He's Back!

Last night's game 6 of the American League Championship Series heralded the return of the postseason Curt Schilling. The good Curt Schilling, not his evil meltdown twin.

Curt pitched a great 7 innings. He looked a bit shaky in the second inning, giving up the homerun to Victor Martinez, who really has Curt's number. Then he ended up with runners on 1st and 3rd but managed to get three outs.

But after that he settled down and gave us vintage Schilling. It may be the last time we see Schilling pitch in a Red Sox uniform - hopefully there will be at least one more appearance, but it's tough to say.

By all indications of the season, Carmona and Sabathia should have been able to give the Sox fits. Perhaps it's postseason inexperience that got the best of them, but the back of the rotation, Westbrook and Byrd have been more effective in this series.

How about that J.D. Drew, eh? I said he should be pulled, but look at the way he came through - grand slam in the 1st and an RBI single later on. He was the spark of the offense last night.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a great first postseason game with an RBI and a run. There was a great hit by him that was foiled by an even greater catch from Sizemore. But Jacoby still made his presence known, and what a refreshing change from the plate struggles of Coco Crisp. Ellsbury looks ready for the bigs, and Coco has to be thinking he'll be traded by next season. It's sort of too bad, he has a wonderfully marketable name. It is Ellsbury's time, however, and Coco never really became what everyone expected of him.

Who is the dummy at Fox who keeps playing "Cleveland Rocks" by Ian Hunter? It's understandable when playing at the Jake - but at Fenway Park when the Indians are getting stomped, it becomes really ludicrous and more than annoying.

So this is going 7 games which is not something I foresaw. Based on past history, I'd have to say that Dice-K is going to stink it up again. The Tribe has figured out how to go deep in the pitch count with him which exponentially reduces his effectiveness.

He really needs to be on a short leash tonight. Beckett has stated he'll be available out of the bullpen. Lester will be as well, so perhaps disaster can be averted.

I really think Fox should start the games at 7:00. An 8:00 start really means no baseball until 8:30, and given that baseball is a slow game, it makes for late nights.

All predictions off for tonight. Go Sox!