1. The Rockies vs. The Rust
If this were a 100-yard dash, the Red Sox would be coming out of the starting blocks at full speed, having played high-pressure, high-adrenaline games through Sunday night, with their season on the line, against the Cleveland Indians. The Rockies, on the other hand, will be flat-footed when the gun goes off, having had no choice but to sit around and wait and wait and wait, for eight days. (And they may have to wait some more, if today's forecast holds.)
Rockies general manager
Dan O'Dowd said on the phone the other day that he called Tigers GM
Dave Dombrowski to ask about how Detroit's layoff played out last year. In retrospect, Dombrowski told him, there was nothing that he would've done differently in preparing his team.
There is nothing the Rockies can do about the situation, except just go out and play. But they will go from a week of batting practice and simulated games in an empty park to facing a very experienced Red Sox team in the high-anxiety atmosphere of Fenway Park, on baseball's brightest stage. It is possible for the Rockies to turn this around, of course; a three-spot against Boston starter
Josh Beckett in the first inning would go a long way toward kicking off all the rust, for sure. What they really need is a strong Game 1 outing from
Jeff Francis, win or lose.
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Buster Olney
