Quick Post--Gotta Go!

Shades of Buckner....wow, the Red Sox had that one. Now they ought to come roaring back, since nobody seems to be able to stop them from hitting the ball out of their tiny park. On the other hand, the White Sox managed to hit as many home runs as Boston did this year, despite playing in a normal, full sized ballpark.

Boston has Curt Schilling pitching in game 4. Will he be his usual, dominant, playoff self? While I wouldn't want to count on it, I think I have more faith in Schilling on one leg than I have in Tim Wakefield on two. For every time I see a knuckleballer deliver a more or less unhittable performance, it seems like I see at least 1.5 or so where they get absolutely shelled. Game three could be where the White Sox prove they belong. Meanwhile, here's hoping the Angels can at least wear down the Yanks, if they can't manage to squeeze out a victory over in the other bracket. Randy Johnson pitches game 3 for the Yankees, so here's where he can prove to the Yankee faithful that he's worth all that money, the money Boston wouldn't pay Pedro.

Mr. Martinez (Senor Martinez? My keyboad doesn't seem to do tildas...) doesn't have to prove anything. The burden of proof is on Matt Clement, David Wells etc. I'll leave Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo out of this, since they weren't offseason acquisitions. Within the next couple of years I expect the Red Sox will sign a pitcher for more money than Pedro was asking, who has either accomplished less, or is about as washed up as he seemed to be. If Tom Glavine has a couple more years left in him the Mets might have as good of a shot at a championship as the Red Sox. At least they have less need to search for good pitching. And yes, I know that the Mets are doomed. They will find a way to underperform. I'm just saying....

Meanwhile, football picks haven't exactly been jumping out at me lately, but here are a couple of late ones:

cal(-1.5)overUCLA
VATECH(-34.5)overmarshall

I'm tempted by a few other games, notably osu(-3)overPENNST, but I'm still not sure when Penn State is going to slow down. Ohio State's defense seems like they would be the ones to do the job, but something tells me the Buckeyes are still a bit overhyped. Offensively they don't seem to do too much, and Ted Ginn Jr. never seems to get his hands on the ball. Given how many games between Big Ten contenders+/or pretenders have been decided in overtime this year, I don't like giving up 3 (wait, it's moved to 3.5!) on the road. look at Michigan-Wisconsin.

What I'm curious about this weekend is how much USC will sandbag leading up to their showdown in South Bend. If they can find a way to be less than a 14 point favorite they might be a good bet! Right now I'm expecting a blowout this weekend (who are they playing? Arizona?) and the Trojans being favored by somewhere between 14.5 and 16.5 against Notre Dame. The spread probably should be lower, but the bookies are probably terrified of excessive action on USC. I'm probably going to have to bet on this one, even if it's a 1/2 sized bet , like my ND over U-M pick--wait, I'll be in the field...maybe I won't be betting on anyone...

Wow. Not including my 1/2 size bet I just mentioned, I'm 8-3 this year. I think the key has been all the games I didn't bet on....