Signs of Change

I was walking across campus between classes today when I saw something that I know I have never seen before.  I saw not one, but two people wearing Tampa Bay hats.  After Tampa won the last two games against us, I felt like knocking their hats right off their heads.  But then another thought came to me:  When’s the last time I felt annoyed by a baseball hat that didn’t have an NY on it?  I don’t know if it’s ever happened.  The closest thing I can think of is a friend of mine, whom we all call Colorado (guess where he’s from?)  He was proud to wear his Rockies jersey last October, and we all gave him a hard time when we saw it – that is, before the series was over. 

Anyway, back to the point:  Who would have thought that Tampa Bay would have been the team that would be bugging the crap out of us come September?  I forgot how annoyed I had been because I was in such awe. 

Another thing I want to mention is that for the first time since the Home Run Derby, I listened to the song “It’s Not My Time,” by Three Doors Down.  I first heard it during the pregame ceremonies on ESPN before the Home Rub Derby itself.  I was very confused, at first, as to why they would be playing a song titled “It’s Not My Time.”  Then today I paid more attention to the lyrics and realized that the song meant “it’s not my time to go down.”  Take that however you want, I now realize why that song was played at the Derby.  And I think it is very appropriate for the Red Sox.  Sure we’re going to make the playoffs.  But let’s remember what a great team we are, and that we’re not going to make the playoffs by the skin of our teeth – we’re going to make it and we’re going to do well, despite all our injuries.

Keep the faith.

Post game notes:

-David Ortiz:  Big Papi scored all the RBIs for the Sox last night, hitting two home runs.  Funny how this came right as sports analysists were pointing out how Papi’s swing has not been the same as of late.  Hopefully he can keep this up, seeing as we have so injuries, as mentioned before. 

-Julio Lugo:  There was a lot of talk of Lugo today on 850 AM WEEI’s “Big Show” this afternoon.  Most of it was whether or not Lugo would make it onto the playoff roster, if healthy.  I think that Tom Caron had the best take on this, saying that Lugo should definitely be on the roster and used as a pinch runner when needed.  Look for more on this, as it is sure to be a controversial topic.