Congrats to the 2013 Boston Red Sox

I'm happy for Shane Victorino. Anything else I could say would sound bitter. Let's just say I'll never get over that damn DH rule and can't be for any AL team ever. That said, an amazing one year turnaround - gotta hand it to them...

-Ray
 
I'm from NY and went to a few Yankees games as a little kid (recall Greg Nettles, Reggie Jackson from those days), but I've never been a baseball fan. When we lived in Baltimore, my kids liked the Orioles, and now one of them likes the Red Sox and one was convinced by my parents to be a Yankees fan. I enjoyed the playoffs this year and was happy for the Red Sox.
 
I'm happy for Shane Victorino. Anything else I could say would sound bitter. Let's just say I'll never get over that damn DH rule and can't be for any AL team ever. That said, an amazing one year turnaround - gotta hand it to them...

-Ray

I'm with you on Shane and the DH rule, but it's hard not to be happy for Boston.

Do you know the history of the DH and the role the Phillies played in keeping it out of the National League? (sorry to go OT...) In 1980 there was a meeting to determine if the NL would adopt the DH. Then GM Bill Giles was told by owner Ruly Carpenter to vote in favor of the DH, as the Phillies had guys like Greg Luzinski and Keith Moreland and felt they would benefit from the rule. But at the meeting Giles was surprised to learn that the rule would not be implemented for two years. He wasn't sure how to vote, and could not contact Carpenter, who was out on a fishing trip. Giles eventually abstained from the vote, as did the Pirates (who had committed to vote with the Phils) and the Astros. It is believed that had Giles voted for the DH as planned it would have passed.
 
I'm a longtime Sox fan (still getting over 1967) and will never quite adjust to them being successful. It's especially nice for the city in the year of the Marathon bombing.
 
I'm with you on Shane and the DH rule, but it's hard not to be happy for Boston.

Do you know the history of the DH and the role the Phillies played in keeping it out of the National League? (sorry to go OT...) In 1980 there was a meeting to determine if the NL would adopt the DH. Then GM Bill Giles was told by owner Ruly Carpenter to vote in favor of the DH, as the Phillies had guys like Greg Luzinski and Keith Moreland and felt they would benefit from the rule. But at the meeting Giles was surprised to learn that the rule would not be implemented for two years. He wasn't sure how to vote, and could not contact Carpenter, who was out on a fishing trip. Giles eventually abstained from the vote, as did the Pirates (who had committed to vote with the Phils) and the Astros. It is believed that had Giles voted for the DH as planned it would have passed.
Yeah, I'm happy for Boston, particularly in the aftermath of the Marathon bombing. But they've won three in a decade now - they're no longer the adorable losers that everyone could pull for and be thrilled when they won the first one. Now they're a dominant franchise (shown clearly by how quickly and thoroughly they rebuilt for this year). And I tend to root against teams like that unless they're the Phillies during their short run. Hell, I was hating the Yankees in the 2001 Series immediately after 9/11, so I can't possibly give the Sox a break this year... Ironically, the Cardinals are another franchise like that but I've always liked them, even after they beat the Phils in that heartbreaker in 2011 I still wanted to see them go all the way.

I'd never heard that story about Giles and the DH. I didn't realize the NL was that close to adopting it and thank goodness they didn't! To me, baseball with the DH is like a camera on full auto - it can still take fine photographs, but it takes so much of the fun out of the process! I've live in AL cities and NL cities, and National League baseball is infinitely more interesting and enjoyable than DH baseball. I just like to think along with the game and figure out the tradeoffs associated with having a pitcher who has to bat, when to take him out, how to get to him even in a meaningless inning so he doesn't have to lead off the NEXT inning and handicap the top of the order with a sure out. Baseball is the most interesting game of all of them, IMHO, and the DH just kills the strategic and tactical interest for me... I'm sure that someday the whole game will have it - I just hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime...

-Ray
 
I'm an underdog rooter, too, which is why I had no issues with this series. The Cards have had great teams for a long time. If it had been someone more like the Cubs, it would have felt more like being a bully. But against the Birds, I have no issues. Having said that, the Cards are a good team and a good town, so no animosity at all.

Boston has 8 banners across the 4 "major" pro sports in 11 years, so it's been a good ride for sure.
 
Well, having grown up in Boston all my life, believe me when I say, I remember those days.

This is better :)
 
Early 90's Braves is the last time I paid regular attention to MLB. I watched half of two of these games, and stuff... I just don't put any effort into it. But I dug the beards.
 
Oh the hair I lost (and some maybe found their way to the Red Sox' faces) watching this postseason was well worth it! Plus my kids are happy now that the almost-nightly screaming is over! :D Well, until the NFL Playoffs, that is.

I have to say though -- watching pitchers bat is fun once in a while, but over a cardiac arrest-inducing series? Not so much.


Bill - see you at the parade? :D
 
I am not a large crowd person, but this one is oh-so-tempting!

I think it's Saturday??

I think so, but that info came from the duck tour company -- the city has not confirmed it yet.

I'm with you - when the Bruins won I thought about going, but knowing how huge the crowds would be, I didn't. This time though I just might. The kids definitely are staying behind.
 
I should say. Philly is breathing down your neck with exactly ONE in the last 30 years. It tends to make one a sore loser...:rolleyes:

-Ray

I include Villanova winning the NCAA b-ball title in '85, but it still doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference...

On the positive side Ray it just means that we savor those rare victories all the more. And I'm afraid 2008 is going to have to keep us happy for quite a while longer. Though the Sixers did beat the Heat last night.:rofl:
 
As a native Bostonian, but by no means a sports fan, I suppose my gladness at the Red Sox win is more tribal than anything. But there you go. I am glad they took the series, and I know it will give my sister, who has had a rough ride for a year or two, a bit of of boost.

Meanwhile, my only feeling for the Albuquerque Isotopes is annoyance at the traffic their games generate in my neighborhood. (By the way, didn't anyone know The Simpsons episode with the Albuquerque Isotopes, that inspired the real team name, was making fun of this town?? Like Bugs Bunny taking a left turn in Albuquerque?) Sheesh.
 
I include Villanova winning the NCAA b-ball title in '85, but it still doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference...

On the positive side Ray it just means that we savor those rare victories all the more. And I'm afraid 2008 is going to have to keep us happy for quite a while longer. Though the Sixers did beat the Heat last night.:rofl:

Yeah, I know - that's what I was watching INSTEAD of the beat-down the Sox put on the Cards last night. I saw Shane hit his bases clearing double and then flipped over to the Sixers. I know we want them to suck this year, but that game was FUN!

And yeah, I've never seen a civic event more amazing than the World Series Parade in '08 and I know some of that had to be from how absolutely UNIQUE it was around here! I can savor that one for a good long time if I have to...

-Ray
 
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