The Red Sox are Champions

[Nimrod's Son]

Originally posted by jenniferkate


that was you? i assumed it was the rhodey person

He came up with the phrase Rasselhoff, but towards the end of the year I started posting "Rally Hasselhoff" pics, and it seemed to work for some reason.

It all began with the one in my sig

[Andy /]

Goddammit.

WE ALWAYS SUCK AGAINST THE YANKEES.

[Nimrod's Son]

Originally posted by AndySlash
Goddammit.

WE ALWAYS SUCK AGAINST THE YANKEES.

what team do you play for

[jenniferkate]

Originally posted by ******
so who threw the last CG shutout in the postseason before tonight? i have no idea.

josh beckett

[sppunk]

Boston in 6.

[Andy /]

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
what team do you play for

Which one are you on, big boy?

[neopryn]

Originally posted by sppunk
Boston in 7

[Tiny Void]

As much as I hate to admit it, Boston is fucking scary this year. With the Yankees having retarded pitchers and all, I don't see how we can get past a game 2. Does anyone think Brown is not going to have a meltdown and its all going to be downhill from there?

[3Marlon3Brando]

Originally posted by sppunk
Boston in 2.

[sppunk]

Originally posted by 3Marlon3Brando

Oh God I wish.

[sppunk]

God, I'm going to blow my head off if Boston doesn't win.

[Ensoul]

I hope Rivera is back in time. I guess he was quite close to whoever died (distant cousin, I forgot).

[Sepiae]

I can't wait to listen to Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, and Al Leiter try to offer their insights in to Red Sox fandom. That will be stellar. "Red Sox fans don't really want their team to win--what will happen to their identity!" "They still cry about Nomar!" And they will make us relive Grady's Boner over and over and over and over again till we should be numb to it. Hoooo boy. I wouldn't trade that to be in the Angels' place at all though.

And on a much more serious note, people are saying they heard on the radio--offering no actual sources though--that Rivera will be on the ALCS roster and back on Tuesday.

[jenniferkate]

Originally posted by Ensoul
I hope Rivera is back in time. I guess he was quite close to whoever died (distant cousin, I forgot).

it was apparently his brother in law and his nephew.

if he's not back in time, tom gordon will have to take on closing duties and the rest of this team will have to pick him up. he's done it so often for them, and been the difference maker for this team so steadily for so long... some things are more important than baseball.

edit: i'm reading cousin, i'm reading brother, but here's the story:


The door to Joe Torre's office wasn't just shut, it was locked. That was the first sign of trouble, even as the Yankees were outside celebrating their AL Division Series conquest of the Twins. Jorge Posada wiggled the knob, then tried knocking, but no one answered. No one could.

Their grief inside was overwhelming. When the door finally opened, GM Brian Cashman emerged, his eyes red and glazed. He obviously had been crying, as had the other Yankee officials who'd gathered to deliver tragic news to Mariano Rivera and his wife. A cousin of Clara Rivera and his 14-year-old son were killed Saturday in Panama, both electrocuted after touching an electrical wire near the swimming pool at the Yankee closer's home in Puerto Caimito.

Mariano and Clara Rivera flew from Minneapolis to Miami on Sunday morning, connecting to a flight to Panama City. From there, the couple traveled to their home some 40 miles east, where the funerals will take place. Yankee officials are hopeful the right-hander will return to New York in time for the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox, but what no one can predict is Rivera's physical and mental state once he steps on the field.

By Tuesday night, Rivera will have flown almost 5,000 miles in 48 hours. That, along with the emotional trauma of losing family members, could impact Rivera's performance in the early stages of this northeast corridor blood war. A friend of Rivera's said on Sunday the reliever would almost certainly experience "terrible guilt" since he built the pool and installed the electrical system to keep stray animals from trespassing onto the property.

If Rivera does, in fact, end up blaming himself and losing his professional focus, it could be an enormous setback for the Yankees, who already are staring at a pitching deficit against Boston.

Compounding Rivera's personal crisis was a clubhouse mishap that could've seriously injured Tom Gordon. During the initial moments of Saturday's festivities, Gordon was hit in the left eye by a champagne cork, requiring treatment from a team trainer. Ultimately, the blow wasn't considered serious, and Gordon is expected to be at 100 percent by Tuesday.

Still, doubts about both relievers tempered the Yankees' enthusiasm for what's expected to be the mother of all American League showdowns. Torre was so distraught by Rivera's loss, he cleared the clubhouse just 45 minutes after the Yankees had defeated the Twins, speaking to his team in private. They boarded a charter plane for Newark in stunned silence, and were given a day off on Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez, in particular, served as a billboard of the day's mixed karma. He scored the winning run in the 6-5 victory, leading off the 11th inning with a double, after which he stole third base and scored on a wild pitch. But he couldn't muster much joy. The combination of exhaustion from a four-hour game and grief for a teammate compelled A-Rod to say, "I feel like I could sleep for two days. I'm really, really tired."

Ironically, Rivera was in the middle of the celebration, enjoying the dividend of an effortless save. Holding a bottle of champagne, the easy-going closer was laughing and smiling, before being urgently summoned to Torre's office. Club officials were careful how they worded the alarm to Rivera, however, only telling him there had been an accident in the family.

"We didn't want to be the ones to break the news to Mo," the official said. "That was for [his wife] to tell him."

By then just about everyone in the Yankee hierarchy knew - including Cashman, assistant GM Jean Afterman, team physician Stuart Hershon and Derek Jeter. At some point before the game had ended, Clara Rivera had received a phone call from Panama, informing her that her cousin, Victor Dario Avila, and his son, also named Victor Dario Avila, had died while cleaning the pool. The teenager perished first, and the father died trying to save him.

Clara Rivera arrived in the clubhouse within moments of the last out, tears streaming down her cheeks, obviously devastated. She spoke briefly to Torre, who emerged from his office ashen-faced, asking to speak with the Yankees' chief of security. A reporter who sensed trouble asked Torre what was wrong. The manager cryptically said, "It's a day like this that makes you realize what's important and what's not."

One by one, the officials filed into Torre's office to comfort Rivera's wife, everyone waiting for the closer to arrive. When he did, when Rivera was finally informed of the loss, the office was cleared out except for husband and wife, two mourners who must somehow make sense of the two deaths.

As he stepped out of the room, Cashman was still fighting back tears, dazed for several minutes. Rivera wasn't seen again by reporters as Torre soon emptied the clubhouse.

Irma Rivera, a relative, told The Associated Press on Sunday, "Everyone is sad. Victor was a good man."

The family friend was even more candid in his assessment of the damage.

"To be honest with you, I don't know how Mo will be able to fly in and out in just one day," he said. "There's going to be a lot of suffering in that family for a long time."

E-mail: [email protected]

[jenniferkate]

Originally posted by Sepiae
I can't wait to listen to Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, and Al Leiter try to offer their insights in to Red Sox fandom.

al leiter was pretty good during the nlcs last year, considering the mouthbreathers he was surrounded by. bret boone, on the other hand, was about as scintillating as watching a chia pet grow.

[El Savior]

i hate listening to the FOX analysts. they fucking suck. i want remy. remy and mcdonough. those are the dudes.

all signs are pointing to the red sox. it's fucking time.

fuck man. tuesday can't come soon enough.

[neopryn]

who does everyone like tonight?

I have to stick with the Astros. They're due.

[sppunk]

The Braves are so bad.

[Ensoul]

There was a source that said Felix Heredia was the one who hit Gordon by accident with the cork.

isn't hurting his team on the field bad enough?

[sppunk]

Originally posted by Ensoul
There was a source that said Felix Heredia was the one who hit Gordon by accident with the cork.

isn't hurting his team on the field bad enough?

Gordan's hurt? What?

[Sepiae]

Gordon took a cork to the eye during the celebration Saturday night, but he's okay.

[sppunk]

Originally posted by Sepiae
Gordon took a cork to the eye during the celebration Saturday night, but he's okay.

Oh, bummer. Too bad it wasn't a gunshot to the right arm.

[neopryn]

Originally posted by neopryn
who does everyone like tonight?

I have to stick with the Astros. They're due.

ooh who called it

[my mind secedes]

right now the braves are taking an assraping similar to the one furcal will be taking in prison tomorrow. 12-3 in the 8th. this is awesome.

[neopryn]

i don't know what's worse. having 12 straight losing seasons or winning 15 divisions and losing in the first round every year.

[twice]

hi jenniferkate. i had a customer from boston tonight, her beaming eyes and avid demeanor made me think of you as she spoke of the red sox winning this year. needless to say you came to mind.
enjoy the rest of october, sweets.

[Why Am I So Ugly?]

i hate the cardinals. everyone root against the cardinals! if they win i will never hear the end of it from my friends. please! cmon guys! i saw scott rolen at a boston market and he ordered a salad!

[sppunk]

8 hours.

"I'm not sure of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up." - Curt Schilling

[Sepiae]

Originally posted by sppunk
8 hours.

"I'm not sure of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up." - Curt Schilling

are you going to need me to give you updates tonight?

[sppunk]

Originally posted by Sepiae


are you going to need me to give you updates tonight?

I should be able to watch at the newsroom, or at least have cbs.sportsline.com open for real-time updates.

But, expect a phone call frome me if I can't, or the celebratory call afterward.