Have you ever noticed while watching or listening to a baseball game how the play by play announcer often states a fact and then the opposite happens almost immediately?  For example, the bases are loaded, the opposing team’s player stands at home plate, and Orsillo says, “Joe Schmo is 0-for 20 in homeruns with the bases loaded.”  Moments later, there it goes – the grand slam.  Whenever that happens, I turn to my husband and say, “Uh oh.  It’s going to be an Opposite Night.”  It usually holds true throughout the game.

 Early this morning, I had a revelation.  In 2011, the Red Sox had an Opposite Year.  It started with the obvious when the Boston Herald headline screamed “Best Team Ever”.  What they really meant was, “Worst Team Collapse Ever”.  The irony of that opposite statement has been written and said thousands of times by now.  But there were other subtle clues that it was an Opposite Year.  Here are just a few:

•  When Josh Beckett said the Red Sox would win 100 games this year, he really meant he would eat 100 buckets of chicken while singing “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” in the clubhouse during games.
• When certain players called themselves “free agents”, they really meant they were free to sit back and relax for the rest of their contract.
• When the starting pitching staff sang, “Hell Yeah, I Like Beer”, they meant…well … never mind.  Not a good example of “opposites”.
• When speaking about the players, Theo said, “I have a ton of respect for almost all of them”, he really meant there were a few he despised.
• When Tito said he did not feel the owners had his back, he really meant they actually had his back but there were knives in it.
• When Theo said, “Nobody blames what happened in September on Tito”, he really meant I’m not taking the heat for this…better pack your bags, Tito.
• When Adrian Gonzalez said that it was not in God’s plan that the Red Sox should be in the playoffs this year, he really meant, God would never allow this bunch of heathens and misfits to be rewarded for their bad behavior.
• When Carl Crawford told a reporter to “Go ask the Captain”, referring to Jason Varitek, he really meant, you have no idea what goes on in here and I’m scared.  Pleeeeese …. help ….. me.
• When David Ortiz said he didn’t like the drama in Boston and would consider going to the Yankees, he really meant just sign my contract, boys, you know I’m not going anywhere else.
• When they announced Spooky World: Fear at Fenway was coming in October, they were not talking about Halloween.

  I think I get it now.