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I spent the weekend with a very good friend of mine and his wife to be, down where they live in New Orleans. It was super pleasant -- lovely city and lovelier people.
That said, my friend is originally from Providence, Rhode Island -- a land most definitely part of Sawx Country. When I saw the score on my phone last night, I remarked to him, "I have good news for you and bad news for me. The Red Sox are winning big, but they're winning against the Phillies." He nodded, considered, and replied, "Huh. That is good news."
Now, my friend is more of a football fan in the end, and I certainly don't hold his nascent Soxism over his head, but it certainly seems easy for Sox fans to be sanguine about good news. This is a team that was a popular pick for last in the division, before three of their five starting pitchers decided that they'd figured everything out, and before their offense decided to hit like they were supposed to in 2011. "Yeah," I might also say, "that is good news."
What I'm wondering now is where the Phillies' good news is. It might be Dom Brown's hitting, it might be Jonathan Papelbon's continued relevance. But really it might actually be Cliff Lee's perpetual dominance. Sure his K's are down, but he's killing batters with stinginess, and he's the right guy to get the ball rolling in a better direction. So hey, that's something!
Discuss good news and tonight's game below.