Back on July 11 I wrote an entry looking at the Red Sox at the All Star break. It was a piece filled with optimism and even some hubris over the fact that the Sox were in first place leading the evil empire by three games. What the Hell was I thinking? The ink wasn't even dry before Sox players started falling like rain.
It was like game four of the A.L. championship series in 04 might have been when I thought about changing my position on the sofa. I realize now that had I done so it would have resulted in a sweep instead of a world series victory.
I no sooner had written the piece when the wheels fell off the old town team. Wakefield gets a broken rib, Varitek needs knee surgery, then Nixon gets knocked out of the line up. That was followed by a road trip through Tampa and Kansas City in which the Sox lost 5 out of six including a sweep to the worst team in the league.
The hits kept coming. Manny's knee starts to act up, Ortiz is having heart palpitations and Wily Mo Pena's wrist flares up again. At one time this week the club fielded a team that did not have one player starting that had started last year.
The pitching was so bad it brought back memories of my own career as a windmiller. Some of the balls that were hit of me are still travelling.
So we finished August somewhere in the 9 and 20 range with the Yankees so far ahead that even the die hard optimists knew that a trading deadline deal was bound to be done. Last night it came to fruition with old David Wells being shipped out of town for the proverbial "player to be named later". It was a good deal for Boomer since he will be put into a heated National League race. It is rather an ignominious result for us die hards.
Well it has been a good run and it is back to the drawing board. Theo has a bit of a dent in his halo and he is probably a better baseball man as a result. I am no stranger to the following phrase, "wait till next year". I am also familiar with this one, Go Patriots" and I promise not to write anything positive about them.
