Can I Breath Again?

Celeste is in a growth spurt, I think; she was up a lot between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. last night, so I'm a bit wiped out, but I have to say: THE RED SOX WON THE PENNANT!

I haven't said anything about the ACLS for fear of jinxing things. I tend to be a little superstitious anyway, but when it comes to baseball mojo there are many, many rules that must be followed.

Last year, it was the old beaten up ball that I had as a gris-gris, this year it was the rally cap. Honkey Cracker explains:

the Rally Cap is a device employed by losing baseball teams all around the world. The players turn their hats inside out and put them back on their heads. This is supposed to be good luck or something.... I don't know.

Well, let me tell you: Do not taunt the rally cap. The rally cap is the gris-gris needed to win; it is the juju that guards against curses.

After Game 3, I was down, but committed to watching the rest of the series. As the Beloved BoSox clawed their back in the 5th and then saw their lead disappear in the 6th, I turned my hat inside-out. And it stayed that way until just after midnight this morning. The way I saw it, being in the hole 3–0 for the ACLS, the rest of the series was all one big rally — a never before seen four-game rally — and last night the rally cap paid off in spades.

That was part of the beauty of this ACLS: It had the lowest of lows and the most dramatic of comebacks. Karma was flowing freely, finally giving those who were long, long, long overdue what they'd rightfully earned. And it was about redemption.

The night of Game 5, I kept finding a single tune running through my head: Bob Marley's "Redemption Song".

Old pirates yes they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they'd took I from the bottomless pit
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom
Cause all I ever had
Redemption songs, redemption songs

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look
Some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fulfill the book

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom
Cause all I ever had
Redemption songs, redemption songs, redemption songs

It seems apt, in so many ways; after Game 3, this team needed redemption and it came with the expected bat of Señor Octubre David Ortiz and the unexpected bat of Mark Bellhorn, and, last night, with the much-too-quiet-of-late bat of Johnny Damon. It also came with the literally stitched together ankle of Curt Shilling, the back-to-back-to-back appearances by Keith Foulke, and — never to be forgotten — the arm of Derek Lowe, who had long been given up for dead. Adding to it all were the acrobatics of Bill Mueller, Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Trot Nixon; the speed of Dave Roberts; solid performances from Kevin Millar, Jason Varitek, and Manny Ramírez; and clutch appearances by everyone in the bullpen, even Pedro (who had me sweating when he came out last night).

For Game 7, "Redemption Song" found itself alternating in my mind with "Tessie" (mostly the Dropkick Murphys' version, but sometimes the original, too). I guess that's a sign of the calmness that overtook me for the end of this series. Now, unbelievably, there is more baseball to play. I stopped breathing a few times at the end of Game 6; I'm not sure how I'll make it through a World Series ...

Keep the Faith! Believe!