And they're off vs. Tribe

A few thoughts from tonight's great start in Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland, as the Sox take a 1-0 series lead.

• The announcers just said a stat that is simply amazing. In 36 plate appearances so far this postseason, Manny and Papi have reached base 29 times. That is nothing short of amazing, and that's an .806 on-base percentage for those of you scoring at home (or those of you alone). Good gravy!
• Were my eyes deceiving me, or is Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians wearing a pearl necklace with his uniform. Tell me that guy doesn't take a whole load of cr*p in the locker room for that!
• Another great statistic. Manny walked twice tonight with the bases loaded to force in two runs, becoming just the second player in MLB postseason history to do so. The other? Jim Palmer (a pitcher, no less) in the 1971 World Series. Tim McCarver correctly pointed out that that will make a great trivia question in 5 years.
• Schilling against Fausto Carmona Saturday night in Game 2. I'm not sure what to think of Carmona. I kept thinking this season that he would wake up one day and realize that he's actually Fausto Carmona and not Cy Young, but he hasn't. In fact, the 9 innings he pitched vs. the Yankees (you remember them, don't you? they used to play baseball this season) in Game 2 of the ALDS -- the Bug Game -- was downright scary. Hopefull the Sox can do to Fausto what they did to Sabathia in Game 1.
• Can we call a halt to the term "filthy" when describing a pitcher with good stuff. The term is fine, and most likely accurate, but enough already! Any pitcher who has a ball break more than 3 inches has his stuff called filthy. I guess that's in vogue now, like "nasty" was in the early 90s -- when the Reds had the Nasty Boys -- but enough is enough.