Who am I and Why am I Here?

Well, Paul is back and, if not totally happy, at least happier.  As for me, well, it looks like the week I missed held more of the same (a team that is terminally incapable of putting together any sustained offense) and more of the new (Eric Gagne: Mole) .  I am glad to have not been watching; my time with the wife and kids had to have been a hell of a lot more enjoyable then watching our wonderful Canuck channel Calvin Schiraldi and "BK Kim: the Arizona Years™". 

But now my time is up, and I am back in the fray.  And in a new way, as well.  After spending the week off the blog, I realized that my anonymity held nothing of substance, really.  So it's gone, along with (hopefully) obsessive-compulsive game-thread posts revealing non-stop annoyance and the resultant touch of surliness when the games end poorly.   A little background - my name is Andy, I'm 38 years old, grew up in Newton, Mass., and practice architecture in New York City - I have now lived amongst the enemy for 13 years.  I am married, have two kids, and am training the youngest to root for the Mets.  I figure he's a New Yorker from birth, so trying to get him to love the Sox is highly unlikely.  The Mets are my hedge.

So now, the rest of the season.  Second place rapidly approaches.

Comments

[Devine]

Hi Andy!

My name is Devin and I'm a Soxaholic. It's been three days since my last Sox game (The Gagne Debacle, Part III). I go back to them (at least a bit) tonight after giving myself the weekend off for my loved ones' sake. I hope second place does not rapidly approach, but it would be incorrect to say I hadn't thought about it. Maintain the current lead over the next week and win the Yankees series somehow. That's what I'd like. But somehow, even when the schedule seems in the Sox' favor, seems like they've squandered it recently. Oh well. I'll watch (sometimes) anyway. On to (I think) the longest road trip of the year.

[pale blue eyes]

Welcome back, SF.

I share the frustration though I still believe we'll win the division. And, for what it's worth, runaway division winners have not done too well in the postseason in recent years. Winning it in the final week of the regular season will be good enough for me.

But yes, tracking the Tigers, Mariners and Indians with the wildcard in mind seems necessary.

[ugh]

Guys -

You're leading the division. You have the best record in baseball. You have the best ERA in the American League. You may have the best starters in the league (I'd have to study that). You have an excellent bullpen. You're fourth in the league, and fifth in baseball, in runs scored.

What the f*** is the problem?

You're only happy if you lead the division start to finish with a comfortable lead? Then you must have had a lot of unhappy years.

The joy of baseball is in the playing and the unfolding of the season. It is a fact of baseball that you can not win every game or every year. But this year you've had Dice-K, Okajima, Pedroia -- and the regular crew -- AND YOU'RE IN FIRST PLACE!

A YF

[Devine]

Your points are taken, not to mention we have known them all along.

What's the problem? For me at least...this situation looks f***ing familiar. It's August and the Sox are barely ahead and losing ground. I've heard that song. I don't like how the final chorus usually goes. I'm scared, I'm not afraid to admit. I'm watching the games, mostly, but the one on Friday night made me blow my gasket.

Would you (in some other season) be frustrated if the Sox cut your lead from comfy to tension-inducing by playing .750 baseball? Also, how 'bout if you got one of the best relief arms in the business at the trade deadline and he was directly responsible for three losses? Maybe because of the Yanks' recent years of success, you'd be fine, but I'm sure as hell not.

I'm just glad I don't have to play or manage the games.

[IronHorse-YF]

Devine,

I think you are right and I feel your pain.

I think you should switch sides.

Come to the dark side Devine...we do not live in fear. The grass is always green and the women are beautiful.

Come to the dark side.

I am your father...

[Devine]

Been there, done that, IronHorse. Was a Yankee sympathizer till '03 (roommate in college, different roommate after college were big fans). Saw the light, never looked back, blah blah blah.

[FenSheaParkway]

Welcome back, SF. Here's a fruit basket to herald your return: The Sox are five wins better than they were last year on this date. With a +96 run differential improvement. And healthier. They might even smell nicer too.

And I (obviously) approve heartily of your efforts to create Mets fans. I started out a Mets fan and learned to love the Red Sox too (attending Boston U. helped things along of course), so I think your strategy will pay off in the end.

[Michael T]

True Sox fans aren't happy unless they are unhappy.

[LocklandSF]

Welcome back SF!

I never understood where the extra K came from for Byung-Hyun Kim.

I mean, wouldn't it be BH Kim? Or simply BK?

So many people refer to him as BK Kim though, I think it just stuck.

Am I missing something?

[FenSheaParkway]

Lockland -

My thoughts exactly. Hearing that always drove me crazy; it makes no sense! I had to bite my tongue in the bleachers that whole year. I might be wrong, and I hope I am because I don't blame Jery Remy for much, but didn't he start/popularize that contraction? My mind is fuzzy; the BK era was a long time ago.

[Sam-YF]

I think it was bob brenley who started that. I know he called him BK and im fairly sure he morphed it into BK Kim.

[FenSheaParkway]

I'm fine with giving Brenly the collar on that one. Your explanation sounds plausible enough, but I still wish people would listen to themselves when they talk. It's a rare talent.

[SF]

Tonight's starting pitcher:

TW Wakefield!

[Rob]

And somehow the season just wouldn't be a season without it all coming down to the wire.

Here's to Zantac and Pepto Bismol!!