Timely hitting? Damon cracking 5 hits? Millar actually engaging in bat-on-ball contact that results not in the ball drifting lazily into an infielder’s glove but a solid line drive that knocks in a coupla runs? Mueller rediscovering the stroke that won him a batting title? Wakefield absolutely dominating a beefy line-up?
Am I crazy, or is it 2003 again?
Last night was all about the Big Happy (patent pending). Our boys played like a team that actually wanted to win a ballgame, not a bucket of chicken or the affections of Matt Damon’s incredibly hot girlfriend (who happened to be perched in the coveted “seat right by the Sox dugout” which not so long ago hosted J-Lo’s ass). They displayed patience at the plate, conjuring a coupla bases loaded walks. They drove in runs when they needed ’em. More importantly, for the first time in a long time, they made the starting pitcher, in this case Barry Zito, pay for his mistakes. It was a good, solid Sox game, from start to finish, with the only blemish being an Ortiz o-fer (the big guy left 9 men on base… but on a night when you plate 11, you can overlook such misdeeds).
Most significantly, you got 5 hits from Damon. And when the leadoff hitter gets on base, you’re gonna score runs. We also saw some signs of life on the S.S. Millar, who, with his shameless mugging and omnipresent chicken hucksterism, had become the embodiment of everything we didn’t like about v2004 of the hometown team. Here’s hoping his three hits mark a return to last year’s form… and I mean, like, last year pre-All Star Game form.
Am I letting it all get the best of me? Caught up in the moment? Perhaps. If they go down tonight to the tune of, say, 7 to 3, it will be back to the business of sucking out loud, a handsomely paid team of underachievers.
But for just a few brief hours last night, we got a glimpse of how miraculous it can be when everything clicks. And, man, did it look good.
