Sox Redux

Game Four began with Jon Lester on the mound, and who better to represent these new Sox, these teams that never give in, that never surrender, that always fight back? What’s a three-one deficit in the ALCS, compared to the adversity Lester faced? And pitching in his first-ever post-season game, the twenty-three year old Lester tossed five and two-thirds innings of shutout ball, and turned over a 2-0 lead to the bullpen.

I liked the Rockies and their big crowds; I liked the spectacle that opened every game, with fireworks, and balloons, and a huge American flag spread across the outfield. Only why do the National League teams always find these country singers for the anthem and the seventh inning? OK, so they don’t have James Taylor, or Ashanti, but isn’t there some Latino singer who could do the anthem with a touch of soul? Every NL team drags out these cookie cutter country singers, many of whom can’t even carry a tune, and all of whom look alike. Another thing about Colorado was the white towels. What’s up with that? I saw a sign in Boston during one of the first two games announcing that we don’t wave white flags in Fenway. Point well taken.

So Lester delivered the game to Delcarmen in the sixth after Atkins had walked, and Manny D got a big strikeout to end that inning. The bullpen didn’t really distinguish itself in Game Four, allowing the Rockies to make a game of it, but they did the job when they had to. Timlin had two big Ks in the seventh, again with a man on board. And after Okajima gave up a home run to Atkins in the eighth, Papelbon entered, needing five outs for the win. Fitting that it should come down to Papelbon in 2007. And although Pap wasn’t dominant – one of the five outs went all the way to the wall in left center – he retired all five batters he faced, and in the end he struck out Seth Smith; the Sox had won their second championship in four seasons.

I had to wait almost forty years for the first one, and of course many in New England waited far longer, some the full eighty-six years, so it seemed a dream to be repeating only a few years later. John e-mailed me the next day, in fact, asking if it was a dream. And somehow it was more satisfying this time around. No more ghosts to exorcise; no more curses to reverse; and no debate about who had the best team in baseball this past year. Plus, many of the post-season stars were homegrown. Theo had brought in Beckett from the outside, with Lowell being a throw-in, imagine that! But Pap, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, all of them had come up through the minors. The RedSox were doing it the old fashioned way.

That’s it; the season is officially over. All you haters can relax, because I’ve watched all the DVDs; I’ve revisited the entire season; and we’ll not be posting about 2007 any more. Instead, in a month, when spring training starts, we’ll begin talking about 2008. Will Dice-K step up, having adjusted to life in the American League? Will Papi’s knee be strong again? Will Schill and Wake stay healthy for one more season? Stay tuned because all those questions, and many others, will be answered right here.