The Red Sox are one win away from a World Series title.
Just take a moment to let that sink in while I place my Tim Naehring baseball cards in chronological order.
Okay, you got that? The team that sank to unprecedented depths in 2012, embracing bad mojo and mediocrity like it was their job, has bounced back to surpass even our wildest dreams. And are now on the verge of doing something that even our 2004 and 2007 teams didn’t do: winning a World Series at Fenway Park.
And to think that this grand reversal of fortune started with booting Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez out of town.
Last night, the Sox beat Adam Wainwright for the second time, riding Jon Lester, who has been nothing but nails this postseason. In a staggeringly good 7.2 inning performance, Lester gave up just 4 hits and one earned run while striking out seven and prompting my drunk ass to tweet:
Our ace > their ace.
— Red (@SurvivingGrady) October 29, 2013
The guy wasn’t just tying them up in knots with his pitching, he was also foiling their every attempt to get on base with slick glove work:
Meanwhile, following the A DIFFERENT HERO EVERY HOUR script that this team has been reading from since the postseason started, David Ross broke up a 1-1 tie with a double that, as it turns out, plated the winning run.
Now we’re at 3-2 and coming back to Fenway where the crowds will be on like they’ve never been before. This is all new territory to us, the thought of closing it out on home turf. If it happens, what will it feel like? Or sound like? And will I finally realize my dream of seeing a shirtless Mike Napoli riding a horse around the Fens like something out of Planet of the Apes?
All I know is that we’re one win from making it a reality. And if you can sleep for even a couple hours before first pitch, you’re a better person than me.
