THE RED SOX ARE THREE OUTS AWAY FROM VANQUISHING THE YANKEES AND GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!

[Knock on wood repeatedly.]

Boston leads 10-3. Mike Timlin still pitching. We now resume the countdown…

THREE OUTS AWAY: Matsui up.

STILL THREE OUTS AWAY: Matsui singles. Bernie Williams up.

TWO OUTS AWAY: Ground ball from Williams, Matsui forced out at second. A double-play would end it…

ONE OUT AWAY: Pop out. HOLY SH*T! ONE OUT AWAY!!! ONE OUT AWAY!!!!!

STILL ONE OUT AWAY: Lofton walks. Runners on first and second, two outs. A force at any base (except home) would end it. Olerud up next. Timlin is taken out, Embree comes in.

IMHO, this is where they should have brought in Pedro… so he could get the final out of the series. Oh, well. It’s Embree vs. Olerud.

Eeeeeek. Anticipation nearing fever pitch. When will this commercial be over? Aaahh!!

HERE WE GO: Ruben Sierra pinch hitting for Olreud. The clock just struck midnight in New York.

IT’S ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! RRRRRRREEEEEEDDDDDD SSSSSSSOOOOOOXXXXXX WWWWWWIIIIIINNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s still 9-3. Boston is three outs away from the World Series. Only a Red Sox fan could feel like a six-run lead with three outs to go is a tenuous advantage, hanging by a thread… yet that’s exactly how I feel… these are the Red Sox, those are the Yankees, a collapse is still possible… c’mon Sox, c’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon…

BASE HIT NIXON!!! Woohoo!! Nobody out, runner on first!

UPDATE: First and third, one out. Insurance runs are good!

10-3: Trot trots home on a sacrifice fly! Two outs, and a seven-run lead!

THUGS: A Yankees fan just hurled a baseball at Damon from the stands and almost hit him. There’s nothing like a sore loser…

[Knock on wood with regard to the word “loser”…]

Inning over. On to the bottom of the ninth!

(See new post above.)

The Red Sox are six outs away from the greatest comeback in sports history, and their first trip to the World Series in 18 years!

[Knock on wood! Knock on wood! Knock on wood!]

And now let us begin the countdown…

SIX OUTS AWAY: Bottom of the eighth, nobody out, Derek Jeter up. Mike Timlin pitching.

FIVE OUTS AWAY: Jeter grounds out on a great defensive play by the Sox!

Now let us hope the five-outs-away curse doesn’t get us…

A-Hole up. Strike him out!

FOUR OUTS AWAY: WOOHOO! A-HOLE STRIKES OUT! Hopefully that was the cheater’s last at-bat of the season! [Knock on wood again!]

Now Sheffield up.

THREE OUTS AWAY!!! Unless the Yankees score six runs in the ninth, they’re toast… the biggest chokers in sports history… and the Red Sox move on… KNOCK ON WOOD TEN THOUSAND MILLION TIMES!!!

On to the ninth! (Updates will continue in a new post above.)

What on earth was Pedro Martinez doing pitching the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS when the Red Sox were up by seven, when he ought to be resting up to start Game 1 of the World Series (knock on wood!) on Saturday? I mean, seriously!

Oh, well. Thank God he only gave up two runs, and pray to God he won’t be coming back for the eighth. I love Pedro, but seriously!

WOOHOO!!! Bellhorn just hit a solo home run! 9-3 Sox! Well, now I feel a little better. :)

Six outs away…

@messaging.sprintpcs.comUm, why the hell is Pedro in there? Are we TRYING to re-enact last year’s Game 7? Did we WANT the crowd to get back into the game? Because we just succeeded. And now he’s given up three hits and two runs. 8-3 Sox. Holy crap. TAKE PEDRO OUT.

@messaging.sprintpcs.comThere’s a fat man singing… does this mean it’s over? :)

@messaging.sprintpcs.comDamon AGAIN! 8-1 Sox! … Here is the ‘birthday’ cake that Becky’s mom made me. :) Hehe. Go Sox!

Johnny Damon is back!!!

A GRAND SLAM!!!

6-0 Red Sox!!!

But, uh, let’s keep piling on the runs, shall we, fellas? I won’t feel comfortable until we’re up, oh I dunno, 20-0. These are still the Yankees. And these are still the Red Sox. :)

That said… this is awesome! I BELIEVE!! GO SAWX!!!

Midway through the second inning, Red Sox by six.

Red Sox take the early lead, 2-0! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: David Ortiz is God!

It could be 3-0 if the third-base coach hadn’t foolishly sent Johnny Damon home on the preceding play. (He was thrown out at the plate.) But then again, had Damon been on third, I suppose the pitcher’s midset would have been different, and he wouldn’t have thrown the same pitch, and Ortiz might not have hit it out. A butterfly flaps its wings…

Anyway, first inning over, Sox up 2-0.

@messaging.sprintpcs.comCardinals win it!! Walk-off home run by Jim Edmonds in the bottom of the 12th. For the second year in a row — and the second time ever — both League Championship Series are going to a seventh game!

@messaging.sprintpcs.comListening to Astros-Cardinals on the car radio. Tied 4-4 through 11 innings. Have there ever been such thrilling LCSes in both leagues, two years in a row?? Wow! … Below, Robbie (in the car with me) sticks out his tongue at the camera. :)

Isn’t this a little premature? :)

(Hat tip: Froogle.)

Incidentally, Becky and I will be watching Game 7 from the comfort of her parents’ house, on their big-screen TV, but alas, without access to wireless Internet. That means my live-blogging may not be as extensive as it was yesterday, but I’ll do what I can.

GO RED SOX!!!

UPDATE: ESPN has a good pitching run-down of who’s available and who’s not.

They also have great articles about this “Game 7 for the Ages” and the possibility of the worst choke ever.

And, of course, they’ve got the in-progress box score of Astros-Cardinals Game 6. Right now, it’s 4-3 Cards in the sixth.

When the Sox and Yankees get underway in just under two hours, that box score will be here.

Can we elect John Kerry president but keep Laura Bush as first lady?

Please?

A bad sign? LOL.