The Late Late Show

While it occurred under protest from the ESPN broadcast booth, the fact that last night's game featured slow and deliberate play, multiple tie scores, and in general the sense of the proverbial irresistible force meeting an immovable object really shouldn't have come as a shock. This was Sox-Yankees, after all. These days, there's a gravity which has no regard for time when these teams face each other, particularly when something meaningful is at stake. And last night was heavy with meaning --the teams came in not just tied in the series with a win apiece, but tied for first place. And not just tied for first place on a technicality, with a half-game here or there, but tied precisely, both with 69-43 records on the season. As is their habit, then, the teams proceeded to grind past one another for ten long innings with the force and glacial pace of tectonic plates. Neither team ever enjoyed more than a one run lead, or for very long. Josh Beckett was every bit the force o...