And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work ’em woe :
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Five times I’ve been to see the Red Sox at Fenway South. Before the first time I went, the Red Sox had beaten the Orioles in thirteen straight meetings. Before the latest time I went, the Red Sox hadn’t lost a series to the Orioles in more than two years.
But I went. And they lost, won, lost, lost, and lost again.
I could take comfort in the idea that Gagne is clearly the goat, that Tito Francona chose to lose Sunday’s game when he pulled Okajima for Gagne in the eighth. The whole ballpark knew what was going to happen, the O’s fans cheered, the Sox fans booed. But the simple fact is that I am the Ancient Mariner and I shot the albatross.
An orphan’s curse would drag to hell
A spirit from on high ;
But oh ! more horrible than that
Is the curse in a dead man’s eye !
Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse,
And yet I could not die.
I could also take comfort in the fact that yesterday was a perfect Fenway day – in Baltimore. The warm air was alive with chants of “Let’s Go Red Sox,” the stands were filled with yet another record-breaking sellout and only a smattering of fans for the team that wasn’t the Sox, a Sam Adams was in my hand, a couple of slices of pizza served for a mid-game snack, and I witnessed a losing effort by the Boston Red Sox. Winners of the 2004 World Series. A team that has only missed the playoffs in one of the last five seasons. A team with the 2007 winningest record in baseball.
I was just like being in Boston. I showed up, the Sox lost. Best guess? I’m 1 for 8 in games I’m present for.
Maybe this is God’s way of telling me I should concentrate on the Phillies. They haven’t lost a game I was present at since 2005. Including Spring Training. And I’ve seen them really try to lose games.
A spring of love gushed from my heart,
And I blessed them unaware :
Sure my kind saint [will take] pity on me,
And I blessed them unaware.
— Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”