Red Sox

by

Great season, Sox! Go Phillies.

The Red Sox didn’t quite have it this year.  Too many injuries for one thing.  Papi, Lowell, Beckett in particular.  I’m happy they made it to the play-offs this year. As Bob Ryan writes in the Boston Globe,

The sum and substance of it all is that this new era of Red Sox success is ongoing. This team took a lot of hits this year and still came within a game of the World Series. No team has accomplished more in this new century. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/10/21/no_ifs_about_it_season_was_a_success/

Having grown up in the Philadelphia part of New Jersey, I grew up watching the Phillies on TV.  I was a Phillies fan except when they played the Brooklyn Dodgers.  (one of my first loves was Sandy Koufax.) The first live game I went to was a Phillies Double Header with my father.  So I’m with Joe Biden.  Go Phillies!

by

Two Reasons to be Anxious

I’m feeling a little anxious this Saturday morning.  If you’ve visited before you may notice I’ve changed the look.  Surfing around the various themes is a little like what I should be doing – some house cleaning – keeps one occupied so you don’t have to think about the Red Sox and the election.  But now that I’ve finished fiddling, I’m back to worrying.

As Andrew Ryan writes in today’s Boston Globe

The same hopeless grief gripped viewers in couches across New England, where fans gave up on their Red Sox, turned off televisions in disgust, and tromped off to bed.

That was me turning off the radio in the 5th.  Then listening to the news before getting out of bed, I heard they had won.  So now instead of being resigned to not making the World Series this year,  Red Sox fans need to live though at least one more game.  Opinion among the sports fans I know is divided:  Some think the inevitable was just put off, while others think the young Rays will not react well to the improbable loss.

And then there is the election.  I was happy to see that the Obama campaign is actually fighting back on the voter suppression issue before the election.  I worry that the Republicans will manage to steal this election as they did in 2000 and 2004.  I keep my fingers crossed that the smears of the McCain campaign will not work.  How can he have enough nerve to say during the debate that he doesn’t care about Bill Ayres and tell people at his rallies that Obama is not a terrorist and then run the robo-calls implying that his is?

Mike Memoli wrote on MSNBC’s First Read  about Joe Biden’s speech in New Mexico yesterday,

“Folks, it doesn’t matter where you live, we all love this country,” he said. “One of the reasons why Barack and I are running is that we know how damaging the politics of division that continues to be practiced by the McCain campaign, how damaging this policy of division has been for Americans over the last decade or more.”

Raising his voice, Biden said Americans “are all patriotic, we all love our country.” He added, “And I’m tired. I’m tired, tired, tired, tired of the implications about patriotism.”

Biden was referring to Palin’s comments last night in North Carolina, where she celebrated campaigning in “pro-America” areas of the country. (That remark prompted the Obama campaign to ask: Which parts of the country aren’t pro-America?)

I’m looking forward to what the Obama campaign will do with the half hour on the 29th – and to Colin Powell’s possible endorsement tomorrow.

by

Red Sox Beat the Angels

They did it!  After losing a painful 12 inning game (blowing many chances to win along the way), the Red Sox are in the ALCS.  This time it took another dramatic ending: A walk-off single scoring a run to beat the Angels who did have the best record in the American League. 

At least the Sox and Rays are both on the East Coast and maybe someone at the network (Fox?) carrying the game will have an earlier start than 8:30.  I’ve fallen in a pattern of watching the first innings (inning if on the West Coast) then retiring to my bed with the radio.  I then doze on and off, but managed to be awake when the Rays scored in the 12th in Game 3 and when Lowrie got his single last night. 

Having to go to work spoils things a little. But it is reimiscent of when I was a young girl following the Dodgers (Koufax, Drysdale, Gilliam, Wills era) on an old box radio.  I could get statiions out to St. Louis and New Orleans (Houston Astros) and so, was at night, able to follow the Dodgers when they played in LA.  There was something magical about lying in the dark and “seeing” the game unfold.  Then I could mostly stay awake though the game.  No job to get to early.  No school.

Bring on the Rays. Bring on the Dodgers or Phillies if you like. There is plenty of champagne left in New England and Mayor Menino has sent the duck boats to have their tires rotated.

So writes Dan Shaunghnessy in today’s Boston Globe.

by

Tough Election and Tough Pennant Race

First, the Red Sox.  I haven’t said much for a while, but for the most part they are playing great.  Dustin and Coco are on a tear and inspite of injuries and no consistancy with their pitching (maybe I’ll I exempt Lester), they are hanging in there.  Although they’ve caught up with Tampa Bay, I think its the wild card.

And McCain is tied now with Obama.  I’m trying not to loose too much hope even as all those around me are beginning to panic.  For one thing, I’m not sure what the polls do about all the voters without land lines and it is also my understanding (I might be wrong about this) that many polls target people who voted in the last election.  I think that the voter registration numbers show that there will be a lot of first time voters.  The election will depend on voter turnout.  I keep thinking about Iowa and the kids that turned out even though it was winter break.

A large part of the McCain bounce is clearly due to Sarah Palin.  The Obama campaign needs to get its own message out while trying to debunk the out and out lies from the other side.  The swift boating has begun.  My hope is that when Sarah Palin finally has to meet the press one on one she will be exposed and the bounce will end.  Jack Shafer has posted an interesting list of questions for Charles Gibson – or any journalist worth their salt to ask.  http://www.slate.com/id/2199668/pagenum/all/#page_start

Rachel Maddow had a great quote about Sarah Palin which went something like this:  When you go to Republican rallies with Sarah Palin you feel two things the electricity from the conservative Republican base and the drip drip of the investigations that are going on and you know what happens when electricity meets water.”  I hope she is right.