Editor’s note: NESN.com is going to tell the story of the 2012 Red Sox in Bobby Valentine’s words. Each game day, we will select the best Valentine quote that sums up the day for the Red Sox.
This is what it used to be like to root for the Boston Red Sox.
This is what it was like before the team won it all in 2004, before they won it again in 2007, before everyone forgot what it meant to suffer through the heartache of a game like this one. Despite every twist and turn, in the bottom of every fan’s heart of hearts there was only one way for this game to end, and it was with a Red Sox loss.
Mike Trout is not Aaron Boone, mind you, and the Red Sox season isn’t over. But it’s hard to turn the other cheek after this latest devastating loss and to pretend that things aren’t different this year for the Sox. That they aren’t quite what they used to be.
“We’re playing [expletive], [expletive] baseball,” Alfredo Aceves said after the loss on Thursday night. That’s not quite fair, considering the heart that the team showed in this one. But it’s pretty darn close.
The Red Sox had every chance to wrest control of the game away from Los Angeles. Instead, they handed it right back to the Angels every time. And if you were surprised by any of this, then you haven’t been paying close enough attention this year.
Gone are the days when the Sox can coast to victory on their incredible talent; the dynasty that was hinted at in 2007 is not here. What is left, however, is nothing to be ashamed of, even if it takes a little while to get used to again.
“There’s no quit in this team,” Bobby Valentine rightly pointed out after the game. “I was real proud of the guys.”
Pride is one thing that could have been in short demand around Fenway. Instead, the Red Sox are still fighting. They scratch and claw, tooth and nail, and they labor for each and every win. That shouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing — that’s just baseball.
The Red Sox showed many things about themselves on Thursday night. They showed that they are capable of great things, yet they showed that they are flawed. Ultimately, they showed that they are not a good baseball team right now.
But more importantly, they also showed that they still have heart.
The Red Sox could have deflated after coughing out a six-run lead in the third inning. Instead, they battled back, retaking the lead before blowing it again. All of which felt completely appropriate, considering how things have gone this year.
This is what it used to be like to root for the Boston Red Sox. In case you’d forgotten… welcome back.
