I was thinking before Game Six about the dozens of curse-worthy incidents so far and how it seems by sheer force of will that at least one of them hasn’t turned into the Bucky Dent moment of 2004.
Schilling’s injury, Lowe pulled too early, Foulke brought in too early, Pedro left in too long, Mueller’s out at the plate, Manny’s error, Ortiz thrown out stealing, Damon’s awful bunt, Damon thrown out stealing, Francona leaving Varitek in to catch Wakefield and getting 3 passed balls, the initial bad calls on Bellhorn’s homer and Rodriguez’s interference, Schilling maybe pulled too early, Foulke giving up a walk to Matsui with Bernie Williams coming up as the tying run in the 9th…
In the past, any one of these would have turned into the latest lame excuse we use for not winning. Not this year. This year there’s enough curse to go around for both teams.
I’ve never believed in a curse. But I’ve also never truly believed in the Red Sox. I’ve been a fan since the age of 5, and I’ve followed them through thick and thin, but deep down I always expected them to disappoint me. They can’t do that now. It doesn’t matter what happens in Game 7. (Of course it matters. I want them to keep on winning, but if there’s a Sox fan who is disappointed after this, they should seek help immediately.)
How can you be disappointed in these guys?
David Ortiz – two walk-off game winners
Bill Mueller – spoiling yet another Rivera save
Dave Roberts – amazing baserunning two nights in a row
Tim Wakefield – looking like a 19th century, pitch-every-day pitcher
Keith Foulke – does he have an arm left??
Derek Lowe – staring down Yankee bats after a 19-8 loss
Branson Arroyo – from outta nowhere!
Mark Bellhorn – redemption!
Curt Schilling – that was blood! holy crap!
Let’s not forget Nixon’s catch, Varitek’s 2 HR and 7 RBI, Cabrera’s brilliant plays and clutch hits and the left-for-dead bullpen crew.
Nope. Even a Buckneresque blooper tonight can’t erase all that. Yes, it would hurt. But this series has shoved aside the greatest moments of Red Sox baseball history. Game 5 of the ’86 ALCS? They weren’t down 3-0 then.
Game 6 of the ’75 World Series? We’ve had two of those!
One. More. Game.
Believe it.
No matter who wins this thing, who the hell is gonna have enough gas left to play the Cardinals or the Astros??? Wow.
I could almost see Williams hitting one out in the ninth. Then I decided that would have been too awful for Sox fans to bear, and a merciful God wouldn’t have let them get this close only to shut the door again.
(Instead, He may do it in the seventh game, while he’s resting.)
A merciful God wouldn’t have made us sit through six nights of Tim McCarver…
Truer words have never been said, Solly.
about the Sox, and about Tim McCarver (AKA, The Anti-Christ)
http://www.diversionz.net/archives/004713.html
If you are a sports fan go read this from Michele, she hits the nail on the head squarely with
The whole world is a Red Sox fan tonight-except for us Yankee faithful. How can you not love this team. Down 3-0, left for dead, no bully, nothing to build on, playing one of the greatest lineups in recent history, these guys are already champions in my book…and I am a YANKEE fan.
May the best team win, but your right on with your statement that this Red Sox team cannot disappoint now. Be proud Sawx fans, no matter what.