Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
October 26, 2007, Washington Post

On Top of the World Series

I could write this week about the Washington Wizards, the Washington Capitals or D.C. United. But my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, is in the World Series. So that's all I'm thinking about. Specifically:

• The Colorado Rockies worry me, even though the Sox crushed them, 13-1, in Wednesday's Game 1. The Rockies won 21 of their last 22 games to get to the Series. A championship team wins about 60 percent of its games -- that's 13 or 14 wins in 22 games -- so I know better than to count these guys out.

• Remember the name Troy Tulowitzki. Colorado's 23-year-old shortstop hit 24 home runs and drove in 99 runs in his first full season in the major leagues. And he is a fabulous fielder.

• Outfielder Matt Holliday led the National League in batting average (.340) and runs batted in (137) during the regular season. Holliday will be no vacation for Red Sox pitchers.

• The Rockies have been hot, but the games are going to be very cold. Playing in Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado, at night in October doesn't make much sense. The average low temperature in Denver in October is in the 30s. Brrrrr.

• If the Series goes seven games, the Red Sox and the Rockies will play in November. But at least that game would be in Boston. You know what they call November in Colorado? Ski season!

• Denver is known as the Mile High City because its official altitude is 5,280 feet. Baseballs go farther in the thin, dry mountain air, and players used to hit lots of home runs in Denver's Coors Field. Now, the baseballs used in Denver are stored in a humidor -- a machine that produces moisture -- so they act more like baseballs in other cities. That's science solving a sports problem.

• Manny Ramirez, Boston's slugging left fielder, sometimes acts silly and makes careless mistakes fielding and running the bases. Folks say that's "Manny being Manny." But Ramirez clearly works very hard at hitting.

• Dustin Pedroia looks like a kid. Boston's 24-year-old second baseman is listed at 5 feet 9 and 180 pounds. There is no way he is that big. Still, Pedroia hustles every play.

• The games are on too late for kids and are way too slow. Why does a hitter have to get out of the batter's box and readjust his batting gloves if he hasn't taken a swing? Batters do it even when the pitcher throws the ball to first base.

• Since my Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, it isn't that important to me that they win again this year. In fact, with their high-priced stars, crazy fans and winning ways, my lovable, onetime underdog Sox are beginning to look like . . . the New York Yankees.

But I still want them to win.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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