86 Year Curse Just About Dead!

Okay, here's where it turned: I have a Curt Shilling bobble-head, and I'd been rubbing him on his head, for luck. That's what I did before game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees. And he crashed and burned.

I saved the series -- and the collective hearts of all the Red Sox fans everywhere -- by correcting my mistake, and rubbing Curt not on his head, but on his ankle! Inspired, you say. And you're right. I rubbed the little Curt doll on his injured right ankle, and now look where the Sox are.

A Little more than a week ago, they faced annhilation at the hands of the Evil Empire. Now, they have their opponents staring into the face of elimination.

In last night's game, Game 3 of the 100th World Series, it looked like there was a curse alright: but on the Cardinals, not the Red Sox. Jeff Suppan's baserunning blunder will go down as the absolute turning point of the game, and the end of the Card's chances of winning this World Series, or even making it competitive.

I wrote earlier about my feelings going into this postseason. Now, on the brink of the Sox's first WS win in 86 years, I still have a bit of the feeling of wondering what a post-curseless-Red Sox world will be like. However, I am exhilarated by this team, and how they play and act, and can't wait for that next win. And, as opposed to previous years, I have no doubt that this time they'll get that win.

Playoff Woes

Well, two days in and I feel like slitting my wrists. Shilling's ankle and Mo Rivera's shutdowns. I attended the second game, deep in the heart of the Evil Empire; being in enemy territory on a day when we lost and heard "Who's you're daddy" refrain about a million times. Oh well, there's always next millenium...

Trepidation, Fear, and Hope

That's how I'm approaching this baseball post-season as a Red Sox fan.

Trepidation because I don't know which Pedro Martinez will show up; the Cy Young winner or the guy who called the Yankees his daddy.

Fear because, after all, these are the Red Sox, for God's sake; a team that could screw up a wet dream, and has been doing precisely that for the last 8 and 1/2 decades or so.

Hope because this is a f**'ing great team. Schilling is "da man;" Manny is the best pure hitter in the game; Ortiz is having a great year; and the defense is so much better than last year's.

The other thing I'm afraid of is... what if they actually win this thing? I'm afraid the Sox will lose much of their cachet once they win the World Series. This team is defined by its history; by the fact that they do not win the World Series.

Many people will call me a fatalist, or a whiner, or other such terms. But don't misunderstand; I do want the Sox to win it all. However, I can't help feeling that even if they do, a lot of the team's presence, or spirit if you will, will be lost the moment that happens.