I like to think I'm a fairly realistic sports fan. I'm not a fan who walks around sure that my team will consistently win--I realize that anything can happen on any given day to change the outcome of a sporting event. What looks good on paper doesn't always translate onto the playing field. I don't beleive in curses, I don't subscribe to jinxs, and I don't rely on history.
That being said, one has to wonder if the Yankees can actually win this upcoming game 7. The Yankees will have to face Mr. Beelzebub himself, Pedro Martinez... and, even though every intelligent human knows he's a little girl, everyone also realizes that he still does have the ability to shut down a team completely. Say what you want about the Yankees having luck against him. Feel free to quote stats that point out that he may not be the Pedro of old. Throw in the fact that this is a home game. Even with all of that in the Yankees' favor, any pragmatic sports fan has to agree that the odds of beating Pedro twice in a 7 game series are fairly thin.
Though it pains me to say it, I don't think the Yankees are going to come out of this one. To win this game, Clemens will have to pitch to perfection. The Yankee lineup will have to be patient. Giambi will have to take his thumb out of his ass and put the bat on the ball. Aaron Boone, while probably NOT in the lineup, will have to contribute late in the game. The pile of dog feces that is the Yankee bullpen will have to actually learn to pitch overnight. And lastly, Mariano Rivera will have to be the savior again.
Sure, some of those things can happen--but I just don't feel confident. Satan has a way of magnifying and exploiting people's weaknesses. The spawn of Satan -- the Red Sox -- can do the same. Can the Yankees do it? Sure, it's possible. But the laws of probability are against them... and the law, right now, is on Satan's side.
