The Malaise

Yesterday was about depression. Today, I can be analytical and look forward. Perhaps having my head examined helped ...

I actually did have my head examined, literally, yesterday. Twice, in a way. First, as part of the shaking the Aaron Fucking Boone malaise, I got a haircut. Not the full Cowboy Up head shave that I should have had back around Game 3, but it did significantly clean things up. Second, I got the CAT scan of my sinuses as ordered by the doctor on Tuesday. She thinks that the lingering cough, etc., from the bronchitis may be connected to something in the sinuses, and if that turns up nothing, we may look at allergies ...

The CAT scan itself was really quick -- a lot faster than the MRI I had a few years ago when I blew out my knee skiing, and a lot quieter. But I had to lay on my stomach with my hands under my thighs so that my head could bob in and out of the apparatus without by arms whacking anything. It wasn't comfortable, but it didn't last long.

Okay, back to baseball. Thomas Boswell has an interesting piece in The Washington Post looking at what role group psychology plays in reinforcing things like the curse of the Bambino. I heard a similar theory from Michael Wilbon of "Pardon the Interruption" on ESPNRadio last week. The basic idea is that even though only one Red Sox is actually from New England (Lou Merloni), the players are surrounded by so much negativity from the fans and the culture that the expected loss is inevitable -- the curse is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I don't know if that is the case, but it does provide a non-superstitious rationale for the 2003 Cubs and the Sox. However, I also heard yesterday that the Hanshin Tigers (the Japanese equivalent of the Sox and the Cubs) won the Central Division pennant this year, so hope remains.