Soxwoman Speaks

It's hard to believe the Red Sox have played their last game in The House That Ruth Built. Yankee Stadium has nearly as big a part in Red Sox Nation consicousness as does Fenway Park, and I can safely say that far and away I have watched more games played at Yankee Stadium than I have any other park save Fenway. Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the role the stadium has played in sports lore. While I really hadn't given it much thought before this series, tearing it down seems almost....criminal. And the way baseball has handled it-scheduling these last Yankee games on the road, and the last Yankee game this season in still-standing and proud Fenway as it defends it's championship-seems tone deaf at best. The stadium deserves better than that.

So, in the spirit of bipartisanship, Yankee Stadium, I salute you and the remarkable journey you have taken over the years with Goliaths of the game like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Ford. What an incredible witness to history this building has been.

My favorite games of all time? Game 7 of the '04 ALCS (in the days and years following the victory, I must have watched Johnny Damon take Javier Vazquez deep and Pokey Reese catch the ball off Ruben Sierra's bat over 1,000 times), followed closely by game 6 and the bloody sock. The other game that comes immediately to mind is the Pedro-Clemens game on ESPN in which Trot Nixon once again handed Roger his behind and the Red Sox the game in the form of a fastball deep into the left field stands (only to repeat it six years later in Roger's pathetic last game ever in the '07 ALDS-another favorite Yankee Stadium moment).

A sweep would have been nice-and was within the Sox grasp, which makes yesterday all the more nauseating-but I'll take 2/3 against the Evil Empire any day. I'm always hesitant to say it, but the Yankees are done this year, crawling on their bellies to the finish, mocking, in their last season, the memory of all the greats that came before them in their hallowed stadium. Hank, playing the part of the c.1982 George, pretty much has said so, telling the world to watch out for next season when all stops will be pulled out in the offseason. So, evidently they're planning on going to the failed policies of the past-signing over the hill free agent has beens and prima donnas and hoping to parlay that into a strong team mentality, repudiating everything Brian Cashman has publicly stated he wants to do. Hank, a wise man once said that those who do not remember the past are *condemned* to repeat it. I really don't think we have anything to worry about from the Bronx for at least a couple more years.

Doesn't mean the Red Sox can rest on their laurels, though. Drew remains out, Beckett's status uncertain, and the bullpen continues to underperform. There's a lot for the Sox to worry about, but also a lot of reason for optimism. Jason Bay is performing beyond all expectation, and Dustin Pedroia, the most difficult out in the lineup, is fast becoming the face of the franchise. I was wrong when I said Youk wasn't a good option at cleanup. We've got all that going for us, so let's hope Fenway Park can work it's magic for this team as they come into the home stretch.

GO SOX!!!!! GRAB THE RING!!!!!!!!