2007 ALDS Game 2: Here I (we) Go Again

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 6, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3

I don’t know where I’m going/But I sure know where I’ve been…

Remember this? Huh? Remember this freaking team? The team where all the crazy stuff goes OUR way and we are never out of the game no matter what the situation is? We are suddenly that team again… and oh my freaking GOD it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Unlike game 1 this was NOT about the starting pitching. Dice-K looked ummm… uhhh… well if I was polite I might refer to him as “pedestrian” but I’m not. So I’m gonna go ahead and say he sucked. Yeah that feels better… he sucked BAD and made me cringe after EVERY pitch. He looked like a guy relearning every pitch before he threw it. I thought Tek was gonna throttle him after ever pitch out of the zone. Not only was it brutal, it took forever! The Sox got 2 runs of Escobar in the 1st (big J.D. Drew RBI) but Dice-K gave them back plus one. The Sox were coming from behind with heavy bullpen use all game.

I’m just another heart in need of rescue/Waiting on loves sweet charity…

Then the game got weird. The Sox bullpen (Lopez, Delcarman and Oki) went into total shutdown mode. 3 innings of no-hit, no-walk ball from these superstars. Any nervousness that this game started with was sucked out of Fenway by this crew. Now they just needed to tie it up.

Enter Danny Vinik. In the 5th, with runners on the corners, Manny pops a foul ball up near the stands that is playable by Angels catcher Mathis… but this kid Danny won’t be stopped. Maybe he knew he wasn’t just getting a souvenir. Hell, maybe Stephen King (who was right behind him) gave him some crazy voodoo powers or something. I’m not sure, but he dominates the mad dash for this ball and yanks it JUST out of the reach of Mathis. Manny stays alive for the walk and Lowell ties the game with a sac fly. The Sox thrive on the sweet charity of Danny Vinik. Jeffery Maier, eat your heart out.

You give me strength to carry on/cos I know what it means/To walk along the lonely street of dreams…

So it’s the 9th and the score is still knotted at 3. Papelbon pitched 2 solid innings (with a little added drama due to a Lowell throwing error) but it looked like this game was destined for extra frames when K-Rod entered the fray. Still, the mighty closer had to deal with some inherited runners and would give Papi an IBB to face the rusty Manny with 2 on and 2 out. It looked like a safe bet. I give him and Scioscia credit for picking the “right” move. Problem is… sometimes the “right” move can bite you in the ass just as hard. Manny, with all the spunk and verve and presence that we have come to know and love, deposits a K-Rod fast ball into the stratosphere over the Monster. This 447ft walkoff shot was one of the all time epic homeruns. I expected this ball to land right outside my house in Brighton. Manny being Manny being awesome.

Cue the chorus, cue the shock, cue the pandemonium. The Red Sox are back with shades of 2004. It’s a beautiful thing. Here we go again. (oh and btw, I know this video has other connotations now that Tawny Kitaen moved on from writhing on car hoods to beating up Chuck Finley and then becoming a plastic surgery nightmare… but it fit the feeling I think).

Here I goooooooooooooooooooooooo again!!!!!!!

(oh and btw again, the Yankees lost in extra innings and Joba was eaten by bugs. Not even kidding).