Yet another reason Japan is better then New Hampshire.

Have you ever seen anything this cool? I don't think I have...

Happy Trails, Paps.

We can now add Jonathan Papelbon's departure to Philly to the growing list of offseason things that are both sad and unsurprising. The closer's new contract joins:

1. The scapegoating and firing of Terry Francona
2. The departure of Theo Epstein to Chicago
3. The ever-growing list of rumors about the bad behavior of players
4. The fact that we have lost another starter to Tommy John (regardless of personal feelings about John Lackey, looking for a starter in this market is rather depressing)

We all knew this was coming.  Paps never wanted to take a home-town discount, and the Red Sox were perfectly content to go year-to-year with him in arbitration.  The strategy makes sense, especially when you looks at the recent lack of success the Sox have had with long-term contracts for pitchers.  Being bankrolled by John Henry and Co., the Sox can afford to overpay year after year; it's the failed gambles that trap them in terms of years that they're wary of.

But even though it all makes sense from a clinical point of view, it stings.  Papelbon was one of the few players this season who didn't make excuses, who worked his butt off all season, and who was reasonably consistent (his heartbreaking final inning notwithstanding), and I for one am going to miss him.  I trust new GM Ben Cherington to figure this out, and whtehr Bard steps in as the closer permanently or he finds someone via trade or free agency, I don't think we'll be without someone for the ninth inning.

Dan Shaughnessy (which, hilariously, my auto-correct just tried to change to "Haughtiness"), said it poignantly last week: "A natural in front of the cameras, Papelbon was Cinco Ocho. He was the guy who put the cardboard 12-pack box on his head when the Sox clinched the pennant at home against the Indians in ’07. He was the guy who wore the kilt when he rode the duck boat."

Paps loved the spotlight, and I think Philadelphia will be good for him.  We'll see if they regret giving him all those years, but one thing is for sure: the Red Sox will miss him.

World Series Review: I Suck at Predictions

 Despite worries from baseball elite that this year’s World Series would be boring and unprofitable due to the absence of large-market teams full of superstars, it turned out to be one of the most exciting Fall Classics in years.  Their worries were certainly valid, as the biggest audiences will typically tune in when teams from either coast are involved, and this Series was, as Sports Illustrated put it, “Central Casting,” with both the AL and NL Pennants going to teams far from the coasts, the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively.

The network carrying the Series also doesn’t begin to make a profit unless the two teams play five or more games in the best of seven series: since they pay Major League Baseball so much money to gain the exclusive televising rights, the advertising revenue after just four games (like the sweeps in 2004, 2005, and 2007) barely covers their cost.  If a Series reaches seven games, like this one, the network can charge huge amounts of money on advertising slots to get a return on their large investment.

 The games themselves were particularly compelling: on one side you had the Rangers, who have never won a World Series (including in their time as the Washington Senators), who were back after losing to the San Francisco Giants in last year’s Fall Classic, and who had been the no-doubt winners of the AL West for quite some time.  Across the diamond you had the Cinderella story:  the Cardinals had been ten games back in the Wild Card race with a month to play, and had just a 1.1% chance of even seeing the playoffs, before taking down the Braves to make it in, then the favored Phillies (who had been practically crowned World Champs in February), and the Brewers.

While Texas hunted fruitlessly for it’s first title, St. Louis tried to provide more incentive for free-agent to be Albert Pujols to stay with the team this offseason, and it might have worked – when asked if a repeat would be possible in 2012, Pujols grinned and said, “Why not?” 

The Series it self was compelling all the way through, as the two teams traded victories through Game 4, and then Texas gained a 3-2 advantage by winning Game 5.  If you didn’t watch what happened next, you missed a hell of a game.  Game 6 was one for the ages: the Rangers were one strike away from winning their first title – twice.  They had a two-run lead in both the ninth and tenth innings, and then David Freese and Lance Berkman (both with two strikes against them) batted in the tying runs.  Freese would hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning to send the Series to its seventh game.

 After the drama of Game 6, Game 7 was slightly less exciting, as the Cards earned the lead in the third and never relinquished it.  Hometown boy David Freese was named World Series MVP, and the city of St. Louis earned the right to party in the streets for the second time in five years.  Despite the absence of a big-market team, this World Series was one for the ages – it’s only too bad that it’s over.