A battle of contrasts
BOSTON (AP) — Even now, after the Colorado Rockies' amazing run of 21 wins in 22 games, many fans don't know this black-and-purple clad club of Tulowitzkis and Torrealbas.
Maybe that changes starting tonight, when the Rockies will be on baseball's biggest stage, playing the Boston Red Sox in the World Series opener.
"We feel anonymous everywhere," third baseman Garrett Atkins said Tuesday. "They're household names over there, and we're just not."
A team that didn't even exist until 1993 navigated through the cracked corridors and cramped clubhouse of Fenway, then played catch in front of 37-foot-high Green Monster in left and Pesky's Pole in right. Infielder Clint Barmes plopped into a red seat in row CC to take it all in.
Josh Beckett was set to start the opener for Boston, and Jeff Francis was slated to pitch for the Rockies. Back on June 14, Beckett was 9-0 when he lost to Colorado and Francis, who pitched five scoreless innings.
Now that Francis and the Rockies are back, a whole lot more attention is being focused on Fenway Park.
"I'm sure the Red Sox are used to this every day," he said, "but we've never seen anything like this, the bus pulling up into the parking lot, and the trailers and the satellite dishes."
Much has been made of the humidor to moisten balls at Coors Field and possible snow when the Series moves to Denver this weekend, but there were precipitation concerns in Boston, too. Forecasts said there was a 30 percent chance of rain for Game 1.
With Colorado coming off a record eight-day layoff since sweeping Arizona in the NL championship series, there's been a lot of debate about rust vs. rest — and what better place to discuss rust than quirky old Fenway Park, which opened in 1912 and is filled with nearly a century of baseball sounds and smells.
"We will not apologize for winning quickly," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said to a roomful of laughter.
Last year, of course, the Tigers fumbled and flopped after a six-day layoff and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games — with a Detroit pitcher making an error every night. Teams took notice — a day ahead of tonight's opener, Red Sox manager Terry Francona was at the cage running pitchers' fielding practice.
In some ways, the Red Sox have become the Yankees, an October fixture attracting national attention. Manny and his do-rag, Big Papi and Dice-K are TV staples.
The Rockies? They haven't been on a FOX Saturday broadcast since July 2004 and haven't appeared on an ESPN Sunday night telecast since June 2002.
"We've been called favorites since Day 1, and look at us," David Ortiz said, "here we are dancing and just taking it easy. We just have the edge, the attitude to become champions."
