Ahhhhh......smell that? That's the smell of ALCS. Playoff baseball is in full swing, and with the Sox looking arguably as good as they have all season, excitement level is at Orange (Orange being the highest level in my Excitement Color Scale.) Beckett's game one and Schilling's game three were beautiful, and although Dice-K's struggles are a bit worrisome, having Wakefield back for the ALCS along with the October studs Beckett and Schilling makes me feel at ease. The lineup is hitting (even Drew a little bit!) and the bullpen has been great, except, of course for Gagne, who predictably ruined the shutout today.
However, the most encouraging sign for Red Sox Nation is undoubtedly the return of the Dynamic Duo, Ortiz and Manny. Oritz's low power numbers (by his standards) and nagging injuries combined with Manny's low power numbers (by his standards) and nagging injuries kept them from being what they have been the last 4 years or so: the best 3-4 combo in baseball. Even though Manny technically returned from his strained oblique two weeks ago, he finally is back to doing the Manny things that make him my favorite player. If J.D. Drew overruns that ball on Friday night, losing his hat, bumbling around, I'm probably throwing something at the TV. When Manny does it, I'm just chuckling and shaking my head.
Then he goes out in the 9th inning and hits a walk-off home run that still hasn't landed yet. I only got to see him round the bases however, due to a badly-timed phone call from someone (I don't want to give away the name and make her feel worse than I already have, but she currently resides in Oklahoma City and her name rhymes with "Katie Zidon".) And the answer to the next question is Yes, I berated her pretty good after I got done celebrating. We even got an interview from Manny after game 2 for the first time in who knows when, featuring the quote, "When you're not right and you still get hits, then you know you're a bad man."
Then, in game 3, he hits the bomb off of Weaver. In case some don't know the backstory, last time Weaver pitched against the Sox, Oritz went yardskis and Weaver felt he admired it too long. He proceeded to eye Ortiz down as he rounded the bases and proclaimed after the game, "I'll remember that the next time we face off." So Ortiz goes deep on Weaver again and pretty much just puts his head down and rounds the bases, defusing whatever situation could have arisen. So what does Manny do in the next at-bat? Crushes the ball, puts his arms out, alternates between eyeing the ball and glaring at Weaver, and walks about 1/3 of the way to first base before finally starting to trot. Basically, pimping a home run like only Manny can.
So now we await the Indians/Yankees. I know that a Yankee/Sox series is always more intense and exciting, but I am still terrified of their lineup. However it ends up, at least Gay-Rod is currently working on another shitty October.
