A statement, (Red)Sox declare [Yea but... who's your daddy?!]

The Boston Globe ^ | October 13, 2004 | By Gordon Edes

[johnny7]

NEW YORK -- The gloom of seeing their ace bounced after just three innings, his shortest outing in three years, was worsened by the knowledge that the Curt Schilling who had carried them all season might not be seen again this October.

[Alberta's Child]

Not necessarily against the Red Sox. Rivera may have some kind of mental block that makes him come unglued against the Sox every now and then -- his track record against the Sox in the last few years has been surprisingly poor.

[BadAndy]

Sux fans and others hate the Yankees for the same reason that many foreigners hate America. They hate winners.

[bridgemanusa]

Ok. Lets get something straight here.

President Bush is NOT from NY. In fact, NY is almost (and I did say almost) as liberal as MA. And just because clueless Kerry and Kennedy are from MA. DON'T EVER equate them with the Red Sox, or any other professional sports team in MA.

The truth is, Kerry doesnt have a freaking clue who the players are. Can you say Manny Ortez?

Here is the way I see this thing (politics aside).

The Sox rotation last year was Pedro, Lowe, Wakefield and Burkett. Even without Schilling, the rotation would be Pedro, Lowe, Orroyo (much better then Burkett) and Wakefield. Sox lost on a Managerial blunder, not pitching blunder.

Now.. lets compare the Yanks from last year:
Musina, Clemens, Petite and that dude they "outbid" the RedSox for (his name escapes me at the moment, but it doesnt matter becasue the Yankees traded him mid year) This was a powerhouse pitching staff.

And the Yankees this year: Musina, Lieber, Brown and ElDuque. This is a "doghouse" pitching staff (after Musina, that is).

"It aint ovah till its ovah".

Like I said, its a seven game series.

[Alberta's Child]

New York teams always have one distinct advantage in professional sports: they play in the largest consumer market in the U.S., and therefore generate more revenue than any other team from ticket sales and local television.

I have no problem with that in principle from a business standpoint, but it makes it very difficult to maintain a professional league under these conditions. One characteristic of sports that doesn't apply to any other industry is that each team has a compelling interest in not running their competition out of business.

[johnny7]

Hey... I gotta read the Herald every morning. The Sox scribes were pumping the fans up for a 'friggin sweep! They talked like the Yank's had no business to even show up!

Look... the Sox were picked by the oddsmakers... they bat for a higher average and they have better pitching. So pardon my rah-rah when I read the Sox players talking like a bunch of weak-sisters.

[mass55th]

"The only reason the hated Yankees were put on this earth is to torture the even more hated Boston Red Sox."

I love it when a plan comes together.

[GraniteStateConservative]

All of those predictions weren't far off. Mussina was healthy and had a 5.40 ERA last night. Put in a healthy Schilling and we probably give him plenty of run support to win the game-- we almost did after spotting them 6 runs! No one knew his ankle was popping when they set the odds and made their predictions.

[katnip]

I stopped paying much attention to baseball altogether once the Yankees brought on Roger Clemens and then traded off Tino Martinez.

I'm just laughing at your obvious socialist tendancies on this thread.

[Vigilantcitizen]

I'm no Sox fan, but can somebody please explain to me WTF Francona chose to pitch to Bernie Williams with 2 on, 2 out, and the sox down one run in the 8th?

[bridgemanusa]

I'm an O's fan (losers), so here's to the Cards winning it all. Hey, they're birds, too.
You sound a bit socialist, as though you want the wealth redistributed to give your Bosox a fighting chance. Ha! As if you care about the rest of the league.
You dont have a freaking clue who I am or what I stand for. You are better off either sticking to the subject or shutting your yap.
Mostly, though, I think you should stop whining about how you don't have a chance because the Yankees are so rich
The Sox still have a great chance to win. But that doesnt change the fact the Yankees are and will always be the biggest spenders in baseball.
My hope, for the record, is that the Sox beat the Yanks, then lose to the Cards. I NEVER want to see a WS ring on Mike Mussina's finger. I say that with all the bitterness an O's fan can muster :)
Hmm.. this sounds familiar.. Oh yeah!! "First I voted against the Red Sox before I voted for them".

[El Gran Salseron]

"As long as the Yanks lead going into the eigth, they bring in Mariano, and it's curtains."

Oh, yeah. I understand what you mean. Like in the D'Backs' Series, huh?

[johnny7]

What I find weird is that we should be facing Vlad in the ALCS.

What is with you Sox fans and the word 'we'?

Last I heard ... your name wasn't on the Red Sox roster! What's this, some kind of vicarious thing... some form of 'channeling'?

And by the way... what's this Red Sox Nation BS? Is that like the Cherokee Nation... Carrie Nation?

LMAO!

[GraniteStateConservative]

We pledge allegiance to Terry. It's all in the commercial. Don't you get NESN in Assachusetts?

[Labyrinthos]

New York teams always have one distinct advantage in professional sports: they play in the largest consumer market in the U.S., and therefore generate more revenue than any other team from ticket sales and local television.

The Yankees also generate more revenue for the teams they play because whenever the Yankees come to town, the home team attendance is up and in many cases, way up.

I have no problem with that in principle from a business standpoint, but it makes it very difficult to maintain a professional league under these conditions. One characteristic of sports that doesn't apply to any other industry is that each team has a compelling interest in not running their competition out of business.

Take a look at the teams in the World Series since 1960 and even over the last 10 years, and you will see a number of teams from smaller markets. Since 1980, for example, something like 21 different teams have played in the World Series. Although the Yankees do have the most appearances with 7, at least 13 of the other teams played in the series at least twice, including ATL (4), PHL (3), OAK (3), STL (3), CLE (2), KC (2), LA (2), SFO (2), FLA (2), MIN (2), and NYM (2), and between 1980 and 1998, the Yankees only appeared twice. So please don't try to convice me that baseball lacks diversity in the winners' circle.

[gracex7]

Who are you cheering for?

[Phantom Lord]

Your pretty boy pinstripes almost BLEW the game last night.

I hate the Yankees and only want them to win when playing Boston.

In fact, I can't stand baseball and never watch it. My time is better spent doing more productive things, like FReeping and playing XBox.

[Joe Driscoll]

The reputation of Yankee fans has once again proven to be accurate.

[Alberta's Child]

Don't go all the way back to 1980 . . . the whole business of baseball has changed dramatically in the age of cable television broadcasting that began for MLB somewhere around the early 1990s.

I've never claimed that baseball "lacks diversity" in the winners' circle; in fact, I specifically pointed out that having a high payroll doesn't necessarily translate into post-season success.

Any team can make the playoffs periodically and have a successful run at a championship, but what makes MLB's future untenable under current conditions is that most teams can't succeed for more than one or two years because they can't retain the players that made them so successful to begin with. The Florida Marlins are a classic case in point -- they have the unusual distinction of being the first team to dump high-salaried players after championship seasons on two different occasions. The first time this occurred was a disgrace -- it led to lawsuits by season ticketholders who felt justifiably ripped off when the previous year's champions came back as a AAA-level ballclub.

The NFL system is abysmal, but that league has one key regulation that would go a long way toward helping fix MLB: They would never stand for an "incestuous" situation where a team was owned by a media giant like Cablevision or a traditional TV network. (I may be wrong about this, but I believe the NFL prohibits any kind of outside corporate ownership.)

[dmz]

Could you get any more shrill, girlie man? A little sense of humor deprived, aren't you? This is baseball, a kids game, we're talking about. You're like your team, a bit unhinged, ready to fold at a moment's notice.

Yup, I liked Mussina before I didn't like him. I guess you still root for Clemens when he pitches against you, huh?

[John O]

Go Yanks, America's Team.

I really have to take issue with this. The Yankees are Steinbrenners team.

In all of professional sports there is only one team that could be said to be America's team. Because there is only one team with owners in all fifty states. The Green Bay Packers.

(And as one of those owners (from Indiana) I'm getting really ticked at our lack of defense this year. It's looking to be a long season if the boys don't get crackin)