Sports Writing

Talk about an icon. How representative of the Sox season was a game in which the Sox started off well, put up with a weak middle, and had a strong finish? Also representative of their individual seasons:

Schilling, Pedro, and Lowe with the wins. This was how it was meant to be. Partying starts early - enough time to get it out of the system, and the rotation gets set right. How sweet was hanging two losses off K-Rod? That kid pitched decently, actually - but 38 pitches today was a hell of a lot for a middle reliever.

I’ve discovered that a lot of people who visit this site from Google do so to find out two things: stuff about Bronson Arroyo’s cornrows and stuff about Bronson Arroyo’s nationality. Sadly, I don’t know anything about the former (aren’t they hard to maintain? doesn’t the man sweat?), but I can help point out that Mr Arroyo was born in Key West, Florida and so is all American.

$100 cheesesteak. I can’t get those damn Southwest ads out of my head everytime I hear the word “cheesesteak”.

Because spanking the rally monkey WAS shockingly funny. Those Thunderstix (ugh) failed to do their work and it was the Angels bullpen that collapsed while Tito’s Timlin-Myers-Foulke combination went about their job perfectly. Trot coming through with the single in the 9th was huge, and the OC driving in runs in the OC (making up for the defensive miscue and the failed bunt) - that’s good, relentless hitting. No letup in our lineup, and Pedro had a great game, marred only by cheapie hits. True, Bellhorn had the bases-loaded gaffe, but heck, he got on base to get Mueller in position to score beforehand. And there’s no way I can be churlish - the Angels had their own share of baserunning issues, and heck, this was a 6-run game.

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do you? It goes like this

Nomaaaah!!!

Great piece by Glenn Stout on how the blather on the “curse” first started, from George Vecsey’s description of a haunting to Dan Shaughnessy’s later exploitation. I like the point he makes about the fanatical Sox following really only coming together in 1967:

In the immortal words of Blur: WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

So the ALDS rosters look set, and this is the Sox bullpen: Foulke (closer, White Sox - As - Red Sox) Timlin (closer, Toronto - Seattle - Baltimore) (Timlin has a career ERA+ of 127? Wow)

It is so on. It is so on that this illegal immigrant of Red Sox Nation is a whirligig of superstition, sitting in the right spot, clutching the right paraphernalia. It is so on that Curt Schilling himself is starting the Sons of Sam Horn game thread for his own game. It is so on that plans are shelved, weddings rescheduled. Life stands still for the next few weeks: some things are more important.

Randy Johnson (16-14; Diamondbacks 51-111) is the 2004 version of Steve Carlton (27-10; Phillies 59-97) in 1972.

ESPN lists their top 10 games of the season, which I’d hardly argue with, except for the Pirates-Cubs doubleheader they have at #9 - personally, I’d take Mike Maroth’s one-hitter against the Yankees, at least for the aspect of “redemption” of his terrible, no-good, awful 2003 season.

With his two shutout innings yesterday, Dave McCarty ends the season with a 2.45 ERA. And he struck out Rafael Palmeiro and got a Javy Lopez fly out. Hey, if that’s all the pitching he does in his career, that’s a pretty good way to go. And it saved the bullpen some work. Yay pitcher/position players combos!

So the amazing 2004 regular season ends. Such memories: the Trade, the OC’s redeye walkoff homer, Pokey goes vertical, Mientkiewicz goes horizontal, Bellhorn with the walkoff hit, way more Cesar Crespo than anyone should be subject to, All-American Manny, Schilling in too long, Pedro in too long, Manny and Ortiz going back to back, Yankees get trashed 22-0, “where is Roger? In the shower” redux at the All-Star Game, Pedro on the Wheaties box, flatlining through July and exploding through August, the How the West Was Won sweep of Anaheim and Oakland that made everyone a believer, Kevin “Three-Finger” Brown gets shelled, the Fight, “we don’t throw at .260 hitters”, and Mariano Rivera calls Bill Mueller daddy. What a long strange trip it’s been. And it’s still going on.

About today’s postseason warmup game - I’m glad that we’ve seen the last of Miggy Tejada. And I’m glad that much of last year’s Oakland team won’t be in the playoffs. What a pesky team. Was it sweet to see Eric Byrnes make the final out that killed Oakland’s postseason hopes?

Sweatin’ to the oldies… Trying out a new job as a caricature artist…

Is Phil Garner this year’s Jack McKeon?

Strange line in the Providence Journal: That gave [Javy] Lopez six homers off the Red Sox this season - including one in each of the last three games - and 174 RBI. (Link)