The Beach Boys

Games 94 through 99 - Red Sox

Royals 6, Red Sox 5
White Sox 4, Red Sox 2
Red Sox 10, White Sox 3
Red Sox 11, White Sox 2
Red Sox 8, White Sox 5
Red Sox 6, Indians 2
Record: 60-39

Seems only fitting that I recap my annual debauched (and by debauched, I mean bloated and lethargic from too much fresh seafood, in case my mother is reading) hiatus on the anniversary of one of the great baseball-related moments of our 14 beach-bound years.

Just as I spent the afternoon of Saturday, July 24, 2004 engrossed in a Sox game, I spent this past Saturday happily watching the good guys pound the snot out of the long-since disinterested Chicago White Sox. And just as Whitney and several other guys spent that afternoon three years ago inventing a legendary new drinking game, they returned to the scene of their greatest triumph to berth Beerball, a combination of lacrosse, billiards, golf, and competitive eating (in this case, drinking). Thanks to Terry Francona and the boys, I wasn't present at the creation...or for the inevitable decline into stumbling incoherence. My incoherence that evening paled in comparison. Thank God for the Red Sox.

And thank God for far less silly reasons yesterday, as Jon Lester made his return to a major league mound after recovering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In a week where Barry Bonds, Mike Vick, and Tim Donaghy dragged sports into a deeper malaise than these innocent eyes recall seeing, Jon Lester salvaged a small bit of dignity and pure human joy. His 4th-inning strikeout of Grady Sizemore with the bases loaded brought shouts of glee from his parents in the stands, and goosebumps to my arms. Lester went 6 innings, giving up only 2 runs despite a handful of bouts with wildness - I'll give the kid a break on those.

Not a ton to say about the rest of the games, limited as I was to following them on the small screen of my PDA's web browser. And like every year, I was more than happy not to care all that much, especially as the Sox managed to sneak 4 straight wins into my OBFT mix.