Highlight of the game? Kalish's catch was fantastic! Photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com and used with permission.
I didn’t purposely skip over posting yesterday but I can only imagine the emails I would have received had I written something.
Because, had I written an entry on Saturday, it would have been about how good Friday night felt. The Sox beating the Rays, the Yankees losing to the White Sox, the Red Sox gaining a game all around. It was a great feeling and a wonderful way to end the night.
As good as Friday felt is as bad as Saturday felt. But, really, Saturday doesn’t change Friday. Friday was still great and the Red Sox are still in the position they were in before the game Friday night. And while I get people being upset – hell the word to describe how I felt after the game was and still is “sad” – based on emails I’ve received today without having posted yesterday, I can only imagine how much worse they would have been had I shared in full-length format how happy Friday night made me.
I received a handful of emails from different folks regarding this weekend’s games thus far. Here’s an excerpt from one:
You were so excited on Twitter Friday night and now you look stupid. Why bother getting excited about the Red Sox when you know they’re going to lose just like they did tonight? They suck and you’re wasting your time with them.
The kicker? This came from a Red Sox fan who follows me on Twitter. Seriously? I’m wasting my time?
Here’s the thing. Last night was a tremendous kick in the ass. Until Clay starting reverting to his old self by throwing over to first a million times, he was sailing. After that errant throw that allowed Pena to take third from first and eventually score, the wheels came off. We all saw it, we all felt it, we all new what was coming and couldn’t stop it. I was upset in the moment but after sleeping on it I have one question for folks:
How is what happened last night any different than what’s been happening all season???
The entire season has been a flurry of great games, sucky games, great news, sucky news, lather, rinse, repeat. If you’ve stuck it out this long…if you’ve decided that this team has enough guts and heart and energy that you want to watch every night to see what happens…if you don’t think 5.5 games out of first place at the end of August is the worst place they can be…then why the hell would one God-awful, gut punching game make you throw in the towel now?
I get the knee-jerk reaction stuff. Hell, sometimes I think I’m QUEEN of the knee-jerk reactions when it comes to the actions going on during the game. But, honestly, it didn’t even take me sleeping on it for me to remember that this seasons seems to be some sort of test by the Baseball Gods and last night’s game might have been one of the hardest parts of that test but it doesn’t mean you tear up your paper and storm out of the room.
In the American League, the Orioles, the Tigers, the Royals, the Indians, the Angels and the Mariners all are playing under .500 right now, yet they still have fans who go to the games and who try to enjoy the season for what it’s worth. One game at a time, one play at a time, one amazing win or devastating loss at a time. The Red Sox are 18 games over .500. They’re 5.5 games out of first place and, really, still in the middle of a pennant race whether folks think it’s an impossible goal or not. They’re still in it.
It sucks that they lost. It especially sucks how they lost. But don’t be sending me (or anyone else) messages telling me I’m stupid for getting excited about the wins because they turn around and have the nerve to lose as well. I’m a fan. This is my team whether they suck or they excel. Now is the time for people to step back and figure out what they want from their team and what they realistically expect from the men who take that field.
I want them to win more than they lose and I want them to entertain me. I want them to help make my summer and early fall interesting and exciting. So far they’ve done all of that, so you bet your ass I’m going to be here and on Twitter proclaiming my happiness for and about them. I invite you to do the same because it beats the heck out of the alternative.
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