I think I’ve figured out one of the keys to the Red Sox’ success in 2010: I need to be watching the games.
Seriously. I left Boston last Friday night, just as the tarp was getting pulled onto the field. In my absence, the Sox pulled off one miserable loss after the next. I was on a business trip, getting my updates in bits and pieces, but the news wasn’t good. Our boys were spiraling into oblivion faster than Taylor Hicks.
I flew back Tuesday night, and found myself huddled around an airport bar flatscreen as Darnell McDonald sent the crowds home spinning. And last night, I was back at SG HQ for yet another walk-off win, featuring game-winning heroics from Youk, more long ball magic from McDonald, a grand-slam from Drew, and an out-of-the-park shot from Scenic Lowell in a cameo DH appearance.
This is still a team struggling to right itself. None of our starters has an ERA below 5.25. The bullpen hasn’t been very bullpenish for the bulk of April. Ortiz is pulling the flame-out we feared he might. The defense and run prevention the team was carved for seems shaky at best. Cameron might need surgery and our catcher can’t throw runners out.
But these back-to-back walk-offs have helped reaffirm my faith. Instead of wondering how they’re gonna blow it, I want to know how they’re going to top themselves. Dare we dream of a third straight walk-off win? Could this one involve Ortiz (probably not, with lefty and noted Twitterer CJ Wilson on the hill)? Does McDonald have another dramatic home run in him? Would Major League Baseball considering lifting its infamous jetpack ban just for one night?
Simply put, these last two games have reminded me that there’ll be plenty more magic as the summer days unfurl. I just need to make sure I’m in front of my TV for all of it.
