I find myself today in a very, very big boat, the S.S. Red Sox Nation. The only good thing I can say about last night’s game is that sometimes it is a blessing to be three hours behind Beantown time – at least for me, the debacle ended early enough that I could have a boat drink and a mind-clearing swim before retiring to bed. I doubt many passengers on this ill-fated ship can say the same thing – most I’m certain are like Denton and woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.
It’s on days like this one needs to take the advice of Seth Mnookin as he writes in his Feeding the Monster blog:
So take a day off. Take a week off. Don’t read the sports section. Don’t listen to ‘EEI — or any sports radio, regardless of where you live; it’ll only make you depressed, or mad, or both. Take a walk. Treat yourself to a nice lunch. Find something to be thankful for — the weather, or the lobster roll at Legal, or your family, or your dog. If you don’t live in New York, be thankful for that: there’s nothing like a couple of days of intense humidity to bring out the stench of rotting garbage. Look on the bright side: now you can schedule that October vacation. And remind yourself: it’s only a game.
As much as I hate to say it, you have to tip your hat to the Yankees – they went into this series knowing the Red Sox pitching staff was having trouble throwing strikes lately and stayed patient enough through the appetizers and main course to feast on Boston’s bullpen buffet for dessert. Sure, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi have been especially hot, but the Sox’ pitching has been the worst I’ve seen in recent memory, as evidenced by the Boston-to-Pawtucket see-saw game foisted on Boston’s bullpen during what was supposed to be the most important series of the year.
Today the faithful call upon David Wells to try and avoid a sweep, but make no bones about it – this game is for pride only: taking the first four, the Yankees have already accomplished what they needed to do.
So here we are on August 21, and the season is, for all intents and purposes, over. Theo’s putting the brave face on, but even he has to realize his crappy trades and poor roster decisions have had as much to do with this disaster as Tim Wakefield’s, Matt Clement’s and Keith Foulke’s injuries. The truth is, has been, and will always be that you can’t expect to beat the Yankees at any time unless you’re prepared to bring and play your best. And for this series, the Red Sox did neither and their management has to take the blame for that.
Of course, Terry Francona’s managing this weekend has left A LOT to be desired as well – perhaps Joe Torre would be nice enough to toss him a life preserver?
As a Sox fan, I’m kinda glad they folded early rather than late if they were going to do that. I can focus most of my attention on football now. The baseball Cards (My other favorite) are still alive but I don’t consider them a championship contender this year but you never know. The idea is to get there and see what happens. As a lifelong National League fan, I would surely like to see a senior league champion win the World Series again.
Comment by Rob — August 22, 2006 @ 6:53 am
Unfortunately, Rob I don’t see the Cards going very far this year. And, really, anyone from the senior circuit for that matter. The American League seems to have all the good young pitching and I still think Chicago is the favorite with Detroit a close second. The Yanks have the bats but I just don’t see them having enough pitching to get there.
Comment by The Great White Shank — August 22, 2006 @ 9:35 pm
I couldn’t agree more. I like the White Sox, too, and don’t see much of a challenge from the National League against any of the American League contenders. The only thing I ask is that both New York teams get eliminated quickly. If we have another “subway” series, I will not watch a single pitch.
Comment by Rob — August 23, 2006 @ 3:51 am
Actually, I was saying to Tracey last night that there’s one good thing about the Sox not making the post-season – not having to watch the obnoxious bozos on FOX and ESPN do games. (Although, I’ll admit that if I see the Yankees are about to be eliminated I’ll tune to see the camera do its traditional “frown/scowl” pan across the players faces – one of the quiet joys in life, I think…)
Comment by The Great White Shank — August 23, 2006 @ 1:14 pm