A Wild 17

When sports turn weird I get interested.  It's generally tough for me to get pulled in to a baseball game in mid-July, especially one involving the Red Sox and Rays, but last night was an exception.  Truth be told, I didn't even really start watching the game intently until the 11th inning, but I began glancing at it when it was the background entertainment at a friends bar-b-que.  As the innings rolled by in a 0-0 tie we began to notice it a little more until I decided to take my leave at the end of the ninth when the Rays failed to score.  I commented offhandedly as I gathered my things, "this thing could go 16 innings so I better leave now." I couldn't have imagined that my guess would be short.

When I clicked on the game back at home the teams were mid-way throught he 11th and the announcers were already becoming slightly punch drunk.  It had already been a long game, especially for a scoreless one, and by the beginning of the 14th it was the longest game time-wise in Rays history (5 hours and change I think was the record).  I mention all this because I think what happened last night is the reason I watch sports in the first place.  It's nice to see a diving catch or a towering home run, but unless there is something more on the line for a team other than another win or loss in a 162 marathon, I'm just not going to invest the time.  But like the Isner/Muhat Wimbledon Match that went like 9 hours in the 5th set, the sheer length of this game became the stakes.  Sure the win or loss would matter to both teams in the tight American League East, but with the clock nearing 2am when a Dustin Pedroia opposite field single finally drove in a run that would become the decider, the game had seemed to transcend it's normal meaning.  It caused me wonder why Soccer doesn't leave time to find a true winner in decisive matches like the Womens World Cup Final this week.  Can you imagine how much more exciting a goal in the 7th or 8th Extra time would've been when everyone is beyond exhaustion compared to the lame penalty kick round that crowned Japan the winner?  

Despite the seemingly higher stakes for the players, everything else about the telecast becomes interesting in a game like this.  It's interesting to check out the 8 or 10,000 die hard fans who stayed within a few hours of having to wake up for work with their bleary yawns belying their exhaustion.  Those same fans still stood to chant and clap every time a Rays pitcher dug in for a 2 strike, 2 out pitch.  The punch drunk announcers became more fun as well with nothing else to talk about besides the delayed flight that might not be able to get the Sox to Baltimore in time for tonight's game (it did and they beat up on the Orioles despite no sleep).  At one point they joked that the game should be decided with penalty hits and then began describing an Islander playoff hockey game in 1987 known as the Easter Epic that went 7 periods before Pat Lafontaine scored the game winning goal.  The announcer recalled that Bill Clement tied his tie around his head by the 3rd overtime.  

When it was all said and done the Rays had lost a heartbreaker.  They gutted it out for 17 innings using their whole pitching staff and all but one of their subs and held the powerhouse Red Sox to 5 hits and one run, but they didn't get the win.  Had it gone on much longer the Rays may have had to resort to using a uitility player to pitch...an eventuality that I would certainly not want to miss.  What's more fun than watching a professional try to play a different position?  The first memory that comes to mind is Jets punter Tom Tupa coming in to play quartback for two series when all their other quartbacks were injured.  It's fun to see what might go right or wrong when a professional is pushed outside his comfort zone.  And being pushed outside of your comfort zone is exactly what happens in a marathon game. The Rays happened to be on national TV again tonight and lost another tough game to the Yankees who came from behind in the 9th inning against a pitcher who was called up from the minors TODAY because the whole pitching staff had been worn out the night before.  The 24 year old pitcher Alex Torres is normally a starter and was called in to close out some of the best hitters in the majors leagues for his first ever major league experience.  He ended up walking in the winning run in an interesting footnote to Sunday night's epic battle.  

I don't want to wax too poetic here, but whether we watch Nascar for the car wrecks or Figure Skating for the triple axles we are all in it to be entertained. I find little in sports as entertaining as a game that goes far in to overtime when you least expect it.