If you’re still sleeping on the World Series, Boston sports fans, you’re missing some Red Sox-related story lines. Yes, I realize the Celtics opened their season in style this week with a victory over LeBron James and, to a lesser degree, the Cavs. And, yes, I realize baseball season officially ended in New England about three weeks ago. But here are some pieces of baseball news for Red Sox fans.

Pedro enjoyed his exit. (AP)

1. Pedro Martinez has some life left in him. After pitching seven shutout innings for the Phillies against the Dodgers in the NLCS, Pedro came back last night with a courageous effort against the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series. Pedro took the loss but really pitched the way every Red Sox fan imagined he’d pitch once he grew old and lost 10 mph from his prime. He mixed an 88 mph fastball with a 67 mph change up. And he relied on all of the tricks he’s learned over his 17 years in the big leagues. He painted the corners, changed his arm angle and even changed the pace of his delivery. He struck out Derek Jeter twice. The second time, he started the at-bat by taking a ridiculously long time between pitches. He’d stare in for the sign for 10 seconds, pause for 10 seconds, wind up slowly and deliver his pitch. After lulling Jeter to sleep en route to recording two strikes, Pedro changed the pace mid at-bat, accepting the first sign he saw and throwing a quick pitch for strike three. By the way, I almost predicted Pedro’s line perfectly in yesterday’s blog.

My prediction: 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HBP.

Pedro’s actual line: 6 IP, 3 ER, 6H, 2 BB, 8 K, 0 HBP.

2. A-Rod is back to sucking. Alex Rodriguez’ numbers through two World Series games: 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. Let’s go easy on declaring that A-Rod has exorcised his clutch demons until he stops the three strikeouts per game routine.

3. The Yankees could be in trouble. Yes, the Yankees won last night, but they really didn’t want to split in Yankee Stadium. The Phillies are 11-1 at home and 19-6 overall over the last two postseasons. They’ve won each of their last three seven-game series in five games. They’ve only scored seven runs in two games this series after scoring 35 in five games in the NLCS. They’re due for an offensive outburst. Cliff Lee will pitch at least one more game. The Yankees hardly have No. 27 wrapped up.

4. You should find a Philly sports fan to hang out with on Sunday. Trust me, it’s the right move. I know Philly fans can be, ummm, rowdy sometimes. But you’ll want to witness what transpires on Sunday if the Eagles beat the Giants at 1 p.m. and then the Phils beat the Yankees at 8 p.m. We’re still accepting late arrivals to the Phillies’ bangwagon. You can even call it the anti-New York bandwagon if you want. We’re not picky. We’ve hardly even filled the first three rows. Join us.

On to the picks.

Story of the Week: Here’s a story in today’s New York Times about Pedro’s experience thus far in the World Series. Prior to Game 2, Pedro said in a press conference he was “the most influential player” to ever play at the old Yankee Stadium. Ben Shpigel speculates that Pedro said as much to motivate Yankee fans to boo him, which would, in turn, motivate Pedro. It talks about how Pedro ignored the fighter jet flyover last night during his warmup pitches, keeping his gaze fixed on the catcher. He also ignored the entrance of pregame entertainers Alycia Keys and Jay-Z, turning his back to them even as they stood 10 feet behind him. And then it details his crafty outing and smiling exit in the seventh inning as Yankee fans showered him with boos. Vintage Pedro.

Quote of the Week: I actually let this quote slide last week, but the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it sounds. During Theo Epstein’s end-of-season interview on the Dennis & Callahan show last week, the Red Sox general manager summarized the 2008 season this way:

“If we got one more clutch hit in the 2008 ALCS in Game 7, we were going to the World Series and probably winning it.”

First of all, that’s insulting to the 2008 world champion Phillies. Second of all, it’s a classic case of sour grapes. “If we beat Tampa Bay, we would have beaten the world champion Phillies, too.” Theo, you sound stupid. Take the rest of the offseason off.

E-mail of the Week: This one was sent by my uncle, a Yankees fan, following the Phillies’ Game 1 victory.

“Cliff Lee was impressive. Yanks will pick him up in the offseason.”

Comment of the Week: This was posted by The Gravy after I predicted Pedro would record one hit batsman in Game 2 of the World Series.

“The question then becomes, Dan, which batsman is Pedro going to hit? Jeter is the obvious favorite here, but I’m really rooting for Nick Swisher to win this one. He likes the Kings of Leon and his face is round. The man is clearly a pervert.”

Conversation Starter of the Week: Every Halloween costume is a conversation starter, but nothing gets it going like putting on tons of makeup and wearing as much wild stuff as possible (i.e. spiked shoulder pads, knee pads, something assless). Whenever someone asks about your costume, shoot them a confused look, and say, “My outfit is a window into my soul.”

Tip of the Week: If you’re over the age of 25, don’t use Halloween as an opportunity to showcase parts of your body you would never consider showcasing the other 364 days of the year. If you’re a guy, no one wants to see you as Michael Phelps in a speedo. No one wants to see you in a wrestling singlet. If you’re a girl, 25 is the age where it’s no longer appropriate to start every costume with the word “hot” or “slutty.” If you’re under 25, go crazy.

What Would A-Rod Do? Let’s say you’re in college and you have a reputation for getting sick every time you drink. Your friends begrudgingly invite you to a party one night, knowing they may have to clean up after you the next morning. So you set out to prove you can drink without getting sick. You have a great night, drinking casually without any major problems. You head home around midnight and make it back to your dorm just as your hall director is cleaning up the lobby in your dorm. He asks you how you’re doing. What would A-Rod do? He’d throw up all over the hall director’s shirt.

Stat of the Week: 1 — the number of days it took the Cleveland Cavaliers to lose at home this season. Last season, the Cavs didn’t lose at home until the 108th day of the season.

Video of the Week: You might start getting invites to flag football games over the next few weeks. If you decide to play, try not to look like this Marine, who nearly sprints 150 yards on the opening kickoff before ending the play with a front flip. Go easy, folks.

Enjoy the weekend. Support the Phils.

13 Comments for “A new Pedro passes the test”

1. Jon Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am

   #3 The PHILLIES could be in trouble. If you don’t capitalize on the great outing Pedro had, that is the kind of thing that can kill a series.

   Too bad they benched Swisher, I was looking forward to seeing The Gravy’s prediction come true.

2. KD Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 10:13 am

   I respect your tip of the week, but you obviously don’t respect my killer abs and toned glamor muscles. See you tonight at Bankshots… I’ll be the guy with the 2×4 dressed like a young Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

   USA! USA! USA! USA!

3. anguillaman Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 10:16 am

   Lets’ see the Yanks have Mariano Rivera, the Phils counter with Chan Ho Park….wonder which team has the edge on that matchup.

4. NC Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 10:55 am

   Glad that Pedro start is over. Now I can go back to not watching the World Series.

   Did anybody see Gnobili’s bald spot last night? It must have quadrupled in area this offseason. It’s like his hair is the ozone layer and the back of his head is Antarctica.

5. TheGravy Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

   Comment of the Week…. and his legend grows…

   …..
   The Book of Gravy
   $9.99 + S/H

6. Black Taco Says:
   October 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

   Deadspin and the Donaghy excerpts are worth a post Dan-o. Have at it.

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