The Sunday Of My Discontent

Last Sunday started off great. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning, and after a lazy breakfast, a few errands, and some finishing touches on the yard work that I had started on Saturday, I was in my chair with a sammich just in time for the first pitch of game 3 of the Sox/Angels series. Things looked encouraging as the game progressed, and I had high hopes that the Sox would force a game 4. The boys were home and taking care of business, the Pats weren’t starting til 4pm., and I was in for one of those delicious October Sundays of baseball, football and food. Ah, heaven. Or so I thought...

We had to be on the road by 3:30-ish to attend a Pat’s game/fantasy basketball draft party, and as the time approached I was feeling pretty good about leaving. Pap was in, and there were 2 outs in the ninth. What could go wrong?

Well, you know what happened next. By the time I had shut off the tube and transitioned to my vehicle, things were bad and getting worse. The Sox season ended while I was truckin’ along the highway. Thank God little Tommy Cruise had the Zakim shut down for filming, or I might have been tempted to take a fast, hard right after that last out.

Anyways, we get to the party, and although everyone is a little down to start with, the Pats are on and things are looking pretty good out in Denver. Spirits lightened as the food and drink flowed, and we all started jabbering about our upcoming draft. Once again, you know what happened next.

All pretense of an early start (and finish) to our draft went out the window as the game tightened in the second half. We were glued to the set(s), and the crowd roared and groaned with every play. As the Broncos drove down for their winning field goal in overtime, I started to feel a little sick. Were we going to see another home town team let a sure win slip away?

Yup.

So, my perfect Sunday imploded, at least from a hometown team point of view. I still had the beautiful morning, nothing could take that away, and our fantasy draft couldn't have gone any better, but in between, now that’s another story. I was bitterly disappointed.

After all these years of fandom, all the ups and downs, I’ve become a little thick skinned, and I’m able to shrug off the bad times pretty quickly, but I still can’t divorce myself from it completely. I wish I could, but there’s some primal force deep down inside of me that will not be denied. When it’s happening, it makes me crazy. When it’s over, I go into ostrich mode. Monday I busied myself with the business of winterizing, and stayed totally incommunicado until supper time. No sports talk radio, no ESPN, no phone calls. Just me, my iPod and the storm windows. Occupational therapy, if you will.

As the week went on, I started to feel better about things and slowly pulled my head from the sand. Seeing the Jets lose Monday night helped a great deal, as did tweaking my kick butt fantasy basketball lineup. Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Jason Kidd and Nene, sweet! Anyways, as I march into the new weekend I have a much better attitude, and the following thoughts in my head:

The Sox were cooked, and I’m glad they got knocked out early. The Angels were the better team this year, they earned it, and had the series gone on and ended poorly late on a weeknight, I would have been even more upset. West Coast playoff games are the pits.

Can the Sox pull it together for next year? We’ll find out soon enough. The equipment truck leaves for Fort Myers in less than 4 months, so things will start poppin’ the minute the playoffs are over. Not much time between seasons when you factor in the hubbub of the holidays.

Speaking of Fort Myers, I gotta start getting the place ready. The front office will be down early and maybe I can pick up a long term rental. Now there’s a thought!

I’m confident that the Pats will take the AFC East. Above all, they need to be consistent. Flashes of greatness in a sea of mediocrity won’t cut it in this conference. Remember last year when 11-5 wasn’t good enough?

They really need to be on the mark this week against the Titans. It’s easy to say the right things but mentally dismiss a losing team, and losing teams can be dangerous. You don’t have to look any further than Miami beating the Jets in a shootout last week for the proof.

I’m also looking forward to the start of the NBA season, both to see the Celts back in action, and to kick butt in my fantasy league!

So go Pats, go Celts, go Jammers… and sleep tight, Sox.

That is all.

Sox Beat Angels 3-2, Move On To ALCS!

Tied at 2 in the 9th, with 1 man on and 2 outs, Jed Lowrie singled to drive in Jason Bay. Game, set, match.

Who would have thought that the Sox could dominate the Angels with Lester as the stud, backed by a cast of rookies and newbies? Amazing. I love these guys!

(In a fraternal way, of course.)


Full recap on redsox.com

Another Late Night

It’s almost time for game 2 (9:30 on TBS), and I’m preparing myself for another late night. Wednesday night I was beat and I didn’t think I was gonna make it through all 9. I got into bed and thought I’d conk right out, but the game was just too good, and I found myself wide awake until the final out. Bay came through, Youk’s the man, and how about those kids, huh? Amazing.

It’s been a long strange season, and most teams would have crashed and burned long ago given all the controversy and injury that’s plagued the Sox this year, but this team has morphed into a hustling bunch of hit dogs who can flash leather with the best of them. Seems like they might have a little bit of that old Patriot’s magic going for them, and perhaps Francona and Epstein are just a little bit better at their jobs than people give them credit for. A good manager combined with a good front office can do a lot, just look at the Dodgers...

Lowell’s out tonight (and probably for at least the rest of the series), and Francona has shuffled the infield to make up. Youk to 3rd, Kotsay at first and Cora in for Lowrie. In Terry and Sabermetrics we trust, because we must.

Oh, and I'm not gonna try to watch it in bed tonight. I start thrashing around when it gets tense, and I don't think my wife, or the cat, appreciates it. Yup, looks like I'll be riding the couch tonight. That’s OK, the bigger TV means less eye strain, more volume, and no cat’s rump blocking my view during crucial moments. I can live with that.

Go Sox!

It’s Playoff Time!

The Sox open up their post season play in Anaheim tonight at 10pm on TBS, and although I hate these late night starts, I’m still pretty excited to get things underway. Thank God I’ve got HD in the bedroom.

I think it’s going to be a great post season and I have high hopes for the Sox, as always. Mannywood and the Dodgers are off to a quick start with a 7-2 win over the Cubs. How cool, and Karmic, would a Sox-Dodgers showdown be?

TBS has both Orsillo and Eck on the payroll for the playoffs, so coverage may not be too bad, and you can get your Remy fix on NESN’s Pre and Post Game shows.

And speaking of sports announcers, Comcast Sportsnet has added Troy Brown to their Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight show’s already impressive roster. Nice!