There were even high-fives up in the owner's box after the Sox wiped out the Yankees. After the Sox hit four consecutive homers in Sunday night's 7-6 win, there was awe and celebration. Why not? This stuff doesn't happen every day.
Got to kick the Yankees while they're down, because you might not have that chance again. The Red Sox did that in three highly emotional games. You can't pull that emotion out of your back pocket every day.
You're human.
Then comes the hangover.
Toronto came to town last night, and all of a sudden the electric atmosphere around the ballpark was flickering. The spark of the previous three games was gone. Doesn't mean it won't come back tonight or in Baltimore tomorrow night or in New York over the weekend. But you could feel it as early as 3:30 p.m., when the clubhouse opened to the media. Something was missing.
Apparently, some players were being randomly drug-tested on this day, which is not unusual in major league clubhouses. David Ortiz did a book signing at the South Shore Plaza. There were still questions floating around about the Yankee conquest. It was a new day, but there hadn't really been enough time to get the euphoria out of your head.
The Sox knew the Blue Jays were on a five-game losing streak and a win meant everything to them and probably not as much to Boston. Even with a loss, the Sox are 12-6.
"It was a lethargic day," said a very frank Doug Mirabelli, who went 2 for 3. "It didn't feel like we had the energy we had against New York. It didn't seem like we had anything going. Sometimes you don't have it every single day. A little blah today."
That was it in a nutshell.
He was the only guy who seemed to size up the day precisely. "Blah" is a great word to describe it. Mirabelli even acknowledged that his errant throw to third base trying to catch Vernon Wells stealing set "the wrong tone" for the game.
But Mirabelli's teammates wouldn't go where he did.
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