A Special Thank You
By Steve Marsi
Hats off to the artist(s) who recently “fixed” the notorious Reverse Curve road sign hanging above Storrow Drive in Boston. As of this week, the sign has officially returned to glory. For those unfamiliar with the city, clever miscreants have transformed the sign to read “Reverse the Curse” for years now. While most vandalism is unsightly, this alteration has become iconic – a well-known microcosm for the city’s rabid obsession with the Red Sox. But sometime in the past two months, The Man stepped in and tragedy struck. The sign was cleaned as part of a war on graffiti waged by the city in anticipation of the much-maligned Democratic National Convention.
This effort by the killjoy powers that be represents the impact of the DNC at its worst. Go ahead and close down I-93, the Green Line, all of the North End for all I care. But leave the sign alone. Cleaning it strips the city of a veritable landmark, and deprives the Storrow motorist of a guaranteed smile. Not to mention that the sign’s original, intended message – Reverse Curve – is nonsensical. As a colleague put it this week, “What does that even mean? Isn’t a curve just a curve?” A valid point. And once again a moot one, thanks to the defiant Sox fan(s) who remedied the situation. Whoever you are, thank you.
Back to baseball. Tuesday’s contest was a dramatic win for a struggling team going up against its first-place divisional rival, and the team that knocked it out of the 2003 postseason. Combining timely hitting with strong defensive play, the good guys rallied from an early deficit to take the lead, then hung on for a 10-9 victory as they got the last out with two men on in the bottom of the final inning. It was an important win for a team coming off a tough week and looking to prove it belongs at the top of its division.
Oh wait, that was my softball team. Nothing of the sort was true of the Red Sox game last night, an ugly 11-3 loss to New York in the Bronx. At least the performance was horrible throughout, so that the time and emotion normally invested in a game against the Yankees were minimized. Still, not a strong effort. No hits with anyone in scoring position. Shoddy defense and four unearned runs. Tony Clark going deep. Yikes.
Tim Wakefield (4-5) takes the hill for Boston tonight against Jon Lieber (5-5), as the Sox look to find some semblance of consistency and rebound in the second game of the series.
