This is an actual letter received from a regular reader of Red Sox Rants from China immediately following the 12-2 Red Sox win in Game 6 win over the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. By way of background, this reader lives in Hong Kong and is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan and as well as a supporter of the Colorado Rockies (note that this dual loyalty is not in violation of Bill Simmons' Rules for Being a True Fan because of the exception provided under Rule 19).
************************************
Dear Red Sox Diarist:
Now it gets interesting!
Huge win today for Boston. Nancy Drew finally did something positive in addition to collecting his hefty paycheck. The sun's gotta shine on every dog's ass sometime. Lugo also finally hit a ball in fair territory. Even Gagne showed he can hold a 10-run lead!
What role do you think maturity has played in this series? Sabathia, Carmona, and Perez all seem nervous and determined to throw too hard and off the plate, instead of challenging batters in the strike zone as they did successfully throughout the regular season and the Yankees series.
Beckett, of course, has been dominating. Schilling doesn't have great stuff anymore and was just fair in today's game, but the big lead gave him a huge advantage. I think a combination of youthful overexuberance and an effort to be too fine by Cleveland's pitchers and greater maturity and patience by Sox hitters plus Beckett resulted in success for the Beaneaters in Games 1, 5, and 6 (and the beginning of Game 2).
Can Dice-K stop the Tribe tomorrow? He looked confused at times in his last outing. The game is in Fenway and the Sox have the momentum, but Tito better have Beckett ready in the bullpen and keep Papelbon for a save situation, if necessary.
I still like the Rox and Sox in the World Series!
Your Faithful Correspondent
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
ALDS Roadtrip Photo Journal
Your Red Sox Diarist will be the first to admit that he has gotten lazy with posting lately. That said, as I have been on the road for the past 16 days, hopefully my loyal readers will understand and excuse me. What follows is the first installment of my American League Division Series Photo Journal which takes place in Los Angeles and Anaheim on October 6th and 7th.
As all roadtrips do, this one begins at the Japan Airlines lounge in Narita Airport where the Japanese proudly display one of Japan's most important contributions to civilization: the automatic pouring beer machine. As this photo will attest, it pours the finest beer west of Los Angeles and East of Tokyo.
Arriving after the long flight from the Far East, Your Red Sox Diarist retired to the humble abode of West Hollywood's Mondrian Hotel and its uber trendy Sky Bar. Although you really can't see from this pic, the Sky Bar and its pool are well trafficked on a Saturday afternoon. This is a picture of two Playboy Playmates celebrating the arrival of the October Playboy magazine which featured their photoshoots (I am not making this up).
This is a shot of Oakland Raider rookie cornerback John Bowie, who was spending some time off during the Raiders bi-week chillin' at the Mondrian. New England Patriot fans will recognize Bowie as the 4th round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati for whom the Raiders traded wide receiver Randy Moss --- and one wonders why the Raiders lost to the Chargers 28-14 this past Sunday.
Gametime: After a one hour, 150 dollar taxi ride to Anaheim Stadium--big mistake---which was an even bigger mistake for my Russian cab driver who was promptly ticketed 75 dollars for dropping me off in a no stopping zone--I arrived at Game 3 of the American League Division Series with the Red Sox leading 2 - 0 and thinking sweep.
Anaheim Stadium is actually a beautiful ballpark and the perfect weather does nothing to change one's opinion of how nice it is. Here is a shot of the home plate entrance.
Although very nice, Anaheim Stadium can be confusing. Here is a pic I got of Manny looking for directions before the game.
Red Sox Nation was everywhere in Anaheim. Many of the Sox fans in attendance were people who had either grown up or gone to school in Boston at one time or another and, because of the weather and quality of life in Southern California, had no intention of ever going back. Can't say I blame them.
Here is a picture of Shonda Schilling snapping some shots for Curt's blog, 38pitches.com
There were little hints everywhere that things were not going to bode well for the Halos in Game 3. This was taken before the game had even started.
Player introductions: If you look closely you can see that Eric Gagne is still on the roster.
As what started as a great close game turned into a rout, the few people left in the stands were Boston fans. Notice they even wear Johnny Damon throwback jerseys in Southern California.
Sweep!!---and a strangely subdued celebration on the pitchers mound, I guess because this being Orange County all....
The craziest the celebrations got--and I am also not making this up--was when I went to the men's room at the end of the game and it of course was filled with Red Sox fans as we were the only ones left in the Stadium at that point. Cheers erupted when two guys came running through the men's room waving a huge Red Sox flag and announcing to everyone waiting in line that the Indians were leading the Yankees following a Trot Nixon home run.
Decided to take the train back to West Hollywood. At 10 dollars, one of the best bargains around.
As all roadtrips do, this one begins at the Japan Airlines lounge in Narita Airport where the Japanese proudly display one of Japan's most important contributions to civilization: the automatic pouring beer machine. As this photo will attest, it pours the finest beer west of Los Angeles and East of Tokyo.
Arriving after the long flight from the Far East, Your Red Sox Diarist retired to the humble abode of West Hollywood's Mondrian Hotel and its uber trendy Sky Bar. Although you really can't see from this pic, the Sky Bar and its pool are well trafficked on a Saturday afternoon. This is a picture of two Playboy Playmates celebrating the arrival of the October Playboy magazine which featured their photoshoots (I am not making this up).
This is a shot of Oakland Raider rookie cornerback John Bowie, who was spending some time off during the Raiders bi-week chillin' at the Mondrian. New England Patriot fans will recognize Bowie as the 4th round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati for whom the Raiders traded wide receiver Randy Moss --- and one wonders why the Raiders lost to the Chargers 28-14 this past Sunday.
Gametime: After a one hour, 150 dollar taxi ride to Anaheim Stadium--big mistake---which was an even bigger mistake for my Russian cab driver who was promptly ticketed 75 dollars for dropping me off in a no stopping zone--I arrived at Game 3 of the American League Division Series with the Red Sox leading 2 - 0 and thinking sweep.
Anaheim Stadium is actually a beautiful ballpark and the perfect weather does nothing to change one's opinion of how nice it is. Here is a shot of the home plate entrance.
Although very nice, Anaheim Stadium can be confusing. Here is a pic I got of Manny looking for directions before the game.
Red Sox Nation was everywhere in Anaheim. Many of the Sox fans in attendance were people who had either grown up or gone to school in Boston at one time or another and, because of the weather and quality of life in Southern California, had no intention of ever going back. Can't say I blame them.
Here is a picture of Shonda Schilling snapping some shots for Curt's blog, 38pitches.com
There were little hints everywhere that things were not going to bode well for the Halos in Game 3. This was taken before the game had even started.
Player introductions: If you look closely you can see that Eric Gagne is still on the roster.
As what started as a great close game turned into a rout, the few people left in the stands were Boston fans. Notice they even wear Johnny Damon throwback jerseys in Southern California.
Sweep!!---and a strangely subdued celebration on the pitchers mound, I guess because this being Orange County all....
The craziest the celebrations got--and I am also not making this up--was when I went to the men's room at the end of the game and it of course was filled with Red Sox fans as we were the only ones left in the Stadium at that point. Cheers erupted when two guys came running through the men's room waving a huge Red Sox flag and announcing to everyone waiting in line that the Indians were leading the Yankees following a Trot Nixon home run.
Decided to take the train back to West Hollywood. At 10 dollars, one of the best bargains around.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
You Gotta Love a Closer with a Bud Light Box on his Head
Your Red Sox Diarist has been taking some time off recently. As the Red Sox made their run to their first AL East crown since 1995, Your Red Sox Diarist decided to watch Red Sox baseball instead of blogging about it. While it wasn't always pleasant and wrapping up the division got a little Dicey at times (as opposed to Dice-K at times), Your Red Sox Diarist is able to proudly stand by the prediction made in this blog on September 10th (see below).Talking about predictions, my buddy O'Brien won US$10,000 from his Yankee Loving friend Lippy when the Baltimore Orioles Melvin Mora pushed that bunt down the third baseball with the bases loaded on Friday night against the Yankees and in the process pushed the Red Sox into a lock on the division. Knowing Lippy, as we know all Yankee fans, who wouldn't like to see if that bet is ever paid up.
And that outta do it until the playoffs--where by the way Your Red Sox Diarist will be attending game 3 in person at Anaheim. Until then.....
signed
Your Red Sox Diarist
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
