GOODBYE WINTER GLOOM!
By The Yawkey Way Philosopher
No matter what any weatherman says, spring blossoms anew each year with the birth of the baseball season. For one day there are no leaders and no followers, all are equal with the dreams that come with the prospect of a clean slate and 162 games to prove your mettle and your worth. For 86 years, Red Sox fans knew better than anyone the optimism that came with springs warm breezes and how the sweet smell of newly bloomed flowers would tease the mind and the senses with hopes for the coming days and the cold hard fall. Nothing swept away the tears and the gloom of fall better than sunshine and tickets to Opening Day.
Things changed for the Nation last season and October instead offered warmth and joy rather than its usual cold shoulder dressed in pinstripes. Fairy tales could not have been better written and nothing like the Comeback of 2004 will ever occur again without recalling that faithful night in Yankee Stadium when Johnny Damon was Lex Luthor and Derek Lowe brought a big bag of Kryptonite. The World Series was almost anti-climactic. We knew we would have our championship the moment Johnny's second home run flew through the cold New York night and not even the mighty Redbirds would stand in our way.
But the business of a new season makes the last season a series of treasured memories. Now the Sox face the true test because true greatness is not measured by how you get to the top but by what you do when you get there. As sweet as finally ending 86 years of misery was, nothing would be sweeter than doing it all over again. After all, we've only got 21 left to catch up.
The Red Sox were outmaneuvered by the Yankees in the off-season as the Evil Empire added two outstanding pitchers to the Red Sox one. This showed in the
opening two games of the season as the Yankee bats welcomed one pitcher back to the rivalry and introduced another with a shower after 4 1/3 innings. Fortunately for Red Sox fans and the City of Boston, there is no need to start jumping off the Charles River Bridge. The Yankees have built a collection; the
Red Sox still have the better team. Schilling has yet to make his debut on the stage and the mighty Red Sox lumber showed signs of life today after a quiet
performance on Sunday.
The stage is set for 2005. The Yankees have drawn first blood and Hideki Matsui continues to make Beantown pitching look like Pawtucket washouts. Still, spring blooms eternal hope and no longer do we fear the road ahead and the possibility of another year of disappointment. Instead we can enjoy our time in the sun and watch the season unfold as the Boston Red Sox move forward to defend something they haven't had the chance to do in 86 years: defend a World Series
championship.
AND IT‚S ABOUT DAMN TIME!
