When I first set out to write for the Couch today, I wanted to somehow convey my disappointment in the recent play of the Red Sox. It's not that I am giving up on the current season, but that it seems all too familiar. You see, this year was going to be different. Before the season even started I decided I would not immerse myself to the degree I normally do. Summer nights would not be spent hanging on every pitch. Trips and events would not be planned around Sox games. I would spend more time with my friends, exercise, and maybe pick up a hobby. I joined a new softball team, devoted myself much more to physical fitness, and took up running. Each year I buy tickets before the season, and this year I purchased far fewer games than I normally do.

Fast forward, and by mid- July the team was performing wonderfully, and it was time to get excited. After attending 2 Sox- Yankees games at Fenway in late- July, and after the team made some aggressive deals just prior to the trading deadline, not only was I hooked to the same degree that I was in previous years, but so was the national media. You could not visit any website or watch any sports television show without hearing that the Red Sox, even though they were still 2 games out of first place, were the team to beat in the American League. It was hard not to get caught up in the giddiness. Here I am a month later, and the memories of why I looked to curtail my interest are flooding back in. Sox fan know the feeling. Call it a curse, heartbreak, disappointment, whatever, but you know it.

There are two methods I could use to convey my disappointment: one, the analytical, where I diagnose the current team’s problems, or, b, compare and contrast, where, using some of the more painful examples from recent seasons, I show that this type of performance is not a trend, but reality for this franchise. After typing a few paragraphs and realizing how much it sounded like I was brooding (I AM!), I remembered that this web page is supposedly above that. Instead of joining in the negativity that the real media will surely be selling when you open up your morning newspaper, I am going to tell two quick stories that achieve my original goal of portraying my disappointment, but in a much less negative manner.

Story 1:
It’s a steamy August night at the ballpark, and the Sox have seem to have finally emerged from their recent collective slump. They’ve left a bunch of runners on base, but they've also collected 6 runs and 12 hits in the process. Since most of the 6 runs were scored in a thrilling 2 out rally in the 4th inning, the crowd is delighted. The Yankees already won earlier in the day and now lead the division by 7 games. Tonight's opponent, the Oakland A’s, are fast becoming the best option for a scoreboard watching target, as they currently lead the A.L. Wildcard race by 1 game. The night wears on and the A’s chip away against Tim Wakefield and the Sox bullpen. In the 8th, ahead 6-4, the Sox call on closer Byung-Hyun Kim, a curious move since Mike Timlin had faced only one batter and retired him in an economical fashion to end the 7th. But this is the new Sox bullpen, built to beat even over-management. Regressing to the profile of this year’s early season team, BK promptly allows the opposition to creep within 1 run. The crowd appropriately grows restless, and a guy in our row yells in a booming voice, ‘YOU GUYS ARE RUINING MY SUMMAHHH!’ Touché, Amen, Hallelujah- I hear you buddy. Eventually BK squanders the lead and Grady Little mercifully calls for another reliever. Helpless, all that is left for me is to yell, ‘COME ON, YOU'RE RUINING HIS SUMMER!’

things were different back in 1918

Story 2:
At almost every family get- together, one of my relatives refers to Bill Liter, a neighbor who spent 50 years as a Red Sox fan, then decided enough was enough. He had experienced too much heartache and disappointment over the years, and it was time to move on. We lived in Connecticut, which consists of Yankees, Mets and Red Sox fans, with the degree of popularity in that order, the Yankees being the most popular. Mr. Liter became a Mets fan. The Yankees are too close to the Red Sox and he knew that to root for them would be almost criminal. The Mets were the obvious choice. In a cruel twist of fate, perhaps as a test for him, the Sox and Mets played in the 1986 World Series, but he kept his loyalties with them, and we all know how that turned out. So whenever I hear this story, I don't know if my family is trying to goad me into changing my affiliation, testing my mettle, or just delighted to see me squirm. They know I am a diehard, tried and true Sox fan. If I had a penny for each time I heard this story over the years, I would have enough to sign a utility player. I am not ready to join Mr. Liter in changing my affiliation to another team, but each year it gets a little less appalling to me. Part of the lure of sports is the ups and downs, and if you can't weather the hard times, and you start changing your devotion to other teams, you are not a true fan. However, when the team is the Boston Red Sox, where the same result is played out seemingly forever, the strength of that ideology can start to diminish.

By no means is it time to give up on the 2003 season. There is still time for things to click, but the dreaded feeling is here and it does not seem like it is going away. Hopefully the team did not peak after taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees in late- July. The next two weeks feature games almost exclusively against contending teams. We will know a lot more soon, but at this point it does not look good.

Along with ‘working hard or hardly working,’ a common cliché is ‘the only sure things are death and taxes.’ Go to any local restaurant at 4 p.m. approach one of the elderly diners, and I am sure you’ll hear both of these sayings (and most likely many more.) It is time to amend the latter cliché. Let’s add ‘increases in Fenway ticket prices’ and ‘the Sox late- season collapse’ to the list of sure things!