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Hell in my living room

Nothing is more terrible than living with a Phillies fan right now. He is in the living room  in his t-shirt(a shirt I only saw in the past week) beside his girlfriend on our couch. No chance of me watching the Bruins game now. They both have their laptops on their laps and are filling out grad school applications while watching the game.

So I call him out on this. His response?

“Well, it’s not like it’s the Giants.”

And this is why Boston should be in the World Series right now. Even if our players can’t win, our fans certainly can.

This is also why you should never find housemates on craigslist.

God loves a tryer

It never stops being heartbreaking.  I thought after this winter I had learned my lesson. But if that had been the case I would have stopped being a sports fan the same year i became one. In my mind Jason Bay was about to get a solo homer, Kotsay was going to walk, and Tek was going to get an RBI. I was dreaming of extra innings. I said to my father, Bay will homer, and then we’ll get three consecutive strike outs. As much as I try to mentally prepare myself for doom, it never works.

My father didn’t know what to do when the game ended. He quickly turned off the television like a I was a child and this was a horror movie I was too young for. I stared at the blank screen. He reminded me of all the injuries. He waved my Bruins sweatshirt in the air and reminded me of the home opener I would be at shortly. But I was looking out the window. Calculating the impact of the pavement from five stories.

I will never forget watching my first rugby match in Galway. The Irish team got wrecked by Wales. It was miserable. An old man a few seats down from me said, ‘God loves a tryer’, finished his pint and got up and left, this game a simple mishap.  I always remind myself of this on nights like these.  I want to be that kind of fan. God loves a tryer. I would finish my pint and look to hockey and basketball  season. I think buying Bruins season tickets was me trying to be more like this. But after tonight I’m thinking maybe it was the wrong answer.  How many teams in Boston do I want heartbreak from? We can’t fault them for not trying. And yet, staring at the blank screen I am able to fault myself for so many reasons. I didn’t switch to black at the seventh. I wasn’t wearing my lucky hat. I hadn’t spent my entire income on a play off ticket. And I was wearing the wrong socks.

I’ll know better next year. And for now I’ll try to rebound with the Bruins, i just need to be careful not to get too attached...

Yes, it happened...

I was wearing all black and talking about hockey season. My house was bad luck. My pub was bad luck. My friend forced me out of both. We got into a cab. The cab was bad luck. The cabbie seemed scared of my commentary on the game and quickly switched the station to NPR.

I paid seven dollars to see a concert so I wouldn’t watch the soon end of baseball season. I spent too much money on PBR knowing I had nice chilled Sierra Nevadas in my fridge at home because I was afraid to be alone. I paid seven dollars to watch the game at the dive bar next to the live show.

Best seven dollars ever spent. Best PBR I have ever drank. Best seventh inning I have ever watched. Best comeback in seventy-nine years. Yes, it happened. Papi finally hit. Drew was the clutch player we know he can be. The champagne was boxed up. And everyone in Boston pinched themselves, but this was real.

And now for the dilemma, how do I watch the game Saturday and attend a New York wedding? Who plans a wedding in the post-season? You would think people would be a little more understanding, but then again, it is a New York wedding. Good thing my Red Sox earrings match my red heels perfectly.

Waiting on my Socks...

So after a day of wearing my Sox gear at work, smiling, telling the cashier while buying my beer we have nothing to be worried about. We have done this three times after all. I came home turned off all my lights and crawled back into bed. My radio is set up to the game. But I have heard them lose on the radio against the Rays. I have seen them lose on my TV, on my neighbors TV, and in my bar.

My red socks are finally done in the dryer. The game is less than in hour away. And I’m still in bed. Terrified. Still haven’t ordered my food or touched the beer in the fridge. I am too nervous to go anywhere far to watch this one. Too much is at stake tonight. In fact I’m nervous I won’t even make it to the living room.

But tonight it’s Dice-K. And if there’s one man who has earned our trust in this series, it’s him. So slowly by surely, I will find my way to my socks, my beer, my TV, and if it starts looking good, I’ll even chance the bar.

One night stand...

I wish today was one of those days were I could laugh at myself for being such a cynical sports fan. I wish when I was cursing at Francona on TV for putting Timlin in, I would have understood the decision later, when Timlin didn’t look like the Timlin I lose sleep over. Players have proved me wrong before. I called JD Drew Nancy for months before realizing my error.

However, this is not the case today. Instead I woke up sluggish. Did that really happen? Did a game that lasted longer than my shift (don’t worry we play the games at the bar) fall to the hands of Timlin? Maybe it was another tortured dream of mine, I'm running low on sleep. It was with this optimism I walked down the street to buy the paper and a cup of tea. All the Globe writers must have been feeling similarly, or gone to sleep before the game ended. Timlin is hardly referenced.

Timlin is the reoccurring one-night-stand Boston is always trying to forget. Lets talk about Masterson. Lets talk about Pap. And lets try to forget last night ever happened.

Get the champagne and whiskey ready

Only one more day of sleep and sanity left. Tomorrow we take on the mighty Tampa Bay. Dice-K will start us off. Do I think he is our ace this season? Not really, but on the road, he’s my go to guy. Then we have Beckett. His last appearance not quite the magic of last season, but he did look healthy, rusty, but healthy. He was able to throw over 100 pitches, with his last pitch at 93, not too shabby. Now he just needs to bring his game. And judging from his post-season history this won’t be hard. Lester. That says it all. And then our wild card, Wake. I have heard a few people say this is a mistake, and Francona should’ve gone with Byrd. There’s a reason Wakefield has been on this team over a decade, and hopefully he’ll be able to remind us of that.

So pitching, we’re all feeling pretty good. As for the rest of the team? Well, I’m still feeling pretty good. If someone had told me a few months ago we would be in the playoffs without Manny, Lowell, and with Pedroia on a cold streak, I probably would have contributed it to a suicide squeeze… But, really, this team has depth.  People are stepping up left and right. This isn’t about the big three, or Brady, the Red Sox this year have truly become about the whole roster. I’m excited to see what all these kids can do. I’m also ready for Papi to step it up the way we all know he can,

And as for those other guys? That’s the problem. They have depth too. It has been impossible to ignore the brilliance of Tampa Bay this year, unless, of course you live in Florida. Get some sleep while you can, this is going to be a tearjerker. Put some champagne in the fridge and cross your fingers, but also make sure you have a bottle of whiskey ready available.

One long roller-coaster ride...

Well, by now I have totally forgotten to post the rest of my playoff predictions before the playoffs actually started.
Good job, Elliot.
Anywho, so far in the playoffs we have seen the Cubs being the first team in playoff history to forfeit a series by not showing up to play, C.C. Sabathia showing just exactly why he isn't as good as his regular season stats appear to be, and an injured J.D. Drew homer in the ninth off of the record holder for saves in a single season.
Let's start with C.C. Sabathia. For all his National League dominance, he still managed to give up 5 runs in another playoff appearance that did not see him entering the sixth inning. I know, I know he made the start on short rest. I'm here to tell you THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Last year, C.C. got absolutely shelled by Boston in both games he pitched, and this year he couldn't manage to hold the Phillies down. I know the guy's going to get 14+mil to play in NY next year, but I can't help wondering if the Yankees are about to make another investment that will get them to the playoffs and crash and burn when he gets there.
*A-ROD, A-ROD*
His regular season numbers may be good, but both he and Manny are textbook examples of how the National League is so far inferior to the American League. C.C. would NEVER post those kind of second half numbers had he remained in Cleveland, or even another AL team.  Manny is thriving in LA, and is slamming National League pitching like they're serving it up to him on a tee.
Moving on.
The Phillies and Dodgers are set in the NLCS, and in the AL both series are still going with the AL East teams, your Sox and the Rays leading their respective series 2-1 heading into Game Fours tonight. The Red Sox are sending Jon Lester to the hill on short rest, who pitched a spectacular Game One in which he went seven, gave up four hits and one unearned run. The Angels are going with John Lackey, again on short rest. He took the loss in Game One but still pitched very well, his only blemish being a two-run shot by Jason Bay. Statistics favor the Red Sox in this game, as Lackey is 2-4 at Fenway, allowing 38 runs in eight appearances with an abysmal 6.34 ERA. However, he did take a no-no into the ninth earlier this year, which was broken up by my M-V-Pee-Wee, Dustin Pedroia. Give the edge to the Sox, prediction 6-2.

The Rays and White Sox play this afternoon, and Andy Sonnanstine will be pitching for the Rays. Tampa, showing great confidence in starting Sonnanstine as opposed to bringing ace Scott Kazmir back on short rest, will be facing White Sox sensation Gavin Floyd, who started Game One, giving up a pair of home runs to Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria in a loss. However, Sonnanstine is prone to the White Sox's biggest strength... the home run. Sonnanstine gave up 21 in 32 games this year, and look for him to have a bad outing as the White Sox force Game Five.

See you in the Championship Series, and until then, remember, don't trust C.C. Sabathia.

It takes Three

I was at work today at 8am. Although Shaughnessy said most of New England slept for JDs two run homer, it seemed to me the city was very much awake. For anyone of you who was asleep, shame on you. Watch the replay of it on NESN and never admit your snooze to anyone. Especailly me.

I walked to work with my breakfast tea and sports page feeling very considering I was running on 3 hours of sleep. It wasn’t until I came home I realized my shirt had been on inside out the entire day. A small price to pay to see a game like last night.

Those monkeys did make me a little nervous last night. Reading the sports page today also made me nervous. Yes, we do seem to be a much better team than the Angels come every October. But we still have to see how Beckett looks tommorow. We need a solid three. And we can never forget we were the ultimate underdog all those years ago, well what seems like many years.

In the sports page Ryan did remind us of the number 19-8. I remember that number. I think I was standing on the ledge of my apartment building. Lets not forget it takes three wins. And lets promise to never call Drew a Nancy ever again.

We have faith, they have monkeys...

Not only are they the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim, they also need little stuffed monkeys to pump up the fans. It would be like if we moved our park to Framingham and called ourselves the Boston Bostones at Framingham and when our team was down and out we threw around animated socks… It’s no wonder we can’t take them seriously even though they are talented as what..

The thing is we don’t need bad movies to believe in Fenway. We don’t need angels in our outfield. We already have a God there.

I called my friend who lives in the LA/Anaheim area to do some trash talking. His response, “wait is it like the baseball playoffs now?” I kid you not. There is a reason we endure the awful winters here. And also a reason I wish New York hadn’t been such a joke this season. It’s just not fun to trash talk monkeys. Lets hope Dice-K keeps his streak going…and lets keep beating LA.