i dont feel good about this postseason, this series, or this game this afternoon. i will never feel good about it again. why? because we were up 5-2 with 1 out in the 8th against the yankkes in game 7 of the ALCS. thats why. and no, i cant get over it. it’s not even a sacr, it’s still a scab. the wound has not healed. so as we get ready to do this all over again, i am much more guarded than last year.
remember last year? Crushing Game 1 defeat to the A’s in extra innings. it was torture to endure all that and lose on a bunt. The Sox were never in Game 2. By the time I got to the bar to watch, they were down and never came back. I figured it was done. Great year wasted. But then Nixon homered to win Game 3, Ortiz doubled off Foulke in the 8th to win Game 4, and Lowe sat em down in the ninth to pull off the miraculous comeback.
I remember nothing about the ALCS except for two things. 1) sprinting around my house when Ortiz put Wells’ first pitch into the seats for a 3-run eigth inning lead and 2) sitting on my counter watching it all unfold in the bottom of that inning. let’s move on.
the old wound is not healed, but once again we are back for more. the pitching and defense are better than last year, the hitting is just as good, the manager is just as bad. we know all the variables.
so i don’t know what to expect this year. The Sox have just as good a chance as any other team to win 11 games first. But the sample size is so small that anything can happen. This year i am ready for anything. I will not hold back, I will jump with joy and groan in agony. But one thing i won’t do is sprint around my house in the 8th inning. I’ll save that for something a little more concrete than a 3-run lead with 5 outs.
so with that said, let’s play ball…