October 16, 2003
Live To Play Another Day
Nixon, Damon and Ramirez are feeling it.
UPDATE:While Cubs Nation is crushed and in mourning, Sox Nation has revived with a vengeance:
From the Portland (Ct.) Sox Fan:
Could you ask for anything better? Pedro/Clemens for a chance to go to the World Series?
For those in the media and elsewhere who wanted Pedro to go today, or wanted drastic or not so drastic changes in the lineup to get the bats going....how do you like your crow?? (I'm in the latter category, FWIW. I wasn't looking for radical, but I wanted some people moved around)
I am ultra-confident about Game 7. I was after Game 5, and I remain so after Game 6.
Boston Dirt Dogs is predictably apoplectic.
Spirits are high at Gregg's Baseball Blog as well:
This was one day where I could not forget for a second how lucky I was to be back in New England. It’s a cliché, but there was something in the air all over the Northeast today. Actually, there was a lot of everything in the air- trash, leaves, and small animals swirling round and round in gusts from 25-50 MPH that still are raging outside my window. It was the kind of day you were glad to have off from work and wander around.
Those gusts were in the Bronx too. Yankee Stadium looked like an apocalyptic baseball garbage dump- wind swirling, broken bats flying, and perhaps the fate of two franchises changing directions. A chance for a team and a town to exorcise so many demons and inferiority complexes by watching men play baseball on TV. Man was it sweet.
As a fan that's grown up hating the Yankees, I can understand just how sweet it must feel. On the other side of the ledger, Larry Mahnken is despairing at the Replacement Level Yankees Blog:
It's been several hours since Game 6 ended, and I still have no heart to write about it. It feels as though the Yankees have lost their chance, that they've already lost the series. I felt this way going into Game Four last season, Game Five in 1995 and 1997. Defeat seems an almost forgone conclusion. The Yankees, particularly at the plate, have played a terrible series. Really, how many good at-bats have you seen the Yankees' batters have? They've mostly scored on mistakes by the Boston pitchers, not by working counts and looking for their pitch. They've stopped batting and they've commenced trying to hit, and they've wasted many of the few scoring opportunities they've had by trying to do too much.
They did beat Pedro, but it was the only time that Pedro has ever lost a postseason game, and he pitched, by his standards, poorly. He's not going to throw offspeed pitches all game, and hang breaking balls over the plate, he's going to hit his spots, keep the Yankees off-balance, and as long as they keep batting like they have, he's going to go at least seven, by which time, it should all be decided.
As a fan born and raised in New York, believe me when I say Larry is not a typical Yankees fan.
Alex Belth is not looking forward to tonight:
My girlfriend Emily thinks that Pedro will get beat tonight because he put such bad karma out into the universe in Game Three. I wish I could share her feelings. But I think that Martinez pitches better when he's got a chip on his shoulder and with Yankee Stadium giving him the business tonight, I fear he'll use it to his advantage, no matter how much he's got left in the tank.
It is considerably colder in New York today than it was yesterday. The wind is still whipping around. This could very well be the final start of Roger Clemens' career. It could be the biggest win of the year for the Yankees, or one of the biggest wins in Boston history for the Red Sox.
I'll be hiding behind the couch with two hands over my eyes.
Not me, I'll be eyes wide open starting a little after 8:00 p.m. ET. See you there.
ANOTHER UPDATE: My friend Bryant Durrell is lying to himself. Either that, or he's just healthier and better adjusted than most baseball fans:
And that brings us to a seventh game that has every excuse to be the best game seven ever.
After tonight’s game, I’m finally ready to echo a sentiment I’ve heard a few times this post-season. The Red Sox have now given me every bit as much of a season as I could have hoped. They have given me thrills, and hope, and joy, and I say this next without a hint of pessimism concerning tomorrow’s game: I won’t cry bitter tears if they lose tomorrow. I am satisfied. I am happy.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Got a chuckle from this Dr. Manhattan post (Primary assist to David Pinto):
Will whoever kidnapped Jason Giambi and replaced him with a pale imitation of Reggie Jackson (with Jackson's propensity for strikeouts and greater difficulties against lefthanded pitching, but without the clutch homers) please return him to the Stadium for tonight?
Will the Yankees continue to make Boston's bullpen look like a bunch of Mariano Riveras?
Will Boone or Soriano ever meet a slider in the lefthanded batters' box they don't like?
And finally, WILL JETER, SORIANO OR WILLIAMS EVER CATCH A !&*#%&!ING BALL?
Nice to see the good doctor emerge from a long silence and then launch into an amusing rant. It must be October.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2536
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Live To Play Another Day:
» Little too late from Population: One
Well, since you asked, Eric… I stand by what I said. I am prouder of this team than I could... [Read More]
Tracked on October 17, 2003 02:05 AM
What can I say? It's a beautiful fall day, and the leaves are turning, and I feel good.
I may prove myself a liar tomorrow, however.
Posted by:
at October 16, 2003 11:41 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
07:15 AM