10 Reasons why the Tampa Bay Rays winning the 2011 World Series would be good for baseball

There are only a few more weeks left to the season and the contenders are dwindling down. I am running out of time to finish my Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game series.

We continue with the Tampa Bay Rays.
When I started writing these, I didn't even have Tampa Bay on the list but I DID have the White Sox and the Indians, who as if this writing are below .500.

But thanks to the Rays surge this September and a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox, they are very much in the hunt. They need a lot of help, but sweeping the Red Sox again starting tonight would tie them for a playoff spot with 10 games to play.

If they do that, it would be a monumental pre-2004 esque collapse for the Red Sox and the third playoff berth in four years for Tampa Bay.

Would a Rays World Series title be good for the game?
Oh let me count the ways.

10 Reasons why the
Tampa Bay Rays
winning the 2011 World Series
would be good for baseball

1. A Rays World Champion could put Joe Maddon on the fast track to Cooperstown.

He's only been the Rays manager for 6 seasons, but a World Series title this year would make his Hall of Fame candidacy very interesting. With a title, he would have already done the hard work. He took over a team that lost at least 91 games for each of their 10 years of existence and put them in the World Series. Throw in another Division Title and four straight winning seasons and he can take a huge piece of credit for turning a laughing stock into a contender. Not even Lou Piniella could do that. Like Ron Roenicke in Milwaukee, he is a protege of Mike Scioscia who was a protege of Tom Lasorda who was a protege of Walter Alston. It could be a legacy of Hall of Fame managers.

2. Maybe Brad Pitt could play Andrew Friedman as well if the Rays win it all.

The Rays were a bigger mess than the Oakland A's ever were and with Andrew Friedman as GM, they've won more pennants than Billy Beane's A's! So where's the Brad Pitt film about Friedman?

He is putting contenders (and Division Champions in 2 out of 3 years) in a Division that features the two big bad wolves (New York and Boston.) He didn't listen to the whining of "Nobody can compete with them" and found a way to. And he is STILL doing it with one of the lowest payrolls in the game. They are putting a winning product on the field and by letting key free agents walk, they had what seemed like 100 first round picks. So the talent pipeline to the majors will remain fruitful.

Seriously, it's a great story.



3. Finally Johnny Damon would have a World Series ring that EVERYONE can feel good about!

Johnny won a World Series ring with the Red Sox. But Yankee fans and people who like grooming didn't like that.

Then he won a World Series ring with the Yankees. But Red Sox fans and Yankee haters didn't like THAT!

If he wins one with the Rays, who could have a problem with him? It's like the porridge that Goldilocks chose.

4. A World Series title could be the overdue fulfillment of Kyle Farnsworth's potential.

Since coming up with the Cubs, Kyle Farnsworth has had jaw dropping potential but never fulfilled it. He threw hard but the balls went out of the park even faster. Even in Atlanta, where he had his best regular season, he blew a key playoff lead that led to the Braves elimination in the 2005 Division Series. Yankees fans dubbed him "Farnsworth-less."

But in Tampa Bay he found his groove and has become an effective closer. What better place of redemption than on the mound for a World Series title?

5. A ring for David Price and what could become the best staff in baseball.

At age 25, David Price is already a seasoned battle tested veteran. 29 year old Big Game James Shields is the elder statesman of the rotation. Pitchers Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann and Alex Cobb all made Matt Garza and Scott Kazimir expendable. This team is so loaded with young pitching (Matt Moore and Jake McGee are the latest to make the leap to the big leagues) that they should keep Tampa Bay competitive for the next 4 or 5 years.

A World Championship could spotlight this staff and pitching coach Jim Hickey and create a blueprint of how to build a team around pitching.


6. A World Championship would force the spotlight on Evan Longoria and B. J. Upton.

Baseball needs new heroes to emerge in the post Steroid years. Neither Longoria nor Upton have put up numbers that match their potential. But perhaps World Series heroics and highlights can put these two talented and exciting players in the public consciousness.

And maybe THEN Longoria would be able to afford a new hat.




7. Would Manny Ramirez get a World Series ring?

Hey! He played 5 games for the Rays.

Yeah, he retired in disgrace.
Yeah, he is sinking further into Pariah-ville and has as good a change to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But he DID play for the Rays. If they win, it would be an interesting debate.


8. It would interesting to talk with a Cubs fan the day after a Rays World Championship.

Seriously, it would be nothing short of cruel for a Cub fan to witness yet ANOTHER expansion team win the World Series. The Cubs last PLAYED in a World Series 16 years before the first expansion.

14 teams have come into the league since the 1945 World Series and 12 of them have made the World Series.

The Cubs last won the World Series when Roosevelt was in office... TEDDY Roosevelt. The Marlins and Diamondbacks have each won a World Series and they were created when CLINTON was in office. If a third recent expansion team wins while the Cubs wait would be borderline cruel.

Hey! At least the Cubs have Matt Garza and Carlos Pena!


9. A World Series title would give us SOMETHING positive to say about the Trop.

The Rays have been trying to get out of the Trop since their first game IN the Trop! I have yet to step foot in Tropicana Field. It just looks like an idea that was great in the mid 1980s but just is out of date now. It is the BetaMax of stadiums.

But guess what? Some ugly parks can have some nice memories. The Metrodome was ugly, but the Twins had their greatest moments there. The Vet was a hole, but the Phillies had some glorious victories in that cold ugly donut. The Kingdome was an eyesore, but that's where Griffey scored from first!

Eventually the Rays will have a new park or a new city. If the Trop is leveled, it would be nice to have one great moment there.

10. A Rays World Series title is supposedly what EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WANTS!

What are the biggest complaints about baseball?

Only big market clubs win.
The Yankees and Red Sox make it unfair.
You need deep pockets and a huge payroll to have a shot.
A team needs a state of the art stadium to have the revenue to contend.

Well the Rays have raised a middle finger to all of those sentiments! The Rays, filled with homegrown stars, a sense of fun and a wonderfully likable manager, should be the darlings of every casual baseball fan. They should be the glorious underdog who spit in the face of convention and are saying "We'll defy logic and show all of you how to do it!"

The draft well, they trade well and play hard. (Are you taking notes, Royals and Pirates?) And they are not afraid of the Goliaths of their Division. I swear if I weren't already a Red Sox fan, I'd probably rooting hard for them this weekend.

The fact that baseball DOESN'T sell this team better just is another example of MLB's incredible incompetence to promote their own sport!


So there you have it.
I am writing this AS my beloved Red Sox are trying to keep Tampa OUT of the playoffs. But if Tampa does get in, there are plenty of reasons to cheer them on.

Oh I am such an optimist!




If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
CHICAGO WHITE SOX

CLEVELAND INDIANS
DETROIT TIGERS
LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
NEW YORK YANKEES
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Hey McCourt... Manny wasn't a free agent

Yesterday Mason and Ireland on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles had beleaguered Dodgers owner Frank McCourt on the air for a half an hour of questions being asked and calls from fans.

It should be noted that he will be beleaguered for a lot longer than he will be the owner of the Dodgers.

He of course painted himself as the victim, all the while saying "I take full responsibility." He pushed the blame elsewhere and made it clear that the $126 million he took from the Dodgers was NOT true (he said it was only about $100 million, most of it loans and it was cumulative.

I admire the guy to a degree for facing the music. But when he kept saying things like "I learned my lesson" and "I don't need all of those things anymore" which sounds a lot like someone saying "I swear this is my last cigarette."

One caller called in to ask why can't a marquee franchise like the Dodgers sign a Type A free agent. A good question.

McCourt dismissed it saying "What about Manny Ramirez?"

I so wish either Mason or Ireland pointed out that Ramirez was a trade. Manny wasn't on the open market and offered top dollar by the Dodgers?

He was in a trade with the Red Sox and Pirates of which the Red Sox picked up most of the contract. And yes he resigned with the Dodgers, but only after he received NO OTHER OFFERS.

The question was valid, especially when the likes of CC Sabathia could have been the difference between a trip to the World Series and an NLCS exit.

Ah well... the soap opera goes on as the Dodgers won't be able to meet payroll.
Look for the Chavez Ravine firesale coming soon.

MANNY RAMIREZ RETIRES!

Well it looks like Manny Ramirez used some fertility pills again.
Evidently he was going to be asked to take part in some drug program for baseball and he said "Check please!"

So he quit.
Manny was Manny to the end.

He retired after 5 games with Tampa.

He hit his final home run last September 17th against Max Scherzer.
He was a member of the White Sox.

Now let the Hall of Fame debate begin.

Thanks for the memories Manny... good and bad. Baseball was a little more insane with you playing.

New Sully Baseball Video - "Horrible Handles"

In the latest Sully Baseball video, I take a look at the state of today's baseball nicknames. It isn't pretty and we can do better.

You can check out all of my videos at ShortForm TV.

Looks like the Rays have a 2005 fetish as well

First the Yankees had their odd 2005 obsession.

Now it is Tampa's turn.
Damon and Manny are teammates for the first time since 2005.

I am not saying the Red Sox don't have some holes. I am not saying the Red Sox off season has been flawless.

But their off season requires a lot usage of the phrase "If they played like they did 6 years ago..."

My my my... the AL East just got a bit more fun

Manny and Damon reunited?
Someone cue up Maroon 5. It is 2004 all over again.

Hey, Gabe Kapler was on the Rays last year. If they bring HIM back they will have all three outfielders who were on the field when the Sox won the World Series in St. Louis.

This off season has gotten so strange that the Rays have added more famous players than the Yankees.

Actually, even before the Rays decided to bring aboard two of the three biggest idiots, I hadn’t written off Tampa Bay.

Yeah losing Carl Crawford was bad… as was Rafael Soriano… and Carlos Pena….and Matt Garza…and Jason Bartlett…and Dan Wheeler…… and Joaquin Benoit…and Grant Balfour

But there is so much talent on that team that I can’t help but think that they might actually (dare I say it?) be better?

They still have a starting rotation of David Price, Wade Davis, James Shields and Wade Davis.

They still have Evan Longoria in the middle of their lineup and B. J. Upton who could still put it all together.

Reid Brignac could play short in Barlett’s place.
Jeremy Hellickson can start in Garza’s place.
Jake McGee is ready to take a role in the bullpen.
Desmond Jennings should be ready to play the outfield.

Some combination of Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist and maybe even Damon could play first.

Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos both have some big league experience out of the bullpen with San Diego and will be in Tampa next year after the Bartlett trade.

Hak Ju Lee could give the Rays depth in the infield after the deal with Chicago.

Now you add a sparkplug like Johnny Damon to the top of the lineup.
And yeah, Manny is no longer Manny. But he still gets on base, has some pop and always has a little peak when he arrives with a new team.

Folks, the A.L. East is going to be fun again. People who hate to see either the Red Sox or the Yankees in the playoffs may get their wish for the fourth time in six seasons to see one of them play golf this October.

There will be LOTS of reasons to circle the Rays arrival in Fenway AND Yankee Stadium in red.

Remember Red Sox fans… it’s OK to cheer Manny and Johnny when they play the Yankees. In fact, I think it will be a nice nostalgic feeling.

Manny to the Yankees? Another Christmas gift for Red Sox Nation

Could it be?
Seriously... could the Yankees be finally saying to the world "WE ARE RUDDERLESS!"?

The Yankees are potentially thinking about bringing in Manny Ramirez?

Why not just tell Andy Pettitte to stay home?

Why not tell Derek Jeter "We think the clubhouse has been too peaceful"?

Could the Yankees be reverting back to all of their awful late 1980s, early 1990s habits of bringing in people that are recognizable instead of addressing their needs?

How can they POSSIBLY spin their interest in Manny Ramirez as anything other than "Hey! We got a player fans have heard of! And a former Red Sox player to boot! Hey! How about that? We're the Yankees and we get stars!"

The Steinbrenner Yankees have always had a mild obsession with bringing in players who have beaten them in October. From Don Gullett to Randy Johnson, the notion has always been "If you can't beat 'em, BUY em!"

And they thought that Cliff Lee was going to be the next name on the roster.
But he's gone. And so is every other potential big impact pitcher. (Unless you consider Joe Blanton to be awesome.)

The Yankees need pitching depth. BIG TIME. Yeah they can use outfield depth, but do you know what? There are never a shortage of outfielders looking for a job. Hell, Jermaine Dye has been looking for one for over a year. He's a former World Series MVP. And unlike Manny, he hasn't left a series of teams in his wake saying "It's just not worth dealing with this crap!"

But here we are. It could just be an internet rumor... but there's something about it that doesn't seem far fetched. That the need to make an off season splash to off set the Cliff Lee humiliation is there. And a move to counter act all of the "Red Sox have passed them" talk.

Bringing in Rafael Soriano would be a good solid move to upgrade their bullpen depth. But does bullpen depth put the Yankees on the back page?

Manny does.

The symbolism of taking ANOTHER 2004 Red Sox player and putting him in Pinstripes would have some allure. Alan Embree, Mark Bellhorn, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers and Doug Mientkiewicz all played with the Yankees after winning with the '04 Red Sox. (So did Ramiro Mendoza, but who are we kidding? He was a Yankee in Red Sox clothing!)

Why not Manny?
Well, first off 2004 was six years ago.
Manny was 32 then. He'll turn 39 in 2011. And the days of guys getting BETTER in their late 30s have ended. Manny has already been caught and guess what? His bat has slowed down.

I of course LOVED Manny when he was with the Red Sox, but as I wrote in my Dodgers piece for The Hardball Times, he is like a trip to Las Vegas. It is super fun at first but by the end you find yourself thinking "Oh God, this HAS to stop or else something terrible will happen."

So the Yankees will get all the headaches of Manny without his amazing bat.

And remember, Manny is a spoiled little kid who gets what he wants because his butt has been kissed. It was kissed by the Indians who wanted to develop a big star and get their team back to respectability.

It was initially kissed by the Red Sox because his signing was a counter reaction to the Yankees brining in Mike Mussina. So they had a new superstar to coddle. And later his butt was kissed because they knew they had a potential championship combo if only he stayed happy.

And the Dodgers kissed his butt because they had the first real draw to Chavez Ravine since Mike Piazza was traded.

So plop him into Jeter's clubhouse and see what happens.

You will get the symbolism of trying to erase the past while the problems of the present are left unchecked.

It's the whole bringing in Ken Phelps to a team where there is nowhere to play him all over again.

As I said before, it probably won't happen. But the fact that we have to say "probably" shows how bad the off season has been for the Yankees.

How great is this for Red Sox fans?
The idea that the Yankees could be doing essentially what Isiah Thomas did with the Knicks! Just bringing in big names for the sake of getting a headline.

OK, the Knicks are a harsh example. But what if they are the Mets? Bringing in recognizable names only to see it blow up in their face!

They won't be able to resist making a big move before spring training. And having Andy Pettitte come back isn't a big move. That's avoiding a loss.

Carl Pavano isn't coming back.

But there are no more big names left... except Manny.
No other names that would get anyone's attention... except Manny.

They may not be able to resist it.
And what a beautiful sight that would be.

It would be worth it to see if he would take a leak in Monument Park during the game. What wonderful symbolism that would be.

Only one group of Sox are showing any life

It isn't looking good.

Buchholz let's up 2 runs... and that's more than enough to beat the Sox.
And oh yeah, the Yankees put Vazquez in the rotation, he STINKS and the Yankees STILL win.

It's stuff like that that makes things like "a potential all time great comeback" less and less likely.

At least Manny is acting contrite. That's nice... but that doesn't help the team NOW!

It's time to update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 47

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)
July 23 - 2-1 win at Seattle. (Bill Hall's barely fair homer gives the Sox the win on Beckett's return.)

July 26 - 6-3 win in Anaheim. (Papi homers twice and Buccholz and Papelbon each wiggle out of jams to get the win.)
July 27 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (Jed Lowrie's 2 run 7th inning double gives the Sox the lead and makes a winner out of John Lackey. )

July 28 - 7-3 win in Anaheim. (Youk ties the game in the 7th with a homer and Scutaro wins it with an 8th inning grand slam to sweep the Angels.)
July 31 - 5-4 win against Detrout. (Big Papi hits a 3 run walk off double to crush the Tigers in the 9th.)
August 1 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Sox blow a 3 run 9th inning lead but the Tigers throw away a 9th inning sacrifice bunt to give the Sox the win.

August 3 - 3-1 win against Cleveland. (Lowell homers on his first pitch back and plays sparkling defense to preserve the win.)

August 6 - 6-3 win in Yankee Stadium. (Cervelli drops an easy pop up, setting up the winning rally for the Sox.)
August 9 - 2-1 win in Yankees Stadium. (Marcus Thames' bid for a game tying homer hits the top of the wall as Lester, Bard and Papelbon hold on for the win.)

August 10 - 7-5 win in Toronto. (The Sox blow a late lead but Mike Lowell puts them on top for good with an 8th inning homer.)
August 14 - 3-1 win in Texas. (Lester wiggles out of jams and a botched hit and run play kills a potential 9th inning Texas rally.)
August 18 - 7-5 win against the Angels. (The Sox fell behind 5-2, but came back with Beltre's homer, a wild pitch, a hit by pitch and some great Nava defense)
August 21 - 5-4 win against Toronto. (Jed Lowrie hits a walk off 11th inning homer, masking a come back rally by the Jays against Dice-K.)
August 23 - 6-3 win against Seattle. (Scuatro drives in the go ahead runs and Lackey throws a gritty 8 innings)
August 25 - 5-3 win against Seattle. (Beckett throws a shutout into the 7th and the Sox rally for 4 in the 6th in the rain and fog, including a strange RBI single off the pitcher by Beltre.)
August 27 - 3-1 win at Tampa Bay. (Victor Martinez homers twice and Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam as Lester out duels David Price.)
September 1 - 9-6 win in Baltimore. (A 6 run seventh inning uprising turns an early Orioles lead into a Sox win.)
September 2 - 6-4 win in Baltimore. (The Sox score 5 in the second and hang on for dear life.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 41

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.) July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)
July 24 - 5-1 loss in Seattle. (Lester's perfect game is foiled and the Red Sox bats die.)
July 25 - 4-2 loss in Seattle. (Okajima misplays a sacrifice bunt and the Mariners rally in the 8th to win.)
July 30 - 6-5 loss to Detroit. (Papi's grand slam makes it a 1 run game in the 9th but Cameron strikes out looking with the winning runs on base.)
August 2 - 6-5 loss to Cleveland. (Beltre drives in 5 runs by himself but the Red Sox leave the tying run on base with Big Papi on deck.)
August 12 - 6-5 loss in Toronto. (The Jays score 4 in the 9th inning to avoid the sweep.)
August 13 - 10-9 loss in Texas. (Beckett can't hold an early 8-1 lead as the Sox lose in 11.)
August 15 - 7-3 loss in Texas. (Young's homer breaks open a tight game.)
August 25 - 4-2 loss to Seattle. (The Sox knock out King Felix but can't score on the bullpen.)
August 28 - 3-2 loss in Tampa. (Buchholz was wonderful but Upton's homer in the 8th tied it and Dan Johnson's homer in the 10th was the winner)
August 29 - 5-3 loss in Tampa. (Dan Johnson once again sinks the Sox with a late game RBI single)

August 31 - 5-2 loss in Baltimore. (Beckett pitches well but 2 8th inning homers sink the Sox.)
September 4 - 3-1 loss to Chicago. (Manny acts contrite, Konerko gets 3 hits and Danks shuts down a lifeless Sox team.)

Down to +6.

Get a win tonight and maybe the Sox will only drop 1/2 a game.
(Great comebacks don't include FALLING BEHIND!)

Hey Ozzie... don't give Manny any ideas

Seriously, Ozzie Guillen, be careful what you say about Manny Ramirez.

I read your quotes in the AP article by Tom Withers, and some were a bit odd.

"I never see anyone on his team get mad at him because he goes about his business."

Um, did SOMEONE forget Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis going at each other in the dugout in 2008?

But really, Ozzie... when regarding his manner of dressing and upkeep of his uniform, you said "That’s not my department. Guys can go out there buck naked, and if they win games for me, I’m happy."

Ohhhhh boy. You just opened a can of worms there.

This is a guy who took many leaks in the Green Monster, brings drinks up out to the outfield and wears his iPod in the field.

Showing up nude to the plate?

It's only a matter of time.

"Wait, Manny Ramirez was on the White Sox? When did THAT happen?"

That's something you are going to say in a few years when people are reviewing Manny's career for the Hall of Fame.
They will list his stats and you'll look at 2010 and see he played a handful of games for the White Sox... and you will say "Man, I have no memory of that."

Call this the easiest prediction I have ever made.

I won't boo ANY member of the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox... not even these guys

When I wrote about how I would give Manny Ramirez an ovation if I were at Fenway (and I do cheer for Manny when I go the six miles from my house to Dodger Stadium) I got some people asking me privately (and someone asked on the site) would I also cheer for Johnny Damon.

Of course.
Both Manny and Johnny were big parts of the 2004 team that all of us Red Sox fans waited our whole lives for. And the make up of the 2004 team was NOT a bunch of home grown Red Sox who all played together in Pawtucket. The 1975, 1978 and 1986 Red Sox teams were primarily home grown.

With the exception of Youk, Nixon, Varitek and Lowe, none of them spent their rookie years with the Red Sox. And even Varitek and Lowe were actually originally drafted by Seattle.

Most of the 2004 squad were picked up from other teams and assembled like a baseball answer to The Dirty Dozen, slapped together for a crazy mission to reverse the curse.

So it is disingenuous to get mad when a mercenary leaves for more money. Pedro, Damon, Manny, Foulke, Schilling et al came to the Red Sox via free agency or forced trades to make dough.

When Pedro signed with the Mets, Damon signed with the Yankees and Manny forced the deal to LA, they were doing to us what they did to the Expos, A's and Indians before coming to Fenway.

I just say "thank you" and have them on their way.
And I have my policy... if you were on the Red Sox playoff rosters for 2004 or 2007 then I can not boo you.

But there are a few guys who test that theory... and it isn't Manny nor Damon.

There are 4 guys who at first make me want to boo... then I have to stop and say "But they helped the Sox win a ring" and reluctantly say "Oh alright. I won't boo."

They are...

RAMIRO MENDOZA, Relief Pitcher. 2004

He always felt like a Yankee mole, didn't he? I still remember him being on the mound in 1999, clinching the ALCS. (No offense to El Duque, but Mendoza should have been the MVP of the 1999 ALCS.)

He was a big pile of "eh" in his 2 seasons in Boston, compiling a combined 5.73 over 2003 and 2004. And he was the last Red Sox pitcher to record a loss in 2004, getting the decision in the 19-8 Game 3 Fiasco... against the Yankees. It was the last game he pitched in a Red Sox uniform and the Sox went 8-0 the rest of the way. I admit it looked odd seeing his celebrate with the other Red Sox at Yankee Stadium after Game 7. When he received his ring the next season, he was a member of the Yankees again.

I never trusted him. But I can't boo him.


ERIC GAGNE, Relief Pitcher. 2007

He was supposed to be the pick up that solidified the bullpen and made the World Series a lock. Instead he became the 800 pound gorilla reliever and the very symbol of how badly someone could suck when they get off the juice.

By the time the playoffs came about, he was banished to mop up duty. The only time he pitched in a close game, it was Game 2 of the 2007 ALCS which he of course lost.

The only two positive things about Gagne's Red Sox stay were his closing out the Division Series (in a mercy move by Tito) and this song inspired by his time in Boston.

He has a ring and Yaz doesn't? It's sick. But I can't boo him.


JAVIER LOPEZ, Relief Pitcher. 2007

I watched a lot of Red Sox games in 2007. And I watched a lot of games where Javier Lopez came into the game. And I honestly have no recollection of him recording an out.

I'm not being snarky. I am sure he MUST have got a batter out. But I don't remember it. It seemed like all of his appearances were listed in the Box Score as 0 IP, faced 2 batters.

When he came into the game, you just KNEW that Tito was going to relieve him before the inning was over. You KNEW that the rally was going to continue.

He was tough to root for... and I bid him farewell last year. As poorly as he pitched, I can't boo him.

JULIO LUGO, Shortstop. 2007

Oh boy this is the ultimate litmus test. This guy was TOUGH to root for. Not only was he obscenely overpaid ($36 million for a guy who lost his starting job with the Dodgers) but was BRUTAL in the field and had an 0-33 stretch at the plate.

Someday we'll learn what Orlando Cabrera did to tick off the Red Sox front office. But until then, Sox fans will all be scratching our collective heads wondering why he couldn't stay instead of shelling out tons of money for Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo.

But he won a ring with the Sox (and made a few nice plays in the World Series.) Swallow hard... I can't boo him.



And folks, if I refrain from booing those guys, then I think I can find it in myself to cheer some of the heroes of the '04 and '07 titles.

The Dodgers beat the Red Sox in trying to lose

Well this was a game that the Red Sox did everything in their power to lose.

They started the game with Bill Hall in right field, and he played right field like a mediocre back up second baseman.

They made 4 errors altogether, blew a late lead for Wakefield, let Manny homer, botched a 9th inning bunt play and had Dustin Pedroia swinging at everything in creation with 2 outs in the 9th.

But the Dodgers had a "let's lose this game" strategy. It was called "chuck it down the heart of the plate."

Vincente Padilla threw a fat pitch 3-0 to Victor Martinez thinking he had the "take sign" and not the "swing away and club a 2 run homer" sign.

But more bizarrely, Broxton had 2 check swing strikes with 2 outs in the 9th inning of a tie game on Dustin Pedroia who looked like he would swing at a throw to first base.

So what did he do with a 1-2 count? Throw it up to see if he'd take a hack at it? Throw it down to see if he couldn't resist?

Nope... he chucked it down the heart of the plate. Charley Steiner and Rick Monday couldn't believe it on the radio broadcast and I couldn't have been happier.

Thank you very much for the win, Mr. Broxton.

How appropriate that the Red Sox with dodge a bullet from the Dodgers?

Let's update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 21

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 19

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)

June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)

Back up to +2.

And oh yeah, the Red Sox are STILL tied with the Yankees and the Rays for the most wins in baseball.

Clay for the sweep tonight.

Maybe those "Beat L.A." shirts can come in handy.

My fellow Boston fans... the 2000's are over

When the game ended at the Staples Center Thursday night and Kobe and company were crowned as repeat champions, a thought crept into my head:

This wouldn't have happened in the 2000s.
If this were the 2000s, the Celtics would have drained a bunch of threes in the last minute and the Lakers would come up just short.

That's the way the 2000s were for Boston teams it felt like.
But it is 2010 now... and despite some nitwits insistence that it isn't a new decade yet, the results on the field, on the court and in the rink suggest otherwise.

For so long, the Boston sports scene was a place of futility. And after the 1986 Celtics title it was barren of titles.

After the Celtics beat the Rockets that year you had the 1986 World Series and the legacy THAT gave Boston.

You had Magic's hook shot over the Celtics. That along with the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, the breakdown of Bird and the M.L. Carr and Rick Pitino years turned the once proud Celtics into just another team on the schedule.

You had the two Stanley Cup Finals where Edmonton waxed the Bruins (and the lights were shut off in the Garden during one of the games.)

You had the Patriots in the Super Bowl against the Packers, only to lose and the Bill Parcells/Robert Kraft Soap Opera hanging over the entire game. And let's face it, the Patriots were an afterthought in New England.

For 16 years that was it. The 1990s saw each Boston team sinking into irrelevance and the Yankees AND Lakers transformed themselves into dynasties by the beginning of the 21st Century.

It was tough being a Boston fan. We thought Drew Bledsoe, Joe Thornton, Antoine Walker, Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra would be the next great Boston sports hero... but all fell short.

Then came the 2000s.

And the change in Boston sports came without warning. The tuck rule went the Patriots way, but the Super Bowl was going to be yet another mismatch like the Bears in 1986 and the Packers in 1997. The Rams were going to kill them.

But when Vinatieri's field goal went through, I remember my friend and current workmate Jon Corbett yelling with disbelief "I can't believe the Patriots won the Super Bowl!"

It is hard for young Boston fans to understand how unbelievable this was. Using my theory that you don't really follow a sports team until you are 8 years old, there are 16 year olds who only know Boston sports as a place where championships are expected.

But between the 86 Celtics and the Patriots first Super Bowl win, there was a grand total of zero victory parades in Boston.

That's a 16 year gap. There were 24 year Boston fans where that Super Bowl was the first real memory of one of their teams winning.

Then they did it again... but when Grady left Pedro in too long, it looked like more of the same for the Red Sox. Sure the Pats could win, but the order of the universe was still the same.

Then Dave Roberts stole second... and anything became possible.

Could the Red Sox beat the Yankees?

Yes and in humiliating ways never seen before.

Could the Red Sox win a championship?

You bet... and like the Patriots, they could have MULTIPLE titles.

Could the Celtics be champs again? Why not? And why not have one of the biggest thumpin's in NBA history for a clincher against the Lakers no less?

Could the Patriots go undefeated in a regular season? Check the videotape!

Could the Red Sox win an elimination game where they were down 7-0? Do you even doubt it?

The Duck Boats got a lot of miles on them and we Boston fans showed we could be just as obnoxious in victory as we were in victory.

There were so many new heroes in Boston sports lore that they threatened to push many older legends out of everyone's memory.

Tom Brady! Tedy Bruschi! Richard Seymour! Curt Schilling! Big Papi Ortiz! Josh Beckett! Paul Pierce! Ray Allen! Kevin Garnett!

And cult heroes like Kevin Millar, Ty Law and Big Baby Davis!

But it was more than just victory... remember with every victory there is a team defeated and for a glorious period of time some of the most hated figures in Boston sports kept wetting the bed.

The Yankees had two of their biggest collapses in team history in the 2000s with the 2001 World Series and the 2004 ALCS... and after 2004, they couldn't make it out of the Division Series and missed the playoffs altogether in 2008.

And the pick up of A-Rod seemed to blow up in their face as he kept folding like a tent and slapping wrists in the playoffs.


The Lakers imploded in the 2004 Finals and the team was dismantled to please Kobe... and the titles dried up as Kobe couldn't deliver a title without Shaq.

And Peyton Manning had the stats, but Tom Brady was the CHAMPION.

Phil Jackson and Joe Torre wrote books about how rotten things were behind the scenes.

It was a glorious time and it was a petty time.

It was a time of happiness for our team's victory and for schadenfreude for other fan base's misery.

It was a perfect storm of our ability to celebrate and be pricks.

And it's over now.

Manning? He's a Super Bowl champ now and he's won one more recently than Brady because of the OTHER Manning.

A-Rod? He's a World Champion now and he hit key game tying homers and game winning hits in the Division Series, ALCS and World Series to get his ring.

Kobe? He has back to back titles now, the last one coming at the expense of our Celtics not being able to hold a 13 point second half lead. People are now talking about him in the same breath as Michael Jordan.

Since October 2009, Papelbon let up 3 ninth inning runs to eliminate the Red Sox, the Patriots got blown out at home in the playoffs, the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead and the Celtics blew a shot at the NBA championship with less than 6 minutes to go.

The swagger is gone and that sense of impending doom has sadly crept back into our consciousness.

It's kind of like the movie Awakenings. For a brief moment we were able to come out of our slumber to experience the joys of winning teams, only to slip back into our immobile state.

Now in full disclosure, I am not a Boston Bruins fan. I am a San Jose Sharks fan and they have their OWN issues!

And my devotion to the Patriots is tenuous at best. I would trade all three Super Bowls for J. D. Drew to get a double off of David Price in the 8th inning of Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS... or for the Celtics to hang on to the 4th quarter lead on Thursday night.

And I am sure my friends who follow the Bruins primarily would trade the 3 Super Bowls, 2 World Series titles, and the NBA title for one Stanley Cup.

Maybe it will be good for us Boston fans to take a few lumps. It will help us appreciate what an amazing decade we experienced. What a huge class of water we had after a long thirst.

I'm not saying we shouldn't root hard for our teams. We should.
I'm not saying we won't see our teams win this decade. I bet some will.

But perhaps it was appropriate that Manny showed up t Fenway the day after the NBA Finals loss.

It was a reminder of that glorious decade where everything seemed to go our way.

We may never have a decade like this again.

Think of how lucky we are that we could experience it.

I feel bad for the kids born in 2002 and are 8 years old just following teams now. They missed out on a great decade.

Turn the page and let's give those kids some memories of their own!