Manny Who?
That expression is probably going to stick around for a while!
Game 1: Angels 1, Red Sox 4.
I suppose more than anything, this is a confidence builder. A confidence builder for a team whose reaction upon hearing about Beckett’s delayed start was “oh, sh**”. An assurance that while having Beckett would be nice, they have it in themselves to believe in their own skill as well as in their team as a whole.
Or maybe they didn’t want to be the one to muck it up for the pitcher, no matter who it was. And probably least of all for their most solid lefthander, however young he is.
Regardless, this was a win that this fan is grateful for, to kick start the postseason. And a pleasing reminder that our homegrown kids have it in them to pull it off, with or without the star players. Finally, that they are the ones who make watching ball fun.
Oh, by the way, Bay, thank you.
hell of a life, kid
Congratulations, Lester, for the nod and for the fantastic season.
From last year, taking the Red Sox to its final win for the World Series, to a no-hitter, and one of the most solid performances of any Red Sox starter this year, to being the one to kick off the post season, game one.
Hell of a life, kid. Live it, love it, enjoy it.
Rerun- LA/SF
So Manny did cut his tresses off. Torre has seemed to establish a pattern of demonstrating his authority over the two epitomes of the 2004 Red Sox “Bunch of Idiots.” Between Manny and Damon, who else? Yes, I heard it on the news, but it didn’t keep me from making a double-take.
ESPN here likes to play the same game twice. In the morning live, and in the evening a full-rerun for those of us who don’t wake up early enough.
So, rewatching it now, and catching the first six innings that I missed.
27 September: SF vs LAD
Innings watched: From the top of the 7th to the end.
Observations:
- In some way, the Dodgers have been a collector of previous Red Sox hot shots. And now those guys get another post-season shot.
- Joe Torre in a LAD unifrom.
- LAD closer Saito… there really is a trend of hiring Japanese players.
Highlights:
- The hit that broken the Dodgers out of the 1-1 tie.
- The “show of emotion” as the broadcasters called it, at the end of the 8th.
Dodgers also announced the pitching rotation for the first three and Lowe has the privilege of starting the series. I wonder if the postseason clinch is a trend of the Torre touch?
We’ll let them have it
Yes, it was disappointing that the Sox didn’t sweep the Yankees in their last duel on the Yankees Stadium. It would have been a sweet way to make a stand in their own turf, just before the lights go out.
But I can live with giving them their last game. As much as I was raised to despise anything pinstriped (I challenge you to find a pinstriped suit in my wardrobe!), the Yankee Stadium represented a big era.
It was the first of its kind, having the audacity to call itself such a grand appellation as a stadium, versus the more modest titles of “park” or “field” used as popular choice in its time.
It was the home of one of the most dominant baseball teams in the past century, and still held strong at the turn. Despite its ups and downs in the 70s, 80s, and even part of the 90s, the Yankees were a formidable force in baseball.
No matter how little one knew about baseball, if one were to name a baseball great, it probably would be on the the Yankees legends. Babe Ruth. Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio.
So, I’ll take the ending we were delivered. A sounding win and loss. And how appropriate it was that Giambi delivered that final stroke. How coincidental. Yet, how appropriate, that it would be an aging player from a fading era to delivery the final hoorah against the Red Sox.
What happened to my Sox?
I don’t expect a consecutive World Series win. I know baseball can be unpredictable. I don’t expect the best-of-the-best performance.
But I do expect good performance. Especially when the reigning WS team has maintained a significant portion of their core team the year. Is that too much to ask?
Instead, I get headlines on a single day like this:
- Sox demote Buchholz
- Francona optimistic about Beckett
- Lugo suffers setback
- Beckett has start delayed
- Battered Beckett accepts all the blame
- A defensive reaction from first baseman
- ‘Dog Days’ can separate contenders
We can all speculate our theories from what the team lost or didn’t do.
Mine is complacency. They did fantastic last year.. and assume they had enough to carry over.
It reminds me of an exchange I had with another rower a couple years ago. We met for dinner and I asked how she was holding up with her off-season training regime. She confessed “I’m not following it religiously. I’m young enough that I can get away with it.” Since she wasn’t on my crew, I didn’t comment. But if she had paid attention, she would have realised the pursed lips were some sort of facial exercise.
I’m back!
Well, sorta. This time difference is not conducive to following baseball. But, ironically, we get more baseball coverage than Olympic games coverage. Ironic but irritating. As an athlete and as a coach, I care about the Games. I understand the issue of broadcast rights, but if the designated station isn’t going to cover all, it should turn over the rest of the coverage to a cooperative and not-immediate-competition station, like ESPN or BBC Sports. ARGH.
We haven’t yet gotten SlingBox set up. Which adds to my frustration further. Especially since the only technically inclined person in the family…. is me. And I’m halfway across the globe from where the SlingBox is sitting right. now.
Anyway, when I found myself glancing up at a game recap on ESPN above the treadmill to catch a 10-12 score then after a few huffs and puffs, look up to see 16-16, I knew it was time to set up my baseball routine.
When I realised I didn’t even recognise the pitcher’s name, I knew I lost my touch.
When I realised I had a colleague whose 11 year old son loves the Red Sox even though neither parent is baseball-inclined, I knew I suddenly had a responsibility to not only impress but also educate the kid.
So, I’m back. Will be blogging within a few days once I read up and catch up on the Red Sox changes from the past two months. Yes, I know Manny is gone. Yes, I know who Bay is. I’m not that out of touch.
For a Red Sox fan…
…. his face looks rather horrifies. There must be dozens of pictures of his face all over the Internet now. lol.
what happened??
I leave and the team goes through a five game losing streak? Where’s the Red Sox?
It’s nice to come back to a game where Lester shows his stuff. A 9 inning shut-out. Good going, kid.
On other news.. I’m slowly settling into my new home in Thailand. Upon my first week here, I met a coworker who is a self-proclaimed Red Sox fan. He has the Bahstan accent so perhaps he really is fan enough to match me.
But my belongings are still en route, leaving me to live out of my suitcase for a while longer. *sigh* And we didn’t have success setting up Slingbox before I left. We’ll have to wait until my brother goes home to set it up. As soon as he does, Red Sox watching parties, it’s totally on! At least on the weekends.
Celtics!
How can a Boston fan complain these days?
“Now another generation has stories to tell” Huh. Seems like I was stuck in the middle. Grew up to the last decades of the Red Sox drought. And through the Celtics’ as well. So am I the “in-between” filler generation? Bother. Kids have it way too easy these days. “Back when I was a young’n… no one ever won….”
Asides: The notion that the NBA store had people posing with Celtics 2008 Champions t-shirts before the game started (first commercial after win clinched) didn’t sit well with me.
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