Wild Things

Congratulations Boston Red Sox. I love saying that at the end of the season. It's either Wild Card or Groovy Banner, it's ALL good!
12 years* 6 months ago the Sox opened in Japan against the Athletics. I thought then, that it was unfair to both teams to have to break camp early and play on a different planet. I felt like someone had stacked the deck against the Red Sox. With that kind of start {and the injuries} and the sensitivity that Dice K has to travel, I figured we, the Nation, had a good excuse if they failed to make the playoffs. The really weird thing is that I wasn't that worried. Truly, we own the wild card. It's a given. It's ours {if we go one step beyond, we get the groovy banner} It's a habit. You know, like Arod choking.
I have been teased by a friend, all year about the DEVIL Rays. "Hey! When are they gonna die?? You said they would fold! What? Sox can't beat the Ray of sunshine??" ** The DEVIL Rays surprised me. But thanks to them, I can't even respect what they have accomplished as a team this season. Had they just played and talked about what a great feeling it is to be out of the cellar... Nope, what they had to do was get all uppity. Cocky. Smug. They beat us at the Trop and then played "Sweet Caroline" while the Sox Faithful filed out of that vile, sorry excuse for a ball park. They brought a knife to a fist fight. So, it comes down to one game. Am I worried? Nope. "We" played all season, hurt, tired, distracted and stayed in second place through it all.*** The DEVIL Rays season was an aberration. A cosmic mistake. For those of you following "Fringe"... a butterfly effect. I'm not worried. One game or another, we still playing in October. "Excuse me, Mr. Jeter? Can I carry that golf bag for you?"
I really can't help but wonder, what if:

• Papi didn't hurt his wrist.
• Mike didn't hurt his hip.
• Tek didn't mess with his swing and slump.
• Drew didn't hurt his back.
• Buchholtz didn't implode
• Oki didn't lose his pitch location
• Lugo didn't tear his quad... stop laughing!
• Schilling didn't hurt his shoulder.
• Colon didn't hurt his back during interleague play... {and lose his everlovingmind in the process}
• Ellsbury didn't doubt himself out of identifying pitches.
• Timlin didn't cut his finger and hurt his knee after that
• Coco didn't cut his hair****
• Everybody didn't get the flu... and strep throat... and the flu again.
• Manny had just been Manny and not listened to "Boris the Spider".

So much happened this season and the Red Sox just owned 2nd place. It blows my mind. Really, What if ???? Can you imagine? What ever happens, I'm proud of the Red Sox, everyone of them. The 9 on the field, the band in the Pirate Ship. The Dudes on the bench, always ready. The skipper, the owners, the mascot, the beer guys... everyone of them. Excellent work. You guys did enough to get a us a few more games before summer is officially over.*****


* It sure feels like it was 12 years ago! It has been a very long season.
** My ex friend survived his initial injuries and my court ordered house arrest would have ended on Monday, however... police say the know for a fact that my house was the last place he was seen alive... I might need some help with bail...
*** Second is the new first ;-)

****He has forgotten the bible school story of Sampson!
*****Last day of summer is in Novenbah! Fascist calandar

Bay starts a fire....

Today Papi was being Jacoby, Dice K was being Becks and Mike was being Mike. I found out that Mike Lowell has bone spurs in his hip. YOWZA!! That has got to hurt. You know Mike tho... he is still there, grinding it out. Papi stole second base and got a laugh later when he started eyeing third. I heart Papi. Dice K is having an outstanding day, his pitch count is high but he looks better than I have seen him in a long time.

The girls at Fenway are already in love with Jason Bay. I'm enjoying reading all the "Bay" signs in the bleachers. I was blown away with the standing ovation the Nation gave Bay as he walked up for his first at bat. A standing ovation. Any way you cut it, the Fenway Faithful are a classy bunch. I can't help but wonder how he would have been received at Yankee Stadium. What if he had replace Jeter, for example. I'm thinking it would have been more of a Bronx cheer.

So the game goes into a rain delay with Varitek at bat... with a full count. Crap. That seems so unfair. At least the Red Sox are winning. It's 5-2. I remember sitting through a rain delay as a kid. A couple of the players took their cleats off and went out to have some fun sliding around on the tarp. They pantomimed pitching and hitting, stealing second head first and scoring the winning run. They were soaked through and having a ball. I remember every minute of that delay but couldn't tell you who won the game or what the score was. Huh, that was 30 years ago.... but, damn. Now I feel old.

Bay found out why the boys in red socks take off their batting helmet before returning to the dug out after a run. {I'm pretty sure there should be a comma someplace in that sentence}
"...you get pounded in the head pretty good. I took that thing off immediately when I got there," Bay said. "We just have a tendency to get people in the head when they don't take off their helmet," said catcher Jason Varitek.
Jed Lowrey might be an Athletics killer. In the first two games he went 4-7. The combination of Bay and Lowrey has worked out phenomenally well these last two games and it has continued today. Ells and Tek are climbing out of their slumps and Tito might move Jacoby back to the top of the order very soon.

Delay is over and we are back to soxball. Oki is in to relieve Dice K. Top of the seventh inning. Oki has really struggled this season. I sure hope he can figure out how to get the magic back. We really miss it. Btw.. the lady sitting behind home plate must be on her third ice cream cone. That or it's taking her forever to finish it. I'm really jonesing for some ice cream... see ya.