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).