Happy New Year!

Cameron's first New Year's Day - we spent a great New Year's Eve with Brandie, Lance and Zoe (even though Zoe was sleeping). It's so much fun watching them interact - Cameron is much more laid back than Zoe - she was giving him lots of kisses and it was adorable ... to think only a year ago they hadn't even arrived yet and now less than a year later it's hard to remember life before them. It's hard to believe how quick 2007 went, and I think it's a pretty safe assumption we'll never experience a more significant year in our lives.

I can't wait to watch Cameron continue to learn and develop this year, and celebrate his first birthday in April and just continue to teach him to laugh, love and have fun.

AGAIN!

So it’s been a few days and it has finally sunk in I think – the Boston Red Sox are World Champions AGAIN! I cannot get over the fact that they’ve won two championships in four years … they have an eight game winning streak in the World Series … in the those eight World Series games they have trailed for a TOTAL of three innings, and it was only one run (Game 2, 2007 – innings 1 – 3). It was only four short years ago that I watched the horrific Game 7 loss to the Yankees – i.e. the Aaron Boone game. It was during the cruise and Boone hit the HR and my whole body and mind went numb; it wasn’t going to happen again and the heartbreak was palpable. And now, four years later the Red Sox are celebrating a 2nd World Series title. For someone whose first Red Sox memory was Bucky (effin) Dent’s HR in the ’78 playoff game it’s hard to believe the Red Sox organization has reached a status that of which other teams envy.

The thing I can’t get over is how freakin’ similar the 2004 and 2007 postseasons played out.

- 2004: The Sox sweep the Angels in the first round, fall down 0-3 to the Yankees and make history by winning four straight and then sweep their way through the Cardinals in the World Series; a season ending 8 game winning streak
- 2007: The Sox sweep the Angels in the first round, fall down 1-3 to the Indians and then win three in a row and then sweep their way through the Rockies in the World Series; a season ending 7 game winning streak (their longest of the season by the way)

It’s eerily similar. But 2004 had more drama, beyond the feat of finally beating the Yankees and winning the World Series, specifically Games 4 and 5 of the ’04 ALCS were epic beyond words. Those are games I will show Cameron; they were EVERYTHING postseason baseball is about. I could pop in one of the DVDs tonight and still be on the edge of the bed. It was pure theater, it had the drama and excitement that no movie or TV show could capture EVER – it was everything you love about sports in back-to-back games, and the fact that Boston won both elimination games in the fashion they did will ensure they stand out for all fans to come.

The 2007 title was different – I watched the Red Sox EXPECTING them to win … how is that possible? 2004 changed everything, and for Sox fans who lived through it, it will never be topped. It was more than a World Series victory, it was a win for the generations of fans who lived through the ups and downs and the downright horrors of ’78, ’86 and ’03 – it was an eradication of all the things that went wrong. If all those painful defeats will always haunt us in some ways, but if 2004 was their penance, then hell, they were worth it. I remember telling friends that if someone could’ve told me as a young Sox fan, “Hey – check this out - you’re going to see the Sox blow a 14 ½ game lead in ’78, then in ’86 you’ll be one strike away for what will seem like an eternity and then you’re going to lose in the most humiliating fashion and in ’88, ’90, ’95, ’98 and ’99 you’re going to be good enough to get to the playoffs, but you’ll never make a serious run and in ’03 you’ll get tantalizingly close again, and then we’re going to break your heart again – almost as bad as ’86 – but in 2004 … you wait, all that heartache and misery will have been worth it – wait until you see what happens!” I would’ve said, “Okay – I can’t wait until ’04!”

As I said before, ’04 had to have the Yankees involved – beating the Yanks was equivalent to the 1980 Olympics when the US beat Russia in hockey – that’s what EVERYONE remembers; no one remembers they beat Finland for the Gold medal. In ’04, the Cardinals were Finland. It was the ultimate – ’04’s victory about more than baseball, it will always be. The 2007 championship was about baseball. Easily, my two favorite moments of the ’07 playoffs were Manny’s walk-off BOMB against the Angels in Game 2 of the ALDS and J.D. Drew’s first inning grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS. But beyond those two moments, there is SO much to celebrate from this championship run:

-Beckett being Beckett – he was as dominating as any pitcher I’ve seen in a postseason run. From his first start against the Angels he was in complete control the whole way through. His Game 5 in Cleveland was epic; I know I wasn’t the only Red Sox fan saying, “Bring it back to Boston” – he did just that. No question the overall postseason MVP.
T-he Sox lineup grinding out so many at-bats – there were numerous at-bats (especially Youk and Manny that I recall) where 0-2 counts were turned into walks; they made every pitcher work so hard to get an out – nothing came easy, and seeing them foul off some nasty pitches and also lay off some pitches that most hitters would swing at – especially Manny in Game 1 against C.C. – was impressive to watch.
-Schilling’s clutch outings in Game 3 of the ALDS (allowing Beckett to open the ALCS) and his huge Game 6 win against Cleveland where he wasn’t great, but he was good enough.
-Dustin Pedroia’s HR that put the finishing touches on Cleveland in Game 7, and then setting the tone in the World Series with his leadoff HR
-Kevin Youkilis grinding out at-bat after at-bat – he was awesome … lots of clutch hits, and his big HR in Game 5 to give the Sox the lead
-Mike Lowell’s huge baserunning play in Game 2 of the World Series, going first to third with one out, and allowing Tek to drive him in as the tying run with a sacrifice fly, and then his game winning double in the 6th to drive in Big Papi
-Hideki Okajima’s scintillating relief appearance in Game 2 of the Series, going 2 1/3 innings of perfect relief and then handing the ball to Papelbon for the 9th
-Dice-K’s two-run single in Game 3 (BALLGAME!)
-Jon Lester’s Game 4 performance – I was a little leery of him going out there; he’s been so erratic in his time with the Sox, but if this was a harbinger of things to come, then we’re excited as hell. He pitched with such poise and composure and with everything he’s gone through personally the last 14 months, it was great (and poetic) to see him as the game winning pitcher
-Bobby Kielty’s HR – proved to be the game winner; that had to be thrill
-Mike Timlin shutting the door on the Rockies last great chance with two HUGE strikeouts – I love Timlin, he’s been such a ‘rock’ for this bullpen for the last five years. I think he’s under appreciated by a lot of fans, but he was great this year from mid-June on (I hope he comes back)

And all that was left after that was Paps shutting the door in the 9th, and he did it. Let the celebration begin. Welcome to Red Sox Nation Cameron, you’re only six-months old, but your team is already World Champions (again).

Rockin' the Rockies

It's only the bottom of the 5th, and the Sox have 10 run and 16 hits (9 extra-bases). Beckett is rolling - 8 Ks through 5 innings and is growing his legend with every inning. It's funny, I wonder how many Rockies fans or pundits want to talk about Colorado beating Beckett way back in June ... anyone? Yeah, I didn't think so. It's funny how a game from June 14 turns out not to mean jacksh*t come October. I mean, I couldn't believe how much I was reading about how the Rockies beat Schilling and Beckett and outscored the Red Sox 20-5 in winning 2 of 3 back in June ... WHO THE F**K cares? It's October now - guess what? The Indians went 0-6 agains the Yankees in the regular season, and then beat them 3 games to 1 in the ALDS.

The fact is this, even with the Sox spanking the hell out of Colorado tonight in Game 1, it won't matter come tomorrow - they aren't going to lie down against Schilling, the Sox will need to come with their "A" game again, but I love the idea of them going up against a rookie who I'm sure they're going to work the count against and could very easily get 'fausto carmona'd' ... Schilling is the key tomorrow; if he can pitch his game, the Sox will win. By the way, the following just occurred:

- Joe Buck just explained what it means to 'bat around' in an inning
- The Rockies just walked in three consecutive runs

I'll give Colorado credit for making it this far, with one of the greatest runs ever seen in September/October (winning 21 of 22 ... that's insane), but I said this before the series even started - who the Sox had to beat to get to the World Series doesn't even compare with who the Rockies went through; the Cubs and D'Backs do not compare to the Angels and especially Indians. The key word of the day is: PERSPECTIVE.

1. Let's stop applying any credence to a series that took place in June
2. The Rockies are not as good as the Red Sox

Now whether the Sox prove that on the field is another story; but so far, after 5 innings, I'm feeling pretty good about their 13-1 lead.

GO SOX!

What It Means ...

The Sox did it - one week ago today I can't say I expected to be gearing up for Game 1 of the World Series; it was more wondering whether I'd care enough to watch Cleveland vs. Colorado. But here we are, Red Sox vs. Rockies and I can't wait.

It's funny, I was INCREDIBLY nervous and excited for Game 7 Sunday, had a couple drinks to calm my nerves but really had a confident feeling that Boston would win but until they turned that huge DP off Casey Blake in the 7th, that's when I truly believed it was going to happen. When the Sox blew it open in the 8th it set up for a a very anti-climactic 9th inning, which was a little surreal because the whole game had been so tense that it didn't seem appropriate for it to end so effortlessly and without zero worry. I'm not complaining, but as that moron McCarver said, which is very true, people will look at the final score and assume the game was a blowout, but it was very far from that - I was a nervous wreck for 7 1/2 innings.

So here we are, the Sox - in my opinion - just beat the 2nd best team in the playoffs in Cleveland and now get ready for the Rockies, who have won 21 of 22 games. It's funny, I was saying to my Dad earlier today that 2004 has changed everything - I expect Boston to win now, whereas before '04 I was praying that they did. It will be so cool for Boston to win the World Series AGAIN ... it's weird to even say the word "again" when it comes to talking about Boston and them winning a World Series. It was only four years ago after the heartbreaking 2003 ALCS loss that Sox fans wondered if they'd EVER see them win a World Series.

What 2004 did was give us hope and teach us to believe that we're not always doomed. When Lugo dropped the pop-up in Game 7 we didn't expect the worst, but instead hoped for the best. Also, 2004 did ruin one thing - I know that through my lifetime no sporting event will ever mean as much to me as a fan as the 2004 ALCS and World Series victories did. That was the pinnacle. The ultimate. The best. It could never be topped, and to be honest, 2004 had to happen in order to make 2007 "okay." By that I mean the Sox HAD to go through the Yankees to win; had they beaten another team in the '04 ALCS and won the Series there would've been the obligatory taunts of how the Sox took the easy way out and didn't beat the Yankees, and if '07 had gone down as it has so far, people would've said the same thing. Assuming the Sox win the Series this year people would've said, "Sure, you've got two titles but you still haven't beaten NY" and you know what, they'd be right. It would still be something the Sox had to accomplish; they'd never admit it, but most fans would probably agree. October 17 - 27, 2004 will forever be the best 11-days of my life as a sports fan. It was a Hollywood movie come to life and I still get chills thinking about how amazing that was. Game 4 and Game 5 of the ALCS were two of the greatest games I've EVER seen ... living through that postseason, beating the Yankees while making history at the same time and then beating the Cardinals in four-straight to end 86 years of frustration makes this year so much more enjoyable.

As I watched the Sox win Sunday night I thought to myself, "Is this what it feels like to be a Yankee fan?" Expecting to win, and then winning - it must be - it really felt weird and surreal. Are these my Red Sox? Then I also thought how much the Red Sox winning means to me - I mean, I didn't play one game, I'm not part of the team or organization, and my life (outside of my mood) is not affected whether they win or lose, and I know it's hard for some people who are NOT sports fans to understand how a game can mean so much, and you know what, it's hard to explain. It's easy to understand why parents love their kids, but not so easy to comprehend how one person can love a group of people they've never met so much. But you know what, it's an emotional investment to be a fan and people that are not fans do not have such investments thus it's harder to understand. There is no frame of reference for them. When the season started April 2 I took a half-day to come home and watch the Sox start the season in KC. Since then I've watched almost every game, read articles about them every day and went to see them play in person in two cities. They dominate my summer, so while they don't know me or the millions of other Sox fans, we know them - and we revel in their success and frown in their failures. It's the life of a fan. This has been a 6-month journey that we've been on - the constants in my life the last 6-months have been my family, friends and the Red Sox. They are part of my life, and now it's time to culminate this 6-month journey with ANOTHER World Series Championship ... how cool would that be!

It Doesn't Get Better Than This

Unless you're a rabid sports fan like myself, it's probably hard to appreciate the nerves I'm feeling right now - less than two hours before Game 7 of the ALCS begins. I'm not playing, just watching - my life will not be altered, other than my mood come Monday morning, but I've spent the last 6+ months with the Red Sox; spent many an evening together. As a fan, you invest a lot, and as a Red Sox fan your mood can change pitch-to-pitch and game-to-game. There have been many memorable moments this season, but last night's J.D. Drew grand slam in the first inning might top the list (until tonight I hope).

Here the Sox had load the bases, with Manny Ramirez due up - he battles a tough at bat but strikes out, and then Lowell pops out on the first pitch. #*$!% Guess who is coming up? The 'Grim Reaper' himself ... J.D. Drew. Pretty much the last guy a Sox fan would want up in such a situation; I couldn't stomach the thought of seeing them load the bases with no out and then not score, and of course, before Drew stepped in the box, I'd made my mind up that they weren't going to score. With the count 3-1 I was just hoping for a walk - PLEASE, just walk ... don't swing. Now since we were all out at dinner I saw Drew swing, and I saw Sizemore retreat, but I didn't know the ball went out of the ballpark until I saw Drew triumphantly running around the bases. I jumped out of my seat at the restaurant and screamed and cheered in delight. All I could say was, "Holy sh*t - I can't believe J.D. Drew hit a grand slam!"

I was awesome - all I wanted as a fan was to them bring it back to Boston, and they did behind Beckett, and now Schilling & Drew had ensured Fenway would see it's first deciding game since Game 7 of the 1986 ALCS, where the Sox topped the California Angels 8-1.

It's our series now - Cleveland had their chance and I'm ready to see a Fenway Champagne Party tonight, and hopefully another "jig" from Papelbon.

Bring it home boys - do it for Cameron ... GO SOX!

Bringing it Back to Boston!

One down, two to go - the Sox did what they needed to last night, they brought it back to Boston, that's all anyone could ask for ... just give us a chance to play again at home. It would've been so disappointing for it to end like that. And Josh Beckett, I don't know what to say about him. He's the best postseason pitcher going right now, and aside from Johan Santana, arguably the best pitcher in baseball.

Half of last night's game I had to follow on my blackberry, as we were celebrating Mom's retirement at a dinner in her honor; by the time I got home it was only 2-1 in the the top of the 6th inning and from there the Sox broke it open and won easily. It was so satisfying to hear the Indian fans mute, with their stupid towels by their side, not knowing what to do with them. Now Cleveland is a good baseball town, they don't have pathetic thundersticks, and they fill the ballpark, which is saying something for some cities in October, but it's almost as if they need the towels to create their atmosphere, and that's sad ... you'd never need that in Boston, or New York for that matter. Fans alone should create atmosphere. Real fans at least.

Now tomorrow the Sox will turn to Schilling who said himself, 'came up small in a big game' last time out. It's hard to imagine someone with Schilling's ego, and his preparedness coming up 'small' for a 2nd straight outing. He has a chance to vindicate himself and that's all he or Red Sox Nation can ask for.

As for this weekend, LETS PLAY TWO!

Did We Come This Far For This?

I tried to tivo the game last night, you know, change up my luck a little. I put my phone on silent, put in a drawer and put the home phone on do not disturb – we had a pretty productive evening, cleaning up the house putting up some new pictures, listening to some music … but then at about 10:50, I went upstairs to put the game on. I zipped through the Indians at bats (and so did Wakefield for the first four innings) and just watched the Sox bat. Nothing good, only my reinforcement that I really can’t stand J.D. Drew or Coco Crisp anymore – we need a break from each other. Coco’s defense his two years in Boston has been nothing short of superlative – a joy to watch, but he has been so far from the offensive force that I expected him to be when they acquired him in ’06. Overall, he’s been a disappointment. Drew, we’ll save that for another time, because he’s still got four years left on his inconceivable deal that we don’t have to get into now; we just know he’s pretty much sucked all year. He summed up his year in his first two at bats in Game 4: AB #1, Manny on 2nd, one out, he strikes out on four pitches; AB #2, with two out and nobody on, he rips a single up the middle. Nice!

Anyway, this isn’t a place I want to recap a loss, we all know they lost – it sucks, and they’re down 3-1 and have been completely outplayed. I love to cook, so if a baseball team wants to whip up a dish called “Disaster” here are the ingredients:

Don’t score first
Your starters in Games 2, 3 and 4 can’t make it through the 5th inning
The last eight runs you’ve scored have been the result of a HR
J.D. Drew and Coco Crisp make-up 2/3 of your outfield

The one that gets me is the third one – you’re not going to win a championship if your only course of offense is the HR. It helps, hell yeah, but they’re singular sources of offense, they are not stringing together productive hits, thus they’re not having productive innings and haven’t done so since the 3rd inning of Game 2. They have no momentum. But as they say, momentum is a good as the next day’s starting pitcher, which is Josh Beckett – so I feel pretty good, as should all Sox fans, but they’ll be going against Sabathia again, and I’d be surprised if he gives up 8 runs again in less than five innings for a 2nd straight start, but the Sox have fared pretty well against him so we’ll hope for the best.

Back to Game 4 for a moment – I never had a problem with Francona starting Wakefield over Beckett (on three days rest) in Game 4 … Wake won 17 games this year, he was a vital part of the division championship and a 2-1 deficit is no reason to panic; I mean, he was pitching against Paul Byrd, who allowed almost 50 more hits than innings pitched in ‘07 – this wasn’t anyone who should’ve overmatched the Sox offense. What I DID have a problem with is Francona unwilling to move the lineup around – why not sit Drew in favor of Kielty, who has great numbers against Byrd, and give Ellsbury a shot over Crisp? What’s the harm? I know Tito is fiercely loyal as everyone has written, but there’s a difference between being loyal in June and October, down 2-1.

This team desperately needs a spark – they NEED to score first Thursday or I fear they won’t recover; if they can get on the board first, that will jumpstart them, give them and the fans the “Alright, this things not over” yet feel. Hopefully they can return to Boston this weekend for more than cleaning out their lockers. They had to win one game in Cleveland to guarantee Fenway sees another game before April 2008, and it doesn’t matter which one you win … of course now their only choice is to win tomorrow.

Here’s hoping for some baseball at the Fens on Saturday!