boston commoner.

welcome home

Compared to games 5 and 6, last night’s final stand-off at Yankee Stadium was almost a snoozer. In the bottom of the 9th, when Sox victory seemed, at last, imminent, an announcer reminded us that our team had never managed to actually beat the Yankees when it mattered ; but for once, it was the Yankees in a funk, who couldn’t pull their act together at the crucial moment. They didn’t gleam like the winning machine they usually are; they fumbled. They seemed disoriented, like they weren’t sure why they were playing, after all. Meanwhile the Sox let a calm and collected Derek Lowe do the defense on the mound for the better part of the game, and rode in high on an offensive victory set off early with a 1st-inning 2-run homer by Ortiz (series MVP) and Johnny Damon’s surprise grand slam in the second. Damon was the next player up for redemption last night; he’s been taking media heat for weeks, now, unable to deliver the slightest advantage at the plate. If there’s ever a time to prove you’re worth your contract, it’s in a historical game 7 in the ALCS series, against your all-time rivals, and on their turf.

So without extra innings or torturous late-game dramatics, the Sox won the pennant and are bringing the World Series home to Boston for the first time since 1986. If they manage to clinch the World Series, it’ll be the first time since 1918. As it is, they’re well on their way to breaking major losing streaks: the Sox haven’t won a pennant in New York in a game 7 for an entire century.

But could Boston handle that? Boston, in the true sense, certainly could. But what about these “knuckleheads” (the reigning media term for college-age fools who use major and improbable, exhilarating sports victories as an excuse to set cars on fire and embarrass the city in front of the entire nation) who insist on turning a good thing into a source of fear and humiliation? (more…)

Today I found out that my old German Class buddy, Lisa Knies (“Liesl,” seen above wearing pink, posing with Rebecca Linville in Salzburg), will be having surgery within the week for the removal of a brain tumor found beside her pituitary gland and behind her optic nerve. This is obviously unexpected and difficult for all of us to take in, but must be particularly excruciating for her immediate family, and of course for Lisa herself. Her remarkable attitude astounds me, rebukes me, encourages me. She would appreciate your prayers. The following is an excerpt froma recent e-mail:

“Please pray for the following specific requests: that the surgeon will be able to get out the whole tumor, that there will not be damage to the optic nerve and pituitary gland, and that the recover process will be smooth. Thanks again for your prayers. Also, keep my mom [who fell and broke her foot while in Michigan helping Lisa through this process] in your prayers. Being here in Michigan has made it difficult to get into doctors that won’t cover their Wisconsin insurance. She is hoping to get into the one surgeon that will take our insurance. He will be able to determine if she will need surgery.”

Thanks in advance for taking this on in your prayers.

Liesl, wir haben dich Lieb. Gottes Segen wuenschen wir dir. Der hat dich ja in seinen Haenden.

I apologize for the wacked-out heading/banner/color scheme/thing. I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s like trying to remove my own thymus gland without knowing what or where a thymus gland is (or what the results of removing it will be). But it’s kind of fun. Trial and error. And at least it’s my own thymus gland, and not somebody else’s, because that would be scarier. All I really wanna do is make my blog look nearly as cool as Kammer’s or Gwen’s (or any number of blogs on bensfriends); they’ve got the thymus removal down pat…

Marathon nail-biters stretching over extra innings into the morning hours; records broken, and broken again; foul plays, reversed calls, bloody pitchers; and, of course, uniformed crowd-control. It’s been one heck of a series.

The Sox managed to finish last night’s game in the alotted 9 innings, for a change, but there was no relaxing of the giant band of tension that’s been stretching from Fenway to Yankee Stadium over the past week. Tonight it’s gotta snap, but in which direction, nobody knows. (more…)

Them crazy boys gone done it agin.’

It may not be the best baseball ever played, technically speaking, but it sure makes good drama.