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The 2013 World Series has seen suspicious green goop on a pitcher’s glove, controversial calls and home run heroics. Now it will see some pretty outrageous ticket prices as the series moves on to Boston. 

ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports prices for tickets to Games 6 at Fenway Park have skyrocketed, which makes sense considering the Red Sox haven’t clinched a title at home since 1918. 

Using ticket-tracking company TiqIQ, Rovell states that the latest average resale value of tickets had reached $1,860 for Wednesday’s clash with the Cardinals. 

All of this stems from fans eager to see their beloved team finally win the World Series within the historic confines of the iconic stadium. 

While that pesky curse has been vanquished (the Red Sox swept the series in 2004 and 2007), the Red Sox haven’t won in Boston since their series against the Chicago Cubs nearly a century ago.

That means bleacher seats that were going for about $300 last week are now hitting the after-sale market for $1,100. 

Fenway faithful are certainly making it rain, because Rovell also notes one Mr. Moneybags dropped $24,000 on StubHub for two seats in prime baseball-watching real estate for one of the remaining games. 

“People want to see them win it here,” Jim Holzman of Ace Ticket, a brokerage firm based in Boston, told Rovell. “That’s what has made this the biggest ticket we’ve ever seen. It’s the Super Bowl except people don’t have to pay $1,000 for a hotel and $2,000 for airfare.”

The demand is not dissimilar to what we saw back in 2004 when the franchise was preparing to finally get back into the land of the victorious. 

A CNN report from that year states prices were reaching lofty levels as fans grabbed at a glimpse of the eventual World Series champions. 

The cost of a ticket to the show in 2004 was nearly as pricey: “One pair of front-row box seats for game one of the World Series sold for $5,300 in an auction completed Thursday morning on eBay.”

The same report also issued that four box seats were going for as much as $25,000 back then. 

Holzman continued with an idea of how quickly this year’s prices escalated: “Prices were going up $50 an inning.”

It makes sense when you consider Fenway isn’t just the oldest stadiums in MLB, but also one of the coziest (capacity rests at 38,400). 

There is always a moment when fans consider taking the jaunt out to the park, dropping massive amounts of cash and sidling up with the crowd instead of just watching from home. 

For the Red Sox collective, that moment happened after an odd weekend wherein Jonny Gomes homered and the Cardinals’ Kolten Wong was picked off to end a raucous Game 4. 

When Boston then took a 3-2 series lead behind another stout performance from Jon Lester—who left the green goop at home this time around—fans could be confident in buying tickets for the remainder of the series.

However, as Red Sox fans drop serious money on the last two games, we would like to caution them that this series is far from over. 

If there is anything to take from this iteration of the Fall Classic, it’s that anything can and will happen. From dunderheaded base running to wacky calls from the umpires, this series offers little to feel confident about for either side. 

Still, that will hardly deter many from paying thousands at the very good chance they get to see the Red Sox finally celebrate at home. 

Is that enough of an incentive to part with thousands? According to the absurd prices, the answer from Sox fans is a resounding yes. 

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Wearing a pattern fashioned from my grandma’s throw pillow, Ryan Dempster boarded a plane for St. Louis. 

Really, you don’t need a runway when there is a charter flight to Game 3 of the World Series to utilize. Dressed in the season’s most stunning and fashion-forward suit, Dempster moved the conversation of plaid into baseball’s consciousness where it belongs. 

Here is the Red Sox pitcher/awesome suit wearer, via the club’s Twitter feed: 

Here is another look from Janet Wu of WHDH-TV 7News in Boston: 

Is that thing made out of flannel? Please tell me it’s made out of flannel. OK, I’ll just assume the entire suit is flannel and move on with my life. 

Now we should take a step back and play Project Runway: The Home Edition. Let’s go ahead and judge how this suit—one we assume comes with a side of pancakes—would fare on the sliding scale below. 

On a scale of flummoxed Tim Gunn: 

(GIF Credit: Giphy)

To rather pleased Tim Gunn: 

(GIF Credit: Giphy)

We give Dempster’s attempt a very concerned Tim Gunn: 

(GIF Credit: projectrunwaygifs.tumblr.com)

This is just par for the course for a guy who has dominated the MLB postseason. No, just kidding. Dempster has pitched three innings in the playoffs, including an inning during garbage time of an eventual 8-1 Red Sox win in Game 1 of the World Series. 

Oh, and he allowed the Sox’s only run in that game. 

Still, he is making his presence known here, and we applaud him for that effort. However, audacious suits don’t always bring tidings of success. 

Be warned, Red Sox fans. We have seen a similar suit this postseason, finding its way onto the Dodgers’ Andre Ethier. 

Here is a tweet from catcher A.J. Ellis showing off a dapper Ethier wearing a suit that features roughly all the colors in the visible spectrum—as well as a bow tie that would make Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal proud: 

Let’s just hope things work out better for Dempster and the Sox than they did for Ethier and the Dodgers, who found out plaid suits weren’t exactly lucky in St. Louis. 

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Thomas Robbins very nearly stole Boston Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli‘s glove this past Sunday, and he would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling security guards. 

The Boston Globe’s Melissa Hanson (via Next Impulse Sports) reports 23-year-old Robbins was caught looming around the Red Sox clubhouse on Sunday morning. 

Boston dispatched with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday with a win in Game 6 of the ALCS, 5-2. After the champagne bottles were popped and most had cleared out, one person remained to nab a souvenir: 

At around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to Yawkey Way for a report of larceny and found Robbins inside the Sox clubhouse. When asked what he was doing, Robbins began to exit the clubhouse, dropping Napoli’s beloved glove along the way, the statement said.

Robbins was stopped by fast-thinking Fenway security staff in a parking lot reserved for players. He was carrying Red Sox and Major League Baseball press box passes, which lead them to believe Robbins had also been in the press box, the statement said. It was unclear how he had obtained the credentials.

Hanson reports Robbins was arraigned on Monday on charges of “attempting to commit a crime and trespassing.”

He may have had better luck walking away with one of their beard trimmers, because it doesn’t seem like any of the players are using them anyway. 

That item he was hoping to get away with, Napoli‘s glove, is valued at $450, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. 

Conley made the obvious statement that actual cost isn’t what matters here, because players are very particular how their gloves fit and feel. 

Anyone who has ever played understands the benefit to working in a mitt just right. Now extrapolate that to an MLB player about to play in the World Series and you get how important it might be for Napoli to have his glove. 

While there is no word on how Robbins happened upon credentials, the report states he most likely made his way into what Red Sox fans might consider hallowed ground, through an “authorized personnel” door.

For Napoli, he will be at first base along with his trusty mitt to open the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 31-year-old heated up against the Tigers after struggling at the plate in the ALDS. In 20 at-bats against Detroit, he batted .300 and clubbed two home runs, including a mammoth blast in Game 5.  

I am sure Cardinals pitchers were slightly hoping Robbins would have nabbed Napoli‘s bat instead. 

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Juan Uribe missed two bunts on Monday night before sending a two-run home run into the Los Angeles sky.

Much like that one tiny and wonderful Dodgers moment, the rest of the playoffs for the Blue Crew are shrouded in a little bad and a whole lot of good.  

Join MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar as he offers an initial assessment of what the Dodgers must do to get to the all-important World Series.

The journey will be an arduous one. As the Braves proved, there is no such thing as an easy inning in the MLB playoffs.

Whether it be the Cardinals or Pirates, Los Angeles will have to rely heavily on the front end of their starting rotation, their prolific offense and a couple of their lights-out bullpen arms.

We still have a few days before the Championship Series kicks off, so let your thoughts and suggestions be known in the comments section below.  

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Dustin Pedroia and the rest of the Boston Red Sox head into the MLB postseason as one of the hottest teams around. Win or lose, the star second baseman will have the support of wife Kelli and his wonderful family. 

As is the case this time of year, the heroics taking place on the field will captivate viewers. However, the camera has been known to catch the loved ones in the stands who are no strangers to the stress provided by the playoffs. 

One such person is Kelli Pedroia.

Husband and wife both attended Arizona State University and married in 2006. They have since welcomed two boys to their family, Dylan and Cole. 

What many might not know is that Kelli is a fighter. As recounted on Boston.com, she was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 18 years old.

Since that time, she has worked to raise awareness of the dangers of tanning beds and salons and the potential of harm from tanning outdoors. 

She wrote about her story for Melanoma Foundation New England’s website, which is well worth the read. She recalled summers bathing in the sun and her first trip to the tanning salon, wanting to duplicate the bronzed look of her friends. 

Sadly, her efforts delivered harrowing news in June 2002. 

I learned quickly that melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. At the young age of 18 I was the youngest patient my doctor had ever seen with it. I was ushered off to oncologists, dermatologists and surgeons all for this little mole that I got from laying out in the sun. When it was over and done I had a chunk taken out of my right thigh the size of a large egg and lymph nodes taken out of my groin area to make sure that the cancer hadn’t spread. Trust me, those scars that are permanently on my body were not worth the self image I felt I needed to live up to with a tan. My results came back perfectly clear, all the cancer was gone.

The cancer would come back two years later, and skin had to be removed from her clavicle and neck. Thankfully, she is healthy these days and proclaims to be cancer free. 

That hasn’t stopped her from not only raising awareness of her own personal plight but also championing other causes that afflict others. 

Back in 2007, Pedroia and other MLB wives helped amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research by participating in the 25-mile bike ride, “Positive Spin for ALS.”

More recently, she joined other Boston Red Sox wives in a fundraiser fashion show that aided the Red Sox Foundation, and she sat as a judge for the Big Sisters of Boston’s annual “Running with Bridesmaids” event. 

We hope she finds time amid a busy schedule to sit back and enjoy her husband’s latest jaunt into the MLB postseason. 

Red Sox nation will no doubt shower their boys with praise and applause, but we encourage you to throw a little Kelli’s way while you are at it. 

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Amid a bevy of young stars and Cinderella hopefuls, a familiar beard emerges in the MLB postseason. 

You either love him or hate him, but you certainly can’t take your eyes off Brian Wilson or his beard that continues to build as big a legacy as the man hidden beneath it. 

Last we saw of Wilson in the playoffs, he was tipping his hat to the Giants bullpen and giving them all the support he and his outrageous beard could muster. 

It’s all he could do as he came back from Tommy John surgery that April, a surgery he felt would help him return to the team he delivered 171 saves for from 2006-2012.  

Before that, he was busy providing the menacing gaze and powerful arm that gave the Giants six saves during the 2010 postseason, helping the franchise eventually win their first World Series since 1954. 

Fearing the beard was at an all-time high. 

Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine and a Tommy John procedure that is becoming as routine as a McDonald’s drive-thru, Wilson is back—only he pitches for the enemy. 

His arm is nearly as lively and his beard is iconic.  

Proving that he is as confounding to hitters as well as fans, Wilson provided remarkable stats to close the 2013 season as well as one peculiar moment featuring his former team’s CEO. 

As CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly reports, Wilson confronted CEO Larry Baer after the Giants win over the Dodgers on Sept. 26. 

While Wilson shrugged off the exchange as, “Just a conversation between me and him.” Baggarly found from sources it centered on his World Series ring he was yet to receive from his former team.

The act didn’t sit well with some, namely The San Francisco Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins who offers an interesting insight into a man he believes has become more on an off-kilter character than the one who once pitched for San Francisco. 

As Wilson crossed the field to lecture Larry Baer about not receiving his 2012 World Series ring (yo, Brian, they’ve been trying to give you that ring for seven months), I couldn’t help but recall a scene in Philadelphia before the start of the 2010 NLCS. 

Jenkins goes on to recall a forthcoming athlete who, in 2010, delved into an honest discussion of his personal history, sans wild beard and silly peripherals. 

Jenkins continues with what he believes Wilson has become. 

Now he’s someone who was invited to the Giants’ ring ceremony (in April) and refused. Someone who was offered a private ring presentation with the Dodgers in town this week, but turned it down.

If one were so inclined, you could draw a comparison to his neat beard that was trimmed and in control to the one that seems to have taken over his face. Can we possibly believe Wilson is now as wild as his facial hair because of one interaction in 2013?

That’s what some might believe. Jenkins even points to The Chronicle’s Henry Schulman who he quotes as saying, “Somewhere along the line, Wilson got angry. And he’s been mistreating a lot of people who were awfully good to him over the years. Sad.”

Once again, Wilson will hit the big stage, beard in tow. The fact that his velocity is up and his ball has movement means those outside the Los Angeles area will get to reintroduce themselves to the wacky antics of Wilson anew. 

Fangraphs shows Wilson’s fastball averages in at 92.6 miles per hour, faster than what we saw before he went down in 2012—their velocity chart illustrates his speed even approaches that of his 2011 totals.

In just over 13 innings pitched with the Dodgers, Wilson has posted a 0.66 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, striking out 13 batters. 

So we assume the Dodgers will look to Wilson, a man with postseason experience, a few times in the coming weeks. It’s then that most will have to ponder a question that has no real answer: Who is the real Brian Wilson?

Is he the candid pitcher who was just beginning to reach his potential with the Giants? Is the jokester who introduced a world to The Machine? Or is he just a great pitcher who is a genius at marketing his brand?

Perhaps he is all, or maybe none truly encapsulate someone so seemingly bizarre off the mound but calm and collected when he is on it. 

The only thing we know for sure is he commands your attention, and will be a welcomed addition to an already star-studded MLB postseason. 

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Magic numbers, seeding and playoff chatter abound, so it’s time to break down where these contenders fall on the bracket.

As we see, having two wild card spots has only helped the intrigue. A myriad of AL and NL teams are still in the race, giving us some tremendous games to close out an already fantastic year.

While things remain fluid with a week to go in the season, MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar have some predictions to throw out there.

There is no shortage of entertaining races in either league. Divisions are being clinched and champagne bottles are already starting to pop.

Still, we have a couple of division races to debate as well as wild card messes to clean up. Of course, we would love for you to join in and take our predictions to task or offer up your own if you are feeling particularly saucy.

Or, you can always hit us up on Twitter:

Follow Zach at: @zachrymer

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OK, who peed in the pool?

The screams that emanate from public pools throughout the summer now surround the lamest controversy to ever saddle MLB.

Dodger Scribe’s Tony Jackson (h/t Deadspin) reports there may have been some Los Angeles Dodgers players who relieved themselves when they jumped into the pool at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field last Thursday, causing the reporter to change his stance on whether it was fine for the team to take over that area of the stadium:

The reason I am doing an about-face here is that it has come to my attention that one of the Dodgers players who jumped in the pool — and I will do him the favor of leaving his name out of this for now — openly and loudly bragged after leaving the pool about having urinated in it.

To me, that takes this to a whole different place. It takes it from a giddy, spontaneous celebration to an ugly, disgusting display of utter classlessness.

There also are indications that MULTIPLE Dodgers players urinated into the pool, but I can’t tell you that with any certainty. 

Allegations about several players peeing into the pool are based on hearsay, so we will take them with a healthy measure of skepticism.

First, I would like to put you pool urinators in the same class of people who think it’s fine to leave the bathroom without washing your hands.

The reason I never enter the bacteria frappe that is every Las Vegas swimming pool is the same that I shake my head at every dude leaving the bathroom without a courtesy wash: People are gross.

If you don’t believe me, Ryan Lochte is an admitted pool violator.

(GIF credit: rooneymara.tumblr.com)

As a general rule, do the exact opposite of Lochte and your life should continue swimmingly.

For some reason, people think that if a body of water surrounds you, it’s completely fine to urinate, as if the pool has some mystical power that makes it socially acceptable.

That is hardly the point, because we are talking about the Dodgers and that now infamous pool scene, as if the sport’s unwritten rules also included a subsection on proper pool etiquette.

It’s not fine for any player to urinate in the pool—even though we assume whoever rented that bad boy out for the game did the exact same thing at some point over nine innings.

With that said, whichever Dodgers player peed in the pool should be ashamed of himself and deserves public mocking—but that’s about it. If an Olympian can admit the same to a nonchalant world, we can do the same for the Dodgers.

Still, Jackson should come clean with the name so we can all laugh and chide him for being awful. Aside from that, I am done caring about something that doesn’t really matter.

Are we all that shocked that an MLB player urinated in the pool like a child? Have you ever been in a dugout? It’s the nastiest place in the world, filled to the brim with discarded paper cups, chewed seeds and pools of dip spit.

Let’s be adults and admit we all just assumed someone peed in the pool. They jumped in with dirty uniforms and cleats on. Something hinted at the fact that someone was going to leave a calling card.

Now we patiently wait for Senator John McCain and D-Backs utility man Willie Bloomquist to offer their thoughts on the matter.

As you might recall, McCain called the Dodgers’ mere act of jumping into the pool a “No-class act by a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats!” He tweeted that opinion well before this urine turn in the story. 

Bloomquist was a tad more reserved with his statement. “It’s surprising because they have a lot of veteran guys on that team that I thought were classier than that,” he said, via Tyler Emerick of MLB.com.

For the rest of you who are outraged and want to destroy the Dodgers over what you consider a classless and disgusting act, relax.

Let’s all put things into perspective, although it will be near impossible for many of you.

The team jumped into a pool. One, or possibly a few of them, urinated in the pool like an immature heathen.

If true, it’s gross. But this is hardly the Black Sox scandal here. Take a deep breath, because you will need all your energy when you lose your minds over the next silly Yasiel Puig controversy.

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What was to be a wild 162-game romp that would take six months to complete is now down to a handful of games that will be played in less than a fortnight.

That’s right, the Major League Baseball postseason is upon us, and it’s time for some fresh predictions from B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar and MLB Lead Writer Zachary D. Rymer.

The last time Gabe and Zach checked in with predictions, Gabe tackled the National League and Zach tackled the American League. It’s the opposite this week, but the format is the same. Postseason locks will be dealt with quickly, and then it will be on to the messy scenarios.

These days, that means the Central and wild-card situations in the Senior Circuit and the wild-card situation in the Junior Circuit. Indeed, “messy” doesn’t really come close to adequately describing the latter.

Leave your comments and questions below if you have any, and you’re also welcome to follow Gabe and Zach on Twitter.

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Follow Zachary: @zachrymer

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The Houston Astros dance roughly as well as they play baseball. 

Looming at 99 losses on the season, you can probably guess how these guys did on the dance floor. Of course, we are just giving MLB‘s answer to the Bad News Bears a hard time. 

As CSN Houston reports, five players competed in what was called Dancing with the ‘Stros, a charity event to help raise money for the Astros Foundation. 

While some of the players had some issues with moving rhythmically, they all seemed to have had a blast. You can see why this team is especially easy to root for in 2013. 

Now, the report states Dallas Keuchel beat out Jake Elmore, and that Jose Altuve fell to a controversial third place. Jarred Cosart and Trevor Crowe completed the five players who had what seems to be one epic dance off. 

We also like to point out that Altuve is always an optimist: “I have to be in the top five, easily.” The other important thing to note is the players had all of one hour to practice before getting up in front of people as they laughed and judged their dancing. 

You can see how smart that idea was as we watch Crowe attempt to slide under one of the dancers. His Willie May Hayes impression is easily the best part of the video. 

Hey, at least it wasn’t a slide into third during a crucial game. Still, he may want to work on that move a little more. 

Wacky shirts and bad dancing were enough to get the crowd smiling, but Elmore chimed in with what the night was really about: “Doing it for charity, that’s the number one thing, and getting people here and entertaining them. We had a good time.”

It would be easy to hang heads and mope in what is a very trying season. Sure, we give these guys a hard time, but it’s only because we care—and the dancing is that bad. 

Wins and losses are meaningless, because these guys are a fun team to watch as long as there is a dance floor involved. 

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