Sports Writing

Last night’s win was one for my baby… now one more for the road.

It’s been 10 long days since I had a chance to do this all over again: I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord

FINALLY. I’m screaming, I’m crying, I’m miserable as hell because I’ve been laid low by allergies and I’m the happiest man on this island. It’s true: the Yankees bullpen is really just Gordon and Rivera, and even they’ve been hittable this series. Leskanic is a folk hero, Foulke in the 7th now looks like a brilliant move, and David Ortiz’s ability to hit game-winning homers… CULT.

You know, whatever I’m doing superstition-wise isn’t working, clearly. All the rallies in these games, all these glimmers of hope that say to me “keep at it”, have been false alarms. So to paraphrase Auden, I’m going to stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone. Lucky shirts will get washed. Lucky baseballs will stay untouched. I will be allowed to move away from the computer even when the Sox are doing well. One win at a time. One win at a time. Cheer up sleepy Jean.

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour But heaven knows I’m miserable now The Smiths, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” What a day. I tuned in with the Sox down 6-4, saw the comeback to 6-6, then watched the epic collapse. Then felled by allergies (hence the late post). So now I’m doubly morose. Sveum, killed rallies - but wow, our pitching truly fell apart today. I feel like Schilling’s injury in Game 1 swung everything the Yankees way.

Will the wait for Game 3 never end?

A postponement? Dang. Arroyo’s usually a better pitcher on regular rest rather than extended rest.

Cornrows, deliver us!

Jon Lieber, strike-throwing robot, beat Pedro today. Tough loss. Pedro did have some good stuff - the gun lit up at 96/97, the curveball was wicked, but Lieber was back to his 2001 form tonight (as he’s been this season). Sigh. Still, what the Sox need to do next is light up Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez, which is very doable, and then it becomes best-of-3. (Oh, and now Tom Gordon is looking hittable: this was Rivera’s 2nd save of more than 1 inning. Torre’s riding his luck with that bullpen.) So our pair of aces got beat - we still have a pair of kings to roll out.

Damnit. So close. Tying runs at the plate for 8th and 9th innings. Glad to see we at least forced the use of Gordon and Rivera after that initial period of flailing. These Sox always have the power to come back: I think those 7 runs gave some momentum that hopefully they can carry into the next game. I hope Schilling is okay. Pedro up next. This is his stage.

This is what happens when you neglect eye safety: Tom Gordon, his left eye still a little blurry after it was hit by a champagne cork in Saturday’s clubhouse celebration at Minnesota, would take over as the closer if Rivera is absent. (Link)

Comparing the ‘04 Sox to the ‘93 Phillies, the Philly Inquirer (and John Kruk) even says the Sox have intangibles. I don’t believe in intangibles, but it’s nice to know that people appreciate the rough-and-tumble style. And I hope Curt Schilling gets an ALCS MVP to go with his ‘93 NLCS one. And a WS MVP to go with his ‘01 DBacks one, of course.

My good friend Trevor likes to collect the names of people whose surnames match their profession (or, as in the case of Cardinal Sin of the Philippines, are grossly incongruous). Looks like he’s not the only one - Lewis Lipsitt, a prof emeritus over at Brown, does so too.

No more walking for the Greek God in this series as the Sox go for 11 pitchers, bringing in Ramiro Mendoza. I like that they bring along Ellis Burks and David McCarty for the ride - that’s two players who’ve been tagged to be coaches in future, and they’ll probably provide another source of coaching for this team.

I think it’s cool that Francona’s showing faith in Arroyo by pencilling him in as the Game 7 starter. Hopefully the Sox will dispatch the Yankees faster than that, but it’s recognition of a great season by Arroyo.

Bob Ryan has a column today in which he notes how we should give credit not just to Henry/Lucchino/Epstein for this team, but also to Harrington, Yawkey, Duquette and Gorman:

So it’s now known why the Yankee clubhouse went all somber after the ALDS win - two of Mariano Rivera’s relatives were electrocuted in a freak accident in his house at Panama. A terrible tragedy for a great player. Condolences to the Rivera family.

Since it’s the lull till SOX-YANKEES OHBOYOHBOYOHBOY - Understand, from Joy of Sox, here’s e.e. gammings, a Peter Gammons parody page. Dead on. On.

George Vecsey of the New York Times may have been the first to suggest a haunting of the Sox, but he gets it right here: I no longer observe the hokey Babe Ruth curse business, and that asinine billy goat hex in Chicago has always been too cute for me. (Link)