Answering Dan Shaughnessy

When I lived in Boston there were always three reasons to read The Globe- Mike Barnicle, Peter Gammons, and Dan Shaughnessy. All had different styles, but it was a great pleasure to sit down with a cup of coffee and digest the information and entertainment of their words. While those first two writers are no longer with The Boston Globe, Mr. Shaughnessy is still going strong.

Although he was the one who wrote the book The Curse of The Bambino, Shaughnessy of late has turned into an unbridled optimist. Just last month he proclaimed The Patriots were going to The Superbowl and The Red Sox would run away with the AL East. Tom Brady and company have yet to play game one, but as we all know The Sox now find themselves in “a real cockfight” (as Ron Burgandy would say) with The Yankees.

So with six weeks left in the season, Shaughnessy has thrown down the gauntlet for citizens of Red Sox nation. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is this going to be 1978 or 2004? Click on the following link to check it out:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/08/20/its_time_for_decision_07_leading_men_or_fall_guys/

I’ve always been an optimist, always believing The Red Sox will find a way to win the game. Of course until they lose, and then I’m cursing myself for having faith. This fluctuation of emotions is typical of most sports fans, and especially for Sox rooters from 1919 until Keith Foulke threw that ball underhand to Doug Mientkiewicz.


Even with the World Series win in 2004 (and 3 Superbowls for The Pats), I still can’t help but get really high when my teams win and feel like a Hot Pocket of crap when they lose (I’m lucky I wasn’t around any sharp objects after that game in the RCA dome last January). Although I’ve told myself I wouldn’t take it so seriously anymore, these extremes have now seeped into my genes.

So to answer Shaughnessy’s question- the glass is half full.

I never think The Red Sox or Patriots will blow the big game or piss away a divisional lead. To me there is no sense of having that mindset. Sure, they may lose and break your heart, but believing makes the whole experience that much better. For me optimism creates a buzz, an ecstatic feeling of invincibility. So Dice K will most certainly go seven strong innings, Big Papi will always get the clutch hit, and Papelbon will definitely record that final strikeout. I will forever flow as many positive ions to my teams.

(At some point I will write an entry fully explaining The Pauly D Theory of Ions, but in short it’s a kind of yin and yang thing. When we watch games I have to think as positively as I can, and Paul thinks in a negative way- but at a lesser volume. This creates a charge that travels into the TV and onto the field. Yes, we’re completely insane with our theory . . . but it works. And this is digressing in a major way. Back to the The Sox.)

New York had too good a team to simply go away. And although I would love a ten game lead going into the final week of the season, a pennant chase is a helluva lot of fun. Every inning of every game leading up to October is important, and I’m looking forward to them.

As I’m typing this entry I’m listening to the Angels/Yankees game on mlb.com. It’s the 10th inning and some guy named Ryan Budde is up for Anaheim. There is a runner on second and this batter does not have a career RBI. I’m flowing the positive ions and there’s no doubt there will be . . .

A base hit and The Yankees lose. The . . . .Yankees lose. The Sox now hold a 5 game lead in the division. Thanks, Budde.

We have thirty-seven games to play, six of which are with those guys from The Bronx. I say we win four against The Yankees and twenty-six more total. That would leave The Red Sox with a 101- 61 record and their first AL East Pennant since 1995.

If not, Dan Shaughnessy and I owe you all a beer.