Glad to be out of the mountains. The altitude was giving me a headache. Leaving the Rockies after a rout, hopefully set a new tone.

The Red Sox travel to San Francisco today for the SFGate.com calls the hottest ticket in town.

The Giants vs. Red Sox. This matchup brings us to an earlier, simpler time. These two teams last faced each other in the 1912 World Series.

1912 was quite a year for the Red Sox, led by Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. Speaker's stats are astounding, especially when you consider 1912 was in the middle of a pitching era. He had 222 hits, 136 runs, 10 HR, .383 avg., 90 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Speaker is the only major league ballplayer to have three batting streaks of 20 or more games in one season (1912). Look at any offensive stat and you'll see Speaker's name up there with Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe Jackson. He led the league in home runs, doubles, extra-base hits and on-base percentage. He was in the top three in all other stats. Amazing! You can find out more about his life and career at his official site. Yes, even Tris Speaker has a Web site.

The Red Sox were indeed a force to be reckoned with. The team led the AL in scoring (799). They also amassed 105 wins that season, in which only 152 games were played.

But it wasn't all about the offense. The team also included some pretty fine pitching. Smoky Joe Wood, Buck O'Brien and Hugh Bedient. These guys could pitch. In fact, it was the last time the Red Sox had three 20-game winners on the same team. 34 wins for Wood alone, 16 in a row. Like Speaker, Wood has stepped into the 21-century and has an official site. Baseballreference.com has all the 1912 Red Sox stats.

The series itself reads like a classic. In fact, one game ended in a tie, due to darkness (night games were not yet being played). So the teams played eight times to determine a champion. Baseballalmanac.com summarizes the events during the series. You can also get a summary of all the World Series matchups at the Sporting News.

This weekend's match-up could be that exciting. I'm especially interested to see how the Sox deal with the best player in baseball, Barry Bonds. Bonds leads the league in intentional walks. He is well on his way to breaking the record that he set in 2002. According to SFGate.com, the only way the Giants can stop the walks is to protect Bonds in the lineup. The Boston Globe has heated things up by reporting statements in which Bonds calls the City of Boston racist. I'm beginning to think that he may be intentionally pitched at.

MLB.com claims the Red Sox are ready to face this foe. I know I'm ready to watch.

Reader comments: How should the Red Sox deal with Barry Bonds?

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