It was first spoken amidst hugs and cheers when Billy Mueller went yard on Mariano Rivera that magical Saturday night in Fenway, and I said it again 2 hours and 8 Dollar Drafts later in a dark, smoky corner of Boston Billiards. I proclaimed it the following night while walking out of Fenway, drunk on another Sox victory over the Yankees and a couple of overpriced Fenway beers. It's been said a dozen times since then, more out of hope than belief. But this is the last time I will say it this season, because this time it's for real. This is it. We have approached the turning point of the 2004 season, the part of the year when everything comes together and the group of 25 guys we have spent the last 5 months loving and hating, simultaneously, become a Team. With a capital "T." It has happened, and the Red Sox aren't looking back.

Last night's game perfectly encapsulated all of the highs and lows of this current Sox season. An early Sox lead had all of Red Sox Nation giddy with the thoughts of George Steinbrenner preparing to launch himself out of a window of Steinbrenner Manor, which probably looks something like that place in which Diane West discovered Edward Scissorhands after an Avon call gone wrong. Then an unstable Sox pitcher, in this case, Derek Lowe, gives up a three run shot and all of a sudden, RSN is looking over its collective shoulder. Three innings later, a pitcher who should have already been knee deep in Irish Spring and Head and Shoulders gives up a go-ahead 2-run homerun and in the blink of an eye, the Sox have lost their once-comfortable lead.

Sound familiar, yet?

But wait, there's more. And it gets better.

The next inning, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz go yard on the first two consecutive pitches, and the Sox are back on top. The next 30 minutes were full of nail biting, pacing, and Pepto Bismol chugging. We clutched our stomachs as Manny Ramirez slipped on the wet outfield grass and what should have been a man on first with two outs became runners on first and second with one out. "Here it comes, " we thought. "This is how it always ends." But then an amazing thing happened. With baited breath, we watched as a previously-shaky reliever somehow found his way out of the inning, and our reliable closer came in and sealed the victory.


The boys from Boston are currently 5.5 games behind the dreaded Yankees. Last night they emerged victorious in their one-run battle, while the Yankees weren't so lucky in their own. The tide has turned. There is something in the air, and everyone in Red Sox Nation can taste it.

It's late-August, the Sox are nipping at the Yankees' heels, Manny is at the plate, and Ortiz is on-deck. We know how this usually ends, but this time - it's different. We can taste it.