Unshakable Catatonic State

So. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night. Yep. 2nd time in three years. Let me repeat that: 2nd time in THREE years. This team, the team who tried nearly every damn year for almost a century, has won 2 of the past 4 World Series. I know it seems like I'm really not that enthused but trust me, that has yet to be the case. It just hasn't hit me yet; it really hasn't. I didn't get to watch the game because I was on the road all last night. I even tried to turn to the sports station in my car, but it was trashy and staticy. I didn't get home until about 4am and didn't even have to see the highlights to know that the Sox won. My mouth dropped open and all I could tell myself was, "They didn't win. I don't believe that," while drinking my blue Gatorade. Honestly, the weird thing was that I accepted that they won in 2004 right off the bat. There were no feelings of, "Oh, my God! Did they really win? This must be a dream!" But that's how I feel now. Maybe it's because I've been constantly on the go as of late and haven't really had time to appreciate my team. If that's the case, I apologize. This makes me no less happy though; understand that. And as I look at their team website, I'm starting to tear up because I really have appreciated my team through everything they've been through. Not once did I turn my back on them throughout this journey. Not once did I waiver when they almost let the Yankees take the division, or when they almost got knocked out the ALCS by Cleveland. No because true fans, diehard fans, don't do that. True fans don't break out their 'nalia the day after a team wins a championship, when they haven't worn it all season. True fans don't say their favorite team is "so and so" only because they've been successful of late. Yes. I'm elated that the Sox won the Series again, but I'm more content knowing that I don't have to wear my emotions on my sleeve to show my joy.

No Time To Bask

So, as of Sunday night, the Red Sox....are going to the World Series! I have no time to bask in this joy though, for reasons I really can't mention right now (other than school work and things). But, I'll be able to talk about it next week, for those of you who care (annnnnd that would be no one!). Anyway, yeah. So the Sox beat the Indians in 7 games, man. It was tough watching that game at first, but then I started making food and I wasn't really paying attention until my roommate started getting upset. I suppose she and her boyfriend are either both Indians fans, or they just felt like rooting against Boston. Either way, serves them right :) Everyone from here to Timbuktu knows I'm a die-hard Sox fan, but I was quite reserved as I saw the game come to a close. I did call my parents and some friends who could've cared less, and I did shed a little tear, but other than that...nada. Don't have time for celebrations, dawg. I have an extremely difficult paper due Monday on Emile Durkheim or something, I think I have an Italian test this Friday (maybe I should find that out?), UNC's Homecoming is next week (and guess who's on the staff?), and my 21st birthday is next Saturday. I'm broke as hell. Scratch that. I'm broke down in general. My life is in shambles. My job sucks. I know it'll get better, and hopefully it'll start with the Sox winning Game 1 of the Series tonight...if there is a game.

Twelve Years and Six Schools Later

And the Red Sox finally clinched the AL East. Thank ya, Jesus. Thank ya! The last time they won the division, I was a 3rd grader at Manassah E. Bradley Elementary School in East Boston, and didn't give two shits about them. Since their last division title in 1995, my parents had another kid, we moved to North Carolina, I've gone to six different schools, and I've grown from a child to a young woman. That's just crazy, man. It was a long time coming but hey, I'll take it. Shit. Dice-K pitched great last night, so kudos for him. I almost thought the Sox would have to wait another day to clinch, but thanks to the Baltimore Orioles' amazing and greatly appreciated comeback, the Yankees lost.

Okay, enough about the Sox. So, I'd gone to bed pretty late last night after starting a shitty paper on sociological theory that's due Monday (Yeah, I'm working on papers on Friday nights; I have no friends and no life :( ). But anyhoo, I just so happened to emerge out of my slumber and saw David Wright talking on "SportsCenter" or whatever. Damn, I felt so bad for the guy. He's still one of my baseball boyfriends or whatever I called him before, but it honestly pained me to watched that interview. He looked and sounded like he was about to cry, and for good reason, mind you. I don't know the stats off the top of my head and I'm too lazy to look them up, but the Mets have lost like, 11 of their last 15 games or something along those lines. They're currently in a series with the Marlins, a team to whom they've lost like 10 in a row. Ah, love that attempted use of good grammar, huh? I mean, this team (Mets) were leading the damn NL East division you might as well say since Spring Training ended and here they are, the last few days of the season, and they're not leading anything. No division, no Wild Card, nothing. If the season ended today, they'd be out. That's a tough pill to swallow, man. Like Buttermaker from "Bad News Bears" once said: "Baseball's hard. You can love it but, believe me, it don't always love you back". If I really really cared, I'd cry for them. Hey, if the Red Sox can muster up the greatest comeback in postseason history, maybe the Mets can win the next few games and hope the Phillies (who are leading the division) lose. **shrugs shoulders**

And His Sox Won't Be Red

I wanted Buerhle. God knows, I wanted him. Alright, so maybe that didn't sound right, but if you've been paying any kind of attention to sports news the past few days you probably know what I'm babbling about. White Sox are looking to unload Mark Buehrle, and according to the "grapvine" (yeah, the metaphorical gossip source), the Red Sox were looking to trade for him. When I first heard that, I nearly shat myself, no joke. At first, I didn't really pay attention to who the Sox would give up to get him; I was only concerned about seeing Buehrle, probably the most efficient pitcher in baseball, in a damn Red Sox uni. Then I got to thinking: who exactly would the Sox have given up in order to get the dude? Got question, huh? Yeah, probably. They already got rid of Hanley Ramirez and Freddy Sanchez in years past and look @ what they've become. Exactly. Jacoby Ellsbury, who's in the Sox system (Triple-A Pawtucket, I believe), is a very promising kid and had the Sox given him up to get Buerhle, dude would've probably gone on to win the fuckin' Triple Crown or something had he made it to the bigs. That's the kind of luck the Sox seem to have when it comes to giving up good prospects. But no need to ponder nor fret any further, for there won't be a trade...or will there be? Guess what? I have mosquito bites on my ankle and my diet SUCKS right now.

I'm Embarrassed 2 Be A Sox Fan B/C of This...

It's kinda funny though, aha ha ha.

Fellow Red Sox Nation

Fellow Red Sox Nation

I Thought I was The Only One Who Loved Mark Bellhorn As Much As I Did...

...but I guess not. Shun me for living in the past, but I honestly miss the 2003-2004 Red Sox so much. I miss Pedro tossing Don Zimmer to the ground, I miss Bill Mueller hitting grand slams from both sides of the plate in that game against the Rangers, I miss Johnny Damon's, Bronson Arroyo's, and Kevin Millar's gangsta cornrows (ha ha), I miss Todd Walker's post season success in 2003, I miss Shea Hillenbrand getting all pissed off at Theo for being traded. But most of all, I miss Mark Bellhorn. Ya know, I seriously thought I was the only die-hard Bellhorn fan in the world, but obviously that's not the case. After he left the Sox, I started googling and Yahoo-ing (that's not even a verb) his name and all this information came up about how much Sox fans loved him and blah blah. And I remember everyone who didn't understand asking me, "Why do you like him so much? He strikes out too much and his defense is mediocre." To hell with 'em. I didn't really know then, but I know now. It was his scrappy play, his long, flowing hair (I'm serious), his stolidness when he made mistakes, his stolidness when he did great in a game. The way he kept to himself, the cute way in which he shied away from the media every chance he got. He was very soft-spoken and always a sweetheart when he was interviewed. He went out there and played the game like no one's business, no more, no less. Never read a complaint about him from former/current teammates. Hell, I never read a single bad thing about the guy. Bellhorn was basically my replacement love when Todd Walker left, and they just happened to play the same position (yes, I "hearted" Todd Walker like I "hearted" Bellhorn). I don't know what it is about myself and Red Sox 2nd basemen, but I guess things are just funny like that. Call me crazy, but I would probably do anything to get that 03-04 team back. This current team is just not the same. Yes, they're winning, yes, they're the best team in baseball right now and yes, the odds of them winning the AL East are amazing, but I miss that carefree attitude of the Sox of yesteryear. Okay, enough about being nostalgic. Now back to your regularly-scheduled program.

Opening Day

So as I type this, there are seven hours, fifty-eight minutes, and thirty-one seconds until the official start of Opening Day. Can it really be called Opening Day though, since the kickoff game between the NY Mets and St. Louis Cardinals does not begin until 8 o'clock tonight? But, I digress. I have waited seven long, hard, dull, and boring months for this. I have suffered through the Red Sox failing to make the play-offs after a 2005 postseason that wasn't all that spectacular either. I have suffered through my beloved Tar Heels losing to Georgetown in the Elite Eight, our dreams of a Final Four berth crushed in those five excruciating overtime minutes. I watched Peyton Manning blow past the Pats on his way to an ever-so-elusive Super Bowl ring and MVP. I have suffered through economics exams, math lectures, and guest speakers on journalism. I have suffered through the most mediocre dining hall food ever, but guess what? All of that is null and void now, for the 2007 Major League Baseball season is here.

Things to Look For: When the ump signals for 2005 Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter to throw out the first pitch, don't expect everything to be handed to him. Emotions from last year's NLCS will still be running rampant, and both teams are going to give everything they have to win; the Cards will be trying to defend their World Series reign and the Mets will be trying to de-throne them, if only for a night. This is the only game on Opening Day, so I think a lot of viewers will be tuned in to ESPN2 when it airs. Ha, I know I will.