Comments | dxmachina: Scapegoat

dxmachina

Scapegoat

Jan 26, 2005 23:59

I spent October 25th, 1986, in the basement of the First Ward Hose Company in Morristown, NJ, the volunteer fire company of which my brother was captain at the time. We were there for his bachelor party. It was a pretty low key party, basically just a bunch of guys playing cards, shooting pool, and swigging beer, all with the TV over in the corner ( Read more... )

baseball, reminiscence

Comments 5

veejane January 27 2005, 08:47:05 UTC

I was clicking around for a while last night and saw and early-innings at-bat of Buckner's. He hit a crap ground ball and was out at first, and as he jogged back toward the dugout, I was like, THIS guy is not on the disabled list?? He looked terrible, knees bent, ankles wobbly, and shoulders hunched like it hurt him just to take a step.

My understanding of Red Sox history is that somewhere in all the blame there lies a dislike of Clemens, for coming out of the game early (what, 5th inning?). I suspect this is retro-blame, and if he hadn't (a) gone eventually to the Yankees, and (b) opened his yap too often, nobody would remember or care that he'd been the starting pitcher that night.

It's weird how momentum works. The Reds lose a white-knuckle game in 1975, and the next day win it. The Sox lose another white-knuckle game in 1986, and are so demoralized they lose the next day. Game 7 of this ALCS, it felt like the Yankees had somehow conceded the game before it started.

dxmachina January 27 2005, 10:55:14 UTC

Buckner actually had a pretty entertaining game until he made the error. On one play, he leapt up onto the rolled up tarp by the side of the field trying to chase down a pop foul in the stands. Scully said it reminded him of Gene Kelly's curb dance in Singing in the Rain. Buckner also tried to pull off a hidden ball play on Backman, catching a pickoff throw, and then starting to run towards the dugout as though the ball had gotten by him. Backman didn't bite. And in the top of the tenth, he was hit by a pitch. All in all, an eventful evening for Mr. Buckner ( ... )

hecubot January 27 2005, 11:31:33 UTC

I watched that game from beginning to end - also at a party, evenly split between Mets and Red Sox partisans.

It was a given among Sox fans that Clemens was less reliable in the clutch than Bruce Hurst. He had that reputation from the beginning - and history has borne that out. Just that Clemens put intense pressure on himself in the big games, such that he sometimes completely lost his shit.

In the game itself, I always felt that the tying run given up by the Stanley/Gedman missed ball was much more important than the roller that went through Buckner's legs. By that time it all had a sick inevitability, but the tying run was when the tide turned. Last tidbit, Kevin Mitchell had also given up and gone down to change in the locker room when he got called up to pinch hit. He was half naked so he grabbed his pants and ran up and took a swing at the first pitch. He didn't have his jock or cup on - totally commando.

dxmachina January 27 2005, 11:37:29 UTC

I totally agree about the missed ball. It also allowed Knight to get into scoring position.

veejane January 28 2005, 10:45:24 UTC

It was a given among Sox fans that Clemens was less reliable in the clutch than Bruce Hurst.

I will say, if ever you are looking for the face of heartbreak, take a gander at Hurst in the dugout in the late innings of game 7. He did his damnedest, and had to sit there and watch it all fall apart.