Do I sense a spark?

Apparently the Red Sox haven’t given up. It would have been very easy to. I know I almost did a couple times myself. The Sox though? They hung in there when it got a little dicey like great teams do.

Imagine. In the top of the very first inning, you give one of the best pitchers in the game a run. Before he even throws a pitch, he has the lead. What happens in the bottom of the inning? Jon Lester gives up four runs. If that’s not deflating, I don’t know what is. If that’s not a reason to throw in the towel and wait until next year, I don’t know what is. But, the Sox didn’t do that. They hung in there. They clawed their way back. Finally, using everyone in the batting order, they exploded. They grabbed the lead, and didn’t give it back. That’s what you need to see from a payoff team. That’s what needs to happen when the two teams you’re chasing win.

Of course, none of that matters if Dice-K doesn’t go out and do his part tonight. The gutsy effort needs to lead to something. There needs to be a string of victories. The time where the Sox can just win series is past. They need some sweeps. A lot of sweeps. How about a homestand sweep? They’ve certainly done that before. Why not now? Do that, and they’re right back in the race.

Just win.