Come Back, Baby, Come Back

Who'd've thunk it after that 19-8 drubbing on Saturday? The Red Sox coming back to win two back-to-back extra inning marathons and tonight putting a stitched-together pitcher on the mound and getting two unheard of umpire reversals in their favor to take the playoffs to a seventh game? Incredible!

I went ballistic in the bottom of the eighth when on an easy come-backer, Arroyo failed to get A-Rod out at first and Jeter scored. "You cannot blow that play! You practice and practice until you can make that play every time even in Little League!" I complained (okay, I was shouting), while the boys looked on with concern. "A major league ballplayer cannot mess up that play!"

Oops, not the best object lesson in sportsmanship and fine parenting. Then I saw the replay again and again, showing not only that Rodriquez had swiped at Arroyo's glove, knocking the ball from his hand, but that the first base umpire was waving him fair when he hadn't come close to touching first base.

Unbelievably, the umpire crew reversed the call, sent Jeter back to first, and called A-Rod out. I was flabbergasted. I had never seen the umpires make a reversal like that. Like millions of Red Sox fans, I expected that play to be the beginning of the Red Sox predestined unraveling. I had seen it too many times before.

I explained it all to the boys. They looked relieved to see Dad not only calming down, but approximating the father they know. Well, at least until the Red Sox won and we all started screaming and dancing and giving high fives while Justin chanted, "Reverse the curse!" and mooned the Yankees.

Also not our greatest display of sportsmanship.

But mighty satisfying, nevertheless.