Game 1: Success and Failure

It has been said of major golf championships that they are not won, they are lost.  Last night, it proved true in baseball.

Many things were to be expected from last night's opening game of the World Series: good baseball, timely hitting, gutsy pitching.  It was not expected that it would come from only one team.

The Cardinals showed a huge case of opening game jitters, from three fielding errors, to one large mental error giving Stephen Drew his first World Series hit, to Carlos Beltran, Mr. October 2013, becoming a spectator.  A first rate catch, even his larceny at the expense of David Ortiz, looked a little shaky.  Maybe the moment was a little too big.

The Red Sox made a couple of timely fielding plays, none bigger than the double play turned on David Freese, and got timely hits and sacrifice flies throughout the game.  They came up big in a big situation.  Jon Lester gets special stars for his strong pitching performance, looking every bit the ace he has been all season.  He has been a special pitcher on what is, indeed, a special team.

I admire their love of the game, their love for each other, and the strong level of skill.  Are they in line with the 1927 Yankees?  No.  But they are a tremendous example of what makes the difference between great and special.  Skills are developed, attitudes are chosen.  They are fun to watch play ball, and should win this World Series.

I think it will take six games.  The Cardinals are a special team, in that they are usually able to execute in big situations, and use timely hitting and solid defense.  It just didn't show up last night.  Mike Matheney's big job is to make sure his players turn a momentary failure into a reminder: Baseball is a game of great one day, failure most of the time.  I expect nothing less.

So...am I off base?