ESCAPISM

I often wonder if following professional sports or playing video game are just a way of escapism, especially of late. The last few weeks have been filled with unfortunate incidents, even more than we're all accustomed too.
It seems devastation is all around us: the bridge collapse in Minnesota, the hurricanes in the Atlantic, the fire that killed 2 firefighters near Ground Zero, the 6 trapped miners, the 3 rescuers that died attempting to save them, the flooding in the Midwest, and the earthquake in Peru leaving hundreds dead. Let's not exclude other catastrophic messes: the stock market's decline due to mortgages(should we blame the home builders, the lenders or the borrowers?), the turmoil in Iraq, the pitiful leaders in Iran, Social Security/Medicaid, Africa's social and political mess and the ever growing yet recent problem with NASA's Endeavour.
And the list could go on, but hey, I'm just brainstorming here without any sort of direction
Meanwhile, I still follow sports, the Boston Red Sox to be even more specific. Escapism or not, I'm watching it all despite the somewhat poor play of the local nine recently. While the Yankees continue to bash the competition ( sweeping CLE in CLE and taking 3 of 4 vs. DET), the Sox play the role of .500 baseball, refusing to put together any sort of momentum or distance between themselves and the pinstripes. The lead sits at 4 games, the lowest it's been all year, outside of early April of course. Since the last blog, the team has gone an uninspiring 6-7. Yes, I wrote 6-7, unacceptable for a great team sitting in first place with others trying to catch up.
Moreover, the team has played about .500 for months, basically they've been a .500 ball cub outside of their great first 2 months. Remember when the pinstripes were 14.5 back and the AL East lead was double digits over the 2nd place club. Oh, well.
So how did they go 6-7, especially after taking 2 of 3 in Seattle right before? Well, they lost 2 of 3 vs. LAA, salvaging the final game to avoid the sweep. That win was nice though, as they were down early but staged a comeback to avoid the sweep. The they lost 2 0f 3 to Baltimore, as they blew leads in both losses when newcomer Eric Gagne imploded on both occasions. Leaving Baltimore that Sunday was arguably the season's low point after Gagne gave up the lead and the club fell in extra innings on a Kevin Millar walk off.
The team returned home to take 2 0f 3 from the Devil Rays thanks to solid pitching, but the team was still far from on track. After a day off, the team welcomed the LAA into the Fens for some revenge. The team split 4 games allowing the pinstripes to pull within 4 games in the division. Gagne once again blew a lead in the ninth in one of the two losses, but despite the lackluster play off late, the team welcomes a 10 game roadtrip that culminates at New York.
The good news is the team still has the best record in baseball and has solid pitching to go along with a potent lineup. The 4 game lead in the division seems more than 4, as good pitching usually beats good hitting. While the Yanks may have an even or slightly better lineup, it's the Red Sox superior pitching staff that should carry them into the playoffs with an AL East crown to show. Hopefully, they'll ascend soon and start to get hot as they near playoff time. The Red Sox are playing okay, it's just the Yanks are super hot. But expect them to cool off when the mighty staff of the good guys' faces them down the road. Red Sox Nation may seem a bit timid, by season's end we'll all laugh about this minor mishap. After all, they're a solid team with an incredible fan base!