It's Not About Curses

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Do you believe in curses?

If so, please grab the nearest frying pan and smack yourself in the face.

Come on . . . there are no curses! So thats why Im not on board with David Ortizs comments after last nights game:

This f---ing team is cursed, he said, which is fitting since hes the only guy still around from a time when that word was used on the regular. But its still ridiculous. This is real life, Papi. Curses dont exist.

Still what happened last night was pretty eerie.

Its tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. There are two on with no one out, and Adrian Gonzalez steps to the plate. This is a guy who weve spent the last three and a half months killing for his inability to a) hit for power and b) step up in the moment. And on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Gonzalez did both, driving a three-run homer into the Monster Seats.

All things considered, this was probably the most uplifting moment of the Red Sox season. Sure, there have been other big hits, but not on a night like this. Not with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford back in the line-up, Dustin Pedroia only days away and the Red Sox finally in a position to compete with baseballs best. And forget that this home run had just likely won the game, the fact that it was hit by Gonzalez made it so much sweeter.

In that split second, everything was coming together.

Meanwhile, over at first base, David Ortiz was trying to get a read on the situation. Initially, he wasnt sure if the ball was going out, and you cant blame his instincts. Gonzalez had only hit two balls over the monster all season. So Ortiz waited.

After about a second, Papi realized thatif nothing elsethe ball wouldnt be caught. It was off the wall or over it. In either case, he needed to start running. So he put his head down, kicked into gear, rounded second base and at almost the very momentTHE VERY MOMENTthat Gonzalezs homer landed in the Monster seats, Papi came up lame.

He limped around the rest of the bases, walked gingerly back to the dugout and disappeared into the clubhouse. Obviously in legitimate pain.

Just like that, as fast as everything came together, it fell right back apart.

Now on the bright side, Ortiz's injury doesn't look that bad. It's not like he's lost for the season. But as much as you should want to look on the bright side, the will to do so is waning. How much can one team take? How much can one fanbase take? For a split second we were living the high lifethis team was becoming a teambefore being taken out at the knees by more heartbreak. Now we're back in the same state of limbo. Back to saying tired old phrases like, "Well, let's just wait and see how they'll be when everyone's healthy . . ."

But we're sick of waiting. We're sick of getting our hopes up for this team and then having them smashed to pieces by a sledgehammer. We'd love an explanation for why they can't catch a break. But it's not a stupid curse.

Its a spell.

You know what I mean? Not some voodoo curse BS. But actual magic. Some kind of real supernatural force that's standing between this team and their destiny.

How else can you explain what happened?

Nah, I'm kidding. It is a spell, but just a spell of really bad luck. One that we beter hope runs out before this curse stuff gains momentum.

We've been down that road before.

Rich can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrich_levine

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