Back in Cincinnati

Friday nights game against the Reds didn't go as planned. Masterson pitched really well and as I was watching the game, it seemed like he was striking out everyone. He pitched 6.2 innings and struck out 9, but we didn't give him the run support he needed and we lost 3-1. I really like watching Masterson pitch, he reminds me a little of Dennis Eckersly the way he slings the ball to home. Saturdays game I won't be able to watch because Fox is showing the Cardinals here where I live and Fox has exclusive rights on Saturday afternoon. It is just as well though. I can't stand to listen to the Fox guys anyway. If it can't be the Remdawg and Orsillo and Heidi, there is no need to watch!

Saturday's game we won 6-4 in 10 innings. Once again, our bullpen couldn't hold the lead and this time, Paps gave up the tying home run in the bottom of the ninth. Okajima gave up a run again - I am now really starting to worry about him. Wakefield did well giving up just 2 runs in 7 innings. Our starting pitchers always seem to get the job done - I am happy with our rotation and we will be getting DiceK back soon. Youk and Crisp hit home runs in the 10th to give us the win.

Sundays game we won 9-0 on the pitching of Beckett and the offensive performances of Coco, Jacoby, Drew and Pedroia. Manny sat out again with his sore hamstring, but I think he should be back for our series in Philly. Beckett went 6 innings striking out 6 so once again, our starters are doing a great job.

Today was fathers day and over the last week or so we have been moving things around to get my son his own room. We bought a new bed for him and he now has his own "Red Sox Room" full of pennants and plaques and baseball cards and signed baseballs. As we were moving things around, I came across a poem I had written to him back in October 2003. He was just a couple of months old and evidently, I had written it soon after Boone beat us. I remember thinking to myself, especially after that game, that I should keep him away from the Red Sox and not let him get involved with all this Red Sox stuff. That it always turns out bad and I didn't want him to have to hurt like I did after the end of each season.

I remember his first jersey he got for Xmas. Now most parents love the day they get to put their favorite teams jersey on their newborn, but for me, I remember it wasn't that fun. I remember I put the jersey over his head and onto his shoulders and then I stopped. I started to have second thoughts. I knew that once I put it on him, there was no going back. I whispered into his ear, "I'm sorry Austin", and slipped his body into the jersey. I wanted him to like the Sox like I did, I just didn't want him to cry like I have had to after each heartbreak. I held on to the belief that maybe one day the Sox would win it and he would thank me for giving him his own Red Sox addiction.

And now today, I see the championship pennants in his room, his baseball cards are stacked up in the order of his favorite players, and his Sox hat hanging on the corner of the bed. We have come a long way. The Red Sox and us. He loves the Red Sox and even at 4 years old, knows the lineups and positions of every player. He likes his red glove because it is like DiceK's and he gives "mean eyes like Papelbon" when he throws the ball. He swings and strikes a pose like Manny when he swings the bat, and when I tell him not to throw a ball in the house, he always asks, "Can I just underhand to first like Faulke"? How can you say no to that?

I am so glad that I put that jersey on him almost 5 years ago. It really was all about faith. I lost faith every now and then, but I had it when I needed it the most, that minute I put his jersey on him. Sometimes he asks me to tell him about when the Red Sox would always lose, back when I was a little boy. I say no, why don't you tell me about when they won. And he can. I look forward to him telling his little sister about when the Sox won too.

Here is the poem I wrote back in October 2003. I must have had that song "Never Been to Me" in my mind because it kind of goes along like that song...

Hey Austin, you Austin, just starting out your life,
You were brought into this world, another Boston Red Sox fan,
Now I have no doubt what you have seen, had surely broken your heart,
But I wish someone would've talked to me about this right from the start.

We cheered for Manny and the Big Papi, and cowboyed up with Millar,
We took the hand of the Pedro man, with him we went so far,
But we ran out of pitches in that evil place - Grady kept him in too long,
We were five outs away, but we didn't win it all.

Please Austin, please Austin, don't just walk away,
Because I have this need to tell you why I'm still waiting today,
I don't want the pain in me to go on living in your eyes,
You shouldn't share a part of this Boston heart that's been broke a million times.

I cheered for Yaz and Dewey and Lynn, and I waved it fair like Fisk,
I moved like Boggs and threw like Clemens, that summer of '86.
I cheered for Bob Stanley, and I have seen some things that a young fan shouldn't have to see,
I was one strike away, but I didn't win it all.

Sometimes I have been to crying for game seven losses that might have made me complete,
But I cheer for the Red Sox, I'll never know what it's like to win the series.
I spent my life waiting in anticipation of something that still eludes me.
Hey Austin, we were 5 outs away, but we didn't win it all.
I was one strike away, but I'll never win it all.

Happy Father's Day to both of my children - thanks for liking the Sox as much as I do and sharing them with me everyday.