The Sun's Been Quite Kind While I Wrote This Song

Thomas Boswell has a great column today on what makes October one of my favorite months of the year.

In these past few years, it has been a great time to be a baseball fan. I'm not sure that there has ever been such an exciting run of postseasons as we have had since the turn of the century. The 2001 World Series between the Diamondbacks and the Evil Empire was one for the ages with multiple game-tying and game-winning homeruns on both sides completed by the D'Backs clinching the 7th game from one of the game's all-time greatest closers in Mariano Rivera.

2002 gave us an All-California Series between the Giants and the Angels. This was a fantastic series with the Giants almost clinching the championship in Game 6 only to lose their lead and the title in consecutive losses to the Halos. The only downside of this series was the rise of the pestilence known as "Thunder Stix." Let's just move on and act as if that never happened.

The 2003 Fall Classic featured the Marlins against the Evil Empire. For some reason, this series does not resonate with me for any reason. The only thing I can remember is Josh Beckett's masterful performance in Game 6 at the House that Ruth Built.

I do not need to remind everyone of the magic that occurred last October, but looking back, it was one of my favorite times to be a sports fan. Everyone was talking about the Sawx and their improbable return to glory after 86 years in Baseball Purgatory. This was the year that Big Papi became a Boston Demigod along with Larry Bird, Bobby Orr, and Adam Vinatieri.

For goodness sake, even Stephen King wrote a book about his experiences that year as a member of Red Sox nation.

This year is shaping up to be just as memorable with the 18-inning saga between the Astros and Braves, the return of the Fall Classic to the South Side of Chicago, and Mighty Albert single-handedly delaying the demolition of Busch Stadium. I can't wait to see what happens next.