2-for-4

Well, that was easy. I feel guilty saying this, because I really do feel spoiled, but there was never really a doubt in my mind that the Red Sox were going all the way once Cleveland beat the Yankees. I even felt a little bad for Cleveland fans after the Sox beat the Indians, but I felt no such remorse for Anaheim and Colorado fans. At least the Angels fill the ballpark during the regular season, but Colorado... welcome the Major League Baseball, fellas! Don't forget, we doing this same thing - playing baseball games - from April through September every year. Feel free to show up.

The series itself went about how I thought it would. The Rockies' pitching finally hit the wall that we'd all been waiting for when opposed by a real offense, and the Red Sox pitching came as advertised. Beckett was money, Schilling showed his age but also some veteranosity to pitch out of some jams, Matsuzaka finished up a just-okay first season about as well as you could have expected, and the bullpen was as lock-down as it had been in the first two rounds. Lester was a great story, of course - so was Aaron Cook - and the Red Sox clearly made the right choice in going with him over Wakefield. I'm anxious to see what he can do with a full off-season of training under his belt. He could still be a valuable pitcher.

I probably would have picked Papelbon or Ellsbury as the MVP, but I have no problems with Lowell. Relievers generally get too much credit in the playoffs, I think, but Papelbon pitched in a few more-than-three-out situations, which I think counts for a little extra. As for Ellsbury... as soon as he scored after his lead-off double in Game Four, I found myself wondering whether I remembered to put the champagne in the fridge before we left for the bar. Good luck in Minnesota, Coco.

This is obviously not as exciting as 2004 - nothing will ever top that - but it's still amazing, and it might only get better. This year's World Series roster featured six home-grown players (I don't count the Japanese pitchers) who all played prominent roles, and it's not a stretch to think they could all be as good or even better next year, and the system still has more fruit to bear. I fully expect this team to make the playoffs for the next five years, which is something I never would have thought even three years ago.

I'll wrap this up because I'm sure you both don't really care, but I just want to say that the A-Rod thing didn't really bother me. Obviously, Boras should have known better, but I was just thrilled that he was off the Yankees. I hope the Red Sox don't sign him, though - he should go to the NL where he won't get booed regularly in four cities.