In the end

Batting cleanup, this fall morning:

• Edward Cossette
• Jim Caple
• Tom Boswell
• Eric McErlain
• And A. Bartlett Giamatti:

“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoon and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, you rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then, just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”

Full credit is due, by the by, to Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera. They both pitched very well. If I were a Yankees fan, I would be overwhelmed with Rivera’s three innings of relief. They didn’t pitch well enough to overcome Clemens’ outing, but they deserve credit for taking advantage of Grady’s Folly.

As for 2004? I still believe.