Sports Redux: West Coast Woes

In the winter of 1846-47, a party of 33 settlers, led by brothers Jacob and George Donner, ran into a snowstorm in the Sierra Mountains. After a few months of ox-slaughtering and shivering, fifteen of them set off to find some help. They, of course, famously got caught in a blizzard and had to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.

This historical tidbit is meant merely to provide perspective, and reflect that this week's Sox series in Oakland is, at worst, the second most unpleasant trip to California in the nation's history. Nobody's had to eat Kyle Snyder yet.

Not to say it's not getting bad. The Red Sox continue to all-of-a-sudden not do things they were doing so well for so long, like get men on base, get them (and here's the really sticky point) home, or feast on weak pitchers who they've handled in the past.

If it sounds like we're only blaming the offense today...well, 3 runs given up by Wakefield ought to still be a win. But the team is resolutely ignoring old Willie Keeler's advice to "hit it where they ain't". Not to say their situational hitting is bad this week, but someone dropped a quarter in the dugout last night and Eric Chavez picked it up and turned a double play with it.

So at what point do we panic? You do all have your panic buttons in accessible locations, right? It's still a nine game lead over Toronto, and it's still 10 1/2 over you know who. So let's take a deep breath and hope this malaise goes away soon.

Maybe things will turn around today; Terry Francona blew up at the umpires after a series of shaky calls and was granted the rest of the night off. Will that light a fire under the team? Curt Schilling and Joe Blanton will try to settle that at 3:30.

Back home, in Foxborough, Randy Moss addressed the media for the first time about being a Patriot, and summed up sports fandom in one sentence. "When you're winning everything is good. When you're losing everything is bad," he said. You'll fit right in here, we think.

Grumbled congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks, who are Mighty once again, hoisting the Stanley Cup after their 6-2 drubbing of Ottawa. If only someone in Anaheim were familiar with the logistics of putting on a parade...

Donner Party image from Legends of America.