers sent Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to Pittsburgh as well. But I'm in Boston, so I'm gonna look at the impact of the two big pieces - Manny and Jason Bay.

I will say from the start that, given my choice on the matter, Manny wouldn't have gone anywhere. Attitude issues aside, the man is a threat to beat the leather off of a baseball every time he steps in to bat. I have no reason to believe that this would have changed over the next two months had Manny stayed in Boston. But Theo Epstein does not (yet) ask my opinion about roster moves and adjustments, so Manny was sent packing.

Over his tenure as The Powers That Be at Fenway Park, Epstein has gotten more right than he has wrong. Bronson Arroyo for Willy Mo Pena? Wrong. Edgar Renteria? Wrong. Kevin Cash over Dougie Mirabelli... ugh. Even Coco Crisp and the offensive black hole that is Julio Lugo... wrong. But on the other side... Pedroia. Youkilis. Papelbon. Ellsbury. Lester. Buchholz (despite current struggles). Drew (even though we all hated him until the World Series last year). Dice-K. Okajima. Potential in Masterson and Lowrie.

Theo knows how to separate out the good from the bad. The trade of Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 was a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking affair... but ultimately, it was the right move. It dropped pressure in the clubhouse, and let the team get back to being that... a team. From Theo's perspective, he had the very daunting task of looking at this one player, a player who had for years been the face and heart of the team, and saying whether or not that was worth keeping him around if his play was suffering. Weighing Nomar's value as a symbol or character against Nomar's actual value at shortstop and in a batting lineup... I don't think I could have made that call. But he did. And four years later, the Red Sox have 2 world titles. After a lackluster stint with the Cubs, Nomar only played in 62 games for the Dodgers in 2005. This year, he's played in only 27 of their 99 games. And his numbers have never touched those of the late '90s. Love the guy, but the Sox dodged a bullet. (Keep in mind, this isn't Nomar's fault. Something happened when he was hit on the wrist in late 1999, and the most dominant shortstop in the game never got back to that level. Had Al Reyes never thrown that pitch, Nomar might never have changed from the next Ted Williams.)

Pedro went a similar route. Apparent bad blood between the two sides, with repeated claims that Pedro had been disrespected by the management. This was again, sad as it was, a player in decline. He, like Nomar was absolutely stunning at the turn of the century. 23 wins, 313 strikeouts in 1999. Won Cy Young, finished 2nd in MVP voting. Similar numbers in 2000, an off, injury-shortened year in 2001, back to good old Pedro in 2002 and 2003. The Grady Incident in the ALCS was the killer. One inning too many. That was how close Pedro came to deleting the Red Sox ugly history. Pedro's number in 2004 were by no means bad, but they lacked the dominance that he had shown previously. Once again, Theo had to look at this guy, weigh the emotional value vs. the baseball value. Once again, baseball value had to win. And once again, Theo was right. Pedro declined his offered contract from the Sox... he seemed insulted by the contract offered. He signed with the Mets, had one good season in 2005- good for that Pedro, but mediocre for Pedro the Baseball God. Fro 2006 to the present, he is 15-11 in 38 games, mostly because he hasn't been able to get through the last two years without a significant injury. Another potential catastrophe avoided.

Incidents since have been smaller. Johnny Damon was a textbook example of Theo's negotiating process, which is setting a value on a player and not going over that value. The Yankees apparently valued Damon more than the Sox did. What really seemed to lower Damon's value in Theo's eyes - and what the Yanks didn't see coming - was that Damon's speed and versatility were on their last legs. He by no means done as a player, or as a good player, but the attributes that made him unique and attractive to the Sox were on the outs. On a side note, the personality lobotomy he apparently had to endure when he shaved his facial hair - a requirement of joining the Yankees - didn't help him on any fronts either.

Curt Schilling is another chapter that is still being finished. Controversy arose that Schilling knew he wasn't healthy prior to the Sox signing him to a one-year deal for 2008. Schill hasn't thrown a pitch in a regular season game this year. At this point, it's really just his word against his, and it could very well never get conclusively resolved. Personally... it doesn't seem like Schilling's style. On top of that, I think the Sox were right to sign him to the deal, if only to get the guarantee that Curt will retire with the Sox. He's a definite Hall of Famer, and if that $8M guarantees that he ends his career here, where he made such a profound impact, so be it.

All that leads me to Manny. In 7 1/2 seasons with the Sox, Manny belted 294 home runs, averaging just over 39 a season. His other offensive numbers are equally impressive. Every Boston year but last year, Manny earned a Silver Slugger award. But that's the trick. Last year. Last year, his HR production dropped to 20 from 35 in 2006, which itself had dropped from 45 in 2005. RBIs dropped similarly. Once again, he's still one of the best hitters in the game, but that doesn't mean quite as much as it did two or four years ago.

Bottom line, really, is that Manny is getting old(er). He turned 36 in May, and his numbers are doing what you would expect from any slugger in his mid-30s. He's still more than capable, and if the game is on the line and Manny's at bat, Dodgers fans can feel good, because they have a chance to win it. But the Red Sox have made it clear over the past couple years that they will do whatever they need to do in order to contend. At the end of this year, the club held a $20M option on Manny. $20M for a 36/37 year old slugger in decline to play on the Sox in 2009. Because it is Manny, this isn't necessarily a bad deal. Like I said, every at bat is a potential screamer over the wall. But with Jason Bay, the Sox get a guy with numbers not too far off from Manny. They have him next year for $7.5M (the last year of the deal he signed with the Pirates before 2006). And all of that is in a guy 6 years younger than Manny. If Bay can hold his numbers on the pace he's on now, the deal is worthwhile. If he improves, and Manny at all continues his current decline this year or into next year, the trade was a steal. Unfortunately, I really don't think we'll know the final outcome until the end of the regular season at the earliest.

What has become somewhat bittersweet about being a Red Sox fan is that the vast resources at Theo Epstein's disposal allow him to always get the best of the best. Trust me, I am in no way complaining that the Sox have the money to get anyone they want. It's great when those players are at the top of their game. What makes it difficult, and what Theo is apparently better than I am at dealing with, is the attachment. As fans, it is sometimes difficult to take a player that is beloved and recognize that it is time to move on. Nomar and Pedro are prime examples of this. Fan favorites doesn't cover it. They were icons. Despite that, Theo recognized that as good as they were, it had reached the point where he could put together a better team without them. He did it. He made the tough call. He took some heat for it at the time, but history has proven him correct. Will it with Manny? I don't know. But I trust him.

To a certain extent, I almost hope that this is a "bad" trade. Not that Jason Bay falters, but that Manny rebounds and puts up numbers in LA that are so stellar they remind us of Manny in 2001-2004. Because great as he is, he doesn't have much time left where he has a chance at those numbers. I hope he tears up the NL West just like he did the AL East. (I can say that with some confidence, since the chance that any team from the NL West would be meeting the Red Sox or any team from the AL in the 2008 World Series are very slim. I doubt even Manny at his best can handle that burden.) I hope he gets the deal he wants from someone at the end of the year, even if it won't be the Red Sox. Ultimately, I find that I can wish Manny well and send him on his way with no ill will, despite all the controversy, because like so many of the great players who have come and gone through Fenway Park, I know that we had him at his best.

Thanks, Manny. Good luck.

The bi-monthly update...

I think I may very well be the world’s worst blogger. My apologies to the two of you. Anyway, a rundown of what’s been happening down this way

- I got salaried. It’s nice. Somehow, I wound up keeping the same job I’ve had since my sophomore year of college, but now instead of doing the tour guide thing that I was doing, I’m doing their accounting, managing the marketing mailings, and slapping together an outline (slowly but surely) of the next project. So now they’re paying me enough to justify working me like a dog J and also giving me insurance, paid vacations, all the good stuff. I like the work and the people well enough that I have no problem putting off my eventual westward movement another year or three.

- I saw some movies. Since we all know I’ll never actually get around to writing full reviews for them, here’s the minis:

o American Gangster: Meh. Decent enough, but nothing hugely special. Denzel is basically playing the same guy he’s been playing for the last fifteen years, and Russell Crowe is better in 3:10 to Yuma.

o No Country for Old Men: Tied in my head for best movie of the year thus far with the aforementioned 3:10 to Yuma. Josh Brolin is great, Tommy Lee Jones is great, Javier Bardem is goddamned scary. I expect one Oscar nom to be thrown at the Coens for Best Adapted Screenplay, but I fear Brolin and Bardem might cancel each other out for acting nominations. It’s a shame. Jones might have a shot at a supporting nod, though.

o Rape of Europa: I saw this awhile back at the Coolidge, but in light of Pear Harbor Day yesterday, I feel it warrants mentioning. This is a documentary about what happened to what the Nazis referred to as “Degenerate Art” during their conquest of Europe – anything owned or produced by Jews, and spoils of war from Russia, Poland and any of the other countries affected by the European theater of World War II. It also talks a bit about the US concerns for art once they came into the war – it’s a scary thing when you’re talking about carpet-bombing cities in Italy that are home to some of the greatest sculpted, painted, and architectural masterpieces in the world. The military established a group called the Monuments Men, one of whom would be attached to the very first units to enter a city after Allied bombings. It was their job to see what could be done to preserve or rescue the priceless pieces of art that were at risk because of the attacks. Amazing stories, all around. The sheer volume of cultural wealth that was unearthed during and after the war – and the amount that is still missing – is staggering. It’s well worth a look. Check out RapeofEuropa.com for more information, and to see if it is playing near you.

- Another cheap plug – a buddy I went to college with is now appearing in a web series. It’s a fun little story about a group of friends at a fictional college. He plays Shucks, and it’s well worth a look. They just posted their second episode over at Fivetosix.com

- On the Sox front, this Santana trade rumor crap is not really what I wanted this off-season. I was kind of looking forward to people clamoring after our players, and Theo completely shutting them down. I was hoping for a deal to lose Coco and Lugo to get a new shortstop, but that’s not happening. The big thing that bothers me about the Santana rumors is that Jacoby Ellsbury is involved in them now. Lester, I didn’t really have a problem with. Good kid, decent pitcher, great story, but we’re kind of loaded at the front end for next year (Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Wakefield, the possibility of Buccholz), and I would gladly slide Buccholz into the bullpen for a year while Santana tears it up. But I don’t want to lose Ellsbury AND Lester. That strikes me as too much. From the looks of things now, that’s not going to happen anyway. I kind of feel like if there was a deal to be worked out there, it would have happened by now. It sounds like the Twins would have been willing if both Ellsbury and Lester were available, but Theo said no way to that – so far. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.

- For the first time, everyone in my family is coming down to my brother’s place in Cambridge for Christmas. It’s an idea that sprung up from my other brother, because he and his wife are going to be down here to see her family for Christmas, and wouldn’t it be easier if we all did so we could all be together? It’s cool, cause it saves on travel costs (Jay and I aren’t taking the bus up north, nor trying to lug any packages to or from), and it slims down on the number of people who are present. The last few years have been a little nuts – don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy having the entire extended step-family around, cause there’s lots of cute kids who seem to get cuter each year, but I wouldn’t mind cutting down and slowing down a little bit, either. Besides, we have the cutest of the cute (my niece), so we win. At some point in the next week or so, I’ll head out to Cambridge to help Jay lug a tree back to his house and get it into a stand. In the meantime, I still haven’t gotten my mini tree set up at home, because we have a cat now, and I’m pretty sure she’d tear that thing to shreds if we didn’t do something to prevent it. I’m gonna get some of that spray cats don’t like the smell of, and douse the damn thing.

I got a Zune! For FREE! I had an RCA Lyra, which held 4 gigs, and was pretty decent, if a little underimpressive. But a few months back, Microsoft started club.live.com, which is a very badly-veiled advertisement for their new search engine. Thing is, you play the games on there, earn tickets, and then cash them in for schwag. I was saving up for one of the Xbox 360 Pro bundles, but they pulled it off the site. That made me mad. So I cashed in all the points I had, and nabbed a 30 gig Zune. Naturally, they have recently put the Xbox back up as a prize, but since they’re not shipping any till April or so, I’m not too upset. The Zune is pretty sweet. A hefty firmware upgrade after I got it added all the wireless capabilities… the sound quality is good, I’ve been downloading some silly video podcasts… and I have my entire music and picture library on the damn thing, and it only takes up 4.32 gigs! I’m a happy camper.

Yeah… that just about covers the last few months. I got a year older in October… didn’t really notice. I think I’ve past that point where birthdays begin to lose some meaning – I’m not gunning for gifts, and I’m past the point where there are friends constantly around who want to celebrate by drowning our livers. It was low-key and nice. Much like the rest of my life right now. I can handle it.

Till next time… whenever that might be…

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.