Schelling

Pakistan got bounced early by Ireland in the world cricket championship, and the Pakistani coach was found dead in his hotel room. Pakistan was one of the top teams in the world and Ireland described in SI as the Kansas City Royals of cricket.

Well, even a blind pig finds and acorn, as the Royals ruined the Sox 2007' debut with a 7-1 thrashing of the locals. Curt Schilling lacked his customary command, and Gil Meche showed the relevance of the 'quality start', as only a Big Papi double marred his shutout bid. Schilling must have thrown 35 pitches in the first inning and it never seemed to get any better. Inconsistent umpiring behind the plate didn't help, but it went that way for both sides.

The Royals have some sticks including Mark Teahan, Mike Sweeney, and young Alex Gorden, but it was little Tony Pena, Jr with a pair of triples who did the most damage.

I don't know if I were fortunate or not to catch the game on the Spanish ESPN channel, but it looked pretty ugly from here, offensively and defensively. We'll see whether Josh Beckett can do any better.