Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
October 17, 2003
Positive Red Sox Fans

Ben Jacobs offers this column on last night's game. Two things I find worth quoting:


There was no second-guessing of Little's move. It was obvious to every single person watching the game except for, it appears, Little that Martinez was out of gas. Even my girlfriend, who was watching the game despite the fact that she doesn't really like baseball in general or the Red Sox in particular, told me she was screaming at the TV for Little to take Martinez out.

I've heard this a couple of times today, that someone's girlfriend/wife knew to take Pedro out. It's looking bad for Grady when people who don't like baseball know more about the game than the manager.

And I'll be back next year, rooting just as hard for the Red Sox as ever. And the Red Sox will be back too. I guarantee that there will not be another prolonged stretch where the Red Sox don't make the playoffs or don't win in the playoffs.

How am I so sure? Hell, you might say, the fans in 1946 were probably sure that Ted Williams would get back to the World Series at least once and the fans in 1986 were probably sure that Clemens would lead Boston back to the World Series at least once. How can I be so sure, especially when the Red Sox didn't even reach the World Series this time?

Well, my faith is not in any of the players. Pedro Martinez? Nomar Gariciaparra? Manny Ramirez? You can take them all. Leave Theo Epstein in Boston, and I'll feel good about our chances. The boy wonder brought us to the brink of the World Series in his first season at the helm. Who knows what he can do from here on out? I know I'm excited to find out.


Yes, I think this is only the beginning. It may take a few years, but the Red Sox are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a long time.

Derek Prior ran into a lot of miserable Sox fans last night, and doesn't think they should be unhappy:


There was a lot that was good about this year, this series, and this game. It was a lot of fun. My heart was broken yet again but in the end it has been an autumn I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. I'll remember leaping 5 feet in the air as Trot Nixon's homerun cleared the center field wall in game three in the ALDS. I'll remember the ups and downs; how every time it seemed like the Sox were out of it, they came storming back. I'll remember the nightly debates about which bar we were going to watch the game from. And yes, I will remember where I was when Aaron "f-ing" Boone broke my heart.

Go ahead and be miserable. As for me, I enjoyed the ride.



Posted by David Pinto at 01:33 PM | League Championship Series | TrackBack (0)