"Rust"

The better team won last night, but I've already read plenty of excuse-making from the likes of Tom Boswell to see that the Rockies have been given an all-in-one excuse for losing: rust. (Incidentally, I haven't seen this excuse from the players themselves.)

Look, I don't like this schedule better than anyone else does. Baseball is an every day sport, and MLB has messed up not only the rhythm of multiple series (and caused me to question what the plural of series is) (and whether the singular form of the word is 'serie' or perhaps 'sery') but rewarded teams with shallower rosters. Fourth and fifth starters are far less important when a team can -- CAN -- pitch Josh Beckett or Jeff Francis in Games One, Four and Seven.

As far as the Rockies' rust: they knew that the Series was going to start last night, right? They knew this months ago. They certainly knew it when they clinched their first National League pennant. If the team was, indeed, rusty, then maybe it's their own fault. Jeff Francis could have pitched one of them "simulated games" that are all the rage. Batters could have taken extra batting practice. They could have scrimmaged against the University of Northern Colorado Bears and their wicked cool logo. They could have done lots of things.

But the fact is, even once Francis knocked whatever rust he may have accumulated off, even once the Rockies' batters had a couple at bats, the game didn't change one iota. The blowout inning was the 5th, the point at which "rust" should have worn off. The Sox scored off Francis in all but one inning he appeared.

Boston 1, Colorado 0.