10 reasons why Red Sox fans should root for the Rangers in the World Series

OK, we now have our World Series match up. I personally was hoping for a Tigers and Phillies World Series so we’d have a Verlander vs. Halladay.

Then I wanted Tigers vs. Brewers...
So naturally I got Rangers vs. Cardinals.

Now my fellow Red Sox fans might be wondering who they should root for... those who can bring themselves to watch baseball in the post on field and off field collapse of the Red Sox.

Well, one thing is for sure, you should root for a seven game series, which baseball needs more than a resolution to the Dodger and Met mess.

But what if it comes down to a 7th game and a tie score in the 9th?
Who should Red Sox fans root for?

It's an easy call.
Root for the Rangers... let me count the ways.

10 Reasons Why Red Sox Fans
Should Be Rooting For The Rangers

1. Not one member of the Rangers 25 man roster has a World Series ring

OK, that's not a Red Sox related reason, but it is pretty cool when you think of it.

If the Rangers win the World Series, every single player in the pile would be celebrating their first title. Having a whole team where it is the greatest moment in their life for ALL of them? That's pretty awesome. (The Molinas, Pujolses, Carpenters and LaRussas all have theirs.)


2. If the Rangers win, would Nolan Ryan’s “Let them pitch” style would be the direction of the new Red Sox.

The Red Sox need to rebuild their pitching staff and it will take more than banning fried chicken from the clubhouse to do it.

I fear coddling of pitchers more than the Colonel's secret recipe. I think it has already claimed Clay Buchholz and the old Sox management hasn't exactly produced the 1995 Braves... or the 2011 Rangers for that matter.

Ryan has let the pitchers PITCH and lo and behold the depth of their staff is one of their strengths. Win or not, the Red Sox should emulate them. Hope the Rangers win do the Sox will have to notice that Ryan has delivered much better results than copying Moneyball.



3. How often do you bump into a taunting Rangers fan?

If you are a Red Sox fan, no matter where you live, you will inevitably live or work near a Yankee fan who will give you crap about the great collapse.

Same with a Phillies fan or a Mets fan (although Met fans should keep their traps shut.) And maybe a Cardinal fan too.

When was the last time you uttered the phrase "I work with the most OBNOXIOUS Texas Rangers fan"? I am guessing never. That's a good thing. You don't want taunters to have the ammo of "And MY team won the World Series!"


4. Texas can become a free agent destination instead of the Yankees

Let's face it, Sox fans. This is going to be a lousy off season with the change in management and all. I don't know how many free agents are going to be running to Boston. And frankly the Red Sox have been spending too much on free agents recently. They need to develop their own players.

But we also don't want to see the C. J. Wilsons et al sign with the Yankees, do we? Well as Cliff Lee showed us, players are allowed to turn down Yankee money. And maybe if the Rangers keep winning and show they have a stable organization, maybe people will be heading to Texas instead of the Yankees.

Besides, can't you get a big huge mansion in Texas with low property taxes? DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!


5. Hey! Adrian Beltre is a former Red Sox All Star!

Shouldn't we be rooting for former Red Sox All Stars?

OK, so Beltre was only a Red Sox for one season and he wasn't exactly beloved... but it would be easier rooting for him to win a ring with the Rangers than say Clemens or Boggs with the Yankees... or Eckersley and Hendu with the LaRussa A's.

Go Adrian! Represent the 3rd place 2010 Boston Red Sox!


6. Come on… you can’t root for LaRussa or McGwire!

Isn't there something you don't like about Tony LaRussa? I could never figure out why I don't like him. It has nothing to do with him being a lawyer or doing that Glenn Beck thing. There's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. Seeing the Red Sox clobber the Cardinals in 2004 made it a little bit sweeter.

And McGwire, forget about it. Some steroid guys I have some sympathy for. This guy? He would have had Ron Kittle's career if not for the juice.

And together they massacred the Red Sox in the 1988 and 1990 ALCS. Seriously, you want THEM to be happy?

7. We can’t have the Cardinals also winning 2 World Series in the last 10 years!

The last few months have been so brutal to us Sox fans that it feels like everything positive of the past 10 years is getting more and more blurry. There's not a lot left for us to brag about.

Well since 2001, the Sox are the only team to win multiple World Series. That's still cool... except the Cardinals will spoil the fun if they win this year to go along with their 2006 title.

We need the Rangers to win for our own pettiness.

8. For Rangers fans, this could be THEIR 2004!

Remember that wonderful feeling we all felt in 2004? That great sense of relief! We had gone our whole lives thinking "Man, I'm never going to see the Red Sox win the World Series." Then suddenly they did. It made everything a little better.

Even seeing the Yankees win in 2009 and the Red Sox collapse in 2011 doesn't hurt the way it used to.

Now imagine you are a lifelong Rangers fan. The franchise had NEVER won the World Series. Hell, until last year they had only won one playoff GAME! The idea of being a World Series champ seemed pretty far fetched. If they win, then the die hard Ranger fans... the one that loved Pete O'Brien, Dean Palmer and Rusty Greer... would have THEIR moment they had waited their whole lives for.

Someone else deserves that kind of happiness.


9. A Rangers World Championship would George W. Bush happy and occupied

I am not going to get political here. All I am going to say are two things that I don't think anyone can deny.

1. George W. Bush would probably be happier if he were the Commissioner of Baseball rather than the former President of the United States.

2. He seems very happy being out of the political fray.

There might be pressure for him to be more vocal in the scrum that will be the 2012 election. For his sake and ours, I hope he is just going to sit back and savor another summer watching the Rangers defend their title.



10. SPIKE OWEN WOULD GET A WORLD SERIES RING

This is the BIGGEST reason for the Red Sox to root for the Rangers. He is the manager of the Texas Rangers AAA affiliate, the Round Rock Express. If the Rangers win, he would get a World Series ring as a member of the organization.

Spike was of course the starting shortstop of the 1986 Red Sox. He came along with Dave Henderson from Seattle in an August trade and greeting Hendu at home plate when he hit the go ahead homer in Game 6 of the World Series... the homer we all thought would clinch the World Series.

Owen was a typical Red Sox infielder from the Yawkey years. Not flashy, got his uniform dirty and whiter than the Bushwood Country Club directory.

Also Spike Owen's real first name? Spike! It was his mother's maiden name.

Every time a member of the 1986 Red Sox gets a ring, an angel gets their wings. I think that's how it goes.


So there you go, Red Sox fans... it might not get you all gung ho like 2004 or 2007... but there's reason to watch this World Series.

Say it with me! Let's go Rangers!
(Just don't yell that at a Bruins game.)

Gee Whiz, I wonder why people are suspicious about Pujols' recovery?

I can't be the only person who found it to be hilarious that Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire chastised the social media for insinuating that Pujols may have taken HGH in his recovery.

Yeah Mark, how silly of us to be suspicious. It's not like Albert has access to anyone who used Lord Knows What to get ahead.

Oh wait...

Pujols was hurt with a broken bone. And he came back faster than anyone could imagine. Faster than even the most optimistic prediction.

Under the supervision of Mark McGwire... and we're supposed to say "Wow, it must be a fluke"?

Remember when McGwire gave his "Oh yeah, it turns out I DID take steroids" interview?
He kept insisting it didn't help him hit homers. (Of course not.)
It was for recovery.

Well! Then that wouldn't apply to Albert recovering in record time... oh wait.

And it's not like he is going to be a free agent soon where a fast recovery time would increase his value... oh wait.

And it's not like there is an All Star Game coming up where if he were injured, the talk would have been how Pujols was hurt instead of playing in front of a national audience... oh wait.

And it's not like Albert is a native of a country that has relaxed steroid and HGH laws... oh wait.

And it's not like his manager Tony LaRussa has a history of managing players who have juices... oh wait.

McGwire said "They don't know Albert. They don't know the desire to be the best in the game."

Doesn't that sound a lot like Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod and McGwire?

Of course he's talented. Of course he's working hard.

But our guard is up. We've been seduced by feel good stories and been burnt by too many of them.

If you are offended by that Mark, here's a suggestion.
Take a look in the mirror and blame what you see.

R.I.P. Harmon Killebrew (1936-2011)

All-or-nothing sluggers. The monicker applies to players who specialize in one particular thing on the baseball diamond. They hit home runs. They don't do much else.

Over the past few decades, major league baseball has seen its share of all-or-nothing sluggers. Former players such as Dave Kingman, Rob Deer, Pete Incaviglia and Mark McGwire hit tape measure home runs that caused many jaws to drop, a tradition that has been continued by current players such as Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds, to name a few. Of course, if these hitters weren't hitting balls over the wall, they were probably heading back to the dugout after their at-bats.

Hamon Killebrew was one such player. In a career that spanned 22 seasons (1954-1975), the man with "harm" and "kill" in his name slugged 573 home runs, hitting 40 or more eight times. However, he only hit 290 doubles, never hitting more than 27 over a full season and finished his career with a .256 batting average and almost 1,700 strikeouts.

Killebrew was an all-or-nothing slugger before the term even existed. But despite being fearsome at the plate, the man known as "Killer" was a gentle giant off the field, treating everyone he met, from current players to fans at card shows, with the same respect. It was that respect that made him one of the most beloved figures in Minnesota Twins' history.

Earlier today, Harmon Killebrew lost his battle with esophageal cancer at the age of 74. Although this is a Mets blog, we couldn't let the day pass without mentioning the passing of a Hall of Famer and true baseball legend, regardless of which team's uniform he put on. (And for those who need a Mets connection, Harmon Killebrew went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the 1964 All-Star Game, the only Midsummer Classic ever played at Shea Stadium.)

Harmon Killebrew might have specialized in one thing on the baseball field, but that one thing was enough to make him a beloved figure, respected by Twins fans and followers of baseball alike. He may have "harmed" a few earned run averages by "killing" a baseball or two (or 573), but the soft-spoken Killebrew was anything but what his name suggested.

All-or-nothing? To Twins fans, Harmon Killebrew was all-and-everything. May he rest in peace.

10 thoughts about the 2011 Hall of Fame vote

Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar are Hall of Famers. The election results are in and this wonderful day on the baseball calendar will no doubt have the columnists and bloggers typing all night long.

So why not chime in my own self?

I predicted than only Blyleven and Alomar would get in despite many other worthy candidates. But I have some other thoughts on these matters.


1. ALOMAR SHOULD BECOME THE FIRST HALL OF FAMER WITH A BLUE JAYS HAT ON THE PLAQUE

Only Rickey Henderson, Phil Niekro, Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield even played in Toronto and got elected to Cooperstown. (And Molitor was the only one to stay for more than a year.)

Alomar was a Blue Jay for five seasons. Not exactly a lifer with any one team, he should have the sideways bird engraved for all time. (The Blue Jay... NOT the Oriole).



2. BLYLEVEN SCORES ONE FOR "THE FAM-A-LEE"

An interesting thing happens when a player plays as long as Bert Blyleven did and has to wait almost as long to get elected. You find yourself celebrating teams that played generations ago.

Bert Blyleven wasn't the biggest star on the 1979 Pirates (the late Willie Stargell was) but he now joins Pops in the Hall of Fame. And while Bert will probably go in as a Minnesota Twin, his time in Pittsburgh (where he threw the complete game win to clinch the NLCS and came out of the bullpen to win Game 5 of the World Series) should be saluted.

I have a mild obsession with the 1979 Pirates and hope that SOMEONE will cue up the Sister Sledge this summer in Cooperstown.



3. ALAS FELLOW "FAM-A-LEE" MEMBER DAVE PARKER WON'T BE JOINING HIM

On the 1979 Pirates, Dave Parker was a much more imposing figure than Blyleven. And I supported the Cobra's Hall of Fame candidacy. But after 15 attempts it didn't happen.

Maybe the Veterans Committee will take another look at him. Short of that, being the bad ass 1978 National League MVP and having two World Series rings might have to suffice.



4. HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO LEFT THEIR BALLOTS BLANK LAST YEAR VOTED FOR ALOMAR AND BLYLEVEN THIS YEAR?

Last year five writers left their ballots blank. And last year Blyleven and Alomar missed being elected by just a few votes. Those blank ballots could have been the difference.

If you left them blank last year and voted for Robbie and Bert this year, you should have your voting rights taken away.

Also if there were no Alomar nor Blyleven on the ballot, would there have been more support for Barry Larkin or other returning players? We'll never know.



5. GET TO WORK ON YOUR SPEECH, BARRY LARKIN

It is going to happen. People like Barry Larkin. There is no cloud of doubt hanging over Barry Larkin. AND he got 62.1% of the vote this year.

Next year the player with the best Hall of Fame resume being put on the ballot if Bernie Williams. Terrific player. Not a Hall of Famer. He'll get the votes next year to get in.






6. IT LOOKS LIKE THE 1984 TIGERS WON'T HAVE A HALL OF FAMER ON THEIR ROSTER

Sparky Anderson's passing recently shone attention back onto his wonderful 1984 World Champion Tiger team. It certainly FELT like a star studded super star team back then. But Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish never got the Hall of Fame support and now it looks more and more like Jack Morris and Alan Trammell's vote tallies are not going to cut it.

Therefore the only Hall of Famer from the 1984 Tigers would be Sparky.



7. IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD FOR MANY STARS OF THE 1980s

Don Mattingly's support is stagnant. Dale Murphy's isn't getting better. Lee Smith can't get over the hump after nine attempts. And poor Harold Baines is off the ballot after 5 tries. If Baines ONLY got those extra seven hits a year.

The 80s, the decade I grew up on, is struggling to put its superstars in the Hall!


8. WHY NO LOVE FOR TIM RAINES?

Staying with 1980s stars not getting love from the voters, the most perplexing is the lack of support for Tim Raines. In his fourth attempt he got less than 40% of the vote. It can't be just because he played in Montreal.

It can't be because of his drug problems.

I think people haven't looked at his stats. Well here they are. Read them and vote! (Jim Rice had less than 40% of the vote too at one point and he got in, so there is hope.)



9. UM... MARQUIS GRISSOM GOT 4 VOTES?

As I wrote in my Jay Bell - Hall of Famer post a few years ago, I get it when a guy gets a stray vote. A sports writer may want to throw a bone to a player they liked and make sure they didn't come and go without a single vote. It's when a player gets more than one sympathy vote that I start to wonder "Did I see the wrong player?"

I've got nothing against Marquis Grissom... a good solid baseball lifer. But FOUR voters used their ballot to say "He should be immortalized!" Imagine if 460 did. They'd be carving a plaque for him. As for B.J. Surhoff... this article kind of says it all.



10. THE NEXT 15 SOME ODD YEARS ARE NOT GOING TO FUN IN TERMS OF HALL OF FAME VOTING


Kevin Brown is mercifully off the ballot... but Juan Gonzalez somehow will stick around for next year. And Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro can't bust 20% of the vote but will be debated next winter as well.

The 'roids talk influenced the Jeff Bagwell vote and it isn't going to get prettier as the dreaded 2013 election looms... and Bonds and Clemens are eligible.

Be prepared for years and years of the tainted names on the ballot and lots of debate. Which is GREAT news for candidates like Barry Larkin and Rock Raines who will get more support from writers who don't want to send in blank ballots.

Ron Kittle - Another random card found in my old closet

Rummaging through my old closet, I found this gem from the 1989 Topps Traded Series. Ron Kittle, the 1983 Rookie of the Year, had three tours with the White Sox. One with the horrible SOX across the chest uniforms and the last one with the traditional pinstripe Sox uniform.

This card has him with the totally forgettable cursive C hat after his brief turns with the Yankees and Indians.

I have yet to meet a White Sox fan my age who doesn't LOVE Ron Kittle. The main reason I included Kittle in my Home Grown vs. Acquired White Sox entry was his special place in the hearts of Sox fans. It could be that he helped homer the Sox to the unexpected 1983 West title as a rookie. It could be that he was a humble midwesterner playing for a midwestern team. The fact that he wore glasses made him seem less like an athlete and more like a regular guy who could hit one out. It could be that he was one of those old fashioned right handed sluggers who was swinging from his heels, struck out a lot but could launch it when he got a hold of one.

Whatever the reason, mention his name to a White Sox fan my age and watch for the inevitable big smile.

We should also think about players like Ron Kittle as this Hall of Fame vote will be announced. No, I am not saying the Kitty Man belongs in Cooperstown. But let's take a name that is on the ballot. Just a random name... Oh let's say MARK McGWIRE.

Like Kittle, McGwire exploded onto the scene as Rookie of the Year and helped slug his team to the post season (McGwire did it in his second year.). And McGwire also hit a ton of homers and struck out a lot. By the time Kittle was 28 years old, injuries began to catch up with him. Same with McGwire.

The injuries eventually were too much to overcome and Kittle played his last big league games on August 13th when he played both ends of a double header. He homered off of Mike Henneman that day.

When McGwire was in HIS early 30s, he recovered from his injuries and suddenly became the greatest power hitter of all time and in the Hall of Fame discussion.

Kittle never made a million dollars a season.
McGwire made $11 million his final season alone and earned over $70 million in his career.

Can you imagine if Ron Kittle had injected Lord knows what into his body? If his body were able to recover from his injuries... if his line drives went a little further... if his 20 home run seasons became 30 home run seasons... if he piled up homers into his 30s...

Maybe people would have brought HIS name up in a Hall of Fame discussion. Maybe he could have been cashing $10 million checks.

But then again, nobody looks at HIS stats with suspicion. Memories of HIS home runs are positive.

Nobody questions the validity of his 7 homers that reached the roof top of old Comiskey Park.

Ron now does motivational speaking and now does something super cool.

He makes benches.

I am not kidding, these are cool.

The seats? Made of bases.

The backs? Made with bats connected by baseballs.


And you can design the benches to have which ever team and which ever players you would want to honor.

You can have the benches shipped to you... or if you live close enough, Ron Kittle will deliver it

How unbelievably awesome is that? Having Kittle show up with the new bench!

And no doubt he would be HAPPY to talk about the past.


So I salute you Ron Kittle.
You showed us all terrific home run power and you did it right.

No wonder Kittle will always be loved in the South Side of Chicago.

I guess Big Mac is smarter than the Rocket

Remember how we all made fun of Big Mac's "I'm not here to talk about the past" line that he kept saying over and over to Congress?

He looked like a big dumb jock who was trying to weasel his way out of trouble, didn't he? And he looked even worse with his cringe worthy pathetic and half baked apology interview he gave last January that I couldn't even finish.

Well McGwire is no Mensa candidate, but man he was smarter than Roger Clemens.
Here's something Clemens should have written on his hand as a reminder:

You are better off looking stupid than lying.

And another thing:

Your drug dealer has nothing to lose by telling the truth.

You should have taken my advice and learn the two words "No Comment."

This story makes me sad... I think more sad than most Red Sox fans. Clemens was always my favorite Red Sox when he was on the team, and I wore a Blue Jays cap the days he pitched.

Yeah I rooted against him as a Yankee, but I would have rooted against Jesus Christ if he played for the Yankees.

Clemens, like Bonds, was a Hall of Famer before he mysteriously got bigger and stronger in his late 30s. McGwire wasn't. McGwire was a Dave Kingman, slugger with a low batting average whose career would have been over around 1993 or 1994. Then he got healthy and BOOM! Became the Charles Van Doren of baseball.

Clemens being indicted doesn't mean he is convicted. But it gives the vote AGAINST him more weight.

Roger... Roger... Roger... Why couldn't you have been content with fame, fortune and immortality?