Where Have all the Haters Gone?

Last year, 2007, the Yankees were knocked out of the post-season by the Indians. A-Rod snapped out of his long October slump, and knocked in his first run since 2004. Mind you, he only did that once. Still, it was a big step forward, and a major improvement over the futility of 2005 and 2006. How many haters recall when he ended the 2005 ALDS by hitting into a double play? Anyway, then Carmona shut down the Yankees while the plague of insects attacked Joba, and the ALDS was over. Sayonara Yankees. AMF.

At the same time, the Sox were sweeping the Angels, then rallied back from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS, Beckett leading the way, before they swept the Rockies in another anti-climactic series. One would think that these events would have discouraged all the Yankee fans, but they were prolific in October and November - talking relentless trash on the Sox, arguing about the wisdom of resigning A-Rod, and predicting great things some 2008. Ring 27 and all that.

This year, 2008, things were a bit different, but not all that different. Yankees went home early, to work on their golf games, but that only saved them the ignominy of losing again in the ALDS. Of course, management looked especially stupid, what with Torre taking his young Dodger team to the NLCS. All the while, a broke-ass RedSox team, minus Schilling, Manny, Lowell, and with an ailing Beckett, took the Rays all the way to Game Seven of the ALCS. So at least the haters were saved from the humiliation of watching the RedSox B team celebrating a world series victory, while Yankees were playing golf, or going to strip clubs with their bimbos.

But what I don't get is that the Haters were so voluble in 2007, but had nothing at all to say this fall. And I mean nothing. Chipper and I engaged in an heartfelt dialogue about the improbability of the Sox victory over the Angels, once again, and the miraculous comeback in Game Five - seven runs down with only seven outs lefts in the ALCS. The broken down Beckett finding the strength or savvy to win in Game Six, setting up yet another dramatic Game Seven. And the disappointment of that loss, tempered by the relief that we could at least get some sleep during this coming world series. Good thing about that too, as Game Three went on until early the next morning. Meanwhile, nothing from the Haters. No trash being talked about the Sox. No predictions about 2009. No promises to return to glory in the spring time. What's going on here?

Are Yankee fans totally demoralized? Are they worried that Hank Steinbrenner, who really knows close to nothing about baseball, is taking over the front office duties? Are they now wondering about the wisdom of having wasted all that money on A-Rod, who hardly earned a fraction of his enormous salary in 2008? Are they overcome with nostalgia about the Stadium having closed down? Are they clinically depressed? Have their minds been taken over by beings from outer space? Invasion of the Hater Snatchers. I need to know - where are you guys? And what caused you to clam up?

Plus, now that baseball's over for 2008, now that the Phils have won for the second time in their long history, and now that basketball season is right around the corner, we won't have much to argue about. At least not until the Yankees start wooing Manny, trying to bring him to the Bronx, back to his roots. That will bring the haters out, who will then face the biggest credibility crisis of their time. But until then, what????

Sleeping in October

For the past week, everyone in the Nation, as well as all the haters -- in fact pretty much all of my readers -- have been able to catch up on their sleep. Last night was a perfect example. That could have been a Phillies-RedSox game last night, that game that didn't get started until almost ten o'clock. So instead of going to bed a bit after midnight, after Utley and Howard had hit back to back homers, I would have been staying up until almost two in the morning. Keep in mind too that Game Three ended only because the Rays had first a wild pitch, and then a throwing error in that crazy bottom of the ninth. Had it been the back of our bullpen, probably no wild pitch. And with Tek behind the plate, no throwing error, so we'd have gone into extra innings, and then it wouldn't have ended until 3:30, or thereabouts. And if the Sox had hung on to win, say in twelve innings, if Timlin hadn't given up a couple home runs, so that the Sox had time to score and hang on, at that late hour, I'd have never fallen asleep. The adrenaline, the nervous energy, and then the elation of an extra-inning game? Forget about it. No sleep last night. Instead of all that, I feel well rested today. And not all that envious of the Rays, even though I think we would have bested the Phils had we the chance. After all, Sox have owned the NL East in interleague play the last couple years.

So while I'm resting, and trying to catch up on my sleep, I'm hoping to mine the old comments, particularly from last fall, when the Sox were winning the AL East, and the Evil Empire was being eliminated from the post-season, but the haters were making predictions about 2008. Take this one for example, "we will plan on ring 27 in 2008." That was Danny, and I'm not sure, but I think he was talking about a mood ring.

We've got the Haters' Ball coming up soon, and my goal is to have a collection of similar quotes, to distribute on little place card things for the ball. You know, like the little program you're given when you show up at say, Jeremy and Kristin's wedding, and it says, "The bride and groom wrote their own vows, which were inspired by the sacred writings of the Bhagavad Gita." If nothing else, since no one made it to the series this year, the quotes will give us something to argue about at the ball.

And while I'm doing research for the Haters' Ball, I went to see The Express last night, the biopic about Ernie Davis' life. It's hard for me to be objective, because the story was so close to me in my childhood. Much of the movie is a fairly inaccurate description of the 1959 championship season; for example, the 'sizable seven', SU's overpowering line, which played on both sides of the ball, never gets a mention, despite featuring a couple All-Americans, and several guys who went on to play in the NFL, and the old AFL. And then the Cotton Bowl is depicted as Ernie Davis' running game, against the Longhorns' dominant defense. In fact, Cuse had the toughest defense in the nation that year, giving up fewer than 200 rushing yards , all year long. An average of 19 rushing yards per game.

But never mind all that, because the championship season was framed in the larger context of the civil rights movement, and Davis' story became a part of a much larger canvas. The result is that the sports story becomes a vehicle for telling a more important, and more moving story. I was glad they showed the original picture of Davis meeting JFK, after he won the Heisman. Kennedy was in New York that weekend, and sent for Davis. Imagine what it was like for a kid from Elmira, the first kid in his family to attend college, to meet JFK in person. Then of course, the movie pulls at everyone's heartstrings, as Davis becomes sick with Leukemia, never gets to play next to Jim Brown, and then passes away at the age of 23. Susan and Peggy went through an entire box of Kleenex. But I was probably as moved as anyone; for me, the Ernie Davis story is the saddest sports story ever. Ever.

But in all this reminiscing last night I recalled one Saturday afternoon, maybe in '60 or '61, when we were playing touch football after returning home from Archibold. That's what we always did when we were kids. We'd go to the ball game, and then afterward, we'd all be playing football somewhere in the neighborhood, usually Animal's yard. So while we're playing, Chipper shows up, and tells us all to look at something. And he pulls about a pound of dirt and grass out of his jacket pocket. We all said, "What the hell is that?" "Ernie Davis stepped on this grass!" Chipper has taken some of the Archibold sod home with him, because Davis had trod on that piece of turf, after the game, as the players were walking off the field, and bunches of kids our age ran after them begging for chinstraps. I don't know if Chipper saved that turf, but seeing The Express brought me right back to those days.

Another Game Seven

Four years ago, after the Sox had been pronounced dead by pretty much everyone in the media, not to mention the Nation, and after they had miraculously come back to life in Games Four and Five, they had to go on the road for the final two games. In Game Six, their ace was hurting, but somehow gutted out a win, by the score of 4-2. Now doesn't it seem we've seen this movie before?

The other night, in Game Five, in the seventh inning, with two outs, and no one on base, TVs were turned off all across New England. I've read that fans were muttering on their way out of the park. Pretty much everyone had given the Sox up for dead. Now I won't repeat the details of Thursday night's miraculous comeback, the biggest ever in LCS play, the biggest post-season rally since the time of Herbert Hoover, but in case anyone is interested, you can watch all the hightlights, or the condensed game, on mlb.com. But let's just say it was, in its own way, as astonishing a result as the famous Games Four and Five of 2004.

And then tonight, in a hostile environment, we put our ace on the stand, and he was hurting, but somehow managed to keep things close, close enough so that when the Sox put a couple runs on the board in the sixth, they were able to take the lead, and then held onto the lead for the final four innings. And just like 2004, the bullpen was lights out. Okajima, Masterson and Pap combined for four innings of no-hit shutout relief. So now, for the fourth time in this millenium, the Sox will play in a Game Seven of the ALCS. Win or lose, they've made the series memorable. And more than that, they've completed the turnaround of Boston's image. No longer are the Sox the team that destined to fail, that's bound to break your heart in the end. Now they're the team that's never out of it, that's still in the game even when down seven runs, facing elimination, with only seven outs left in the season. They're the team no one should let up off the mat. I remember 2004 when Millar said, "Don't let us win Game Four." It's deja vu all over again.

We need one more great pitching performance, and it wouldn't hurt for someone in the lineup to have a breakout game, just like Pedroia did last year against Cleveland, just like Damon did in 2004 against the Yankees. Tune in tomorrow night for Game Seven.

No Sleep in October

It's October, and while the haters may be rested, there's not much sleep for the Nation. It didn't start out that way last night, as the Sox themselves seemed to be sleeping through the first six innings, and managed only two hits off Kazmir. But what looked like an early night, and a chance to catch up on lost sleep changed in the bottom of the seventh. Fans will recall that last year's ALCS also changed in the seventh inning of Game Five, when the luck changed - when all the breaks that had gone Cleveland's way for the previous three games began to go Boston's way. And last night, from the bottom of the seventh on, everything seemed to go our way. Hits, errors, Masterson's double-play ball; it seemed like it was all Boston from seven on.

This morning, the big story is that the Sox comeback was the biggest post-season rally of the last eighty years. Seven runs down. But I think an equally big story was that they won their first one-run game against the Rays all year long. During the regular season, although the Rays had the better record head-to head, six of their wins were by a single run. And of course, they took Game Two by a single run. So even though they've been hot at home all year, and even though the Trop has been trouble for the Sox, more than half of Tampa's victories have come by the slimmest possible margin. Assuming that the pitchers can keep the Rays from scoring thirteen runs; if it stays close, if Boston's in the game in the late innings, anything could happen.

It mostly depends on the pitching. After Dice-K had that great outing in Game One, our starters have spotted the Rays too many runs in each of the last four games. Beckett and Lester need to revert to their prior post-season dominance for us to have any chance in these two remaining games. Remember that in 2004, when the Sox returned to Yankee stadium for Games Six and Seven, Schilling and Lowe both shut down the Yankee bats, each allowing a single run. Without that kind of pitching, and considering the consistent performance of Tampa's starters, the RedSox won't have much of a chance.

Still, it's amazing that they're even playing Game Six. It's also amazing that under Tito, the Sox are now 8-1 in elimination games. Also how about the fact that they've won five post-season walk-off games since Tito arrived? This team has really given Fenway's faithful some great finishes. Let's hope they have a chance to see a couple more games before the season comes to a close.

Pappy Van Winkle

This promises to be a largely incoherent posting, mainly because it is informed by entirely different observations, which may or may not have something to do with each other by the time I'm done. First of all, I bought a bottle of Van Winkle 15 today. I was out in one of the town courts, and I stopped in a little store where I remember buying Lagavulin during the year when it was almost impossible to find. I just wanted to eyeball their inventory, and although they had no malts that were out of the ordinary, they had a single bottle of Van Winkle, an orphan, sitting all alone on the shelf, just waiting to be adopted. And the price was right, really right. So I brought it home, probably to give to one of the boys at some future date.

And then when I got the Winkle home, I pulled my other bottle, a twenty, out of the cabinet for a taste. The 15 and the 20 have a picture of Pappy Van Winkle, or someone posing as him, on the label, in profile, with his white hair, and a little goatee, and a cigar. And I thought to myself, how does one get to be that guy? How does one become an old guy, with white hair, and a beard, smoking a cigar on a whisky label? I mean, talk about a legacy; what better way to be remembered than that?

Later in the evening, I saw that the Sox were getting blown out for the second straight night, in their own yard no less. The string of eleven straight dominant performances in post-season games by Boston starters, which had begun in last year's ALCS, and had continued through the surprising victory over the Angels, seems now like a distant memory. First Beckett, then Lester, and now Wake have surrendered huge numbers of runs in three consecutive games. And in none of those games was the bullpen much help, or any help for that matter. It's looking like October might come to an early end.

So that led me to my second observation of the night. Even if I couldn't enjoy the rest of the post season, at least I'd have lots of free time to enjoy the fall. But no sooner had I that thought, than I realized that there was nothing much worth enjoying this fall. I mean, in years past, I'd be looking forward to the heart of the college football season, the conference schedule, and maybe the chance to play in a bowl game. Would we get the family together for another trip to some southwest city for a new year's day game? Umm, not this year. OK, well then how about the NFL? At least we could look forward to those play-offs, but really, without a team in the running, those play-offs don't carry much drama either. Now basketball season starts in only a month, but until we get into January, we aren't going to know whether this year's team has the stuff to play in March. The pre-season games are often fun, but they really don't count for much.

So now we're back to whisky, and Pappy Van Winkle. Will whisky alone carry me all the way to the new year? Do I really want whisky alone to carry me that far? Or am I going to have to go back to the movies, and see a bunch of films about relationships? That's a scary thought. I don't have the time this fall to travel to Scotland, and from what I've read, the weather is probably too lousy to see much of anything anyway. It looks like a lot of steak and whisky for the near future, and we'll also try to keep the pit fired up until the yard is buried under snow. Come to think of it, that's not such a bad deal. I can probably survive that.

On the Ropes

Friday night, actually early Saturday morning, I thought the Sox were in good shape. Dice-K had gone seven shutout innings; Beckett was going in Game Two in Tampa; and then they would come home to Fenway with Jon Lester for Game Three. But Beckett is clearly not himself this October, and eight runs were not enough for the Sox to win the second of two road games. And then tonight, Lester's post-season no-earned-runs streak came to a sudden halt. The Rays banged four home runs, and our bats were, for the most part, silent. So now they're down 2-1, which is obviously not an insurmountable lead, but looks that much bigger because our two stoppers aren't stopping much of anyone right now. Besides which, we don't have Schilling. Even an old Schill could find a way to even the series in Game Four. Can Wake make that knuckler dance tomorrow night? Or will the Rays pound out another four home runs?

That's the bad news. The good news is that it's hardly a cause for despair. The team was banged up all year, and still made it to the post-season. I thought last October that the most important thing for 2008 was to resign Lowell, which Theo promptly did, but then Lowell was in and out of the lineup this year, so the team had to do without. Papi, and Drew, and Beckett, and Lugo were also out for lenghty stretches, yet the team still managed to win. Lowrie gave notice that he intends to be our shortstop for the future; he and Pedroia can turn double plays for years to come. Masterson pitched well, sometimes as a starter, and later on as a dependable middle reliever. Eventually,we should be able to add Masterson and Buckholz to the rotation, giving the Sox five strong starters. So when we say, wait till next year, we can really mean it. If the Sox stay healthy next year, 2009 should be another good year.

On a cheerier note, I just finished a great book - Scotland and its Whiskies - with text by Michael Jackson, and gorgeous photos of the Highlands, of distilleries set in the most beautiful countryside, of the remote Islands like Skye and the Orkneys, of stills, and fields of barley, and streams, lochs and coastline. What an incredible coastline Scotland has. This book makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and go visit. How about spending an afternoon in the Gordon & MacPhail shop, with their incomparable collection of malts? Or how about hiking through the highlands, and ending the day by a fireplace in some little inn or pub, with a glass of Aberlour, or Macallan? How much fun would that be? Jackson's text makes the book especially enjoyable beause he combines his inexhautible love of malts with an encyclopedic knowledge of everything remotely related to scotch whisky. He knows the geology, the history, the topography; and of course, he really knows his whisky.

The boys and I have talked about how we all need to make sacrifices in these uncertain economic times; so that means fewer 18 year old drams, and more tens and twelves. But I think that's a sacrifice we all can make. And then maybe, if the rest of the world follows suit, then the prices on those older malts will stop going through up into the stratosphere. So then there's a silver lining to every cloud, right? I mean, we haven't lost an ALCS since 2003, but I don't think it will mean the end of the world. Not when there's a glass of HP 12 within arm's reach. Not when there's a date for dinner at Keen's in the coming month.

An Improbable Win

An easy question for everyone in the Nation: What do Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Manny Ramirez, and Mike Lowell have in common? All are former World Series MVPs; all played instrumental roles in last year’s march through the post-season; and all of them are, in one way or another, either missing from the roster or injured, for this year’s playoffs. So considering that, exactly how improbable was it for the Sox to beat the Angels, and get back to the ALCS, for the fourth time in this new millennium?

At first glance, the changes in the pitching staff were perhaps the most conspicuous differences from 2007. Gone was the dominance of Beckett, and gone entirely were Schilling and his ability to elevate his game in October. But Lester stepped up, and pitched magnificently in his two appearances, not allowing a single earned run over fourteen innings. So perhaps this year, Lester is the staff’s anchor. And if Beckett can bounce back, if he’s not hurt too badly, perhaps he can do what Schill did last year – namely, get by on guile, and outsmart the Rays, instead of simply overpowering them. Keep in mind that in both 2004, and 2007, Schill had one lousy outing, and then came back to win a couple big games, even without his very best stuff.

It’s also hard not to miss Manny; remember how he and Papi were unstoppable through the first several games last October? In Game One of the ALCS they each reached base five times that night; Cleveland failed to retire either one of them in ten at-bats. That feat hasn’t been repeated, and isn’t likely to be repeated at any time soon. But we haven’t missed Manny quite as much as we feared, because Jason Bay has performed better than any of us imagined when we first heard about the trade at the beginning of August. In the ALDS, against the best regular season team in the majors, he won Game One with his bat, had the biggest hit of Game Two, and last night scored that dramatic game-winner off Lowrie’s single. When did we last win a big game with speed instead of power? OK, so maybe speed helped us win that famous Game Four in 2004, but really, Jason Bay was flying around third last night on his way to beat the throw from shallow right.

So that leaves Mike Lowell, and as well as Youk plays third, and as much as Youk has produced at the plate this year, Kotsay for Lowell is not a great trade. Still, Kotsay played some pretty good D last night, and maybe he too will rise to the occasion against the Rays.

I still don’t see this year’s squad matching up to last year’s, or even to the level we’d achieve minus Manny if everyone was healthy. But it seems to me that every game now is a gift, just like that first run last night was a gift, when Kendrick bobbled an easy double play ball, allowing Kotsay to score, and Tek to reach second base, so that Pedroia could knock him in with his first hit of this post-season. If you think about it, we might not have scored at all against Lackey. So if the Sox could manage a win last night, is it inconceivable that they might beat the Rays, even without home field advantage? No, not inconceivable, just a little improbable. And maybe that’s they way things have gone all year in 2008. Hey, after eighty six years of bad luck, maybe we’re due for a few years worth of good luck. And it’s always good to be lucky.

Jason Being Manny - Part III

Chipper commented earlier today that he needed sleep, but there won't be much sleep this October, as the Sox are returning to the ALCS. And by the way, Youk won't need to decide if he should play on Yom Kippur, now that there won't be a Game Five with the Angels.

Last year, Manny won Game Two against the Angels, homering off K-Rod. It was that blast that cleared the monster, crossed Lansdowne Street, and disappeared into the Boston night, perhaps landing somewhere in New Hampshire. No Manny this year, and I was just telling Mike that I thought we didn't have enough horses, what with Lowell out of the lineup, and Beckett still hurting, and Manny wearing Blue, not Red.

But then Jason Bay won another game of this ALDS -doubling in the ninth, and then coming home on Jed Lowrie's walk-off single. It was nice to see Lowrie get that hit, after he had lined out last night with the bases loaded - blowing his first opportunity to win the series. But tonight he came through, singling into right, hitting the first pitch that Shields threw, and sending Fenway into a Frenzy. So that's the good news. And the bad news, Chip, is that we won't be sleeping much for at least another ten days. But really, there's worse things that could happen to us. Am I wrong?

Jason Being Manny - Part II

Remember August, when Jason Bay scored twice in his first game at Fenway, the second run being a walk-off in extra innings? And then remember when he stayed hot all month - scoring runs, and knocking in runs - and the Sox played their best baseball of the year? Well, that was the regular season, and while Bay was clearly helping his new team, and playing the game the right way and all that, what would he do come October? If the Sox actually managed to find themselves in the post-season, wouldn't we miss Manny's bat? And how well could Bay continue to play in the pressure-packed play-offs?

Two games into the post-season, and the answers seem to be, not too much, and pretty darn well. In his first two Boston play-off games, Bay has hit two huge home runs. Both were fairly early in the games; both staked the Sox to leads they managed to hold. Most importantly, both were on the road against the team that seemed to own the Sox all through 2008. With five RBIs, and batting over .550, he's kept us from missing Manny. More than that, he's led the Sox offense, and staked the team to an unlikely 2-0 lead in the ALDS. (A nod to JD Drew as well, who hit the game winner last night, a two-run shot in the ninth.)

Now it's back to Boston, and here's hoping that Beckett's oblique has healed. I know that Lester played the role of ace in Game One, virtually shutting down the Angels, but we need Beckett to dominate once again, if the Sox are to finish this thing off. Dice-K was inconsistent last night, again using too many pitches, and not going past the fifth inning. So as good as Lester was, he can't carry the team all by himself. We still need a healthy Beckett.

Meanwhile, Manny and Torre won two on the road, and return to LA needing only one more win to find themselves in the NLCS. Manny too has hit a couple homers, extending his all-time post-season home run record. Derek Lowe picked up the win in Game One. And while Girardi and Jeter are working on their golf games, Torre has his team poised to play for yet another pennant. I wonder if Hank is paying attention? What say you haters about that?