Yes, it's that time of year when I pay attention to my blog again, increase my stats with confused Red Sox fans searching for quotes who somehow find themselves on a mostly literary blog -- and celebrate the continuing renaissance of the world's greatest baseball team. Or at least my favorite. We'll start this one out with Tito, as quoted in a Boston Globe story about Kevin Youkilis, the power hitting infielder with the wiggly batting stance and hasty temper:

“Look, he hit me with a helmet once. I don’t want to get hit with a helmet. But I think sometimes Youk is misrepresented. He’s not worried about his own stats. He wants the team to win so badly.’’

Not for nothing does a certain Yankee fan friend of mine refer to him as "you kill us." Go Sox!