I love the Red Sox and whichever team is playing the yankees - and when they play each other my mood can be influenced positively or negatively for a week or more. Sometimes it lasts an entire off-season. Ok - so you know.
My beloved Sox have just finished off a sweep of their meanest rival - a sweep that I auspiciously predicted would NOT happen in an earlier post. Ok - so I know a lot about these two teams but I didn't know it had been 17 years since we'd swept the yanks in 3 or more games at Fenway. We'd swept them several times at the house that Ruth built since then but our home cooking never quite matched up until this weekend.
You'll have to forgive the lack of wit and panache tonight - I am still recovering from the heart attack that is Axel-Rod vs. Papelbon with a man on and a 1 run lead in the 9th.
In hindsight I predicted most of what did happen this evening - in almost startling accuracy. Let's review my predictions...
1. DiceK getting shelled? Check. Giving up 5+ runs? Check. Combined 4+ BB/HBP? Check. Pitches barely into the 6th inning. WRONG. He threw 7+ innings.
2. Chase Wright pitching with the luck of the Irish? Check - worked out of MANY men on base. Lasts 4.2 innings? WRONG. Only 3 - so kinda of half right there. Gives up only 3 runs? WRONG - gave up 4. K's for Manny and Papi? NONE. Sweeet but wrong Swami. Leaves with the lead? WRONG - but then who would predict back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs? YIKES. Oh yeah... check out #3 - hee hee.
2a. Red Sox grounding into a DP in a key spot versus a reliever? Check! David Ortiz in the 6th.
3. Team or league history made? WOW!! Check!! Something about back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs for the first time in Red Sox history and the fifth time in MLB history - EVER. That's fewer than the number of perfect games thrown. Fewer than the number of World Series clinching walkoff HRs.
4. Huge homer hit by both teams? WOW! Check!! Jeter to tie it in the 5th and Lowell to "win" it in the 7th. WRONG on the order and who would win... although Axel-Rod could have done it in the 9th except for THE most dominant closer in baseball right now.
5. Big time 2R+ error by a Red Sox? WRONG. In fact, two stellar line drive snags by Dustin Pedroia actually saved the day.
6. A non-Axel-Rod yank having a big day at the dish? Check! Was is Jason Giambi? CHECK!!
Final score: NY 8 Boston 7? WRONG but was I ever close. Boston wins 7-6.
Swami Stats: 9 right, 8 wrong. On the surface it seems like you could have flipped a coin to get the same results.... but only if you only have two possible outcomes. Let's just say that I started doing the statistical analysis and figured out I could have made a LOT of money in Vegas tonight. Swami rests his case.
And now I will rest my fingers and my brain... after all, my heart is shot. Not to mention we all know I cannot rub it in after my Lady Vols post a few weeks back. Besides - it's only a game and it is only April. Last year when the Red Sox built up a HUGE lead over the yanks in the AL East I predicted WEEKS prior to the All-Star break that the lead would not only vanish, but that it would have a more than 15 game turnaround by year's end and we would be at least 10 games out of first place. So what was the total flip-flop by the pinstripes to take the AL East in a waltz? 19 games - and we were 11 games out at year's end.
This sweep accomplishes only a couple of things... first, it sets the pace for the rest of the league to follow. And second, it does make it a bit tougher on the yanks to win the season series... hmmm... we'll see if it is even close enough in September to worry about stinking tie-breakers, especially since we play an even 18 games with the bombers this year instead of the customary 19 of late.
So let's all take a deep breath, prep for yankee Stadium next weekend, and realize this is April baseball. Only for psychos and not the faint of heart.
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