Fever Subsiding

I am just starting to emerge from my Post- World Series Sleep Deprivation Induced Funk to make my first post in almost a week. It was a great World Series for the Red Sox but probably a lousy Series for baseball fans.

There wasn't anything particularly memorable about the series. I think the Sox only hit 3 home runs the whole series. Mike Lowell was the MVP with a solid, yet unremarkable series.

All of this makes the Red Sox performance more impressive and maybe even sustainable. No one player carried this team. Manny and Papi hit a combined "0" home runs. Everyone contributed. Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkillis are not household names, but these guys are going to be solid players on this team for years to come.

The pitching staff should only et better (although I do not discount the potential loss of a horse like Schilling). Dice is going to be better year 2, Beckett is only 27, Lester, Bucholtz and Papelbon give them youth and playoff experience that could make them a great team for years to come.

Lastly, there is the guy that gets no credit. Most people give the Sox management credit for being so good, but not nearly enough credit goes to Francona. Tito has done a fantastic job in winning two World Series with completely different teams. Think about how good of a job he did managing the series. Every pitcher came out at the right time, Ortiz at first worked better than expected, starting Ellsbury, etc. Every one of his moves were the right ones, plus he does a great job in keeping the "personalities" in check during a long season. On many teams "Manny being Manny" would be a distraction and a source of infighting, it is a credit to Tito that it has never been with the Sox.

With all that in mind, "I can't wait til next year".