Posts Tagged ‘2009 ALDS’

Taken by me prior to Game 3. Thanks for the great year!

So what do I write?  I’m not one of those humor blogs like Surviving Grady that will come up with something humorous to help folks get through the pain and I’m not a jerk like the guy at Boston Dirt Dogs who takes pleasure in pointing out the shortcomings of the team and, especially, the more popular players.  So how do I come home, after spending almost 12 hours in the Fenway area, and make things feel better than they actually are?  I can’t.  I know I can’t.

But I can at least try.

I don’t pin all this on Jonathan Papelbon, so I hope no one comes here looking for my version of Pap-bashing.  Yes, he’s the one that gave up the hits that led to the runs that caused the team to lose today’s game – but he has 24 other teammates who had two other games to make their mark and they didn’t.  Every game this team won this year they won together – and they lose together too.  I don’t blame any one player and it annoys me when others do.  So there will be none of that from me.

See, I understand my place in the universe when it comes to this blog.  It took me a while but I get it now (especially thanks to many comments and email messages I received about this).  I want people to come here and know that they don’t have to deal with the same bull that they might have to deal with at other blogs and message boards.  It isn’t my desire to make any fans feel worse than they already do after a loss – especially a loss like this one.   I get no happiness from picking on players when they struggle or making someone feel terrible – so I sometimes go out of my way to make sure the tone here, while not being falsely optimistic, has a good balance.  Sure things suck but they could be worse.

I made this list today while sitting at Fenway after the game (we spent a long time just sitting in the stands after the game.  We didn’t leave until well after the organist had stopped playing).  Before I start feeling too sorry for myself, I should remember that instead of a Red Sox fan I could be a fan of the Mets, or the Reds, or the Pirates, or the Royals…or the Tigers or the Cardinals.  Now I don’t mean this to insult any of those fan bases.  I have a lot of respect for them, especially the Royals and the Pirates and, this year, the Mets.  You watch your team struggle and hope for the best and come out the other side with the absolute worst.  My team was in either first or second place for the better part of the season.  They went three games into the post-season.  They won 95 games in the regular season.  There were many more good days than bad this season.  So am I sorry that it’s over?  I am.  I’m deeply saddened that until next year I have no more Red Sox baseball to enjoy.  Am I mad?  No.  HELL no.  I’m proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished.  The Angels are a good team and there’s no shame in losing to a good team.  Disappointment, sure, but not shame.

So here’s my promise to you…you aren’t going to see comments from the likes of “Lou the Yankees fan”.   If you do, they’ll be gone soon thereafter.  As I’ve mentioned many times here, Toeing the Rubber isn’t America…it’s my own little part of the world where you don’t have freedom of speech or the right to say what you want.  I get to decide what gets said.  If you want that freedom, start up your own blog.  There is no way I’m allowing people to post here just for the purpose of making our fan base feel badly about their team.  We already are bummed and we don’t need the asswipes of the world rubbing it in.  I’m not big on moderating comments but I’m willing to make an exception now and then.  It’s more important to me that folks can come here knowing they don’t have to deal with the crap that you have to deal with in other places.  If people feel like this is the place to go to get away from the negativity, I’m going to make sure it stays that way.  (Doesn’t mean people can’t comment negatively, mind you.  I know there are times when folks need to vent and I hope they feel comfortable doing that here.  But I’m certainly not leaving the door open for Yankees fans – or others -  to come here to rub our noses in our disappointment.)

So the Red Sox lost.  The fellas have four months to shake this off and come back fresh.  I think they’ve earned the time off and I hope they all get to enjoy it.

Me?  I’m going to be bummed out for a while more but my spirit isn’t broken.  I love this team, I love this fan base and I’m here for the good and bad.

One other thing…I haven’t begun to give solid thought to which teams I’m hoping make it through to the World Series but I’m still watching the playoffs.  For the time being, all I ask is that, at some point, someone takes the Yankees down and takes them down hard.  I want them to lose and I want it to be ugly and painful for them.

I’m not proud. 

Clay can do it (Photo taken by me in Baltimore)

So I’m running late this morning…heading to Fenway early – so I have to make this short and sweet!

All I have to say is I’m hoping for a win – obviously, right?

They can do it. I have faith.

If folks are so inclined, feel free to use the comments section to chat tonight.

Go Sox – Go Clay!

The youngsters will help lead this team! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstil.net and used with permission

Because I am eternally optimistic, I choose to look at these two losses as a test. For the fans and for the team. Will they be able to bounce back? I sure think they will. Hell, I wouldn’t have watched until the final out last night if I didn’t believe they were capable of coming back.

But the winning needs to start now. Okay, not NOW. NOW they’re probably on a plane back to Boston (or already asleep in their beds). But tomorrow. The winning definitely needs to start tomorrow. Especially since I’ll be at Fenway to see it.

They’ve given us a good season. They’ve given us a lot to cheer for and a lot to be happy about this summer. The least we can do is support them to the end. Whether that end is tomorrow night or a lot deeper into October. Yeah, I’m planning on the latter.

I post the video below mostly because I think it’s funny and, unfortunately, true (and it was the first thing I thought as last night’s game ended). This does suck. But I have faith that it’s about to get a lot better.

(A big “thank you” to everyone who dropped by to chat last night! It’s always easier to go through the tough stuff with friends!)

I have great faith in JPB's ability to help bring the team a win! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.net and used with permission.

Well that stunk, no doubt about it. But, regardless of what the likes of our resident Yankee fan commenter thinks, one game does not make a series. Am I disappointed in how Game 1 went down? Hell, yeah. It sucked. But I’d be lying if I said that I woke up this morning worried about the team or their playoff chances. I just have too much faith in the talents of these guys to think losing the first game is indicative of anything more than their coming up against damn fine pitching in John Lackey and a few poorly placed pitches by Jon Lester and a bad night for Ramon Ramirez (the errors are non-issues to me since, really, there was only one even though the scoreboard said three).

And I don’t blame the umpires at all for last night’s loss but I will say that I truly believe CB Bucknor has no business being on a ball field, let alone in a playoff game and maybe some day MLB will actually hold umpires accountable for their poor performances – though I doubt it.  (Not that it means anything except that the players hate him, but twice Bucknor has been voted the league’s worst umpire by the players in Sports Illustrated polls – 2003 and 2006.)

What does bother me is having to wait, again, until 9:37pm for this to pick up!  I want redemption NOW! 

So yesterday we get the word that Tek will be catching Beckett and after the game the word comes out that Martinez will be catching him.  Before folks get all conspiracy-theoryish, keep in mind that Victor has good numbers against the Angels’ game 2 starter Jered Weaver and, especially given how the game went yesterday, do you want to see either Youkilis or Lowell taken out of that lineup just yet?  It’s a little sad to think that they’re a better team on that field with Tek in the dugout but, dammit, they are.  Kudos to Tito for playing this one to win.  I didn’t have any doubt that Tito would do what was best for the team but this move should certainly shut up those who were ready to give Tito crap for being “loyal” to his veterans.  I want Tek to do well with this team again but I also want them to win.  If one conflicts with the other I’ll choose winning over Tek’s ego every time.  We’re fortunate in that Tek is the kind of player to not outwardly show if he’s feeling slighted (regardless of how much the media wants to get him to say something).  The last thing the team needs is clubhouse drama playing itself out in the media.

Sox are a game down in a five game series.  We’re guaranteed at LEAST two more Sox games this post-season (and I’m planning on many more than that!) and the next one is tonight.  SO, once again, we’ll be live chatting here – join us if you dare!