ahem.

Today is June 26.

One June 24, David Ortiz hit a walk off home run that inspired me to write - asking the question, "Is David Ortiz the greatest clutch hitter of all time?" to which I concluded yes.

Well today, on June 26, Ortiz decided to cement that idea with another game winning hit. It's the bottom of the twelfth and there are two outs, Mark Loretta is up. This is not a slight against Loretta, but you have got to give your firstborn to science before you give Loretta a free trip down to first. Poor Clay Condrey (evidently) wasn't aware of the heinously large man standing on deck and walked Loretta. This brough Papi to the plate. Here's the scenario - and the facts.

- if there is a runner in scoring position and Papi is at the plate, that runner will score.
- if the game is on the line, Papi will come through.

So Condrey is faced with a scenario in which there is a runner in scoring position and the game is on the line. Two will's exist to make even Tom Cruise cringe with doubt. Well those will's exist for a reason, and as expected Condrey payed dearly. Ortiz laced a single into center and Youkilis scored from second to end the game and end the series with a Boston sweep.

The moral of the story is: David Ortiz is as clutch as Larry's steal, Horry's threes, Squintz' kiss, the '84-'85 Villanova Wildcats, the Flutie-Phalen connection, every Viniateri field goal, Laettner's shot, Joe Carter, Kirk Gibson, Michael, Dwyane, and Henry Rowengartner's floater all rolled into one.