Rolaids in the 'Pen

That's right, R-O-L-A-I-D-S spells R-E-L-I-E-F. If you have gas, Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima might just be able to settle your stomach.

Last night at the old ballyard, Curt Schilling was the prime rib, the potatoes and the green beans. Oki and Pap provided the milk and cookies to finish off the meal and everyone went home satisfied. Sure, this wasn't the dominating start that Josh Beckett provided for the faithful on Wednesday evening but it was vintage Schilling. It was the playoff-potent pitcher who has done it before and done it well. And this time, sans bloody sock and free of most of that 2004 drama, he had to be someone entirely different.

Schilling, who now has to be categorized in the 'Crafty Veteran' genre, has to really reach back to hit low 90's on the radar gun. When he throws a riser, it usually means that it's rising right out of the park. But on the other end of that, he's got this deceptive, lose-your-lunch splitter that Troy Tulowitski will be having nightmares about for years to come. It's an interesting feeling when, as a fan, I sit there and watch Schilling and think, "Ok, lead-off man is on, that's fine. Double play perhaps...but that guy won't score." I expect him to put men on base in pretty much every inning that he pitches. And I expect one or two of them to score. But what I don't expect is that he's going to have one of those implosion innings that so many pitchers are susceptible to when things start to go awry. With his experience, knowledge of the game and awareness of his surroundings, I just never get to the point where I know he's going to give up the big hit. Granted, he has done that this season. When he was pitching at maybe 70% of his full health he was that guy who gave up big hits and couldn't manage games. Not playoff Schilling, though. He manages individual pitches, counts, innings and that translates to game management. The result is just what we all saw last night: 1 ER.

Then you get to Oki and Pap, aka milk and cookies. Let's cut through the verbose drama here and call it like it is. In Oki, you get a guy who throws an 88-89mph fastball with movement in to righties and movement out to lefties, a devastating change/curve and the hurky-jerky delivery that would unsettle Rod Carew. Then you bring in Pap, death stare and all, with a deliberate delivery and straight gas, up to 97mph when he's really slingin' it. Add in a 85mph change and it's a perfect differentiation of styles that will make it extremely difficult for hitters to adjust to over the course of an inning or two. And here you have Okajima able to pitch 4, 5 or 6 outs with little to no scarring. That is what's most valuable. Here's a guy who had to take to the bench in September with a dead arm and now he's better than he's been all season (which is saying a LOT) when it matters most.

These pitchers are clearly on a mission to win this 103rd World Series. They have very clear-but game plans when they enter and when they exit, it's a fact that the next in from the bullpen will know what he's going to from the first pitch he throws. Oh, and you also have a dynamite percussion section lead by Admiral Timlin that reminds us all that we're not the only ones enjoying this game. We're all watching a complete team; a dominant force and a purebred World Champion. It's all there, they just have to keep their focus and do what they know they can do.