Bon Jovi

Game 146 - Red Sox

Red Sox 16, Devil Rays 10
Record: 88-58

Whitney and I had a fraternity brother in college named Steve Stanziale - a fairly standard-issue Jerseyite (though far smarter than the typical male of the IROC set), complete with the requisite macho bluster and card-carrying membership in the New York Giants' fan club. Sometime in the fall of 1990, several of us - Redskins fans all - gathered to watch a Monday night affair between our squad and the Giants. At halftime, Big Blue was beating the burgundy and gold silly, dominating them all over the field on the way to a 13-0 lead that didn't accurately reveal the Giants' total control of the contest.

As we moped sullenly during the halftime festivities, the phone rang, and the dulcet tones of Fratre Stanziale rang out in gleeful mocking. And when the phone hit the cradle, we all - at the same instant - suddenly felt very good about our team's chances. 30 minutes of gametime and several touchdowns later, the Redskins emerged victorious, and an gleeful epithet was born. From that moment on, any time someone claimed victory in advance of a contest's resolution, he was said to have "Stanzialed". To this day, we use this construction in our admittedly under-mature circles.

Fast forward to last night after Tim Wakefield's suddenly unmissable knuckleball staked the Rays to an 8-1 lead. Via text, I hear from Whitney that the YES Network broadcasters had announced that the Sox had lost to the Rays, almost certainly handing the Yankees a game in the standings. 5 innings and 15 runs later, the Sox hushed those premature rumors of their demise in convincing fashion. Congratulations, Joe Girardi, you've executed a textbook Stanzialing.

As for me, I didn't see very much of the comeback. I've had a fairly dismal several weeks at the rockyard, and my already black mood was certainly not helped by the first 3 1/2 innings of the game. Instead of descending into cat-kicking despair, I opted to check in on my man Alton Brown and Good Eats. I did sneak the occasional peek at the score on my phone, and switched back to NESN in time to see Kevin Youkilis' bases-clearing triple make the score 12-9. I feel no particular shame for my weakness - I really needed a break. And, I've now got a killer marinated skirt steak recipe to try. Win-win.