Why I don't bet

Because logic means nothing, that's why.

Surely C.C. Sabathia, who was bad against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS, would pitch at least a little better against the Red Sox, right? Ah, no. The big guy was horrible last night. That was a colossal letdown performance.

Surely Papi and Manny couldn't continue to get on base 73 percent of the time (19 of 26), right? Ah, no.

They could get on base 100 percent of the time! (10 for 10). Oh, sure. We all knew that was going to happen.

From top to bottom, the Red Sox are redefining the concept of the "good at-bat." It's an amazing thing to watch. Can it continue?

Now, then, did I read correctly that the Red Sox had the gall to allow Danny Vinik to throw out a first pitch? That's a serious breach of etiquette and it is one for which they will surely pay, somehow, some way, some time. Rewarding someone for interfering in a baseball game is unconscionable. Has Dr. Charles Steinberg lost his mind? We now know the Angels weren't going to beat the Red Sox even if they were allowed 2 balls and 5 strikes, but that's not the point. People should be instructed not to interfere with balls on which fielders have a chance to make a play, period. If anything, the kid should be barred from the park for the remainder of the playoffs, not rewarded.

If I were Bud Selig, I would not be amused.

On the road
I won't lie. I wish I were back in Boston. But this isn't exactly punishment duty, being sent to South Bend for BC-Notre Dame and Dallas for Pats-'Boys before catching up with the Sox and Indians in Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday. That's a very sporty trip.

I watched the first six innings of Game 1 in Chicago with my good friend Dick (Hoops) Weiss of the NY Daily News at Mother Hubbard's, a good old-fashioned bar with a sports motif (as opposed to a sports bar), and the last three innings a few blocks away at the Chicago Chop House, which is where you want to eat when you're in Chicago and looking for a great steak and great service. There was a mixture of Sox and Indians fans at Mother Hubbard's, mixed in with some good Midwest sports fans, such as the two guys in town from Minnesota to see their Gophers play Northwestern. In case you don't know, Chicago is a truly great city where it is almost impossible not to have a good time.

By the way, the Rockies are positively creepy. Will they ever lose? I picked 'em, but I was rooting for Arizona. C'mon, a World Series in Denver? The last week in October? The irony of this one is that the D-backs have the dome, not the Rockies.