Friday, May 16, 2008
In case you missed it (and really, I update so randomly over here that you probably did), I was at two out of the four Red Sox/Tigers games in Detroit. Good times for the Red Sox half of my brain, as I'm sure you may recall. My seats for the first game were in a luxury box (!!), so I took mostly photos of Comerica, which is decidedly a Tigers photo interest, but for the second game I showed up early enough to take in BP. Red Sox BP.
The entire photoset is here if you just wanna check 'em all out, but here are a few highlights.
There really are insufficient words to describe how amazingly nice The Mayor is. He seems extra-friendly because he's a pro ballplayer, sure, and pro ballplayers aren't exactly known as an unusually friendly group of people (more the 'prickly, overpaid prima donna' types, really), but he'd probably have people raving about his niceness even if he was a stock broker or something.
I'm not really sure what the deal with this is. It's Aardsma and Buchholz here, but lots of guys on the team were doing it. It appeared, to the untrained eye, to be Rock, Paper, Scissors, and they seemed to be doing it in greeting, you know, like instead of a high five or ass pat or other more commonplace gesture. Just a quick rousing game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Accompanied by much crazed ballplayer laughter. I don't know. Anyone got an explanation?
Jon Lester, bubble gum, triptych. Nom nom nom POP!
I know that Beth already posted with the other shot of this event, but I thought it bore repeating. Dice K snuck up on Tavarez, grabbed him from behind, and gave him a surprise back stretch.... much to Julian's delight, as you can see in the photos. Aw, hell. I don't WANT to miss Tavarez, but damn it all, I rather think I'm going to.
O hai reunion! I saw Edgah chatting quite a bit with Papi, and Manny, and (for whatever obscure reason) Youk. Actually most of the Spanish-speaking Tigers took the time to have a little meet-and-greet with Ortiz, and I took photos of a bunch of the hugs and such, but I especially liked the fact that Papi is tugging on Edgah's shirt here.
Of course I took loads of boring portrait-y shots too:
 
 
 
 
 
and so on.
As I said at the top, if you want to see the rest of the shots from the game, they're right here. Yeah, I went a little crazy. I don't usually see the Sox on the road so I don't usually get to see Sox BP. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it.Labels: baseball, MLB, photoblog, Red Sox
8:48 PM
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Sunday, May 04, 2008
I first came to the University of Michigan in the fall of 2003.
Michigan 35, Ohio State 21. 2003.
Michigan 45, Michigan State 37, 3 overtimes. 2004.
Michigan 27, Penn State 25. 2005.
Michigan 14, Ohio State 3. 2006.
Michigan 31, Michigan State 13. 2006.
Michigan 17, Oakland University 0. 2007.
Michigan 5, Eastern Michigan 3, walkoff homerun. 2008.
Today, in May of 2008, I went to a baseball game.
Michigan 15, Ohio State 1. 2008.
Tomorrow I move out, with a BFA, a minor in Biology, and 5 years of memories.
Thanks, U of M. Thanks, Ann Arbor. I'll miss ya.Labels: baseball, football, NCAA, photoblog, University of Michigan, Wolverines
7:27 PM
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
I have to admit, it's hard to get too much enjoyment out of this series right now. It definitely did not help that this is the first Sox/Tigs Fenway series in a while that I won't be seeing in person. I am all kinds of sulky over the lost photo opportunities.
I hear tell that the ring ceremony is up on NESN, and I guess I'll watch that tomorrow if I get time, but the actual baseball? Man. I can't even thoroughly enjoy the performance of the Sox, because it's not like watching them play well: it's like watching them do well because the Tigers are so completely incompetent at the moment.
The Tigers are such a mess right now. It's really baffling to people out here, and I think not knowing what the hell is wrong is making us all a little depressed and/or crazy. I've had to resort to things like this, which is obviously just not OK for anyone.
Of course I watched the game anyways-- Red Sox baseball that I don't have to watch on my computer? YES PLZ. Matsuzaka's little hip shimmy when he brings his arms up just doesn't translate well in a tiny pixellated format, and it just ain't the same without the little hip shimmy. In the midst of my Tigers sadness I have to admit that the Matsuzaka hip shimmy made me grin. Not the hair, though. The hair can go anytime he feels like it.
I would love to be able to say that tomorrow's Bondo/Lester matchup will be a better one, but I honestly don't know right now. Bondo wasn't bad his last time out, but the Tigers' offense has been so dismal (except for one game which Jason Grilli, unsurprisingly, pissed away) that it's hard to say what, if anything, they'll do.Labels: baseball, MLB, Red Sox, Tigers
11:30 PM
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Monday, March 31, 2008
Oh general baseball population Opening Day! Look at this schedule I'm working on here, kids:
8 am- 1 pm: class
1 pm: Tigers/Royals (RotT post up)
4 pm: Giants/Dodgers (expected mentions of Barry Bonds despite the fact that Barry Bonds is no longer on the team: 1,093)
somewhere in here: a bit of Cubs/Brewers (Gabe Kapler!)
7 pm: Angels/Twins (Torii Hunter returns to Minnesota OH THE DRAMA OH THE HUMANITY!)
10 pm: Astros/Padres (um... baseball!)
You know how when a dog finds something that smells really good to them they'll roll around in it? Just seriously go to town, rolling back and forth in a crazed canine ecstasy? That's basically what I'm doing with this Opening Day schedule. WALLOWING IN BASEBALL. If I could literally roll around in it, I would.
Also making me smile: I went to a bunch of Michigan baseball games this weekend, including a double header on Saturday with rain expected on Sunday. That means they put the tarp on the field after the game, and since it was a college baseball game, the team had to put the tarp on the field.
Kevin Cislo makes a friend.
Alan Oaks frolicks.
There are very, very few things in the world funnier than watching college baseball players do the groundskeeping.
A few more photographic highlights:
Kenny Fellows, fastfastfast.
I'm always excited when I manage to get an in-focus shot of the outfielders (Derek VanBuskirk, in this case) in action.
Zach Putnam makes a combination of the :D and :P faces.
The rest of the photos from the game are right here. Lotsa shots, since it was a double header and I was enjoying the heady feeling that comes from shooting a double header with a camera that (unlike the camera I had last year) does not make me worry about a) battery drain or b) how many photos are on my card.
Hope you lot are all enjoying the general baseball population Opening Day as thoroughly as I am.Labels: baseball, MLB, NCAA, opening day, photoblog, Wolverines
3:15 PM
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Here was my favorite thing about the Japan series.
I set my alarm for 5:30 in the morning so that I would be mostly conscious by the time the game started. I made coffee and got waffles (frozen) and maple syrup (local). I turned on the TV at a low volume so it wouldn't wake my roommate up. I grabbed a pillow so that I could beat it up when the game got too tense and/or awesome for self containment.
I looked at the completely sunless sky outside and wanted to die. Because it was so fucking early. But it did not even cross my mind, not for a MOMENT, to sleep more, because BASEBALL.
That's not my favorite thing about the Japan series. Nor is it Manny with a bat making friends with thousands of Japanese fans all at once, although that ALSO happened and was in fact magnificent. Seriously. Pretty much the entire baseball-loving population of Japan is now one giant collective Manny Ramirez fan. This is a sign of some deep rightness in the world.
My favorite thing about the Japan series is also not the way Boston fans all over the eastern time zone staggered around like zombies all day, downing coffee and giving each other sympathetic looks. I am not even kidding. I must have exchanged the tired face with at least 4 different kids in Red Sox hats during and immediately after that series, and that's all the way out in Michigan.
No, my favorite thing about the Japan series was the fact that, as I sat there trying to get coffee fumes into my sinuses, with the sky doggedly NOT lightening with sunrise, not even out of my pajamas yet (my pajama pants are Red Sox patterned; it was appropriate, dammit!), I thought to myself, "You know what? This is early, and I am tired, but at least I'm not a California-based Oakland fan. Those poor bastards have to be up at 3 am on a weeknight if they want to watch this live."
I felt a lot better after that.
It helped that there was baseball.Labels: baseball, Japan, lolcats, MLB, Red Sox
11:11 PM
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Monday, March 17, 2008
It has been a long time. I know! The excuses behind this are many and varied and good, but I will not bore you with them. Imagine that I've been extremely busy flying fighter jets or something.
But I return. BCRS returns. It is high time. Why, you may ask, is NOW the time? Well, like the caribou and warblers and humpback whales making their rounds of the globe, I have noted a seasonal sign, and it has told me to Get A Bloody Move On Already. It is not the changing of the weather (it's snowing right now in Michigan). It is not the length of the days. No, this is a far more tangible and marvelous sign indeed.
NEW ROSTER PHOTOS ARE OUT!!
Fun with Roster Photos is a tradition here at BCRS. Like most traditions, it is beautiful and it brings people together. We make fun of how horrible baseball players look in their roster photos, and how harassed/bad the roster photographers are. It's humanitarian magic.
Usual disclaimer: these images are linked directly from the MLB pages, so they'll change when MLB changes them. If you're viewing this archived, the photos in the post may no longer correspond to the commentary. I leave it this way because a) it lends a surreal aspect to the whole exercise, and b) I'm lazy. I'm going off the active roster as of March 17-18, 2008.
Fun with Roster Photos! Boston Red Sox, 2008
Pitching!
 David Aardsma
I'm clearly guilty of wishful projection here, but I still think this glorious big-eared, squinty-eyed photo makes him look a little bit like an aardvark.
 Josh Beckett
Josh Beckett is not amused by photo day. Josh Beckett is also apparently a firm believer in two-tiered mini goatees, which isn't really something I ever needed to know. Ever.
 Craig Breslow
Excellent, we only needed to wait 'til #3 for my first real-life LOL. What is wrong with Craig Breslow here? He looks like he's making a donkey braying noise deep in his throat at the exact moment when this photo was taken. That's what's wrong with him.
 Clay Buchholz
Murderous living doll Clay Buchholz leaves his ventriloquist trunk only at night, armed with a really fucking big steak knife, and you know it's true. We have photographic proof.
 Bryan Corey
What can you even say? WHAT CAN YOU EVEN SAY? How could a photographer look Bryan Corey in the eye after taking this photo?
 Manny Delcarmen
Oh, that's where the rest of Beckett's facial hair went.
 Craig Hansen
He looks high here, which is nothing new for Craig Hansen. The really curious thing is that he also looks like he recently had a chin implant and the scar hasn't quite healed yet.
 Jon Lester
Oh Jon Lester. I just wanna reach into that photo and unfold that right ear. Like with a puppy. Awww, puppies.
 Javier Lopez
What in the god damned hell that doesn't even look like Javier Lopez. Who the hell IS that? Holy fuck, it's like parallel universe Javier Lopez, who never went into professional baseball and instead got his degree in neurology from Virginia and published a couple of obscure papers and that was the highlight of his life.
 Daisuke Matsuzaka
"Hey Dice-K! BADGERTOES!" "Uh... what?" "BADGERTOES!" "Uh...ha ha, er..... what?" *camera flash*
 Hideki Okajima
Every year. Every goddamn year there's someone who can't make it to photo day and they use a wax model in his place and hope no one will notice.
 Jonathan Papelbon
Look at him rearing back like that. Like in another second he's going to shoot forward and bite you.
 Kyle Snyder
Someone needs to get this man some sunscreen and a smack on the ass to wipe that smug smile off his face.
 Julian Tavarez
So happy, so content as his head slowly melts into his neck.
 Mike Timlin
Probably the first roster photo so far that hasn't been just awful. Washed out? Yes. Potentially dubious goatee grooming choices? Yes. Laugh out loud terror? Not quite. Good job, photographers/Timlin.
 Tim Wakefield
Wake's roster photo looks like his roster photo from last year, and the one before that, and probably every roster photo of his since like 1996. There's a Dorian Grey-esque painting of a ravaged, elderly Tim Wakefield somewhere in the bowels of Fenway.
 Curt Schilling
This is a special treat, since he's not on the active roster right now. But look at that expression and tell me it doesn't make you think of muppets.
Catchers!
 Dusty Brown
Another puppy who needs his wittle ear untucked.
 Geoge Kottaras
Wow, it's a teenage baseball player as envisioned by the people who animated The Triplets of Belleville. That was unexpected.
 Jason Varitek
Grrr, me Tek! You fan! You fan, me Tek! Hurr! Base Ball! *ineffective concentrating noises*
Infielders!
 Chris Carter
How many hungover college boys do we really need on this team?
 Sean Casey
What the hell did they tell him to do, cock his head to the side like a kitten? Be adorrrrrable, Sean! He looks like he's got a strained muscle in his neck.
 Alex Cora
That is one creepy-ass smile, there. Like he's smiling that smile at the same time he's trying to grab your ass in a crowded bar.
 Mike Lowell
NOOOO WHAT DID THEY DO TO MAKE MIKE LOWELL SO SAD NOOOOOOO
 Julio Lugo
The face of a man who has never actually seen a camera before and is completely confused about what he's doing in front of one.
 Dustin Pedroia
Oh photo-induced lazy eye, you never fail to appear on photo day.
 Kevin Youkilis
Holy cats. Holy FREAKING cats. He's actually growing his goatee to match his pubic hair in density, shape, everything. I need to know in what universe he thinks this is a good thing.
Outfielders!
 Coco Crisp
He looks 10 years old here. I don't know. His head is too big for his neck and the bits of his hair you can see makes it look like he's got tiny pigtails. He needs a bag lunch, a Lisa Frank pencil case, and possibly a pony.
 JD Drew
JD Drew or.... THE MOLEMAN??
 Jacoby Ellsbury
OK, it's pretty hard to mess up a photo of Jacoby Ellsbury. He just looks so uncomfortable here. Like he's not actually wearing any pants and he's really painfully embarrassed but he has to sit still because the photographer's only gonna be here another 20 minutes so he can just suck it up and put his pants on after.
 Brandon Moss
We have a leprechaun on the team who isn't Bobby Kielty?
 Manny Ramirez
I feel like this is last year's shot, or the year before, because Manny never shows up for these things. Can someone confirm or deny this?
the DH!
 David Ortiz
His goatee/chin looks like the Wu Tang Clan symbol and I can't stop thinking that. That's all I can see when I look at this photo. I'm sorry.
Ah, it's nice to be back. I've missed this space.Labels: baseball, fun with roster photos, Red Sox
11:26 PM
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Sunday, November 25, 2007
Mmmm, losing, how it has consumed my football.
I of course attended the Michigan/Ohio State game, which was a disaster. A total disaster. It was freezing cold out, but just warm enough to keep the rain rain and not snow. I don't know how it was possible for the air to be as cold as it was while we were still getting rained out, but apparently Ohio State bewitched the air to make us just that much more completely miserable. I was soaked through by the end of the game, and I had rain gear on. Some people were worse off. And of course there's no shelter in the Big House.
Part of the problem was that, while the game didn't ever really 'feel' close, and even though it definitely never seemed like Michigan (and more especially Chad Henne) was going to make a comeback, the score technically WAS close enough to keep most of us in our seats. Of course leaving a ballgame early is despicable behavior, but in this case it would have been perfectly justified by the soul-destroying nature of the loss and the potentially health-destroying nature of the weather, and if this had been a blowout I would've been out of there before you could say, "Jim Tressel eats babies."
ALAS, IT WAS NOT A BLOWOUT. The score at the end was only 14-3. That's a surmountable score even in the NFL, and it's easily surmountable by college football standards. Hell, I've seen Michigan overcome much bigger deficits in that very stadium. You can't leave a college game when the score's that close, you just CAN'T, because if the losing team makes a comeback and you aren't there for it you can NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF.
I mean, look at that MSU game in 2004. We were down by 17 with 8-some-odd minutes to go in the 4th quarter. As the game wore on, the mid-70s temperature of the daytime gave way to the mid-30s temperature of the night, meaning that we had all showed up wearing tshirts and were literally freezing. It seemed like the perfect time to leave, and Michigan ended up coming back and winning in triple overtime. It's one of the most epic games in recent memory and a classic in the UM/MSU rivalry.
Can you imagine being at that game and leaving early? Lots of people did. (I almost did, but my seatmate said we should wait for at least the 5-minute mark, and Michigan started the comeback around the 6-minute mark). I know some people who left. THEY HAVE STILL NOT FORGIVEN THEMSELVES.
So, with Michigan only down by 11 at the most, I just couldn't leave. Not even with the pervading air of hopelessness, not even with the weather that threatened to end both me and my camera. This time around, Michigan did not reward me with a win. The defense played well (witness the fact that OSU was held to 14 points), but the offense doesn't even rate mention. Suffice it to say that the offense was Bad, and the capital B is intentional.
Photos from the game are here. I went early to take a bunch of stadium shots, as it's my last game as an undergrad. Thankfully the rain did not start until the game did. I got some nice player shots from warmups too. Not so many good shots during the game, due to the aforementioned and much belabored weather. YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW TRULY MISERABLE IT WAS UNLESS YOU WERE THERE. The weather for that game: also Bad.
In happier news, I was also at the Thanksgiving Day Lions game! Oh wait, did I say 'happier'? I meant 'equally sad but less overtly miserable because at least the Lions play indoors'.
This was, by far, the highlight of the game. Dippin' Dots. In a miniature Lions helmet. I think you will agree with me that this is awesomeness made solid and incarnate, yes? Yes.
As for the game itself, whatever. I literally spent parts of it thinking to myself, "Hey, this isn't half as bad as the Michigan game! I'm inside! It's climate-controlled! I have a real seat instead of a small section of bleacher! The Lions are playing with some hope here at the end! I have Dippin' Dots! Altogether a superior losing experience!" And all that was TRUE. It made the Lions game just seem so whatever-esque. Brett Favre and the Packers are on a streak of vicious football prowess. The Lions have been winning, with the exception of the Denver game, by the skin of their pointy feline teeth. Whatever! At least it wasn't an absurdly bad blowout like the past two Thanksgivings. This game was close! So, whatever! See?
Photos from that game are here, in addition to some shots from before and after, as we trotted around the city.
At least it looks like the Patriots are going to win this game. If you listen carefully, you can hear my feeble, beaten-down cheer as I muster the little enthusiasm I have left for football right now.
Oh, and PS, check out this downtown Detroit bar:
Yes, it is called "Jacoby's". I had to take a photo of that. Who wouldn't?Labels: Buckeyes, football, Jacoby Ellsbury, Lions, loss, NCAA, NFL, OSU, rivalry, terrible, Wolverines
10:48 PM
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Late to the party? Yes. Apologetic? Very. Blogging now? SEE THE REALITY OF IT! As a token of my true apologeticality, that Papelbon image on the left is clickable for a desktop-sized version.
Lest you fear otherwise, I did of course watch the World Series, every glorious moment of it. I just haven't had a ton of time for blogging lately, and what little time I did have was dedicated to Roar of the Tigers, because I'm actually obligated to post over there, while the posting over here is on a 'whenever I feel like it' basis. It's not just the Sox: you'll note that I've missed blogging about the Lions and the Wolverines as well, although I'm definitely watching/attending all those games too.
I realize I've said this before, but I think I'm ready to pick it back up on a more regular basis. The end of the season was a crazy time, and the start of the school year was a crazy time, and.... I hate genetics. Genetics is destroying my life. That's basically the reason for all of this. BLAME UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GENETICS.
The plus side of posting so long after the World Series has ended is that instead of posting an immediate YAY GO TEAM US THEO IS A GENIUS I LOVE EVERYONE post like the rest of the blogosphere, I can stand back and say what made this World Series most memorable to me.
There were lots of memorable storylines this season, don't get me wrong. Just going over the bare bones of it:
--The fact that we won a World Series in the first year of our Japanamania is certainly worth noting-- even if Matsuzaka wasn't as crazygood as we wanted him to be right out of the gate, the fact that Okajima was good at ALL, when he was basically supposed to be a companion donkey to the stud racehorse of Dice-K, more than makes up the difference.
--Josh Beckett ate babies for breakfast and used the youthful energy he gained from that heartiest of meals to power him to insane levels of domination on the pitching mound. I know Beth is going to disagree with me since I haven't put him as my memorable thing, but I am not QUITE as fascinated with Josh Beckett the Man/Myth/Only-Slightly-Human-Beast-Creature as she is.
--Not only did he play much of the season with a broken hand, the kind of broken hand that puts other players out for MONTHS, not only did he overcome the fact that he's approximately half the size of some of his own teammates, but Dustin Pedroia also won the Rookie of the Year award. Short men all over New England rejoiced and enjoyed much attention from single ladies who wanted a slice of that action.
--Every single thing that Mike Lowell did, up to and including all the ways that he is not Alex Rodriguez.
--The fact that the Red Sox became the only team in MLB to have a fully functional bullpen band, which was not afraid to use water bottles, hands, benches, overhangs, and anything else as instruments. Doug Mirabelli became an instrument when he was musically hammered upon from both sides by overly enthusiastic teammates. I honestly don't think there are enough words to describe how awesome this whole thing was.
--JD Drew redeeming his season with one swing of the bat. The one moment when the entire ballpark was certain the at-bat would only end in tears and possibly with men stranded on base, and JD freakin' Drew comes through with the grand slam. Did this really happen, or did I just hallucinate it?
--Every Red Sox fan everywhere, regardless of gender association or sexual preference, falling deeply, madly, intensely in love with Jacoby Ellsbury. Seriously. He cuts across all attempts to categorize and separate sex and gender roles. He is JACOBY ELLSBURY, and he appeals to all.
--So, this kid named Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter. Didja hear? It was pretty great. (Even better was the fact that I got to watch no-hitters from both my teams this season, as Justin Verlander also threw one, and it was also pretty great.)
--Many of Coco Crisp's catches in the outfield. Dude can FLY, and it is fun to watch.
--Everything that Manny did, as usual. He doesn't even need to do one big crazy thing... it's just the little things, like snorgling with various teammates on the bench and growing his hair out so much that it won't even fit in his 'do-rag anymore, and wandering around the field like he doesn't know the difference between the infield and the outfield and the lockerroom (or, more likely, knows the difference and just doesn't care) that make Manny so consistently enjoyable to watch. If you're a Sox fan. I guess he's fairly infuriating if you're not getting to watch him crank out the hits from the right rooting side.
--David Ortiz playing through screwed-up knees. David Ortiz trying to steal bases and slide because he cares that much about getting the extra base. David Ortiz winning games for the team and that being a NORMAL thing. David Ortiz EXISTING. I can understand why some people have a problem with Manny, but if you have a problem with Big Papi than you're just looking for excuses to be sour and I'm very sorry for you.
--Insert your favorite happy-making memory from this year here.
All that said, when I think back on this World Series, there is one particular storyline that I'll remember. This wasn't like 2004. That World Series was THE World Series for us. You can't really separate the image of Dave Roberts stealing the base from the image of Keith Foulke and Doug Mientkiewicz leaping skyward from the image of Curt Schilling's bloody sock from the image of Bronson Arroyo getting the ball slapped out of his glove from the image of Mark Bellhorn's homerun smashing off the foul pole from the image of Jason Varitek falling to his knees in the grass and getting hugged by Kevin Millar. That's all one amazing entity. This year was more like a 'normal' World Series, though: without that historical ubersignificance, certain things can stand out more.
I am, of course, referring back to the image that started this post. So far as me and my memories are concerned, this year was above all the Year of the Papelbon.
He has a pre-pitch stare towards the batter that causes TV announcers and AP photographers to fall over themselves! He can throw 100 mph! He was one of the best closers in the game! Feared! Adored! In a way, though, we already knew all that. This season stood out because this was the year we were exposed to the full spectrum of Papelbon-ness.
It's not just the dancing, although I have to admit that the dancing was a big, big part of making him memorable. Jigs! In his underpants! OUT ON THE FIELD! Playing air-broom on the duck boat with the Dropkick Murphys! Do-si-do-ing with Mike Timlin and aggressively hugging a slightly nervous Hideki Okajima! He dances with an empty box of beer on his head!
But the public dancing was just a tiny part of Jonathan Papelbon the Crazy Closer and Equally Crazy Human Being. He plays Scrabble! He and Josh Beckett fight like little boys sniping at each other! He refers to his pitching personality as Cinco Ocho (the reverse Chad Johnson)! He... oh, hell, HE DANCES IN HIS UNDERWEAR WHERE TV CAMERAS CAN SEE HIM.
I feel certain that, years and years from now, when many other details have faded (hopefully in the face of loads of intervening Red Sox and Tigers World Series victories), the image of Jonathan Papelbon's crazy dancing self will still be there whenever I think about 2007.Labels: baseball, excuses excuses, Jonathan Papelbon, MLB, Red Sox, World Series
1:27 PM
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Monday, October 22, 2007
I know I haven't been posting over here very often, but rest assured, I have been spreading the insane Sox love during that time:
I have to say that Game 5 was maybe the most stressful baseball game I've watched in a long, long time. There were any number of times when I thought my roommate would come in the next morning and find me curled up dead in front of the TV. It really did feel like 2004 again: that sort of awful do-or-die thing that most of us, given the kinds of jobs we have and lives we lead, just don't feel that often. Eeesh. I mean, there are big games, and there are Big Games.
Of course this is why JD Drew's grand slam at the start of the next game was so very amazing to RSN. It wasn't just that he hit a postseason grand slam; it was that we knew, at that moment, that we probably would not have to live through another Game 5 just yet. Two of those games one after the other might have been too much for us.
Last night was tense most of the way, but still nothing approaching Game 5. I LITERALLY thought I was causing myself physical damage during Game 5, either from the nail biting or the stress-induced internal traumas. Game 7 was rough until we broke it open, but still, WE were the team on a roll at that point, not the Indians, and despite the double plays (which, by the way, NEED TO BE ADDRESSED before the World Series, 'cause my GAWD I know Westbrook throws that sinker, but that many balls on the ground in the infield with men on base is NOT OK) the Sox just looked more tapped in than the Indians did.
Now, of course, comes the Dire Challenge. We have the Red Sox on a roll, and the Rockies on a roll. I am split on this World Series (prediction-wise... obviously not rooting-wise), for two reasons:
The Rockies' streak may have had time to cool down since they've had a relatively long wait between the end of the NLCS and the start of the WS. Obviously the Rockies have some good players, or they wouldn't be able to rattle off that streak in the first place, but a lot of baseball streaking is made up of amorphous stuff like 'staying hot' and 'feeling locked-in' and other such newspaper tag phrases. The Rockies were able to maintain their streak in part because they were playing game after game with no breaks (or short breaks), so they were as individuals and as a team maintaining a rhythm that worked. Maybe (hopefully) the time they spent waiting for the ALCS to resolve itself will have put them off their game a bit. The Red Sox are on a roll, and they only have two days to stew on it. Advantage: Sox.
The Red Sox may be burnt out after the struggle to win the ALCS. That's the problem with the league championships when the games and series are close. You can't slack off, because then you have no shot at all at the World Series, but in a way you don't want to exert quite as much effort as you possibly can. Most everyone's hurting in one way or another by this time of year, and if they push too hard just to get through the LCS, they might not have much left for the WS. See: Detroit Tigers, 2006. Of course this isn't always the case (see: Boston Red Sox, 2004), but it can be, and it worries me. The Rockies had pretty stress-free series, and they've had lots of time to rest their pitchers. If Game 5 was that stressful for ME, I can only imagine how much exponentially worse it was for the actual players. Advantage: Rox.
We shall see what we shall see. All we can do is keep the mojo up (DON'T WASH THAT JERSEY) and hope for another Papelbon jig.Labels: ALCS, baseball, MLB, photoblog, Red Sox
12:00 PM
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Friday, October 12, 2007
True story.
That's my living room wall: the little painting all the way on the left is Fenway Park, the big painting is old Tiger Stadium, and the flag, of course, is the Detroit Lion.
We were having some trouble with the electricity in my apartment (i.e. my roommate managed to trip one of the circuit breakers three times in a single morning), so I alerted the apartment manager and toddled off to class. I came back just as the maintenance guy was finishing up. He hadn't been able to replicate the problem, so it was all Very Mysterious and we were both at a bit of a loss to explain it.
As he was packing up his tools, his eyes alighted upon the Lions flag. Well. As you can see, it's hard to miss, especially since that's the wall that faces the front door.
Maintenance dude nodded at the flag. "Well, that's your problem right there. Suckin' all the energy right outta the place."
I laughed. In light of the Lions' most recent outing, this was a fair assessment.
"Really. That'll take all the energy right out." At this point I wasn't quite sure if he was joking or not. On the one hand, how could he NOT be joking? On the other hand, the Lions have been bad enough for long enough to do some serious damage to people's minds.
After another minute of conversation about the Army recruiters staked out in our parking lot, maintenance dude left, but not before casting a baleful glance over his shoulder at the Lions flag.
I'm a little worried now.Labels: football, Lions, NFL, terrible
2:34 PM
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