Exiting The Doldrums

Dan:

So, I have not posted in a while. Truth be told, it has been hard to get excited during the first half of the baseball season the past few years. To this baseball fan, the first half has become the most boring part of the calendar year. Even when there is no baseball, it is still more exciting to be a baseball fan than during the first half. From Halloween through just after New Year's, you have the Hot Stove, which, let's face it, if your team is a player is the most exciting time of year outside of September and October. Then, after New Year's, you have the excitement of pondering your team's offseason moves, comparing them with the rest of the league, making predictions, and -- most exciting of all -- scouting for your fantasy team. But the first half? Like a straight-to-video Shannon Tweed flick, I just want to fast forward to the good parts.

I haven't always viewed the first half like this; it is more the product of the Red Sox recent success. Back before the Sox started winning championships, a successful first half was reason to celebrate. In 1999, I was actually dancing with glee by Memorial Day. And who could forget First Half MVP Carl Everett's Sox of 2000?

But nowadays, the Sox are supposed to be playoff contenders. You know they'll be in the thick of it come September, so we often spend the rest of the season now thinking "just get there already." I almost envy fans in Milwaukee, St. Louis, or Florida (if they had fans), who must be amped at where their team is right now. (Notice I didn't mention Tampa in that last sentence? F them.)

But here we are finally at the midway point of the season. And now it gets good. Despite an unsensational performance over the first half, the Sox are right where they should be: In the thick of it. They have a ton of young talent to play with come the trade deadline, and are poised to make The Run in the second half. So, while I wait for that to happen, here are some thoughts about recent events:

• When the Sox got swept in Tampa Bay and left for New York, I said I still feared the Yankees more then the Devil Rays. And then yesterday I noticed the Sox were five games back. Today it is four games, but take a look at the loss column (six games back). I still don't think Tampa will be there come late September, and I still fear the Yanks more, but if we continue to dig ourselves a hole . . .

• The game the Sox lost to the Yanks, when -- down by one -- they loaded the bases with no outs, and then had Crisp, Varitek and Lugo squander the game, was one of the most disappointing games in recent memory. I didn't even watch Lugo's at-bat.

• How good must the fans in Milwaukee be feeling right now? Plagued by injuries and a disappointing start, six weeks ago everyone was writing their obituary. Now, despite all of that, they find themselves just four games behind the first-place Cubs, who have enjoyed a great first half, and they just acquired C.C. Sabathia. And here's a little secret: The Cubs aren't as good as everyone is making them out to be. Pass it on. I am really looking forward to the Brewers winning that division.