Soxtober

In the name of parity on on the blog, I suggested that Zeb post a blog on the Red Sox. He declined my suggestion, but he did agree to give a rare interview on the topic. Enjoy. My notes are in italics.

HAE: Your Red Sox just won the ALCS…give us an idea of where your head is at right now?
ZBE: In the land of joy. I can’t believe my boys did it. It had to have been the cards (Zeb's newest ritual of displaying baseball cards of the entire team in front of the TV during the game, also, I'm not allowed to touch the remote during a game, for any reason), it had to have been the soxtober shirt (an iron on sweatshirt that I fabricated for Zeb, pictured above), it had to be Heather rooting for the sox (I was not technically rooting for the Sox...maybe a little, but only because when they lose it is really unfortunate to be around Zeb, it was really all about self preservation.) It all just came together today.

HAE: Can we talk about your superstitions? What are they, how do they work & how do you know when to use them?
ZEB: I have a supersition about everytime the pitcher gets behind in the count, I have to rub my knuckles together until they even the count. I had to bring out the 2007 team baseball cards and I set them up by the TV in batting order. I always put the starting pitcher in the leadoff spot, because the pack didn’t come with Dustin Pedroia, and I always end with Paplebon. That has been some good vibes. When we’re hitting, and when the count is even, and if I’m sitting down, I always put my left leg up on my right, and then I switch legs. If that doesn’t work, I lay down on the couch, and same thing if laying down isn’t working. I always wear the shirt of the pitcher. I don’t have a Beckett shirt, or a Wakefield shirt, so I wear either the American Leauge East shirt or the Manny Ramirez shirt on those days. I never wear a hat during the game.

HAE: Give us your highs and lows of the ALCS?
ZBE: The first low is when Trot Nixon hit the double in the 11th inning of the 2nd game. That pissed me off, and they pretty much opened up and took the next two games from us. Even when we were losing, I just keep thinking we’ve done it before, we can do it again. I really just wanted the team to get it back to Fenway, because I knew we could win both games there if we had the chance. Definitely the first high is watching Beckett dominate in his two starts. How dominante he was against the powerful Indians lineup was magical. Watching our lineup destroy C.C. and Fausto was amazing to see.

HAE: What is the turning point of this series that sticks out in your mind?
ZBE: Probably Beckett’s game 5 start, and the fact that he was just a force to be reconed with. Ryan Garko made his comments, and it really did wake up the giants in Fenway. That same game you have Beckett and his competitive edge against Kenny Lofton. Lofton should have been respecting the game more, and Beckett wasn’t afraid to let him know.

HAE: What are the great individual player performances of this post season?
ZBE: Game 7 Dustin Pedroia. He hit a 2 run homer, a 3 run double after all the crap the media talked about how much he was struggling. He came back and he’s batting
well over .300 now. You have Kevin Youk. Everyone was talking about Peralta and all that he was doing, but Youk flew under the radar. He had 3 homers and a batting average of over .500. How does he do it?

HAE: Speaking of your superstitions again, do you have any new plans for the World Series?
ZBE: I’m going to the World Series. (doubtful)

HAE: Can you talk a little bit about the loud clap?
ZBE: I don’t have a loud clap. (Yes he does, very loud) It’s more or less just my fan clap that I have when I want someone to do good. It could be a 2-clap, or it could be a fast series of claps, but it has to all keep the same tone (yeah, the same tone, LOUD).

HAE: The Colorado Rockies have been hot, are you worried?
ZBE: Nope.

HAE: Give us your predictions for the World Series? Keys to victory for Boston?
ZBE: I definitely think that our 3 and 4 starters need to pound the strike zone and let the defense take over. Keeping the bottom of our lineup hot and getting on base will be huge. Keeping Jacoby in there I think is definitely a smart decision. Prediction is Boston in 5.

HAE: In 2004 you threatened to sell your Honda Civic and fly to Boston, do we have anything to be worried about this year?
ZBE: We have enough in savings to take care of it. (not hardly)