Pennant Fever!

Well they did it. And they did it impressively. 30-5 in the three elimination games and 23-4 in the final two in Boston. Despite the lopsided scores, the games were tight and the Sox stepped up. Another flag, the fifth in my lifetime and a second trip to the World Series in the past four years. It doesn't get better than that.

So as we wait for Game 1, we have a couple of days to bask in the afterglow. The tension that we have been living through since the Sox fell behind 3-1 last Tuesday has been temporarily lifted. We are the American League Champions of 2007!

Ok, that's enough. Now on to the Rockies to seal the deal.

What do we know about the Colorado Rockies? Not much.

They play in the clearly inferior National League, but have been on an unbelievable run winning their last ten games in a row and 21 of their last 22. Can they be stopped? Hopefully so.

So herewith a few tidbits about the upcoming battle with the rolling Black and Purple.

1. The Rockies, as hot as a pistol, have not played a game since October 15. That will be a 10 ten layoff. No matter how much momentum you have, that will certainly be a factor.

2. Remember when you were young and were playing by yourself bouncing a rubber ball off a wall and playing imaginary games with imaginary teams? When I did it, I used to make up names for the players, the crazier the better. I think someone did that with this Colorado team. Yorvit Torrealba, Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Fogg, Ubaldo Jiminez, Manny Corpas, Kaz Matusui. No way those are real names. The best part will be listening to the growing-feebler-by-the-minute Tim McCarver hurt himself trying to remember and pronounce this group. Remember, he once called Bronson Arroyo Brandon. How do you think he will do with Ubaldo Jiminez and Troy Tulowitzki? Should be a laff riot.

3. The Rockies pitching staff looks weak on paper but has been invincible in the post season. Game 1 starter Jeff Francis, Fogg and Jiminez all had ERA's over 4.00, IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR GOD'S SAKE! And keep in mind that means the pitcher hits ninth and the NL version of Julio Lugo/Coco Crisp bat 8th. So if they are over 4.00 against 7/9th of a lineup, how do you think they will do against the Sox. (And no snide remarks about a lineup with Lugo and Varitek being no better).
Unfortunately, this could be a tough matchup for the Sox in terms of styles of pitchers. Francis is a 6'5" lefthander who induces grounders, something that has baffled Sox hitters all season. Think Andy Petitte. Franklin Morales is another left hander with a low 90's fastball with great control, another Sox-killer type hurler. Lefties are hitting .129 off him so Papi and Drew (Kielty time?) could be in for some trouble. Fogg is a soft tossing right hander and righties are hitting .305 off him so he could be face some difficulty with Manny, Pedro, Youk and Lowell. Jiminez is a right handed flamethrower with a 99 MPH fast ball. Think Fausto Carmona. (See games 2 and 6, ALCS). I'm in for that.

4. The Rockies can hit. They took two of three from the Sox in June, as EVERYONE is reminding us. Matt Holliday (.340, 36 HR, 137 RBI) is a legit NL MVP candidate and he is surrounded by Todd Helton (former batting champ), Tulowitzki (24 HR, 99 RBI) and Brad Hawpe (116 RBI). Helton and Tulowitzki have been slumping in the postseason, so let's hope that continues.

5. The Luck Factor. Baseball is a game of breaks. From Game 2 through 4, the Indians got every break in the book as they galloped to the 3-1 lead. Starting midway in Game 5, the breaks started to go the Sox way, and things were in full Red Sox Horseshoe Mode in Games 6 and 7 (see two ground balls taking bad hops off the lip of the infield). To win 10 in a row and 21 of 22 you have to have a boatload of luck and good breaks. That's good. The Rockies used it all up in the NL playoffs. Everything evens out over time, and there's no way Colorado can stay lucky through the World Series as well.

Bottom line? I was three for four in the LDS missing only by picking Philly over Colorado. I was one of two in the LCS, missing only by picking Arizona over Colorado. So the third time's the charm. I think the superiority of the AL wins out and the Sox finally turn the Cinderella Rockies into pumpkins and fittingly, it will take place on Halloween night. Sox in 6.

Let's go get another one.