Where Have All The Good Times Gone?
By John Hatcher
Here we are again. After a surprising sweep of the Angels (I picked Anaheim in four), the Sox have now dug themselves into a crater size hole against the defending AL Champs. Now, to top it off, they have lost Schilling for possibly the series.
I think the thing that bothers me most are the excuses. There was zero when Schilling pitched Game 1 in the Anaheim series. There wasn’t any talk of how serious it was then. But after he threw BP to the Yankees on Tuesday, out came all the expert medical opinions and the worry. Would things of been different had he won and still been hurting? I think so.
My point is this. If a team has a goal of winning a championship, and they are focused, nothing will stand in their way. I once again use the Pats to illustrate. They have a serious focus.
Take Rodney Harrison for example. He spent some time playing for a terrible football organization, the San Diego Chargers. He got his chance to play for the Pats last year and took it. He played great all year. But I think the thing that stands out the most is the Super Bowl. Many people are aware that he broke his forearm during the game. What impresses me is that he stayed in for a couple of plays after he broke it. He proved to everyone on the team how bad he wanted it. Both Eugene Wilson and himself ended up hurt and that is how Carolina made it close. The Pats ended up winning, but I’m willing to bet that there would have been no excuses if they hadn’t. Not from anybody. You win as a team and you lose as one. Tedy Bruschi pointed out that they don’t make plays as individuals for highlights. Instead they make plays as a team to win games. 19 in a row and counting.
The whole Yankee and Red Sox thing makes for good drama. Adding the Schilling injury and Pedro under the mango tree makes it even better. But in the end, all that is left for us is a winter full of debate. 86 years and counting.
