Does it get any better than this? It's going to be fun. My only regret is that we aren't seeing this in, say, 1999, when Pedro was at his peak and Clemens was much closer to it. As it is, Pedro is about half the pitcher he was three years ago (_damn_ the Red Sox for abusing his arm so much) and Clemens, while still formidable, is not what he was three years ago either.
Still. Half of Pedro is _still_ the best pitcher in the major leagues. Clemens in decline is _still_ the decline of the best pitcher since Tom Seaver, and he could certainly keep pitching next year (and probably for several years after that) if he wanted to, so this isn't exactly a last gasp. The much-heralded Red Sox offense isn't actually _that_ impressive outside Fenway. The somewhat scorned Yankee offense is, with all its players healthy (which they are now), probably every bit as good as that of the Red Sox. The Red Sox defense is much, much better than the Yankee defense, but that is taken into account in Pedro's still impressive 2.22 ERA for the season. The Yankee bullpen is generally better than the Red Sox bullpen, but hasn't been for the postseason, of course. I can't think of any two teams this closely matched in all the time I've been watching baseball. I haven't looked forward to a pitching matchup this much since Mussina/Johnson in the 1997 ALDS, and that was only because the O's were my team. In fact this is without a doubt the best Game 7 pitching matchup _ever_. There probably hasn't been anything close. It's a coinflip. Any individual game is, of course, but this one more than any. Still, I guess I have to pick something. My head tells me that: 1) The Yankees are a _better team_ than the Red Sox this year 2) The Yankees are at home 3) Pedro's arm has been so abused (130 pitches? What insanity is that?) that he won't be able to go the distance 4) The Rocket will keep it close enough to make it a duel of the bullpens - which Mariano Rivera should win. Emotionally, after the dazzling comeback of yesterday and so on, plus the thrill of seeing the Red Sox in the WS, I want to say that they Red Sox will win. And, in truth, it's about 51/49 - no one can predict this one. But I think it's going to be the Yankees, in a classic. 3-2, something like that. Maybe even extra innings. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
