JD Drew will now calmly shatter your hopes and dreams

originally uploaded by Boston Wolverine.

Ahh, postseason baseball. Bleary-eyed at 1:42 am, after a roller-coaster ride of a game.

The Red Sox have continued their merciless beatdown of the Angels in the postseason tonight, but not without another short outing from Daisuke on the big stage and a blown save for Papelbon, even though it was Justin Masterson's hitter (Masterson also walked a run in. Yikes). In general, Sox pitching allowed Anaheim leadoff runners on base, meaning we spent a lot of time playing their kind of game.

The stadium in Anaheim did finally come alive tonight as the Angels clawed their way back from a four-run deficit after another Jason Bay home run in the top of the first, a Torii Hunter RBI single in the bottom of the first, and an Ellsbury RBI double in the fourth. The Angels players, too, seemed to be electrified by their own success. After Chone Figgins' triple in the eighth with the lead closed to one, you'd have thought they'd won the game already--and for a minute or two there, it really did look like Anaheim would be making it a series.

Although, the Halos did also spend much of this game flailing in a very disconcerting way--like when Torii Hunter leaped in protest after being called out at first base in the third and came down awkwardly on his leg, twisting his knee and ankle. Or when Coco Crisp was called safe on a pickoff attempt in the top of the ninth, and Erick Aybar literally waved his arms above his head flipping out about the call. And just what kind of acid was Garrett Anderson on when he let Mark Kotsay's single drop in front of him in left field in the top of the first?

But even if they lost their cool at times, the Angels still had fight in them after the Coco pickoff controversy. The fans were incensed, as well, beating away with their Thunderstix.

And then JD Drew came up and said, that will be enough of that. With ice-cold blood and malice aforethought, he launched a two-run home run to center field to make it 7-5 Sox, which would be your final score. It was a blow even the bombastic K-Rod couldn't stomach, and he hung his head as JD began his businesslike trot around the bases.

According to The Baseball Analysts, the team with the better record has won only 49% of all playoff series since 1995; the team with the better record has won only 38% of the World Series titles since 1995. I wonder why that is.

Comments

[COD]

I would have loved to have a blood pressure and heart rate monitor on me last night. I'm pretty sure my readings would not have changed a bit when Paps gave up the sacrifice fly. I was supremely calm in knowing that the Red Sox would probably win the game anyway, and if they didn't it didn't really matter because we had a healthy Beckett ready for Game 3.

4 years ago I would have a stroke on the couch watching that sequence.

[bill simmons]

fuck the sox

[beth]

COD, you're right. I've broken out the postseason paper bag maybe once so far (okie doke out for a second inning last night did it). And the postseason defibrillator paddles have yet to be put to use.

That said, saying that still feels like a jinx. IMO, http://www.survivinggrady.com/2008/10/aint-it-funny-how-time-slips-away-and.html>Red wrote a really great post about this phenomenon of transitional Sox fandom.

It's kind of a tough thing to talk about, too, since of course we've been told all about how we're going to "lose our identity" and all that happy crappy. But "changing" is not the same as "losing", and I believe Sox fans will each do it on their own terms. Armchair psychoanalysis of our masochistic tendencies aside, it's really what we've wanted all along.