I don't believe in miracles by Jared Carrabis
...but I'll tell you what I do believe in


You heard me correctly; I don't believe in miracles.

I don't believe in luck, I believe in skill. I don't believe in chance, I believe in destiny. And again, I don't believe in miracles, because I believe that no matter what, the better team always comes out on top in a series, always.

A championship caliber team always finds a way to win, no matter what the circumstance may be, no matter what adversity they may have to face, no matter what the scoreboard may read at any point in the game.

With that being said, if you were to ask me if this 2009 Red Sox team is better than the 2009 Angels squad, my answer would be yes. Now, taking that into perspective, this 2009 Angels team is better than the team that the Red Sox swept in '04, they're better than the team that got swept in '07 and they're better than the team that got bumped in four games just a year ago.

However, we're talking about a Red Sox team that, in my opinion, is better than the team that won it all in 2007, and a team that is better than the one that came within a game of returning to the World Series in 2008.

Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are both healthy, Mike Lowell is healthy, the bullpen is better, our shortstop is as close to a sure thing defensively as you can get, the addition of Victor Martinez just may be Theo Epstein's greatest move since becoming GM and Jacoby Ellsbury has evolved into one of the top leadoff hitters in the game.

So, last night after another frustrating loss, I sat there in utter disbelief. I mean, Opening Day is exciting and all, but after that spectacle is over, I'm thinking October right from the get go. To battle through a 162-game season and gain entry into the postseason, only to be facing elimination after 24 hours of October baseball may come as a shock to any Red Sox fan.

Being down 0-2 may not be the most pleasant feeling in the world, but you don't need me to tell you that this team has been in this position before. Only four teams have ever come back from being down 0-2 in a Division Series to win the series. Of those four, two of them were Red Sox teams ('99, '03).

This Game 3 on Sunday is the biggest game of the series. If Clay Buchholz pitches the game of his life and the Red Sox's offense somehow wakes up and realizes that they're not playing meaningless games against the Cleveland Indians anymore, Game 3 could prove to be the turning point for the postseason.

The Red Sox were the proud owners of the second best home record in all of baseball, and if and when the Red Sox take game three, the pressure now turns on the Angels to seal the deal. If Boston can pull out a victory in Game 3, Terry Francona should bring back Jon Lester on short rest for Game 4 to set up a Josh Beckett match-up for Game 5 back in LA.

Now, Beckett and Lester haven't exactly been "dominant" this postseason, but they are pitching well enough to win considering the lineup that Francona has put out there for the first two games of this series. I can't point the finger at any one player who needs to step their game up, because one run in 18 innings is completely inexcusable for this club.

If they slump as a team, they better hit as a team, because as good as this pitching staff is, you can't win games if you don't score any runs. You've heard it a million times; hitting is contagious. As soon as one big bat wakes up, the rest will follow.

I don't believe in miracles, I believe in the Red Sox.

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on October 10, 2009

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