Going Down With The Ship

Heading into Spring Training I had a feeling of optimism about this year's ballclub. The only thing that the media talked about was how the Sox had lost a ton of power in their lineup. Mags was gone, Carlos was gone...you know what I'm talking about. They all ignored the fact that the Sox finally had 5 solid starters to fill out the rotation, which was the main reason for my being optimistic since that was the most glaring hole in the teams of the past few seasons. After watching a few of S.T. games that were televised though, the feeling of optimism that I had was diminishing. I knew it was only Spring Training, but the team was looking just like the Sox teams of the past few years had looked. By the time the season started I was fully prepared for another year of mediocre .500 baseball.
Well, that feeling of optimism that I had quickly returned after the Sox got of to a torrid start by going 17-7 in April and 18-10 in May. They followed that up by going 18-7 in June to make their record 53-24 after the first 3 months of the season. If that wasn't enough to instill confidence in the most pessimistic of Sox fans, than no amount of wins would have been.
That confidence has been shaken these past few weeks with the Sox currently having lost 6 of their last 7 after being swept by the Angels and dropping the final 2 games of their last series with KC. They also have a losing record since August 1st at 20-22. The starters have been getting knocked around, save Contreras of all people, the bullpen hasn't been lights out as it was in the first half, and most of all the defense has gone south. To top all that off, the offense has been shoddy and inconsistent, although they have shown signs of improvement as of late. They are near the bottom of the league in BA and OBP and are 8th in runs. Altogether this team seems to have lost its fire, so to speak. Yet somehow they still own the best record in they AL by 3.5 games over the Carmines.
With 17 games remaining the Sox still have time, although not much, to get their act back together. Whether they're capable of making that happen remains to be seen, but one can take solace in this fact.
On 9/13/00, the New York Yankees held an eight game lead over Boston. They then proceeded to lose 13 of their next 16 games (being outscored 129-54 in the process) before finally clinching the division on the final Friday of the season. For good measure, they also lost on the final Saturday and Sunday, for a record of 3-15 over the final 2 1/2 weeks of the season.

Three series later they were World Champs.

We certainly are not the 2000 Yankees, but it just goes to show you that anything is possible.

As Yogi Berra once said..."It ain't over 'till it's over". I have not given up on the Sox, nor will I regardless of what happens over the next two weeks. We're taking on water, but we are still somehow afloat. If we do end up sinking, I'll be riding this ship down to the bottom. Really, what other choice do I have? Become a Cubs fan? I carry a card in my wallet with a Sox logo on it...Below that it reads "I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a brother thats a Cubs fan" Truer words have never been spoken.
I got to thinking that maybe the team is in need of some inspiration. (As if winning alone, not to mention being paid millions of dollars per year shouldn't be inspiration enough) I think Ozzie should try using the following quotes as bulletin board material over the next few days. Nothing epitomizes the "Never say die" attitude more so than the words of the great Winston Churchill.

"We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender!!!"

"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated."

"We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best."