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One Streak Mercifully ends...
September 24, 2008
while another hopefully begins. This past Sunday, my Boston bad luck climaxed as I watched the New England Patriots get pummeled, whipped, battered, and mixed rapidly to a frothy consistency by Chad-sissy-arm-Pennington and the Miami Dolphins. My friends were calling me, begging that I move to St. Pete to bring my lack of luck to the Tampa Bay Rays, and I didn’t even have the stomach to defend myself--I was actually one loss away from browsing the Florida Craig’s List.
Last night changed everything.
Last night, the Red Sox beat the Indians to clinch a spot in the playoffs and I was at Fenway to see it. Cliff Lee; Mr. 22-and-2, Chaser of the Cy Young, was no match for Boston’s bats, and I was there to see it when he turned and stared in horror as Kevin Youkilis went yard in the second. I was there when Papelbon closed out the eighth with one pitch, and the ninth with pure heat; proving brilliant the drunk guy next to me who was roaring “you can’t hit his fastball!” with every release. When “Thank You Red Sox Nation” flashed on the scoreboard I got to be one of the thousands of fans who lifted up their arms, squeezed their eyes shut and tilted back their heads in unequivocal joy. Nobody in the Park was giving up on chasing the Division down, or forgetting the road we still have ahead on the way to even making it to the ALCS, but as Alex Cora moved over to catch a Victor Martinez pop-up for out number three, the masses just wanted to revel in the moment.
It was the calm before the storm.
Pap unsurprisingly kicked things off, wind-milling his throwing arm in frantic “It’s up! He’s out! Catch the damn ball! SEEYA!” gestures after Martinez unwittingly ended the game. No sooner did the ball make that glorious “thock” sound in Cora’s glove did chaos quickly converge on the mound and in the stands. We filthy Boston fans Loved That Dirty Water and screamed Tessie’s name along with “Nuff Said” McGreevy, as we watched grown men chase each other around in their Under Armour. Heidi Watney attempted to interview a beaming Dustin Pedroia, but the initial words were lost to the crowd—the chanting of “MVP!” was simply too loud.
It was the perfect way to end a nasty streak. It’s also, I think, a brilliant way to start a new streak for the Red Sox. As Terry Francona said, “We still have more baseball to play,” so get to it boys: Play like winners do, with the fire in your hearts that was stoked last night with the word “clinch.” The fans will be with you, pitch-by-pitch and out-by-out
Semper fidelis.
-sportsgal
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