World Series | Red Sox bats, Beckett dominate Game 1

BOSTON — So now we know: The Rockies could have used a little more time off.

In fact, they might need another eight-day respite to recover from the beating put on them Wednesday by Boston.

The Red Sox got a leadoff homer from Dustin Pedroia and never stopped laying the lumber in winning the World Series opener, 13-1.

"Well, that was a little anticlimactic," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton noted sourly.

Bill Belichick must have stolen the Rockies' plays. The Red Sox could have won this one with one Lugo tied behind their back.

Colorado's humiliation actually started even before the Sox stepped to the plate. Josh Beckett struck out the side in the top of the first, setting the same sort of tone Larry Bird did when he arrived for the three-point-shooting contest at the NBA All-Star Game and said, "OK, boys, who's going to finish second today?"

Considering Beckett's postseason track record, the Rockies' only hope at that point was a rainout. It drizzled, but the only deluge that registered was the barrage of hits, walks and runs by Boston.

Whoops, I think Kevin Youkilis just lined another double.

The last World Series team to have as many two-baggers as the Red Sox did on Wednesday — eight — featured Pie Traynor in its lineup.

Of course, the 1925 Pirates didn't have the benefit of Stephen King rooting them on (or else his first best-seller might have been, "The Girl Who Loved Stuffy McInnis").

The Rockies' lineup might as well have had Mitzi Gaynor in it, as hopelessly behind as they fell.

By the end, even the initially frenzied Fenway faithful had lost interest. King was seen reading Newsweek magazine as television cameras scanned the crowd (true). Ben Affleck was seen flirting with Doris Kearns Goodwin (false).

Whoops, I think Ryan Speier just walked another batter.

The Red Sox unveiled a new facet to their offensive arsenal — the RBI base on balls. Speier walked three straight with the bases loaded in the fifth, no doubt causing Mariners fans to wonder what the heck Rick White was doing pitching in the World Series.

This is not to say the Rockies are dead and buried. That would be an unwise assumption to make about a team that hadn't lost a game since Sept. 28, back when Rudy Giuliani was still a Yankees fan, and Joe Torre was still the Yankees' manager.

"One of the strengths this club has had throughout the season is our confidence hasn't been shaken by the results of games," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "That being said, that's not the way we drew it up."

As lopsided, dispiriting and deflating as the game was for the Rockies, it still counts as only one loss.

Hey, they're allowed one a month.

Whoops, I think Beckett just froze another Colorado hitter with hard cheese on the outside corner.

The Red Sox have won this October in large part because their great players have been great. Just ask, say, the Yankees how important that simple formula can be (yes, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, we're talking to you).

That means David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, who had six hits between them Wednesday (to go with the six hits by Youkilis and Julio Lugo).

And it certainly means Beckett, about whom the ever-bombastic Curt Schilling was not being hyperbolic when he called him on Wednesday "the best pitcher on the planet."

Indeed, unless a reborn Sandy Koufax is mowing down hitters on Uranus, Beckett is the best pitcher in the universe.

You might have noticed the pendant Beckett wears around his neck on the mound. According to a press release I received Wednesday, it's a contraption called a Clarus Q-Link, which its maker says is "tuned to optimize the human energy system through resonance. As it interacts with your biofield, it leads to a rebalancing and restoration according to your individual needs."

I have absolutely no idea what that means, except Beckett's biofield is rocking right now. With a 4-0 record and 1.20 earned-run average this October, he's on one of those 1967 Bob Gibson runs, a latter-day Orel Hershiser.

Factor in his two shutouts in the 2003 postseason with Florida, including a five-hitter against the Yankees in the World Series-clinching Game 6 victory, and he has to be ranked as one of the greatest postseason pitchers ever. But stay tuned.

"We're not done, and he's not done," said Boston manager Terry Francona.

Beckett is cool, cocky and feisty, a great combination when augmented by a 95-mph fastball that he can paint on the corners, and a knee-buckling curve. Just to be sporting, Beckett left his changeup in his locker, throwing just two all night.

As Schilling said, "Watching him is different than watching everybody else right now. He's so locked in."

Shrugged Beckett, "I hope my teammates are happy. That's who I'm really trying to please. If they're happy, I'm happy."

It's Beckett being Beckett, which in Game 1 of the World Series was in stark contrast to Colorado starter Jeff Francis, who had that deer-in-the-headlights look from his very first pitch.

Of course, it didn't help when his very second pitch was sent on top of the Green Monster by Pedroia.

"I felt strong. I felt calm. I really felt smooth coming out of the pen [after warming up before the game]," Francis said.

Francis gave up 10 hits in four innings. Heaven help him if he ever feels weak, nervous and rough.

Whoops, I think Matt Holliday just fielded another carom off the wall.

Where's the humidor when you really need it?

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com