Fenway Drama

As I was leaving work last night, Boston and New York were tied at four runs a piece in the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 5. The intensity of the game had been steadily growing, reaching a point where it was nearly too much to bear. Could I really handle the stress of yet another leadoff hit by a Yankee slugger? I missed the rest of the six-hour, fourteen-inning battle, but around midnight, I sneaked a peek on the web to discover Boston had eked out another win.

The last three games of the ALCS, in historical Fenway Park, have been epic. The Red Sox seemed doomed after Game 3, when the Yankees smacked them silly with nineteen runs and took a three-game lead in the best-of-seven series. The last two games have been dramatic extra-inning struggles where the underdogs have needed every ounce of fight to triumph over the favorites.

On Sunday, I missed the beginning of Desperate Housewives to watch Episode 4 of Desperate Red Sox. It was Boston's half of the ninth inning. They were down by a run and three outs from elimination. Dave Roberts, a pinch runner, was on first base with nobody out. Along with every fan in Fenway, I held my breath and hoped for a miracle.

Roberts stole second and then Billy Mueller, the former Giants third baseman, spanked a single through Mariano Rivera, the untouchable closer, to tie up the game. Hope and anxiety rose with every pitch. The Red Sox failed to score again in the inning. It would take three excruciating innings before David Ortiz hit a two-run homer to keep Boston alive another day. Ortiz has been the man to rescue the Red Sox from certain extinction the last two nights. His single drove in yesterday's winning run.

How long can the Red Sox elude elimination at the hands of the Evil Empire? Can the injured Curt Schilling, the seemingly only clean-shaven member of their team, return to his regular season form and save the day? Will Jon Lieber again shut down Boston's big bats and secure New York's umpteenth trip to the World Series? Will the wild-maned leadoff man, Johnny Damon, finally break out of his 2-for-24 slump? The series returns to Yankee Stadium for Game 6 tonight. I can't wait to see what happens.