techincal difficulties

it's no secret, at this point, that TBS had a power outage in Atlanta at the start of Game Six last night that caused them to miss covering the first inning or so. thankfully, i had radio access, so i didn't miss a single pitch of what would turn out to be another great game.

Josh Beckett gutted out whatever physical ailment is troubling him--and after watching the way he pitched last night, i am now convinced that it *is* physical & not mental. he didn't have his heat but man, did he work his curve ball, gritting his teeth & locating. he may have given up two solo home runs, but the damage was minimal and easily remedied by the Boston bats, who came together with some timely hitting of their own, including a homer to left and a sac fly for Youk, a scorching double for Papi off Howell and Varitek finally--finally!--going deep to right-center. Jeemer made the first appearance from the pen in relief of the Commander, pitching two strong innings. Justin Masterson wiggled out of trouble. and Papelbon is back to being the trusty lights-out closer we had been accustomed to seeing. so the Game Six stats for the Sox proved correct: they were locked in and their 4-2 win forced a Game Seven.

really the only technical difficulties for Beckett were more related to someone else's technical difficulties than his own: a ball fouled off Tek's bat in the second inning into the home plate umpire eventually resulted in a delay of game when he needed to leave & be replaced. the unconventional break in activity may have cut Beckett's five-inning outing a little shorter than it might have been. but Beckett did his part to hand it over to the bullpen and the umpire will be ok.

the *real* technical difficulties came from Tampa last night. Big Game James met Bigger Game Beckett and came up short. the steady-til-now Rays relievers seem to have been figured out by the waking Boston bats. the Rays couldn't muster a come-from-behind offense like they had so many times at home in 2008, taking big hacking swings that either missed or popped up. and as the Sox took the lead back each time, what appeared to be a desperation-driven defense started making mistakes. as quickly as things were coming together for Boston, they were falling apart for Tampa.

now who's to say if it was just an uncharacteristically bad game for the Rays (and no, i still can't believe i am typing that without it dripping in sarcasm) or if the Sox historic Game Five comeback--and their all-too-well-known by now ability to surge back to life just when things seem most bleak--has gotten inside the heads of the young Tampa players, despite Maddon's best efforts to prevent that from happening? i guess tonight we'll find out.

we'll find out if the Rays really can put yesterday behind them and play only for today. we'll find out if the Sox can pull this off again. we'll find out if Lestah can overcome his mediocre record at the Trop, while we keep hoping, as Sox fans, that it isn't likely he will have poor starts, back-to-back. i would be lying if i said i wasn't terrified of this game. i live here. i've heard, *believe* me, i've heard how the Rays just won't quit. it's difficult to draw the line between a healthy respect for one's opponent and being accused of having no faith in my team, to believe in all that they have shown me they can do and be accused of being too arrogant. i hope that i am enough of it all that i can just be seen as a die hard fan of the team i love, filled with an equal balance of hope, fear, excitement & gratitude.

this is it. tonight, someone's season ends. tonight, everyone has a reason to be proud but only one group of us will have a reason to laugh with joy as their team packs their bags for the World Series. for either the Rays or the Red Sox, there will be no tomorrow.

do or die. no room for error.
GO SOX!