When Over Isn’t Over
I turned off Jeff Passan Twitter/X notifis because after the “Yankees are juggernauts and on the cusp of a World Series,” it was too much. I unfollowed Jomboy on Instagram, because I had swiped up and saw the beginning of the reaction vid to one of the two home runs given up by Emmanuel Clase in the 8th inning. I jumped on a Discord chat with some buddies and simply said “I hate sports, I’m gonna go take a header out my second story window, because not feeling my body is better than feeling this., k see ya bye.”
What I’m saying is that I keep my peace close to my vest and I don’t like to stew in bad vibes or feelings. I have countless friends who doomcast as soon as the opposing team gets a hit, and then its nonstop, over the top, “Well it was a good season. Wish it ended better. Would be nice if they tried” comments until the game ends or something good happens. [Hi, OFL chat, love you! You still are on DND during games though.] I have a group text titled “Baseball Boyz” that was inactive since May 11th, when the last thing spoken in it was “well here come the Royals to take the division lead!” that suddenly sprung to life with a single text of dread when the Guardians lost Game 4 of the ALDS to the Tigers.
But when David Fry struck out in the bottom of the 8th, after getting Will Brennan’s double and needing only one run to tie it up, I was ready to join the masses. I was closeting up my social media intake, blocking out the haters, hibernating until the Cavs season started because the idea of losing in the fashion that the Guardians looked like they were going to would send me over if I had to relive every moment over and over. Watching Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton prim and preen in the dugout, upset at the very thought that they were going to be called into question was too much. Jose Ramirez starts off the 9th with a seeing eye single followed by Josh Naylor’s “give me a %^&$ break” dribbler to the pitcher to turn two and I was nearly ready to investigate if Norfolk Southern was a sponsor of the team since this trainwreck was massive. [Has Josh Naylor looked anymore loss at the plate than he does right now? My goodness.] Lane Thomas blasts a double off the top of the scoreboard and it’s like “whoo hoo yay can I go die already?” Then. Then. Then Big Christmas comes to the plate and somehow I could just tell.
Just like that, there’s life. Suddenly Pedro Avila, the Yankee Killer, is there. Changeups away, buckling knees, striking out Judge and Anthony Volpe to send it to the 10th. GuardsBall came to life as Bo Naylor ripped a single down the line, Brayan Rocchio perfectly bunted him to second and Steven Kwan got him to third on a ground out. Fry, the reason I nearly turned off the game mere innings before, strolled to the plate. I messaged in the WFNY Discord, “Need a bleeder, Fry Guy,” thinking we would see a continuation of the type of play that got the team to this point and through this inning, a seeing eye single up the middle or over the second basemen’s head to score Bo from third. Instead, it was a high heater that got blasted into the bleachers. Fry knew from the crack of the bat, and I love what one Twitter/X user said: “Fry walked over his bat like AI over Ty Lue.”
An incredible scene, an incredible game, one that set all new precedents for late inning situations on both sides. A game that truly might never be matched in our lifetimes with gripping plays and players stepping into the limelight in perfect spots. Not to mention Andres Gimenez and JNaylor combining for one of the craziest putouts I’ve ever seen.
What happens next? Who knows. The Guards are turning to Gavin Williams to start Game 4, a surprising move given the Big Rig hasn’t been out of the garage in almost a month. But it almost doesn’t matter. Would you be surprised if the Guardians win out the series, take all the games at home and Game 6 in New York, the shell-shocked Titans of Times Square being brought low by the power of friendship? I wouldn’t. I also would believe it if this was the only win Cleveland can muster. But for at least one night, over wasn’t over, and we got to witness a comeback for the ages. Go Guards.
