FRS

I shrugged last month when the Yankees swept the FRS in the Bronx cutting their lead in the East to 4 games. No big deal, with a month and a half to go we were still playing good baseball and the Yankees were red hot and bound to cool off.

The Yankees did cool just a bit and when we started a 3 game series in Boston last week their lead over New York was 5-1/2 games. I was not worried until they only won one of the three and the MFY left town only trailing by 4-1/2. Still, it seemed like we were OK and in command of our own fate.

But maybe being in command is not as easy as it looks. After Monday’s loss to Toronto and NY’s win over Baltimore the lead fell to 3-1/2. Crap.

Last night was the last straw. The Yankees won again. The Sox were winning 2 to 1 and the FRS manager sent in trade deadline acquisition, Eric Gagne. This was troublesome because all Mr. Gag-Me has done since putting on a Red Sox uniform is blow 2 of 2 save opportunities, lost 2 games with an ERA of 9.00 in 15 appearances. Well you guessed it, a walk, a single and a walk to load the bases. He should have been pulled out of the game right then. Nope, he then walked in the tying run. Did he come out now, nope again. The next batter doubles in two runs. I stopped listening to the game, I just couldn’t take it any more.

I started rooting for the FRS at about 8-years old, mildly at first, but the hook was set in 1967 when Yaz had his Triple-Crown year and they made it to the World Series. They lost in seven games. There have been quite a few terrible years with a few notable exceptions, 1975 and 1986 when they made it to the World Series again. Only to lose both in seven games. For about the last decade they have started fast and have lead the Eastern Division before cooling near the All Star break and eventually finishing 2nd or 3rd behind the Yankees. Somehow the cosmos shifted and in 2004 they won World Series for the first time in 86 years. Right after 2004 they returned to their old ways. This year they have lead the East since sometime in April, but it doesn’t look good for them to stay there. Another loss and a Yankees win last night cut the lead to 2-1/2 games. Tonight in the seventh inning of both games the status quo prevails, the Yanks are winning and the FRS are losing.

I can’t take the mental abuse any more, to the left you can see my divorce petition dissolving my relationship with the Red Sox. I am not listening to tonight’s game, I have washed my hands of them. My blood pressure may even go down a few points. I am now officially not following any team for that matter any sport. I can stop reading a section of the paper. I can drop several channels from the TV. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all the free time yet, maybe needlepoint…

I gave up too soon on them again.

Tim Wakefield who has practically owned the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the past, he is 20-2 against them lifetime, was pulled in the top of the 4th inning after giving up 10 hits and 7 runs. By he time the top of the fourth was over the FRS were trailing 8 to 1. To add insult to injury the MFY were beating Toronto Blue Jays 8 to 2. Figuring we would probably get swept by the Yankees this weekend, I had pretty much seceded the division and the rest of the season, but…

The Sox batters didn’t feel he same way. In the bottom of the 4th they go 4 runs back. In he bottom of the 5th they scored three more. In the bottom of he 6h they scored 6 to take the lead 14 to 9. Suddenly the sun is shining and things are looking up.

From Chapter 43 of the Spenser novel Widow’s Walk:

“Do you have a conclusion?”

“No, I can’t figure her out.”

“Maybe you need to,” Susan said. “Maybe you need to find out more about Mr. Smith’s life as a gay man. Maybe you need to find out why Mrs. Smith married him.”

“A tip?” I said. “A crime-stopper tip?”

“Two tips,” Susan said. “I have a Ph.D. from Harvard.”

“A hotbed of crime-stopping,” I said.

“A hotbed,” Susan said.