Welcome to Game 3 of the 2007 World Series in Colorado.
I'm not in Colorado, but I AM in front of a TV, and reading about the game here (as it happens!) is dang near as good as being there. I promise.
Here's how it works. During the game I'll type stuff, then at the end of each half-inning I'll hit the "Publish Post" button. That way you can read along. Or you can just come back tomorrow and read it all in its entirety. Or you can go outside and do something productive.
I've decided that for every Colorado run scored I'll take a celebratory shot of vodka, and for every Boston run scored I'll take a drown-my-sorrows swig of beer. If this ends up being a high-scoring game (and it might -- thinner air, y'know -- or it might not -- humidored baseballs, y'know) then let my pickled liver be a health warning to you to never play drinking games with baseball.
PREGAME
Major League Baseball is offering "international coverage" of this year's World Series. Seperate from the FOX broadcast, up here in Canada we get the play-by-play talents of Dave O'Brien and the colo(u)r commentary of Rick Sutcliffe. Interestingly, due to my close proximity to Detroit, I can still get the FOX broadcast on my TV.
So who do I pick? The insufferableness Tim McCarver, or the inaneness of Rick Sutcliffe? Suddenly I envy Sophie's choice.
Tonight's pitchers will be Dasuke Matsuzaka for Boston and Josh Fogg for Colorado. If Fogg ends up winning this game for the Rockies I can just imagine all the punny headlines that'll say "FOGG LIFTS FOR ROCKIES" or "FOGG SHROUDS SOX" or "FOGGET ABOUT IT" or something equally as unclever.
As for Matsuzaka, I can't call him Dice-K. It reminds me too much of, Dice Clay, as in Andrew, and the last thing I need is for Andrew Dice Clay to take up brain space.
Because of the non-DH in the NL stadium, Terry Francona had to make a decision. Does he bench one of the most feared hitters in the Majors (Ortiz) or does he bench the man hitting .444 this postseason (Youkilis)? They can't both play first base, although I would pay a few dollars to watch them try. But it looks like David Ortiz will get the start, making Kevin Youkilis a very good hitting bencher. Look for his Bluto self to make an appearance later in the game.
I'll stick with Sut and O'B for now. Less irritating FOXy bells 'n' whistles. The commercial breaks are shorter on this channel too.
The bullpen, apparently, is in the middle of the woods.
And, lest we all forget, the Rockies mascot is a BIG PURPLE DINOSAUR.
National Anthem time... and wow, Carrie Underwood's voice has the power to conjure fireworks!
Let's play ball.
TOP 1ST
Jacoby Ellsbury up first for Boston. I like him, and I hope one day he doesn't play for the Red Sox. Even when he screw up, like that wimpy hit he just now dribbled, he makes it into something positive (in this case his hit was so wimpy that nobody could field it in time).
Dustin Pedroia has all five vowels in his name. If only his name was Dustiny (but only sometimes). HIT AN RUN HIT AND RUN... foul. Try again. Seemingly routine groundball to short, but SAFE at first because Vowels is so dang fast.
Alright, man on first and second, Ortiz at the plate. No outs. Fogg's in some early trouble. So he strikes Davey out. Nice. Take THAT Mr. Big Papi sir.
Now Manny, who's even more dangerous than Ortiz. I'm glad baseball announcers are finally addressing the fact that Ramirez isn't some dumb manchild. He's an intelligent hitter who just happens to speak chop English and wear baggy pants.
Pop out to left. Two outs. Mike Lowell up.
It's a little bit funny to me that the two rookies immediately got on base, but the veterans can't get anything done.
Full count on Lowell. What's going to happen? The runners go and... AND... flyout to center.
Three outs.
BOTTOM 1ST
Kaz Matsui up first for the Rocks. First pitch from Matsuzaka is hit into the right field for a single... NAY, a double, thanks to some excellent ball misshandling by JD Drew. Single + Error, technically. Either way there's an instant man in scoring position.
Tulowi... Tulo... witz... TROY steps up to the plate, trying not to let 'Zaka's butt waggle distract him. He works his way up to a full count. Matsuzaka appears bored and throws his heralded apathy pitch. Strike three.
One out.
Matt Holliday now, perhaps still thinking about the fact that he still needs to touch home plate from that game against the Padres. Back to the pitcher... SNAGGED by Matsuzaka. He then spun around and caught Matsui off second in a rundown. They play around and get the second out.
Todd "Gotee of Doom" Helton now at bat. Holliday at first. Maybe a ghost runner on second.
Ground ball to third. Force at second. Three outs.
TOP 2ND
If each team is going to put two runners on base without scoring any of them then this is going to be a very long and frustrating game.
JD Drew quickly grounds out to second. One quick out. Quick quick quick.
Jason Veritek now at the plate. Veritek sounds like some sort of sythetic fiber.
Holy smokes. Veritek's broken bat helicoptered right through Fogg's legs. The ball trickled to Troy at short, who made a great throw to nail 'Tek at first. Two outs. Extra points for amusing chaos.
Julio Lugo, who was awful earlier during the regular season, has been oddly awesome in the playoffs. Like just now when he hit a double. I don't understand.
Dasuke Matsuzaka at bat. Rick Sutcliffe is talking about home runs for some reason.
Strike three. Three outs.
BOTTOM 2ND
First pitch to Garrett Atkins... is in his face. Off the shoulder, actually. Take your base.
Now Hawpe. On pop.
Strike one, two, three.
One out, man on first.
Now's the catcher, Yorvit Torrealba. Yorvit flies out to Manny in left, who makes every putout attempt an exciting one.
Two outs, Cory Sullivan at bat. I know absolutely nothing about Cory Sullivan. Isn't he a racecar driver or something? Probably, because he weakly dribbles out to Lugo at short. Flip to second, three outs.
TOP 3RD
Ellsbury in at bat number two. Wowie. Stretched that single down the left field line into a double. So once again there is a man in scoring position.
Can Pedroia reach base again? Yes, yes he can. He dropped a great bunt, which Torrealba fielded (when it was closer to Fogg) and dang near threw it into the seats. Helton managed to grab it, but Peds was easily safe at first.
Ortiz, RBI double to right. I'm grabbin' a beer as they intentionally walk Manny. A Rickard's Red... like, for the RED Sox. Get it?
The bases are now loaded for Mike Lowell. No outs.
Lowell single right up the middle (dividing the infield exactly in half). Two more runs come in. It's 3 - 0, Boston, no outs. What more?
Drew vs. Fogg. Drew pops to Troy. Reliable ol' JD, good for an out when you need it most.
One down. Veritek... singles to left. Manny coming around trying to score. The throw from Holliday is... is... is... doggone it, the umpire took forever to call that. OUT!
That was sure exciting. Two outs.
I like how Manny popped up after his slide into home and called himself safe.
Oh dear. Fogg just walked Lugo to reload the bases.
And now feared hitter Matsuzaka at bat... singles? A TWO RUN single?! Five to nothing??!
Okay. Man on first and third, two outs... wait a second, Ellsbury already batted this inning.
Single to center just out of reach of the diving Sullivan. Another run scores.
Hurdle is yanking Fogg, and the bottle I cracked open earlier this inning is already almost empty. Shoot, they don't even need Youkilis.
Who's pitching now? Franklin Morales? He got Pedroia to ground out to third. Three outs. FINALLY.
BOTTOM 3RD
It's not such a good thing when a pitcher leads off an inning at bat.
Strike three. That's why. Down goes Morales.
The mighty Kaz at bat. I kind of enjoy it when a Japanese batter faces a Japanese pitcher. I wonder if they have some deeper level of understanding that they subtly communicate to each other. I wonder if they make fun of the Americans. Whatever it is they're doing, Matsui and Matsuzaka are taking a long time to do it. Kaz keeps a-foulin', and 'Zaka keeps a-pitchin'.
Full count. This has turned into quite an epic battle.
Swing and a miss. Matsuzaka shames Matsui into striking out. Second out.
Troy Alphabetzki at bat. Weak grounder to Lugo. Tossed out at first. Third out. Change sides.
TOP 4TH
David Ortiz first up. Grounds to Kaz at second, who flips to Morales covering first.
One out. Maybe this will be a quick inning? Maybe six more runs won't score?
It's Manny time. A big shot to left-center. Back goes Sullivan. Back... back... caught at the track. Good job catchin' up to that, racecar driver man. Two outs.
Mike Lowell... back to the pitcher. Tossed out at first. Three outs. Quickest half inning ever.
BOTTOM 4TH
Matt Holliday at the plate. Matsuzaka still wiggling his rear. Foul ball after foul ball after foul ball. Then POW groundout to Ortiz at first. One out.
David Ortiz has been doing pretty good down there at first today, considering that his regular position during Boston field play is the bench.
Todd Helton now at bat. Maybe he can hit a six run homer. With nobody on base.
More fouls. Good grief. It must be ball souvenir day for the fans. And on the twelfth pitch... caught looking, strike three. How frustrating. Two outs.
Atkins up again, not really needing a diet. Unless a diet would make him a better hitter. I keed I keed... Atkins has been pretty solid with the bat this season. Not so much in the postseason, but... Oh, hey, ball four.
So, man on first, two outs, Brad Hawpe at bat. Pop out to Lugo. Three outs on, like, a million pitches this inning.
TOP 5TH
JD Drew now a-battin'. Gapper to left center, good for a double. Once again there is a man on second with no outs for Boston. They need to stop starting innings this way.
Veritek... showing bunt? Foul ball. Nice effort, 'Tek.
Strike three. Also a nice effort, 'Tek.
Out number one.
Lugo at bat now. What kind of nonsense will he involve himself in now? Full count now... and Rick Sutcliffe's favorite holiday is Halloween. He said so. He's still saying so. And Lugo's favorite holiday? The one where he flies out to right field. Two outs.
Is this Matsuzaka at bat again? I think he used up his one hit allotted to him. No more. But man, he sure is taking his hacks.
Grounder to Matsui at second. Tossed out at first. NOW who is shamed?
BOTTOM 6TH
Uh-oh, I don't have the expressed written consent of MLB to live blog this game.
Torrealba just Torre-singled-up-the-middle. That makes... TWO base hits for the Rockies.
Cory Sullivan. Fly out to Manny.
Now batting for Morales... Seth Smith. I know less about Seth Smith than I do about Cory Sullivan. But look! Another single. These are potential runs.
Just in time for another Matsui/Matsuzaka battle to the death. A dribbler to Lugo, snags it to his right... throws to third! Gets him out. Nice play, Julio. Two outs.
Still men on first and second. And Tulowitzki Tulo-pops-out-to-Lugo. Great.
TOP 6TH
Jeremy Affeldt now pitching for Colorado. Remember when he used to pitch for the Royals?
Jacob Ellsbury at bat, probably seconds away from hitting a triple or something. Hah, not this time. Grounder down the third base line, Atkins makes a nice little play and stops Ellsbury's reign of terror.
One out.
Dustin Pedroia watchin' all kinds of strikes go by him. Takes a hack and pops out to center.
Two outs.
Big Ortiz... swingandamiss.
Three outs.
BOTTOM 6TH
Hmm... one of the hits I thought the Rockies had wasn't really a hit. I've been bamboozled.
Kevin Youkilis is in the game now, as if they really needed him at this point.
Matt Holliday grounds out to Lowell at third. One out.
I wonder how much longer Matsuzaka can last. Doesn't all that waggling make him tired?
Todd Helton, after another hundred pitches from 'Zaka, takes a walk to first.
Atkins... what can you do to help the situation? Also take a walk? Good answer.
I knew the butt wiggles would do him in. Francona's yanking Matsuzaka for Javier Lopez.
Warm up time.
Wait, isn't Javier Lopez a catcher? He's pitching like one, giving up a hit to Hawpe. RBI. Rockies on the board. I'm going to wait until this inning ends before making a kitchen run.
There's a man on first, a man on second, one out, and a big ol' Torrealba at bat. He just swung so hard he did the moonwalk. Next swing, single to left. Atkins scores. 6 - 2.
Aw, nuts. Francona is taking Lopez out. In comes Mike Timlin, who I'm sure is sixty years old.
Warm up time again.
Spilborghs at bat? Baker on deck? These are just made up players.
Spilborghs, demanding recognition, just hit it DEEP to centerfield. Alas, it was caught. Two outs. No runners advanced.
Jeff Baker, taking huge cuts. Two quick strikes. A ball. Another ball. I wonder if he realizes this is the biggest at bat of his career.
Line drive to left-center... NO, Julio Lugo at short jumped twelve feet in the air and somehow snagged that thing. Curses.
TOP 7TH
Matt Herges now pitching for Colorado.
Manny Ramirez now batting for Boston.
Manny Ramirez now striking out for Boston. One out.
Mike Lowell up now. Mike Lowell down now. Strike three. Herges is making these batter appear fairly foolish.
Youkilis is in the dugout working on his swing, but he's all wrapped up in hoodies and oversized boxing gloves and whatnot and he looks kind of terrifying.
JD Drew can't look terrifying no matter what he does.
Jason Veritek on dek. Deck.
Drew swings and misses. Strike three. Herges totally just struck out the side like it was nothing.
Stretchy time.
BOTTOM 7TH
Holy cow, Philip Bailey just sang God Bless America. Maybe this is the pick-up the Rockies need in order to win this game. Some Earth, Wind, and Fire. Maybe Bailey should pick up a bat, too.
Anyway,
Kaz Matsui leading off, Timlin still pitching. And NICE, Kaz laid down a perfect bunt. Everybody just kind of stared at it. Now there's a Kaz on first.
Troy up. Timlin old.
Kaz scoring MORE points. Consider second base stolen.
Tulotroy hits a dinky little nubber that somehow skips through the infield. Kaz at third. Troy at first. Holliday at bat. Timlin no longer pitching.
Warm up time again again.
Uh-oh, Okajima now pitching. In the outfield Drew was yanked, Ellsbury's moved to right, and Coco Crisp, WHOSE NAME I WILL NOT MAKE FUN OF, is now in centerfield.
Holliday still at bat. DEEP! DEEP!!! HOME RUN!!!11!!! To centerfield. Way over Crisp. Three run homer.
Boston 6, Rockies 5.
Outstanding.
And I like how Holliday was all cool about it, like he hits three run World Series homers all the time.
Helton at the plate now, trying to bat despite the fireworks smoke polluting the field.
I just realized how much Stolichnaya I've got to put in me now. Maybe I'll split it with my imaginary friends.
Helton, full count, BASE HIT to left. Call this game a Top 40 countdown 'cause the hits just keep on coming. Cha-POW.
Atkins at bat. This is very un-Okajimalike behavior. Maybe he finally snapped his brain from that sudden head-jerk movement he pulls during every pitch. And a snapped brain... allows him to give up base hits?
Outs seem to be optional as there don't appear to be any.
Oh, there's one. Atkins struck out swingin.
Brad Hawpe lookin' to hit a baseball now. Also, without a helmet or hat, he looks a lot like Marc Summers. And Hawpe fails the physical challenge. Strike three.
Two outs.
Yorvit up. His number is 8. Yogi Berra's number is 8. I suppose it's a catcher thing. But you know what would make Yogi proud right now? A home run. I bet it would.
Ground out to 'Jima. Yogi weeps.
TOP 8TH
Surprisingly I hold alcohol very well, but I'll let you know if I puke all over the keyboard.
Brian Fuentes now pitching for the Rockies.
'Tek at bat. Hits it to short as slow as he possibly can. Easy out. One down.
I'm glad there's at least one exciting game in this here World Series contest. This one is turning out pretty good.
Lugo now. Lugo now on base. Call it a walk.
Up comes Coco Crisp. Crisp's real name, by the way, is Covelli. Covelli Loyce. Crisp. And not Count Chocula. Regardless of what his name is, Crisp bloops it past the diving Tuloblahblah for a single.
Man on first. Man on second. Jacoby "I'll Probably Get A Hit" Ellsbury at bat.
Ellsbury just got a hit. He popped it down the right field line and Marc Summers couldn't come up with it. Lugo scored, Crisp to third.
Fudge nuggets. Pedroia doubled to right. A couple people scored. And Fuentes isn't making me so happy.
Boston 9, Rockies 5. There goes another half beer.
Youk up to bat. Ground out to third. Two outs.
Manny now. Being Manny. Being growing hair like Predator.
High pop up just past third, which might be a homer in Boston. Three outs.
BOTTOM 8TH
Manny Delcarmen pitching for Boston. Now I guess I have to point out which Manny I'm talking about.
Was that Spilborghs? He just flied out to right. One down.
Willy Tavares now batting for Fuentes. I like Tavares. He might suddenly drop a bunt, or he might not. Whatcha gonna do? Tavares decided that he was gonna line out to the second baseman. Two down.
Matsui up again. Singles up the middle! He's had a pretty good day. But I bet his day would be a bit better if he crossed home plate.
'Witzki up now. And I spy Papelbon warming up in the bullpen. They might think about bringin him in 'cause Delcarmen just Del-walked Troy. Yep, here he comes.
Papelbon now. Holliday pops out DEEP to left. I had high hopes for that one. Three outs.
TOP 9TH
LaTroy Hawkins now pitching for Colorado.
I was on the phone with my wife for this whole inning, but I can tell you Lowell singled to center, some guy named Cora sacrificed Lowell to second, Lowell stole third base (!), and Veritek hit it deep to center to score Lowell. Lugo grounded out to short and the peasants rejoiced.
BOTTOM 9TH
Unless Papelbon completely loses his mind Boston has this one in the bag.
To prove my point Todd Helton pops out to right.
To prove my point Garrett Atkins grounds out to third.
Last chance Hawpe at bat now.
Hawpe now with the fate of the universe in his hands. SINGLES down the right field line. Make that a TRIPLE. I need to pay more attention.
Yorvit Torrealba now with the fate of the universe in his hands. Broken bat to short. Lugo fields it easily. Out at first.
Red Sox win Game 3.
To take a three game lead.
POSTGAME
That was, despite the outcome, a pretty exciting game. At least for a minute there. But now we have to accept the fact that the Boston Red Sox will probably become our Baseball Overlords. I intend to hide out underground, just like I did after the 2004 World Series, and peek my head out in February like Punxatawny Phil. I'll only come out when it becomes clear that the Red Sox will have a dismal 2008 season.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this live blogging of Game 3. And if you DIDN'T enjoy it, I hope you wasted a whole bunch of valuable time reading it.
My brain cells are thankful that no more runs scored.
I apologize for all the pictures of 80s B-list icons.
Hopefully I'll be able to do this again in the future. Probably not this season, though.
G'night, y'all.
I'm not in Colorado, but I AM in front of a TV, and reading about the game here (as it happens!) is dang near as good as being there. I promise.
Here's how it works. During the game I'll type stuff, then at the end of each half-inning I'll hit the "Publish Post" button. That way you can read along. Or you can just come back tomorrow and read it all in its entirety. Or you can go outside and do something productive.
I've decided that for every Colorado run scored I'll take a celebratory shot of vodka, and for every Boston run scored I'll take a drown-my-sorrows swig of beer. If this ends up being a high-scoring game (and it might -- thinner air, y'know -- or it might not -- humidored baseballs, y'know) then let my pickled liver be a health warning to you to never play drinking games with baseball.
PREGAME
Major League Baseball is offering "international coverage" of this year's World Series. Seperate from the FOX broadcast, up here in Canada we get the play-by-play talents of Dave O'Brien and the colo(u)r commentary of Rick Sutcliffe. Interestingly, due to my close proximity to Detroit, I can still get the FOX broadcast on my TV.
So who do I pick? The insufferableness Tim McCarver, or the inaneness of Rick Sutcliffe? Suddenly I envy Sophie's choice.
Tonight's pitchers will be Dasuke Matsuzaka for Boston and Josh Fogg for Colorado. If Fogg ends up winning this game for the Rockies I can just imagine all the punny headlines that'll say "FOGG LIFTS FOR ROCKIES" or "FOGG SHROUDS SOX" or "FOGGET ABOUT IT" or something equally as unclever.As for Matsuzaka, I can't call him Dice-K. It reminds me too much of, Dice Clay, as in Andrew, and the last thing I need is for Andrew Dice Clay to take up brain space.
Because of the non-DH in the NL stadium, Terry Francona had to make a decision. Does he bench one of the most feared hitters in the Majors (Ortiz) or does he bench the man hitting .444 this postseason (Youkilis)? They can't both play first base, although I would pay a few dollars to watch them try. But it looks like David Ortiz will get the start, making Kevin Youkilis a very good hitting bencher. Look for his Bluto self to make an appearance later in the game.
I'll stick with Sut and O'B for now. Less irritating FOXy bells 'n' whistles. The commercial breaks are shorter on this channel too.
The bullpen, apparently, is in the middle of the woods.
And, lest we all forget, the Rockies mascot is a BIG PURPLE DINOSAUR.
National Anthem time... and wow, Carrie Underwood's voice has the power to conjure fireworks!
Let's play ball.
TOP 1ST
Jacoby Ellsbury up first for Boston. I like him, and I hope one day he doesn't play for the Red Sox. Even when he screw up, like that wimpy hit he just now dribbled, he makes it into something positive (in this case his hit was so wimpy that nobody could field it in time).
Dustin Pedroia has all five vowels in his name. If only his name was Dustiny (but only sometimes). HIT AN RUN HIT AND RUN... foul. Try again. Seemingly routine groundball to short, but SAFE at first because Vowels is so dang fast.
Alright, man on first and second, Ortiz at the plate. No outs. Fogg's in some early trouble. So he strikes Davey out. Nice. Take THAT Mr. Big Papi sir.
Now Manny, who's even more dangerous than Ortiz. I'm glad baseball announcers are finally addressing the fact that Ramirez isn't some dumb manchild. He's an intelligent hitter who just happens to speak chop English and wear baggy pants.
Pop out to left. Two outs. Mike Lowell up.
It's a little bit funny to me that the two rookies immediately got on base, but the veterans can't get anything done.
Full count on Lowell. What's going to happen? The runners go and... AND... flyout to center.
Three outs.
BOTTOM 1ST
Kaz Matsui up first for the Rocks. First pitch from Matsuzaka is hit into the right field for a single... NAY, a double, thanks to some excellent ball misshandling by JD Drew. Single + Error, technically. Either way there's an instant man in scoring position.
Tulowi... Tulo... witz... TROY steps up to the plate, trying not to let 'Zaka's butt waggle distract him. He works his way up to a full count. Matsuzaka appears bored and throws his heralded apathy pitch. Strike three.
One out.
Matt Holliday now, perhaps still thinking about the fact that he still needs to touch home plate from that game against the Padres. Back to the pitcher... SNAGGED by Matsuzaka. He then spun around and caught Matsui off second in a rundown. They play around and get the second out.
Todd "Gotee of Doom" Helton now at bat. Holliday at first. Maybe a ghost runner on second.
Ground ball to third. Force at second. Three outs.
TOP 2ND
If each team is going to put two runners on base without scoring any of them then this is going to be a very long and frustrating game.
JD Drew quickly grounds out to second. One quick out. Quick quick quick.
Jason Veritek now at the plate. Veritek sounds like some sort of sythetic fiber.
Holy smokes. Veritek's broken bat helicoptered right through Fogg's legs. The ball trickled to Troy at short, who made a great throw to nail 'Tek at first. Two outs. Extra points for amusing chaos.
Julio Lugo, who was awful earlier during the regular season, has been oddly awesome in the playoffs. Like just now when he hit a double. I don't understand.
Dasuke Matsuzaka at bat. Rick Sutcliffe is talking about home runs for some reason.
Strike three. Three outs.
BOTTOM 2ND
First pitch to Garrett Atkins... is in his face. Off the shoulder, actually. Take your base.
Now Hawpe. On pop.
Strike one, two, three.
One out, man on first.
Now's the catcher, Yorvit Torrealba. Yorvit flies out to Manny in left, who makes every putout attempt an exciting one.
Two outs, Cory Sullivan at bat. I know absolutely nothing about Cory Sullivan. Isn't he a racecar driver or something? Probably, because he weakly dribbles out to Lugo at short. Flip to second, three outs.
TOP 3RD
Ellsbury in at bat number two. Wowie. Stretched that single down the left field line into a double. So once again there is a man in scoring position.
Can Pedroia reach base again? Yes, yes he can. He dropped a great bunt, which Torrealba fielded (when it was closer to Fogg) and dang near threw it into the seats. Helton managed to grab it, but Peds was easily safe at first.
Ortiz, RBI double to right. I'm grabbin' a beer as they intentionally walk Manny. A Rickard's Red... like, for the RED Sox. Get it?
The bases are now loaded for Mike Lowell. No outs.
Lowell single right up the middle (dividing the infield exactly in half). Two more runs come in. It's 3 - 0, Boston, no outs. What more?
Drew vs. Fogg. Drew pops to Troy. Reliable ol' JD, good for an out when you need it most.
One down. Veritek... singles to left. Manny coming around trying to score. The throw from Holliday is... is... is... doggone it, the umpire took forever to call that. OUT!
That was sure exciting. Two outs.
I like how Manny popped up after his slide into home and called himself safe.
Oh dear. Fogg just walked Lugo to reload the bases.
And now feared hitter Matsuzaka at bat... singles? A TWO RUN single?! Five to nothing??!
Okay. Man on first and third, two outs... wait a second, Ellsbury already batted this inning.
Single to center just out of reach of the diving Sullivan. Another run scores.
Hurdle is yanking Fogg, and the bottle I cracked open earlier this inning is already almost empty. Shoot, they don't even need Youkilis.
Who's pitching now? Franklin Morales? He got Pedroia to ground out to third. Three outs. FINALLY.
BOTTOM 3RD
It's not such a good thing when a pitcher leads off an inning at bat.
Strike three. That's why. Down goes Morales.
The mighty Kaz at bat. I kind of enjoy it when a Japanese batter faces a Japanese pitcher. I wonder if they have some deeper level of understanding that they subtly communicate to each other. I wonder if they make fun of the Americans. Whatever it is they're doing, Matsui and Matsuzaka are taking a long time to do it. Kaz keeps a-foulin', and 'Zaka keeps a-pitchin'.
Full count. This has turned into quite an epic battle.
Swing and a miss. Matsuzaka shames Matsui into striking out. Second out.
Troy Alphabetzki at bat. Weak grounder to Lugo. Tossed out at first. Third out. Change sides.
TOP 4TH
David Ortiz first up. Grounds to Kaz at second, who flips to Morales covering first.
One out. Maybe this will be a quick inning? Maybe six more runs won't score?
It's Manny time. A big shot to left-center. Back goes Sullivan. Back... back... caught at the track. Good job catchin' up to that, racecar driver man. Two outs.
Mike Lowell... back to the pitcher. Tossed out at first. Three outs. Quickest half inning ever.
BOTTOM 4TH
Matt Holliday at the plate. Matsuzaka still wiggling his rear. Foul ball after foul ball after foul ball. Then POW groundout to Ortiz at first. One out.
David Ortiz has been doing pretty good down there at first today, considering that his regular position during Boston field play is the bench.
Todd Helton now at bat. Maybe he can hit a six run homer. With nobody on base.
More fouls. Good grief. It must be ball souvenir day for the fans. And on the twelfth pitch... caught looking, strike three. How frustrating. Two outs.
Atkins up again, not really needing a diet. Unless a diet would make him a better hitter. I keed I keed... Atkins has been pretty solid with the bat this season. Not so much in the postseason, but... Oh, hey, ball four.
So, man on first, two outs, Brad Hawpe at bat. Pop out to Lugo. Three outs on, like, a million pitches this inning.
TOP 5TH
JD Drew now a-battin'. Gapper to left center, good for a double. Once again there is a man on second with no outs for Boston. They need to stop starting innings this way.
Veritek... showing bunt? Foul ball. Nice effort, 'Tek.
Strike three. Also a nice effort, 'Tek.
Out number one.
Lugo at bat now. What kind of nonsense will he involve himself in now? Full count now... and Rick Sutcliffe's favorite holiday is Halloween. He said so. He's still saying so. And Lugo's favorite holiday? The one where he flies out to right field. Two outs.
Is this Matsuzaka at bat again? I think he used up his one hit allotted to him. No more. But man, he sure is taking his hacks.
Grounder to Matsui at second. Tossed out at first. NOW who is shamed?
BOTTOM 6TH
Uh-oh, I don't have the expressed written consent of MLB to live blog this game.
Torrealba just Torre-singled-up-the-middle. That makes... TWO base hits for the Rockies.
Cory Sullivan. Fly out to Manny.
Now batting for Morales... Seth Smith. I know less about Seth Smith than I do about Cory Sullivan. But look! Another single. These are potential runs.
Just in time for another Matsui/Matsuzaka battle to the death. A dribbler to Lugo, snags it to his right... throws to third! Gets him out. Nice play, Julio. Two outs.
Still men on first and second. And Tulowitzki Tulo-pops-out-to-Lugo. Great.
TOP 6TH
Jeremy Affeldt now pitching for Colorado. Remember when he used to pitch for the Royals?
Jacob Ellsbury at bat, probably seconds away from hitting a triple or something. Hah, not this time. Grounder down the third base line, Atkins makes a nice little play and stops Ellsbury's reign of terror.
One out.
Dustin Pedroia watchin' all kinds of strikes go by him. Takes a hack and pops out to center.
Two outs.
Big Ortiz... swingandamiss.
Three outs.
BOTTOM 6TH
Hmm... one of the hits I thought the Rockies had wasn't really a hit. I've been bamboozled.
Kevin Youkilis is in the game now, as if they really needed him at this point.
Matt Holliday grounds out to Lowell at third. One out.
I wonder how much longer Matsuzaka can last. Doesn't all that waggling make him tired?
Todd Helton, after another hundred pitches from 'Zaka, takes a walk to first.
Atkins... what can you do to help the situation? Also take a walk? Good answer.
I knew the butt wiggles would do him in. Francona's yanking Matsuzaka for Javier Lopez.
Warm up time.
Wait, isn't Javier Lopez a catcher? He's pitching like one, giving up a hit to Hawpe. RBI. Rockies on the board. I'm going to wait until this inning ends before making a kitchen run.
There's a man on first, a man on second, one out, and a big ol' Torrealba at bat. He just swung so hard he did the moonwalk. Next swing, single to left. Atkins scores. 6 - 2.
Aw, nuts. Francona is taking Lopez out. In comes Mike Timlin, who I'm sure is sixty years old.
Warm up time again.
Spilborghs at bat? Baker on deck? These are just made up players.
Spilborghs, demanding recognition, just hit it DEEP to centerfield. Alas, it was caught. Two outs. No runners advanced.
Jeff Baker, taking huge cuts. Two quick strikes. A ball. Another ball. I wonder if he realizes this is the biggest at bat of his career.
Line drive to left-center... NO, Julio Lugo at short jumped twelve feet in the air and somehow snagged that thing. Curses.
TOP 7TH
Matt Herges now pitching for Colorado.
Manny Ramirez now batting for Boston.
Manny Ramirez now striking out for Boston. One out.
Mike Lowell up now. Mike Lowell down now. Strike three. Herges is making these batter appear fairly foolish.
Youkilis is in the dugout working on his swing, but he's all wrapped up in hoodies and oversized boxing gloves and whatnot and he looks kind of terrifying.
JD Drew can't look terrifying no matter what he does.
Jason Veritek on dek. Deck.
Drew swings and misses. Strike three. Herges totally just struck out the side like it was nothing.
Stretchy time.
BOTTOM 7TH
Holy cow, Philip Bailey just sang God Bless America. Maybe this is the pick-up the Rockies need in order to win this game. Some Earth, Wind, and Fire. Maybe Bailey should pick up a bat, too.Anyway,
Kaz Matsui leading off, Timlin still pitching. And NICE, Kaz laid down a perfect bunt. Everybody just kind of stared at it. Now there's a Kaz on first.
Troy up. Timlin old.
Kaz scoring MORE points. Consider second base stolen.
Tulotroy hits a dinky little nubber that somehow skips through the infield. Kaz at third. Troy at first. Holliday at bat. Timlin no longer pitching.
Warm up time again again.
Uh-oh, Okajima now pitching. In the outfield Drew was yanked, Ellsbury's moved to right, and Coco Crisp, WHOSE NAME I WILL NOT MAKE FUN OF, is now in centerfield.
Holliday still at bat. DEEP! DEEP!!! HOME RUN!!!11!!! To centerfield. Way over Crisp. Three run homer.
Boston 6, Rockies 5.
Outstanding.
And I like how Holliday was all cool about it, like he hits three run World Series homers all the time.
Helton at the plate now, trying to bat despite the fireworks smoke polluting the field.
I just realized how much Stolichnaya I've got to put in me now. Maybe I'll split it with my imaginary friends.
Helton, full count, BASE HIT to left. Call this game a Top 40 countdown 'cause the hits just keep on coming. Cha-POW.
Atkins at bat. This is very un-Okajimalike behavior. Maybe he finally snapped his brain from that sudden head-jerk movement he pulls during every pitch. And a snapped brain... allows him to give up base hits?
Outs seem to be optional as there don't appear to be any.
Oh, there's one. Atkins struck out swingin.
Brad Hawpe lookin' to hit a baseball now. Also, without a helmet or hat, he looks a lot like Marc Summers. And Hawpe fails the physical challenge. Strike three.Two outs.
Yorvit up. His number is 8. Yogi Berra's number is 8. I suppose it's a catcher thing. But you know what would make Yogi proud right now? A home run. I bet it would.
Ground out to 'Jima. Yogi weeps.
TOP 8TH
Surprisingly I hold alcohol very well, but I'll let you know if I puke all over the keyboard.
Brian Fuentes now pitching for the Rockies.
'Tek at bat. Hits it to short as slow as he possibly can. Easy out. One down.
I'm glad there's at least one exciting game in this here World Series contest. This one is turning out pretty good.
Lugo now. Lugo now on base. Call it a walk.
Up comes Coco Crisp. Crisp's real name, by the way, is Covelli. Covelli Loyce. Crisp. And not Count Chocula. Regardless of what his name is, Crisp bloops it past the diving Tuloblahblah for a single.
Man on first. Man on second. Jacoby "I'll Probably Get A Hit" Ellsbury at bat.
Ellsbury just got a hit. He popped it down the right field line and Marc Summers couldn't come up with it. Lugo scored, Crisp to third.
Fudge nuggets. Pedroia doubled to right. A couple people scored. And Fuentes isn't making me so happy.
Boston 9, Rockies 5. There goes another half beer.
Youk up to bat. Ground out to third. Two outs.
Manny now. Being Manny. Being growing hair like Predator.
High pop up just past third, which might be a homer in Boston. Three outs.
BOTTOM 8TH
Manny Delcarmen pitching for Boston. Now I guess I have to point out which Manny I'm talking about.
Was that Spilborghs? He just flied out to right. One down.
Willy Tavares now batting for Fuentes. I like Tavares. He might suddenly drop a bunt, or he might not. Whatcha gonna do? Tavares decided that he was gonna line out to the second baseman. Two down.
Matsui up again. Singles up the middle! He's had a pretty good day. But I bet his day would be a bit better if he crossed home plate.
'Witzki up now. And I spy Papelbon warming up in the bullpen. They might think about bringin him in 'cause Delcarmen just Del-walked Troy. Yep, here he comes.
Papelbon now. Holliday pops out DEEP to left. I had high hopes for that one. Three outs.
TOP 9TH
LaTroy Hawkins now pitching for Colorado.
I was on the phone with my wife for this whole inning, but I can tell you Lowell singled to center, some guy named Cora sacrificed Lowell to second, Lowell stole third base (!), and Veritek hit it deep to center to score Lowell. Lugo grounded out to short and the peasants rejoiced.
BOTTOM 9TH
Unless Papelbon completely loses his mind Boston has this one in the bag.
To prove my point Todd Helton pops out to right.
To prove my point Garrett Atkins grounds out to third.
Last chance Hawpe at bat now.
Hawpe now with the fate of the universe in his hands. SINGLES down the right field line. Make that a TRIPLE. I need to pay more attention.
Yorvit Torrealba now with the fate of the universe in his hands. Broken bat to short. Lugo fields it easily. Out at first.
Red Sox win Game 3.
To take a three game lead.
POSTGAME
That was, despite the outcome, a pretty exciting game. At least for a minute there. But now we have to accept the fact that the Boston Red Sox will probably become our Baseball Overlords. I intend to hide out underground, just like I did after the 2004 World Series, and peek my head out in February like Punxatawny Phil. I'll only come out when it becomes clear that the Red Sox will have a dismal 2008 season.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this live blogging of Game 3. And if you DIDN'T enjoy it, I hope you wasted a whole bunch of valuable time reading it.
My brain cells are thankful that no more runs scored.
I apologize for all the pictures of 80s B-list icons.
Hopefully I'll be able to do this again in the future. Probably not this season, though.
G'night, y'all.
