Half-Full: Behind Enemy Lines

*** A special contribution by Mike From Amherst

Behind Enemy Lines

I’ve spent the last three months behind enemy lines. I have been temporarily transferred to my company’s home plant in Massachusetts. In my time up here I’ve endured plenty of heartache as most of you in Northern Ohio have, it’s just that mine has been rubbed in my nose pretty much every waking moment. It basically starts as I get in my car and turn on the radio on my way to work, continues at work while being taunted by my co-workers, in my temporary residence while watching TV, and pretty much anytime I go past a store-front or pick up a newspaper.

I’ve been with my company for a little over 7 years and in my time I’ve befriended quite a few of the people who work out of the Massachusetts plant. I used to like them a lot more prior to 2004. You see prior to them getting the World Series monkey off of their back they were very similar to Cleveland fans in regards to their outlook of the Sox. They seemed to have the glass half empty outlook that seems to permeate the Cleveland sports talk radio scene. It was great talking sports with my Northeastern counterparts because we both had the same expectations and could commiserate about our most memorable baseball collapses. Then 2004 happened and with the lifting of the curse of the bambino their glass half empty outlook quickly changed to the glass half full. Nothing drove that home more than the ALCS this year. Almost to a person the Sox fans never felt like they were out of the Series with the Tribe. Most actually felt that they had the Tribe right where they wanted them even going into Game 5. They figured even down 3-1 that they had Beckett throwing lights out ball for game 5 and that they would then head back to Fenway to close it out. It was at that moment that it dawned on me what winning a championship in one’s lifetime will do for your outlook.
Jinx?

I left Cleveland on August 27th. At that time the Tribe was 75-57 .561. Through the remainder of the regular season they were 24-9 .727 and on the brink of a World Series birth. It was then that it dawned on me that the last time I spent prolonged time out of Cleveland was from 1994-1998 while I was away in the Service. During my combined time away from Cleveland the Tribe is 464-310 .599. Dating back to 1975 the record of the Tribe while I am in Cleveland; 2123-2310 .478. I’m thinking about shooting Mark Shapiro an email and requesting an all expense paid trip out of Cleveland from next April – November.

Missed / Don’t Miss

The biggest regret not being home was missing the experience and atmosphere of a serious play-off run in Cleveland. The one thing that I am grateful for being away from Cleveland is that I don’t get Cleveland Rants up here and thus have to listen to the BSK. Only the BSK could somehow make Les Levine seem tolerable to me.

Paul Sorrento

Is it just me or does Casey Blake remind anyone of Paul Sorrento? No, not that they play the same position or even hit from the same side of the plate, but rather that they seem to have the same stats at the end of a year coupled with every time either one of them comes or came to the plate I think rally over.

Trade?

Would you trade Asdrubal Cabrera, Adam Miller and a couple of other top prospects for potentially the best pitcher in baseball and a World Series MVP at 3B? The Red Sox are perceived to be able to buy their way to a World Series ala the NY Yankees, however the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell trade may have been the move that got them back to being World Champions.