Cold Days in Hades

So I find myself in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the New York Yankees tonight when they play the Boston Red Sox. Please understand that I have never wished anything but plagues and poxes on those pinstriped goons from the north. I mean this as no slight to those residents of the great state of New York whom I know love their goons as much as I do mine. I simply have learned over the years that given the chance, that damn team from New York will come back from 20-0 in the bottom of the ninth to beat my beloved Texas Rangers. For this reason, and this reason alone, I find the New York Yankee's mere existence utterly unacceptable.

I have to say that Minnie is a real trooper during baseball season. I know that she does not really want to hear me babble away every night about baseball, but because it is important to me she patiently listens while I explain where "our" teams stand today. It is not that she is not a fan of the game, which she generally is. It is more that she does not consider following baseball to be as high of a priority as making sure that the bills are paid or that groceries are in the house.

The only time that Minnie's patience with my baseball craziness clearly wears thin is when I am forced by situations beyond my control to whoop, holler, cuss, or otherwise elevate my voice in the direction of a television, a radio, or my iPhone. I have found that this has the potential to rattle my lovely wife. Because I have learned over time that it is best not to rattle Minnie I do my best not to explode from the couch in baseball ecstasy or rage, though sometimes it seems that it would be easier for me to will my heart to stop beating than for me not to react to a great pitch, catch, or score.

So back to the uncomfortable position that I find myself in today. Those who follow the game understand that I am not so much hoping that those goons from New York win so much as I hope that Boston loses. If anyone is to blame, and they are, it is those damn Los Angeles Angels who appear to be unbeatable in the American League West this year. If my Texas Rangers can not catch the Angels their best chance to make it to the post season is for them to win the American League Wild Card race. This will require that they win more games in the next six weeks than do the Boston Red Sox or the Tampa Bay Rays. Needless to say, I will be on pins and needles until the end of September, frustrated with my team one day and ecstatic for them the next. But honestly, that is one of the many things that I love about the game. But just don't ask me to root for those damn Angels, until of course they play Boston next month.