|
Editor's note: Now
that his beloved Boston Red Sox have finally exorcised
the hovering spectre of Babe Ruth from Fenway Park and
the franchise, Coach Keith LeClair has announced he will
end his one-year foray into baseball writing to pursue a
more important calling. LeClair, sidelined by Lou
Gehrig's Disease three years ago, has demonstrated in
35 "From The Dugout" columns
penned since September of 2003 that he is as proficient
at spinning an interesting baseball article as he is at
coaching a championship team. He plans to focus his
writing skills in the future on authoring Christian
devotionals. |
|
|
|
From The Dugout
By Keith LeClair
©2004 Bonesville.net
What
curse?
Hey, Mr. Ruth: Boston
wins, Boston wins! The Bostonians are going crazy. Who would have ever
thought the Sox could have won eight in row?
Could I be dreaming or is
this real? Somebody hurry, pinch me, hit me, I don't care, just make
sure I am still alive and this isn't some "Field of Dreams" movie being
played in heaven. No it's official, they are flipping cars and tearing
down light posts in Boston, so I am still alive.
Wow! What a couple of
great weeks of late-October baseball. Could there be any possible better
script to write putting the curse to rest? The Sox were down three games
to zip to the Yankees, just coming off a 19-8 massacre and having to
turn around and play the next day. The Yanks have the champagne on ice,
the boss is tickled pink, and even GM Brian Cashman is seen smiling.
Meanwhile, the Boston fans
are ready to fire manager Terry Francona and settle for another
heartbreaking year heading into the winter season. But wait, Curt
Schilling comes up with the slogan, "Keep the Faith", and pitch by
pitch, out by out, inning by inning and game by game, the scraggly
looking weekend softball team comes back from the dead and leaves the
$200 million bionic team speechless. You know that the boss was spitting
nails over that one.
So it's onto the World
Series, to take on the red hot Cardinals, which was suppose to be a
seven-game thriller. What happened? The Sox managed to commit eight
errors in the first two games and still win. My man Schilling, with ALS
written on the side of his blood-soaked sock, gave the most
gutsy-wrenching performance I have ever seen. The message on his sock
served to help bring awareness to Lou Gehrig's disease.
Was it not like you were
watching the movie, "The Natural"? How many guys wouldn't have packed it
in after his performance in Game Two versus the Yankees? I can answer
that — zip.
In my opinion, his
determination and will to win woke the Boston dugout up and spurred the
rally to come back. From that point on, I think the Bosox believed in
one another and were destined to win it all. And the rest of the story
is history, leaving many to say — What curse? Babe who?
OK, I better not get
carried away, because it could be another hundred years before it
happens again.
Well, all that's left now
is a big ole goat roaming around the streets of Chicago. Good luck
Cubbie fans. I am pulling for you and have felt your pain. But not
anymore. As of 11:23 p.m. on October 27th, 2004, my pain is gone.
Hey, Mr. Francona, I have
to apologize to you for
busting your chops at the All-Star
break. You managed one heckuva comeback and World Series.
One thing, though. Tell
your guys to get a haircut and shave before next season.
If you
have a question or comment about the Pirates in particular or baseball
in general, get a learned response by firing your best pitch at Ol'
Condo. Submit your
message by clicking the following e-mail link:
E-mail Coach LeClair.
02.23.07 10:27 AM
|