Three Down, One To Go!

The Sox did indeed bounce back  Sunday night in Game 4, as I'd hoped they would. And they did it is as a team - again.

Their starting pitcher, Clay Bucholz, pitched with what is called a dead arm - that is, he has a shoulder injury that's leaves his pitching arm numb. He gave the Sox four innings on sheer grit and will.

As for the Sox offense, rhe one person NO ONE was counting on was outfielder Jonny Gomes, who has been flat-out awful the entire playoffs when hitting. There were calls to remove him from the lineup. 

Manager John Farrell resisted those calls, sticking with a player who brings far more to the team than his statistics indicate. 

So what did Gomes do?

Just absolutely crush a pitch and drive it into the Red Sox bullpen for a three-run homer that decided the game, that's all.

Game Five was more of the same: contributions from everyone. Jon Lester, their best pitcher, was magnificent. David Ortiz, their best hitter, has been awe-inspiring, and is on the verge of setting numerous offensive records this series. He was 3-4 at the plate tonight.

So who drove in the winning run, you ask?

David Ross, their catcher.

Their BACKUP catcher.

Their *defensive specialist* backup catcher.

Of course. Who else could it be, after all? :-p

The Series returns to Boston in Wednesday for Game 6. The Red Sox are one win away from being the champions... but St Louis is a tough, proud team. Whatever happens, the winner will have earned it.

That said...

GO SOX!!! :D

http://youtu.be/_rqaI3ipfoE

Lessons Learned

For those of you poor souls who inexplicably are *not* baseball fans ;-P, the Red Sox lost Game 3 of the World Series last night on a call - obstruction of a base runner - that had never ended a World Series game in its 109-year history.

One of the Boston sportswriters summed up the consensus here: the rule as written makes no sense, but it *is* the rule and it *was* applied correctly. (BTW, in spite of the well-earned reputation of Red Sox fans as insufferable whiners, I have yet to hear a single person argue otherwise.) 

Sports fans here in New England are drawing comparisons to another play in another sport (football - American football, for non-North Americans) that also involved a Boston team. In that case it was the New England Patriots. They wound up getting a second chance to win a playoff game against the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 AFC wild card game because the referees correctly applied what is known as the "tuck" rule. 

The details of the rule, and when it was applied, aren't really relevant for this post. What is relevant is that the rule, as written, defied common sense once you looked at it closely - but it *was* the rule. And the referees called it correctly as the rule stood then. (I think it was eliminated as a result of that game, but I could be wrong. I'm not really a football fan.)

I guess the point is, you play within the rules; sometimes, as they did for the Red Sox, they do you in. Other times, as they did for the Patriots, they give you a second life.

Before 2004, when the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 - yes, 86 - years, I would have been certain that this single call in last night's game foretold certain doom for them.

Their previous trip to the World Series, in 1986, illustrates why. 

In hindsight, it also reveals quite a bit about the person I was then.

And my belief that it means nothing more than one loss reveals a great deal about the person I am now - in part because of lessons I learned from that 1986 Red Sox team.

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My Bad...

Well, I'm afraid I have to take the fall for the Sox tonight.

Why?

I have been fighting a bit of a cold the past few days, enough so that I left work early today to finish up at home.

I did so around 6:00. I then threw in a load of laundry, sat back down on my couch, and wrapped myself up in an afghan, as I was freezing (again)...

... And I woke up just now to see they dropped Game 2 to St. Louis.

If only I had stayed awake and donned my Red Sox garb, this would NOT have happened!

I take full responsibility, gentlemen.

It will NOT happen again!

On to St. Louis!

Go Sox!!!!


***

On the bright side... the Bruins won again tonight!

That's One!!!

One down, three to go for the Sox!!!

This is my Happy Cass face:

Not sure if you can see it, but this is my Red Sox jacket. 

It belonged to my nephew C, who outgrew it - when he was 15. lol I am literally swimming in it, as you can tell. 

But it is SOOOOO comfy - and warm. That's important on these chilly New England fall evenings! I get cold VERY easily now. Between this and leggings (may their inventor's name be praised, as my friend B would say), I was only Semi-Chilled Cass, even wearing a nightgown under the jacket. :-p

Anyway, good night all! Game 2 tomorrow - Go Sox!!!

(BTW, this is my Post-Workout Crazy Hair look. I cannot WAIT until I can put my hair up to avoid it hanging in my eyes the entire workout! And barrettes are great for home, but not so much at the gym in my office building. At least for the time being. :-p)

A Must-Read (Two, Actually)

Fascinating, moving article from Salon.com, written by a male author:

I'm Attracted to Trans Women

Kudos to the author, Thomas Katt, for his courage - and in particular for acknowledging the far greater difficulties endured by trans women.

The article contains a link to another site, TransOriented, designed for men who are attracted to trans women.  I plan to take a look - when it isn't 12:55 AM on a work night, that is. lol

I do hope you take a moment to check these out; both are well worth your time, I assure you! :c)

Happy, Happy Cass :-p

The Sox are headed to the World Series!!!

Vignettes: Passing Inspection

I wound up taking a sick day today, alas.

But it wasn't *all bad, as it turned out. :c)

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Vignettes: Checked Out

This was an interesting day from start to finish. It started off with a yow... and ended with a wow. :c)

First, the yow.

(Actually, the yows.)

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Sox Appeal

The Red Sox (a/k/a the Carmine Hose, for the more literary amongst us) open the American League Championship Series tonight at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers.

It has been an amazing season. Last year was one of the worst in the storied history of the franchise. After a late-season collapse for the ages in 2011, they tumbled into last place.

Worse, they didn't seem to care (with the exception of a few stalwarts, such as Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, at least until an injury ended his season). They were an unlikable bunch of malcontents and underachievers, who squandered what seemed to be a lifetime of goodwill after the magical seasons of 2007 and, especially, 2004.

That makes what has happened this season so remarkable.

They have the best record in all of baseball.

They have shown a remarkable ability to come back, usually in dramatic fashion, from the beginning of the season.

And more amazing, they are an utterly likable - even endearing - group of eccentrics.

And hairy.

Very, very, very, hairy. lol

Win or lose, it has been an absolute pleasure watching them this season.

If the Red Sox are not the best team in baseball, then the Tigers are. They are a terrific team, with a long, storied history. And they also have arguably the best pitcher (Justin Verlander) and unarguably the best player (Miguel Cabrera) in baseball. In fact, they are so good I can even forgive Halle for rooting for them against the Sox!

It doesn't often happen that the best teams wind up standing at the end of the season, but that is the case this year, in both the American and National League (the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers).

As a Red Sox fan, I hope they win the World Series. As a baseball fan (and those are not the same thing), I think any of the remaining teams will make a worthy champion.

Anyway, Game 1 starts in just a moment. Having just come home from a long, excessively dewy walk ;-p I am settled in for the night in my team approved nightwear:

Team approved *and* soooooooo comfortable (other than my bare legs, which are mighty chilly!); a girl cannot lose!

May the best team win!

Most important, go Sox!!!

***

A few Boston-appropriate tunes to set the mood:

The Dropkick Murphys and The Boss in Boston - on St. Patrick's Day (of course!):

The mighty J. Geils Band, promising to blow your face out:

The ultimate Boston rock anthem, courtesy of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers:

This has often been called the first punk rock song, and you can make a pretty good argument in its favor. (Detroit's MC5 can also make an equally strong claim, incidentally.) No matter, it is an anthem - and all the more remarkable when you realize it was recorded in 1971! Talk about prescient...

Vignettes: Brilliant Disguise

Thought I would dash off a quick post about a recent chat I had via text with my co-worker/friend R.

Pretending to be "him" is becoming increasingly difficult as I progress in my transition. The GD takes a toll, as any of you who are full-time can no doubt attest.

Still, I am doing a good job of maintaining the pretense.

Although it turns out that ain't necessarily so!

:c)

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Vignettes: Sign Language

Another of my shorter posts while I work on the longer one(s). :c)

As I have mentioned, I work at my company's new office, which is a fair distance from both the main office and my home. In fact, it is more than double the commute to the main office from my home. I dislike driving to begin with, so the extra time in my car is unwelcome.

(As an aside, I hereby offer a formal apology to my sister April and her fellow gearhead Stace; no doubt they consider my remarks to be blasphemy, if not outright heresy. ;-p)

To make matters worse, there have been a seemingly never-ending series of construction projects on my route for most of this year. My commute time in some cases would be more than double its normal, and already considerable, length.

Fortunately, most of them seem to have run their course with the arrival of fall.

All but one - on the two lane road leading to my office.

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Vignettes: Boo(b) Boo(b)

I have a longer post I need to write (I know I keep saying that, but it's true!). However, since my posts have been few and far between recently, I thought I'd fire off a few short - and fun - ones in the meantime.

First up, I get busted.

Well, sort of. :c)

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