Sports Redux: To Business

Four years ago today, Josh Beckett threw a shutout. In the LCS. Good tidings?

Last time Josh faced the Indians, he gave up one run and four hits in a hard-luck 1-0 loss to Fausto Carmona. Last time Cleveland starter C.C. Sabathia pitched against the Red Sox, he gave up one run and five hits in a hard-luck 1-0 loss to Daisuke Matsuzaka. You'd have to believe both pitchers are determined not to give up that one killer run today.

One piece of good news for Sox fans is that Bobby Kielty is getting the start in right field tonight. Kielty has hit for a .655 slugging percentage against Sabathia lifetime, while J.D. Drew famously couldn't hit sand if he fell off a camel. Other than that, the lineups are what you'd expect.

Dan Shaughnessy wrote his boilerplate "Here's stuff I can think of to say about Cleveland" column on Wednesday. Item #5 was, "Folks from Cambridge and Brookline can protest around Fenway to get the Indians to change their racist 'Chief Wahoo' logo." We guess nobody from Cambridge or Brookline stepped up, so today Dan was forced to write a column protesting the racist 'Chief Wahoo' logo. Nice touch, though, to include the (not particularly angry) feelings of Jacoby Ellsbury, a descendant of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

The Rockies are starting to look like the team of destiny. They're 18-1 since September 16th, and kicked Arizona ace Brandon Webb around last night to take Game One of the NLCS. Jeff Francis, the quietest 17-9 pitcher in the history of the universe, picked up the win. It's starting to look a lot like the World Series is coming to Denver this year.

Speaking of teams shooting for something close to 18-1 (or a game better), the Patriots are off to Dallas this weekend. The NFL is buzzing about the showdown between two troubled WR's (Randy Moss and Terrell Owens) who are calm and happy on their respective 5-0 teams. T.O. even left a note in his locker saying that he didn't want to talk about the game until after the game. Randy Moss, we hope, will be too out-of-breath from catching touchdowns to talk after the game. Two 5-0 teams enter. One 6-0 team leaves. Getcha popcorn ready.