Monday, October 03, 2005
Wildcard? I'll take it.
I love how, as soon as they took the '9' out of the inning slot on the Monster, Fenway went nuts. In so many other parks the crowd wouldn't even realize what that meant, but in Boston, the cheering was so loud that the batter coming up into the box (I think it was John Olerud) stepped back, cocked his head, then peered out at the out-of-town scoreboard before smiling a bit and stepping up to settle into his stance.
It was fun to get all the rookies out there, for both sides, especially as most of them won't make the postseason roster, and it was amusing to see so many pitchers get used from the bullpens, as though it was an All Star game and the managers wanted to make sure everyone got playing time.
It was very, very good to see that Youks is in one piece, or at least so taped up as to be marginally functional. It was great to see Kapler, getting soaked with champagne in the clubhouse, even if he was on crutches and I wanted to scream at the team to not get too much champagne near him because it'll make that floor slippery, dammit, and you don't want him to fall over, do you? Cheez, watch it, kids.
Jon(athan) Papelbon, my goodness. The kid was going nuts. Like, seriously nuts. Like, no really, calm down a sec there, kiddo, it's just the wildcard. I guess probably all the rookies were going wild, but Papelbon was the one I saw on TV the most, excepting Hanley, who first poured champagne on Papelbon's head, then returned with a great big chunk of ice and tried to jam it down the back of his shirt, prompting Eric Frede (who was gamely attempting to interview Papelbon at the time) to step in and say, "Hey now, we can't have that!"
So, it's Sox fight time, pick your color, white or red. Despite all the Sportscenter blather about how much better it is to face the ChiSux than the Rally Monkeys, I'm concerned. We don't have to deal with the huge time difference, true (and thank heavens, my professors will now have me at least semi-conscious in class), but I fear the ChiSux pitching more than the Rally Monkey pitching. Bartolo Colon still has a bad back, after all. Although now that I think about it, Ervin Santana would probably pitch the crap out of us, so maybe it's all for the best.
Any way you slice it, we've prolonged the season by at least 3 games. That's a happy thing.
As for football...
I was going to pretend it didn't happen, but you know me, I watched most of the Lions game. Lord knows why, but I did.
There's not really much to say. I thought we were done with all those games where it looked like we had every opportunity to win and we didn't. Joey was looking downfield; there wasn't ever anyone open. Joey was throwing it downfield; Roy Williams was dropping it (as my dad said, some of the throws were a little tough, but a first-round pick makes that catch). The Lions were scoring touchdowns, and they were getting called back. Ridiculous.
I can't really root against Brian Griese, so good job to him, but really, screw the rest of you Bucs. If there had been a different official in the review booth, you would have lost this game. Congratulations, you won not because you shut down the Lions, or because you shut down Joey Harrington. You won on a technicality.
I didn't see the Pats game, and the Fins had a bye week, so that was that.
Rather than end on a down note, I'd like to remind you all that tonight (Monday night) is the first night of Rosh Hashana. Apples and honey for all! You can get your own damn apples, but for something sweet, have this:
Happy New Year!
3:12 AM
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