Oct. 22 -- SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON

Hate to distract from our position-by-position breakdown of the Phillies (your comments have been terrific, by the way), but I wanted to say a quick word about the World Series, which begins Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

I went to college at Boston University and lived across from Fenway in Kenmore Square, so I have a sense for the hysteria that's gripping New England now that the Red Sox dispatched the Indians in Game 7 last night. The Sox (or Sawx, as the locals call them) always have been something of a religion up there, although Red Sox Nation has taken on a new dimension in the past five years, since John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino bought the team. When I was in school (1994-98), you could buy a ticket at the box office on the day of a game. Nowadays, if you don't get your tickets in January, forget about it. The Sox have gone from a sporting passion to a social event. Taking in a game at Fenway, which now includes singing along to "Sweet Caroline" during the seventh-inning stretch, has become a trendy thing to do.

To me, though, the interesting thing about this World Series in Boston is that the Sox aren't even the best team in town. That would be the 7-0 Patriots, who have outscored opponents 279-120 and at this rate will have the AFC East clinched by Halloween. And while the Sox offense is formidable (is there a better 1-2 punch than David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez or a more underrated player than Kevin Youkilis?), I wouldn't dismiss the Rockies, whose 21-of-22 roll has a better chance of being slowed by an eight-day layoff than by 20-game winner Josh Beckett.

So, at the risk of upsetting my friends in Boston (see video), I'll take Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, my man Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies in six, with Helton winning the Series MVP. What's your pick?



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We have plenty of Orioles fans in this area, so I'm curious to ask: What did you think of Kevin Millar throwing out the first pitch last night and reading the Sox lineup on Fox? Even Terry Francona thought it was strange. Apparently, Indians right fielder Trot Nixon, Millar's teammate on the '04 Sox, wasn't happy.



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One quick Phillies note: One-time prospect Yoel Hernandez has elected free agency after being removed from the 40-man roster today. Hernandez, 27, was 0-0 with a 5.28 ERA in 14 relief appearances this season.

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Don't care about the World Series? It's cool. We'll continue our position-by-position series tomorrow.