Did That Really Just Happen?

I'm going to be honest here, folks. I stopped watching this one. Turns out I stopped watching just minutes before the big comeback began, and, yes, I am kicking myself. I was always planning to tune back in for the bottom of the ninth, just to see my boys one last time. But I happened to go to ESPN.com, and saw the headline, "Here Comes Boston," and ran to my television in time to see the last three pitches of Coco Crisp's amazing two-out game-tying single in the eighth.

I'm not proud of walking away, but we were down 7-0. We'd shown no signs of life until that seventh inning, in which we scored four runs. Perhaps if the Dodgers hadn't broken my heart this week, I would have been more inclined to stick around and see if the Sox could pull off the comeback. But I didn't want to watch any more disappointment. So I changed the channel. But I came back. And I saw that Crisp hit, and I prayed my way through the bottom of the ninth (thanks, Longoria, for the error that put Youkilis in scoring position!). I saw Jason Bay intentionally walked to get to J.D. Drew, so that J.P. Howell could face a left. But Drew was 4-7 against this particular lefty, and he made it 5-8 tonight with a hit that went just over the right fielder's head. Youkilis scored, and it was pandemonium at Fenway (don't believe the broadcasters--sure as hell looks to me like a ton of people were still in those stands).

I know it's just one game. I know we still have to win two more, on their turf, with our two ace starting pitchers who have been beaten (badly) in this series. But this team did not give up tonight, and I don't expect them to go without a fight down in Tampa Bay, either. And the Rays will now have to wonder if any lead is safe. At the very least, my team showed me something tonight. And if it doesn't go our way down south, I'll have this win to look back on during the offseason.

But, for the record, I'm still expecting a little magic in Florida.

(I have spent the last twenty minutes or so saying again and again, to my fiance but also to no one in particular, "I can't believe that just happened." And so I had to come write something, even if it's rushed and not exactly the most well written thing you've ever read.)

What a friggin' game, huh?