Tennessee Titans, eat your heart out.
I waited a few days to post this entry because I wanted to be able to gain a piece of perspective before I wrote, and I think finally I’m able to articulate my feelings for this team properly. This isn’t the same feeling Red Sox Nation had in 2004. It’s not nearly as emotional, not nearly as releaving, not even close to as overdue. But it’s definately sweeter. It feels good to know that your team beat the two best teams in baseball before it even got to the World Series, then completely manhandled the NL team. It feels good to have a wire-to-wire best team in baseball. It feels good to not just win, but to completely dominate. It feels good to know how Yankees fan’s feel. Finally, it feels good to win when you are expected to; when you can’t sneak up on anybody because you have a giant bullseye on your chest every single night.
It feels really good.
If you would have asked me ten years ago if Boston would even be a condender with the departure of Clemens and Mo, I would have thought you were crazy. Amazing what an owership change can do for not just a franchise, but a city (are your reading, Cubs fans?). Now the Sox appear set for a decade of dominance, something so strange to a long time fan that it took a few days to settle in. It still feels like we just had the All-Star break, and are nursing a 13 game lead on NY. That was ages ago.
2007 World Series Champions. It feels good.
(note: here is a video of the royal rooters outside the fens sunday night..man…)
I don’t mind the whole Rox vs Sox slogan that everybody made up this year, god knows it better than another “Subway” Series, but I fail to realize how making up a stupid name is going to generate any more excitement for the World Series than there already is. So long as the Yanks or Sox are in this thing, enough people love them or hate them enough to acually watch every game. This is in contrast to last years Tigers-Cards crap fest, and the 05 series between the ChiSox and the Astros feels like it never even happened. So, memo to ESPN, you don’t need to come up with catchy little slogans for every single big game thats about to be played…we can figure out the magnitude of the matchup quite easily without rhyming.
(more after the jump)
Nevertheless, we are about 25 hours away from Josh Beckett thowing the first pitch of the 2007 World Series at the Fens, and hopefully we can be as entertained this week as we were over the past 10 days. Kudos to the Indians, who played their tails off, and to the entire Cleveland organization for putting together what would appear to be a first class organization. You can’t say enough about the influx of young talent on that team, as well as the great power pitching at the top of the rotation. Hopefully they can keep it together next year and have another slug fest with Detroit for the AL Central title.
As for the Red Sox, I think a lot of people miscatagorize this team as an over the top, bloated payroll, pompus group of individuals. They couldn’t be more off base. This team is far from the mold that the Yankees have helped carve for role of the dominant team, and I can’t think of a team that was favored going into a World Series having so many flaws from top to bottom. The truth is, this is not a very good team. And this is not a group of jerks.
Sure, the Sox have a payroll of $143 millon. That is second in baseball and double the payroll of most of the teams the Sox play, but tale a deep look at that payroll and you might be surprised. Combined, the starting 2B (Pedroia), 1B (Youkilis), Closer (Papelbon), and Set-up man (Okijima) compose only $2.5 million in salary. For as much “Million Dollar Man” montra that has been thrown around for Dice-K, he makes the same yearly salary as Jeff Weaver and Ted Lilly. Most of the $143 million in salary will be gone next year as expiring deals leave the books. See you later Matt Clement (9.5 mill), Curt Schilling (13 mill), Eric Gagne (6 mill), and Eric Hinske (5.99 mill). Make room for the under 1 million salaries of Clay Bucholtz, John Lester, Jacoby Elsbury, Manny Delcarmen, and Kyle Snyder.
“Feeding the Monster” by Seth Mnookin outlines the personalities of the Red Sox players in a surprisingly intimate manner. One chapter details how David Ortiz will bust open the door to Tito Francona’s office durring a press briefing with goggles and a backward’s hat, exclaiming “What up, bitches?”, while holding Kevin Millar in a headlock. Curt Schilling often gets miscatagorized as a self promoting ass when he interjects himself into popular debates, but don’t give Schill the Michael Vick treatment so quickly, he has raised over $75,000 this season alone for Lou Gehrigs disease research.
Lots of people like to root for the underdog, and thats fine. But this World Series, take a closer look at the “New Evil Empire”, and maybe those lovable Rockies will be the club that turns into just another team. That is because this group of Red Sox is not only talented, but they are easy to like, and easy to cheer for, even if you’ve never been a fan of them before. Give the boy’s a chance, you might just be surprised at how good a group of idiots makes you feel.
Thats all on this till later in the week, hoping for a great series with Colorado, and hoping to get one championship closer to catching the Yankees. Go Sox!
Nancy Drew attempted to make everyone like him last night, and I have to say, it worked. Game 7 of the ALCS is tonight, the nerves are running high, and the excitement is even higher. With the news breaking this morning that Indians pitcher Paul Byrd is an HGH user, this could be the shift in Karma that the Sox need to push them over the top. Dice-K gets a chance to earn that high price tag against the far over-achieving Jake Westbrook, who’s tricky sinker unnerved the Sox typically patient lineup in game 3.
Six months of following every game for the Red Sox, and it comes down to one night for a trip to the World Series. Dane, take us to game time buddy.
Angels, thanks for coming. It was fun, really. Boston is now on to the ALCS for the 3rd time in 6 years, behind a suprisingly dominant night from Curt Schilling and an absolute manly effort from David Ortiz and Man-Ram, two HR’s each.
The Yankees apear to be showing signs of life, so we won’t pencil Cleveland in yet, but things are looking a whole lot like Yankee fans are going to be watching this thing from home again. Tear. Although I would never like to see the Yanks winning, another head to head in the ALCS would be MOST entertaining.
Now, tribute to tonights winning pitcher. He played wicked hard.
Remember when you were a kid and you watched good kids TV shows that were entertaining and also educational? Seasame Street, Blues Clues, Mr. Rogers…classic childrens programming. Evidently there is different programming these days, and I thought for a long time about how this video makes me feel. Happy. Happy is all that I can feel.
Does anybody else have a sudden and undeniable urge for a juice box? Evidently this show is called Yo Gabba Gabba!, its on Nick Jr., and there is a wealth of videos on the Youtubes. Enjoy.
Manny Ramirez was the hero Friday night, as the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the American League Divisional Series against the Southern California Los Angeles Angels of the Greater Anahiem Area United States of America. The Boston fan karma continued, as a 17 year-old son of a Red Sox owner stole a fly pop from the glove of catcher Jeff Mathis, keeping a Ramirez at-bat alive and leading to the run that forced the tie.
Both teams travel to the West Coast for Sunday’s game 3, and we will have an interesting pitching matchup, with Old School Curt Schilling vs New School Jarrod Weaver. If I had to guess, Schill will get run by the 4th inning and Weaver will pitch 7 solid…its the way things work with Schilling early in playoff series.
Either way, only one more victory vs the Angels, and Paps dances again. Lets keep that dance going all month.
The Cubs have fallen into an 0-2 hole against the DBacks, and the fingers are starting to point. Who is at fault here…Sweet Lou? Jason Kendall? Ted Lilly? These are very good choices, but the real reason that the Cubs a floundering once again, and possibly the entire Billy Goat Curse, is the overall quality of Chicago Fans. Video proof is after the jump…
Case #1 - Chicago Cubs Fans at Wrigley Park
Case #2 - Boston Red Sox Fans at Fenway Park
I believe Sergeant Ramathorn said it best. “But our shinanigans are cheeky and fun, their shinanigans are cruel and tragic. Which makes them not shinanigans at all really. Wee little shinanigans.”
Right now basketball, and to a lesser extent hockey (because it doesnt have a pro league), are experiencing a unique officiating problem…players taking dives to draw penalties. It really started in hoops about 5 years ago when Vlade Divac found a creative way to get Shaq in foul trouble during the Western Finals, but has grown into a league wide epidemic of flopping. Case in point was the NBA Finals last year, showcasing some of the best floppers in the NBA; Manu Ginobli, Bruce Bowen, Anderson Varejao, and Tony Parker. Flopping is an immediate problem because it throws into question the integrity of the game, and turns officiating from an objective observation of the competition, to a constant judgement of the intention of players on every play.
Don’t think its that bad in the NBA yet? Take a look at what soccer has come to:
Can the NBA be far from this? Some people think this is funny, but honestly, it infuriates me. If American sports fall to the lows of international futbol, I hope for the sake of competition that American sports fans respond with the same anger I hold toward this blemish on the itegrity of the game.
