I failed.

Miserably.

Both Fenway games I attended (with Sox fans Chris B., Rigo Molina , and MillersTime Baseball Contest winner Jeff F) ended in defeat for the beloved Sox.

Pitching. It’s always pitching.

Hitting can hide it for awhile. But not forever.

Add in a few injuries and a bit of sloppy play, and suddenly it’s down to two games.

My hostess for my two nights in Boston presented me with a copy of a WSJ article that asked, “So Why Isn’t Boston Panicking?”  Writer Matthew Futterman tried to make the case that since the Sox won in 2004 and 2007, facing one of the larger collapses in baseball history now isn’t as serious as it would have been prior to 2004.

Who is he kidding?

My inbox is filled with emails that say the opposite. I don’t know who Futterman is talking to when he says (the fans) “are not panicking enough.”

And my so-called friends who are of the Yankee/Rays/Os/etc., persuasion are quick to point out the similarity with this end of the year decline with earlier ones that have plagued the Sox. (It also mirrors the record at the beginning of this year).

So what will be the outcome?

Will our heroes hang on and make it to the playoffs?

And if they do, will they have any chance in the playoffs themselves?

The second question is easier to answer than the first.  Should they hang on long enough to win the wild card, I think they would have great difficulty making it to the World Series.

Put will they even get beyond the regular season?

My heart says, ‘Yes.’

My head says, ‘Maybe not.’

In the meantime, I’ve put away all the sharp objects in my house and have confine d myself to the first floor.

 

(An alternative view, of sorts: Thanx to my New England cousin, I just read today’s WSJ article “Boston Kids Finally Feel Heartbreak” Click Here. The writer gets some of it right, but not all. The article’s worth a look.)