Usually, my angst and upset over sports losses is reserved for Michigan State football or basketball, but this Detroit Tigers loss to Boston hurts almost as much as any setback the Spartans have had.
I'm still trying to absorb the fact that the Tigers blew a 5-1 lead with two outs in the eight inning and lost 6-5 to the Red Sox, in the process completely wasting a brilliant Max Scherzer pitching performance.
As great as Max was on the mound, the bottom of the eighth was a terrible nightmare from the deepest recesses of baseball Hell. I was so despondent and angry that I couldn't sleep until well after 1 o'clock AM, and whatever sleep I got was of the fitful variety. I know to some of you, this may sound completely ludicrous, but what can I say? I take this sports stuff pretty seriously sometimes. (Okay, maybe not quite as seriously as the mess our country is currently in--but damned close).
I can barely listen to the replay of the David Ortiz game-tying home run, whether it's the Red Sox or Tigers broadcast, without feeling almost sick to my stomach. I've avoided the sports pages and websites, only feeling some degree of comfort in commiseration with fellow distraught, sorrowful Tiger fans.
By now, the last two innings of the game have been analyzed and rehashed nine ways to Sunday, so I'll refrain from doing that (though I must say I don't fully buy Max Scherzer's contention that he couldn't pitch anymore after the seventh inning. Maybe he is indeed being 100 percent truthful, but part of me thinks he said that to protect his skipper, Jim Leyland).
I just wonder if the Tigers can recover from this. It feels like they lost twice last night, not just once. I suppose since they're professional athletes and do this stuff for a living, they should be able to bounce back better than us fans.
Welcome to the world of post-season baseball. It can be heartbreaking and ulcer-inducing. Fans spend upwards of four hours on pins and needles praying and pleading for their team's success. I suppose the only alternative is to have ones favorite team not good enough to qualify for the playoffs, thereby saving oneself from the pain of playoff defeat. But who really wants that?
Here's the first meme I have ever created, inspired by Torii Hunter's post game quote regarding how much he wanted to win a championship, "I'd die on the field for this." I think maybe I should have chosen a different photo, because this looks unintentionally humorous. This is supposed to celebrate Torii Hunter's grit and guts in trying to catch Ortiz's home run and flipping upside down over the fence in the process.
I hope the Tiger players can use this as inspiration in the next games of the American League Championship Series.
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