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Beckett Faces Francis In Game 1 Of World Series

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The Associated Press

Published: October 23, 2007

BOSTON - Fenway Park was quiet, the Red Sox clubhouse was dry and Jonathan Papelbon was done with his Irish step dance.

The jubilation of Boston's pennant-clinching comeback was over. There was still one more opponent to face, one that fashioned an incredible streak to reach the World Series for the first time.

Monday's stillness was the calm before the swarm. The Colorado Rockies are coming to town, taking a 21-1 surge into Game 1 Wednesday night.

They certainly should be fresh - perhaps too fresh.

After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks to win their first NL pennant, the Rockies will play their first game in nine days. The Red Sox spent most of the time on the field, rallying from a 3-1 AL Championship Series deficit and outscoring the Cleveland Indians 30-5 in the last three games.

'We've played a lot of intense games but we'd rather go in seeing live pitches in a couple of days than nine days off,' said Dustin Pedroia, who drove in five runs in Sunday night's 11-2 clincher.

'They'll be ready. They've waited their whole lives to be in this situation so I don't think nine days of rest is going to affect their play at all,' he said.
ALCS MVP Josh Beckett will pitch the opener against Jeff Francis, who is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in his first postseason. Beckett is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in this year's playoffs and was the World Series MVP in 2003.

If Beckett is just as sharp Wednesday, Papelbon - a much better closer than dancer - could finish up.

Papelbon put the wackiest touches on Boston's celebration when it clinched the AL East. Standing near the mound in a shirt and shorts, he performed a wild dance while spraying champagne in all directions.

His repeat performance Sunday was more subdued.

'Papelbon put some clothes on this time,' J.D. Drew said.

On Monday, there were stacks of bottled water on the clubhouse carpet instead of the ice-filled champagne bins that were quickly emptied less than 12 hours earlier. The plastic sheeting that protected the lockers was gone.

All seemed normal again as about half the team showed up for an optional workout.

That's the way of the Red Sox, a group that tries not to change its approach no matter how extraordinary the situation.

'The mentality is always the same, every day. You play nine innings or whatever it takes,' Manager Terry Francona said. 'I don't think we try to complicate things. That wouldn't be very intelligent. Sometimes this game is really difficult to play. Sometimes you need to simplify it.'

In other news, Rockies officials said their computer system for online-only World Series ticket sales was the target of an 'external malicious attack' that required a temporary suspension of ticket sales.

The team said they have a backup plan that will allow online ticket sales to resume today.

Yankees Begin Process By Interviewing Girardi

TAMPA - Joe Girardi spoke with George Steinbrenner and they quickly found common ground: Northwestern football.

'I talked to him about their 5-3 record and that they were one game from bowl eligibility and that was big for Northwestern, so we had some laughs about that,' Girardi said.

Girardi is a Northwestern alumnus and from his days as a catcher for the New York Yankees, he knew the owner is a former Northwestern assistant football coach. On Monday, they talked on a different level, with Girardi becoming the first person to interview as a potential replacement for departed manager Joe Torre.

Yankees bench coach Don Mattingly, scheduled to be interviewed today, is considered the favorite. New York first base coach Tony Pena is slated for an interview Wednesday.

CARDINALS: Tony La Russa will return for his 13th season as manager in St. Louis, agreeing to a two-year contract after a difficult season in which his team failed to play .500 ball.

Speculation that La Russa would leave heightened when the Cardinals fired general manager Walt Jocketty this month. Jocketty and La Russa have been close since both were with Oakland.

MARINERS: Seattle overhauled its coaching staff Monday, hiring Mel Stottlemyre, Jim Riggleman and Norm Charlton.

Stottlemyre, a former pitching coach with the Yankees and Mets, took the same position in Seattle. Riggleman, an ex-manager in the majors, will be the bench coach. And Charlton, who spent 13 seasons as a relief pitcher in the big leagues, is the bullpen coach.

MITCHELL REPORT: Baseball investigator George Mitchell, also a director for the AL champion Boston Red Sox, denied Monday providing information for a story that Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd used human growth hormone.

Before Game 7 on Sunday, Byrd acknowledged using HGH after the San Francisco Chronicle reported he spent nearly $25,000 on the drug and syringes from 2002-05 - before HGH was banned by MLB.

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