The Boston Dead Sox
From
the give this team some chutzpa department
by Gordon McCleary, FN Correspondent—CONTACT
GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
August 29, 2007—Well, here we are
winding down the season and I still don’t know what this team is really
capable of. They really have not been tested all season regarding their American
Eeague East lead. Complacency must set in a little when, for a good part of
the year, the team held a double digit lead in the Division. That being said….put
down your stat books for a moment.
Here is what my eyes and my gut tells me about the 2007 edition of the Boston Red Sox: They are not a clutch team. Look at the team record for wins after being behind it the late innings..2-44 or something close to that. How many walk off wins this year? 1-2 ? To me, being clutch and getting that big hit in the bottom of the 9th speaks not only of clutch hitting, but also of team chemistry. When the going gets tough..the..well you know the rest. This team looks dead—uninspired at times.
Some people may say: "Hey, why are you whining, they have the best record in MLB? I say..crap to that! Sometimes as a fan, you see things that don’t fall on the stat sheets. What I see here is a team that is uninspired, playing out the season for an early exit in the playoffs. A far cry from the way I was feeling back in 2004, I just knew THAT team had chutzpa! This 2007 team looks flat and, at times, very painful to watch when something is on the line.
Ok, so for
85% of the season I really tried, and succeeded most of the time, in being a
World Championship type of fan. I’ve been carrying on like we’ve
been here before and not letting those close games and the relief situations
get to me too much. I would say to myself: hey, the Sox have plenty of
time to fix the bullpen and get people back healthy, but I find myself most
recently fading back to my old ways.
So here we are: 1.5 games in front of the men in stripes (it could be
.5 after tonights action) and three more to play with them, the bullpen is not
fixed and our main man from last year trying to come back. So today I thought
I would write from the heart and bring my fears to the top and get them on paper.
You see, this is not me going negative - oh no, it’s just the feelings
of your average Joe Red Sox fan. How many of you feel uncomfortable with
the Yankees breathing down our backs after many of us trashed that team months
ago? As we wind down the 2005 schedule, watching these games I can tell
you, I have zero, zip, and zilch confidence when the Red Sox take the lead into
the later innings. The Sox could have a 5-7 run lead going into the 7th,
8th, 9th innings and the thought is how many runs can we keep from crossing
the plate? I am by no means an expert on the team’s relief pitching
situation, but like many other Sox fans, I have my opinion, which is this:
The Sox should shut Keith Foulke down and get him ready for the 2006 season,
use Timlin in 8th inning situations and have Papelbon be the closer,
or bring up rookie Hansen and see what he can do. Desperate times calls
for desperate measures. Have the rookies try and do something the veterans
could not do all year.
A perverse side of me almost feels like I would like to see the Yankees come
within a half game in the standings just to see if the Sox can bring it this
year. Can this team pull it together these next few weeks? We know
we can hit, we have scored and average of 7 runs these past few weeks, and in
many games they needed all of them.
Now doesn’t all of this sound like the fan of old? I don’t
mind it. As a die hard Sox fan, I think it’s imbedded in me. The
only difference is when I think back to last year’s ACLS against the Yankees,
I remember that series and think to myself: Yup, this is Red Sox baseball -
anything can happen. So I revert back to my World Series winning fan attitude
and just think…….one game at a time!
Yesterday and Today
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
So I am sitting in my living room here in Tallahassee, Florida one day this past week and getting ready to watch the Sox face the Rangers at Fenway on ESPN. I watch most of the games on MLB.com but I really like it when they are on regular TV here in Florida. The game looks better on a 32 inch TV screen than on a smaller computer screen.
Anyway, this game was special: My son, Nathan who is attending college in Massachusetts , scored some good seats and told me he would be at this game. So he calls me on his cell 30 minutes prior to the first pitch and says “Dad, you are not going to believe were I am sitting!” Ok, I say to myself, he scored some good seats on the first base line. He tells me he is sitting three rows back behind home plate and “Oh, by the way, I think Johnny Damon’s wife is sitting right next to me”. “Awesome”, I say, “Enjoy the game and keep your cell phone in your pocket”. So the game begins and as I watch the first pitch, right there in plain TV view 3 rows back behind home plate, is Nathan cheering on the Sox! I gotta tell you, it’s very interesting watching your son’s reaction with every pitch. This really got me thinking about a few things:
I have to admit it, I was a little jealous that my son had these great seats, but really deep down I felt proud that he has turned into a big time Sox fan. I thought back to my childhood and remembered that I was probably just as happy sitting in the bleachers at Fenway chanting “we wanna hit, we wanna hit”. Geesh, that was a long time ago. I also got to thinking how it might even be a little more pleasant being a Sox fan in this next generation. Growing up as a Sox fan in my generation, expectations were pretty low most of the time. When the team made it to the world series in ’75 and ’86, something deep within me kept telling me that when the Sox needed a big hit or a big out, it wasn’t going to happen. And guess what -- it didn’t.
By the Sox winning the World Series this year, all of this seems to change in my mind. They did get the big out or hit and even the big steal (thank you Dave Roberts!). As I reflect, I truly don’t miss those “wanting” years, those years that Sox fans came across as the consummate hard luck / bad luck, some even said cursed fans. I truly prefer the “we can win no matter what” feeling. I think the Yankee series last year went a long way in purging that old feeling of losing no matter what. This new winning feeling can only be a good thing for our sons and daughters. They can go to the park now and think wow, bottom of the 9th, down by a run, who will get the big hit for us this time? As opposed to the old way of thinking: oh well, another loss, that’s just the Sox.
I think the 2004 World Series win has made us Sox fans winners. We are the old timers who stuck it out thick and thin and the new generation who will now have a different attitude about the Old Towne Team. Red Sox fans are truly a different breed (we are the packer fans of Baseball). We do wear our hearts on our sleeves and treat this game and our team with great respect. We all deserved 2004, the team earned 2004 and nobody can take that away. Last year did change us, though. We did not loose our passion, but our expectation of winning has changed for the better.
Random thoughts on the 2005 season
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
July
23, 2005. —Random
thoughts on the 2005 season:
• Should all of the Red Sox players have a remedial class in base running?
• Does it seem like we are always behind after 3 innings or is it just
me?
• Free Kevin Youkilis
• Is Mark Belhorn Gone?
• Manny and Ortiz..I like saying that
• Johnny Damon..can we sign him now?
• It’s really great to see Renteria come around
• Will the Sox have a “statement” game this year?
• Did you get the feeling, when the Yankees took that half game lead in
the division? Recently, all of baseball made them the 2005
AL champs?
• Say what you want about Schilling, he is the consummate team player.
• Are the Sox America’s team?
• I miss Dave Roberts
• Aren’t the Sox due for a 9 game winning streak?
• Was Carlos Beltran the biggest fake superstar free agent? Boras is a
marketing guru!
• Does anybody really care if Barry Bonds does or does not come back?
• Don’t you just love to watch Vlad Guerrero hit?
• Don’t you just love to watch Dontrelle Willis pitch?
• And don’t you just love it when Tito takes a Sox pitcher out of
a game BEFORE the damage is done?
State Of The Red Sox
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
May 27, 2005. —I want to talk Red Sox baseball and will after I say this: I have had something on my mind for some time now and I feel it's a good time to "let it go". So here is a rant from Florida. Where does the Boston Globe, NY Times, et al, get off suggesting that Boston Dirt Dogs site, (http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/), is a Red Sox fan site? As far as I can tell, when I look at this site from time to time, all it really seems to be is nothing more than a supermarket tabloid . It features low blow remarks against Red Sox players and seems to feast on slumping/adjusting ball players. The stories are not at all about the Sox on the field, but based on "he said/she said" scoops (with shaky sources) that are only aimed at taking a dig at the "player of the month". When one Sox player breaks a slump, the site turns its venom to the next player. If the Sox are playing well, there is always Kevin Millar to turn to. Take the recent story on Foulke. That site got all caught up in the visit to Alabama by Foulke and was treating it like a big scoop. Well I, for one, don't care about a player's trips and life between games - give me a break! I have been told that if I don't like the content then don't go to the site. However, if some baseball fan googles"red sox fan site", I am sure BDD is in the top 5 in site listings. As a Sox fan, I do not want to be associated with a site that just feeds the boo birds at Fenway and gives Sox fans throughout the country a bad name. In my view, BDD does not represent the feelings of the majority of the Red Sox Nation.
Now on to
the 2005 Red Sox. If I was to sum it up in one phrase, it would be "hangover
fits". That's what this season feels like for me watching these games,
and it may still feel that way for the team on the field as well. I don't think
the focus has totally been on the games at this point. It seems to me that some
of the Sox players are lacking focus and are still spinning from the 2004 season.
I look at the season to date and the first impression I get is they are not
clicking on all cylinders yet. It seems that when the hitting is on, the pitching
is hurting, and vice versa. When was the last time the Sox had a great hitting,
run scoring game and shut out/shut down pitching? It seems few and far between.
Manny, Foulke, Wells, Renteria, Millar, Embree and a few other
are not "clicking" in 2005 just yet. But if you have been a baseball
fan as long as I have, you know that all is not lost. These players are too
good to be down for long. My props early in the season go to Arroyo, Clement,
Wade Miller (with a couple of quality starts, although at this writing he is
getting creamed in Toronto), Damon, Tek and Papi. They truly carried this team
to this point in this young season. You could categorize me as a very optimistic
Sox fan. I get to thinking that if this team gets going, we Sox fans can look
forward to another post-season. I remember in 2004, there were times like these
that the Sox looked disinterested and pre-occupied. They were a 500-ball team
for a long stretch, but when they faced really good competition and their backs
were against the wall, they showed their true grit and determination. Maybe
that's what they need now. At this writing the Red Sox are losing again, 8-1,
the Yankees and Baltimore are winning, so our beloved team could fall into fourth
place before the night is over. Well, sounds like a good place to start, it's
the Yankees this weekend, let's see if that 2004 "spirit" can come
back for this series. Let's get 'em, boys!
Same as it ever was!
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
April 8,
2005. So another
baseball season begins and the only difference this year is that the Sox are
world champions -- what? I am still trying to get used to
saying that. I was enjoying the off season celebrations so much that the
2005 baseball season snuck up on me and now it’s opening day at Fenway
this Monday. Now that the 2005 season is here, I finally get a chance
to see what being a fan of a World Series champion is all about. We have
all heard the stories, it’s been all over the press and all the experts
are saying that we sox fans are not going to be as passionate, we have lost
our identity. We have been so caught up in not winning a WS in 86 years.
Now that we have won, what can we possible do with ourselves now?
Well let me tell you, from this Red Sox fan experience in this young season.
At this writing, I just watched the Red Sox win 6-5 against the Toronto
Blue Jays. They went into the 9th inning with a 6-3 lead and our favorite
closer ready to put the Blue Jays down..right? Well, after the Jays score
two runs and the tying run is 90 feet away, I begin to pace again, I start grumbling
at Foulke and the Sox -- should we take him out? Damn he just hit a batter,
OMG who is this guy on the mound and what have they done with Foulke, I say.
God, how are they going to get through a season if this guy piches like this?
And by the way, whats up with Manny -- how come he is not hitting? And is Tito’s
illness a sign from above?
But they win! And Tito is out of the hospital with a good report.
Whew! I think I just answered my own question. The passion is still
there and my fanatical approach to this team will never change. It’s
the same as it ever was!
Thank God I'm a Red Sox fan..Thanks Pop!
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
October
24, 2004. 1967—Red
Sox against the Detroit Tigers was my first game at Fenway. I will never, ever
forget my first walk through the ticket line in anticipation at my first look
at the field, very excited and grabbing my Dad's hand and pulling him along.
We had grandstand seats and I will always have the image in my head of walking
from concessions through to the seats and remembering thinking to myself, man
oh man the grass looks greener and neater than it does on TV. And that smell!.
the popcorn, peanuts, grass and candy combination smell that is baseball!
The Sox were warming up on the dugout side and all I could hear was the popping
sound of baseballs hitting glove and the sounds of the vendors yelling "peanuts,
popcorn Coke here!" I remember looking over the field and yelling to my
dad, "hey..there's YAZ, and Rico and look Mike Andrews...I remember asking
my dad, where does Ken Coleman and Ned Martin sit? This is the day I was born
into the Nation.
My Father, William James McCleary, took me to my first game. As the story goes
with thousands of us, I have not stopped supporting this team although in 1986
I swore NEVER EVER to watch them again. I managed to avoid a few games of the
1987 season but was always close enough to know exactly were they were in the
standings and who was the hot hitter or pitcher. . And how about that '86 World
Series.Just like the JFK assassination, all Sox fans to this day know exactly
were they were at that moment. Me - I was living in Canton, Mass at the time
and sitting in front of the TV wanting everything to just stop! Roll back the
tape and just start that inning all over again. In retrospect, after some reflection
(4 years!) that loss added tremendously to the feelings I have for this team
today.
I have so many stories about the Sox in my life that as like many a Red Sox fan could write a pretty good and long novel. I have managed to live a very good life around them so can manage very well during the off season :).
I have been
living in Florida for the past 9 years and get to see the Sox play in Tampa
and Atlanta when they are scheduled. I do make it back to Boston a few times
a year - need my fix! My last trip I will never forget. I was visiting my Mother
at an elderly apartment complex and I got into the elevator with a man who looked
95-97 years old with a Red Sox hat on. I also had a Sox hat on. The Sox had
lost the night before, and without saying hi or hello or anything else, he looked
at me and said "Those bastards, I will never watch them again!" I
quietly wondered how many times he had said that in his lifetime. But I could
relate to what he was saying and got to thinking, us sox fans have this sort
of unspoken language.
Let's just say beating the Yankees after coming back from a 0-3 deficit is probably
the number 2 all time great Sox experience for me in my book, right behind my
first game at Fenway. What's more pleasing for me with this win is that this
teams approach has reminded me so much of my years playing sand lot baseball
as a kid, those were the days that I would wiggle my bat like Yaz and give that
mighty swing...I loved playing baseball, the 2004 sox love playing baseball.
So here I am again, a little older. I've got my Sox jersey on, many miles away
from the epicenter of the nation, getting ready for a World Series rematch with
the St. Louis Cardinals. I have flashbacks to 1967 and can remember thinking
Bob Gibson was bigger than life and those Boston globe headlines were very bold
and red!
I guess I am dedicating this article to my Dad for introducing me to the Red
Sox - Thanks POP! This very well could be the year the Boston Red Sox win the
World Series and I will fly up to Boston to join in the celebrations if this
happens. If not, I can't complain too much as the trip so far has been unbelievable!
Thank God I'm a Red Sox Fan!
HEART AND SOUL NATION
by Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent—CONTACT GORDON DIRECTLY AT: gmccleary@comcast.net
OCTOBER 9,
2004. While
I am 1,101 miles from Fenway Park, watching the game last night (game three
vs. the Angles) I felt as much a part of the game as any one of the 34,000
plus. Although Vlad's home run was a downer, there is just something about this
team that gives me the feeling that no matter what the situation is, they will
find a way to win. Is this a mark of a championship team? Can this
be the year? I truly believe it could be. I have said this many times over the
course of my 39 year relationship with the Red Sox. But this time it feels different
saying it - it's not so much of a cliche'.
The 2004 Red Sox remind me of a Hurricane. All the teams that play them plan
on how to avoid the big bats. It seems to me that the first 3-4 innings
of any game is like the quiet before the storm, and by the 5-7th
innings all hell breaks loose. Big run innings wrecking the opposing pitchers.
Speaking of Hurricanes, my wife and I had a very eventful trip to Tropicana
field recently on our way to see the Sox play the Devil Rays. Hurricane Jeanne
was churning up the cost that weekend and we were determined to make it to the
game. This was the game that if the Red Sox won, they would clinch a playoff
berth. Well, I can tell you for the first time in my life, I was afraid of the
weather, truly afraid. We had to stop half way on our trip to hole-up at
a very modest hotel called the "Cadillac Inn." After a sleepless
night thinking the two huge oak trees behind the hotel would slam into our room,
we survived the night alright and went back on the road to finish
the journey. Then the thought came to me....Yes, the 2004 Red Sox are just like
a hurricane force, opposing pitchers must be a little weak in the knees
when looking at their line-up.
We finally get to the game, the Hurricane finally out of Florida, and we do
get a chance to witness the Hurricane intensity that is this team. The sox won
7-3 and we also did get a taste of this force when Manny got hold of a pitch
that is still rattling around the roof of the Tropicana.
Being somewhat of an old timer, I am always comparing or better yet, trying
to compare this team to past Red Sox teams and quite frankly, I can't. We had
some really good teams in '67, '75, '78 and '86 and some players who, let's
say, follow the beat of their own drum (Bill Lee comes to mind right away).
But this team is so far removed from those that I grew up with. I started the
season wondering why management was not asking certain players to get a
hair cut, why some players wore their hose up to their knees and some had
their pants so low they were covering their cleats. Why all the weird stuff
in the dugout, and what the hell is up with Pedro?
But I have grown to love this team no matter what they do because they have
reminded me what playing baseball is all about. I watch this team of misfits
and can remember playing a pick-up game of baseball as a youngster in Dorchester,
Massachusetts and remembering our line up. God, they were hairy kids,
small kids, fat kids, skinny kids kids with crew cuts, kids with hair down to
their necks. We all had one thing in common - we loved to play the game,
just like our beloved team.
If the Red Sox do win the World Series, I am sure there will be many relocated
fans from the Nation like myself that will make the trip back to "mecca"
just to experience the feeling of a World Series Championship and to do it for
our Dads, Moms, Uncles and so on who are not with us but have come so close.
BRONX MELTDOWN—JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED?
by
Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent
September 20, 2004. First
off, I will not be bashing Lowe,Pedro or Varitek-other web sites will spend
plenty of time doing that....2 games do not make a season. Baseball can be a
very frustrating game, we Sox fans know this very well. The good news for my
mental health in these last two games with "that team" is
that:
1) The games were over just as I was just relaxing in my chair getting ready
for the game! By the 3rd and 4th innings I could putter around the house while
the games where playing in the background-stress free.
2) In my eyes, if there is anything this team has to prove to me from this day
forward it is:
a) They are a much better team than the team that was outscored 25 to 5
in these last two games, and
b) This team can win a big game on the road.
Time for the 2004 Boston Red Sox to learn something, anything from this pounding
and pick up the pieces and make the playoffs the second season.
We know all to well that there is a different Mojo come playoff time, and I
for one would just as soon like to forget about this drubbing, not harp on it
and move on. We play Baltimore at home tomorrow, 7:05pm Wakefield vs. Reilly.
I will be getting ready for the Sox trip to Tampa as I will be at the Trop
supporting the "old towne team".
It has been a very strange year, or has it? Or is it just that our expectations
were so high that we were going to dominate the American League in 2004? We
have to show up and play, and in the past month and a half we have! Baseball
is a funny and unpredictable sport. I will look at this past series
with the Yankees as a bump in the road to the post season. We all
know the Sox are a better team than the team that got beat 25-5 in
these past 18 innings.
Props to Bronson Arroyo - he has proved once again that he is well on his
way to becoming a premier starter for the Boston Red Sox
PS) Did anyone else see Lowe looking at the sky during his meltdown, almost
to say "Please rain..NOW! ??"
Gordon McCleary lives in Florida and is the newest member of the FenwayNation Editorial Board. He will report regularly on his observations as the defender of the southernmost flank of FenwayNation.
Rebirth of a Nation
by
Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent
August 27, 2004. Suit
up, Red Sox Nation, the pennant and wild card races are on! I don’t know
about you, but I feel a little more confident about our chances when we are
behind a couple of runs, a little less edgy when we have a 1-2 run lead going
into the ninth, my stomach is a little more settled when Timlin takes the mound
and I also get a sense that most of the Nation is on the same page when it comes
to talking about the team and it’s playoff potential. It does seem that
the team and the fans have moved past the “Nomar Malaise” and have
set their sites on making the playoffs. All except one web-site that spends
more time trashing Nomar than reporting on the Sox, but I look to who
they are owned by and say, kind of dirty..no?
How
awesome it is to be born into Red Sox Nation! , Let’s do this! Some say
I may be a little overenthusiastic, heck. yes I am a little giddy right now,
we all get to this stage as Red Sox fans. Oh yes, I still have all those bad
thoughts (67,75,86, Dent, et all) but I am very confident and am not the first
to say, "hey this could be the year?" (where have I heard that before?)
Isn't it funny how winning can make you quickly forget these bad thoughts and
all that was .500 with this team just a few short weeks ago?
Props to Bronson Arroyo: I have always thought he was a better pitcher than his 7-9 record indicated. I just love watching him pitch, too. He seems to have this quite intensity that he brings to the mound. If we make the playoffs and Bronson pitches like he did last night as our third starter….shall I even dare say it? Enjoy the ride!!!
PAST ARTICLES BY GORDON MCCLEARY:
by
Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent
August 15, 2004. Losing far too many one run games,
keeping pitchers in too long, getting thrown out at home far too many times,
no clutch hitting to speak of, can't get any meaningful winning streaks together,
Nomar gets traded, AAAAAAaaaaa !!
I'm exhausted! The 2004 Red Sox have worn me out. Can I make it
to the end of this season without a complete breakdown? The season has
been like this for me and many other members of the Nation. Just when
you think the team is destined for .500 ball and no way will make the play-offs,
they then show a little spark and they pull you back in again. You then
think they will run a string of wins together, 6 or maybe 8 in a row - this
is the time, this is the place, but "poof" they then show you why
it will be hard for this team to do anything but be remembered for being a very
expensive team that couldn't get that clutch hit, couldn't get that important
out, could not, well..um..could not go that little extra for the win and could
not shake itself from .500 baseball.
Being a true and faithful fan for many years, I have always given the team the
benefit of the doubt. But lately, I have been having these thoughts that
this may be the year known for good intentions and really bad management. I
will always go back to the beginning of the year and remember the trade mismanagement
and the hiring of a coach that would rather keep a player happy than make a
move to win a game. And how can the Nation truly forgive Sox management
for trading Nomar—NOMAR!
I don't know if I am getting old or what, but these two things have always been
bothering me as well this year:
*Why do our players look sloppy and un-kept?
*And why does it seem that some of the team's superstars couldn't really give
a rats a** about winning?
It just seems that the team really is not that interested in getting dirty and
grinding it out for the win. I may be old school, but having a good time
in the dug-out and laughing on a bad swing for a strike-out to me seems a little
"over the top".
In the meantime, we fill the stands and help pay for this lot of underachievers.
I watch and get very frustrated. Wondering when the restless nation
will go off, and ask for the heads of The Red Sox Top Brass.
I will hold off my shrink appointment for another week or so.
No sense of urgency! On the field, or with management
by
Gordon McCleary, FenwayNation South Correspondent
August 7, 2004. Well as a Sox fan, from the class
of 1967 (My first game at Fenway) you would think I would have many layers of
thick skin as I watch this very frustrating season. I am sad to report that
this season is one of the more frustrating ones in recent memory. I wonder,
is this because of all the expectations I had coming into the season? Is it
because of the happiness I felt when it looked like Sox management had a "WS
or bust" attitude when they acquired Schilling and Foulke
in the off season? Or was it looking at that 125 million dollar payroll that
had me thinking, yes, on paper, this is the year!
Well I find myself slipping into that same ole feeling, and preparing myself
for that very familiar role as a Sox fan, watching other teams play baseball
in October. It seams that what was and is being done by front office and management
staff isn't good enough to bring this team out of this mediocre, boring and
blah 2004 season. But this year, before the season is completely over, I would
like to send a comment to Sox brass which is this: "GET OFF YOUR A**ES
AND MAKE SOME CHANGES NOW"
Maybe the changes that really need to be made are not on the field of play!
Just like in corporate America, if I was responsible for the same 125 million
dollar payroll and needed to produce a competitive winning team, my a** would
be on the line right now. What is really going on here??
*Is management in no hurry to change because Fenway sells out anyway?
*Would management act differently if attendance was 11-12 thousand a game?
*Did management learn anything from the "oh so public" Nomar trade
bait for A-rod fiasco?
*How long does management think that the Nomar news will hold headlines and
the real truth of mismanagement and very bad game day decisions will take a
back seat?
*Don't the Sox brass look at the on field antics of these under achievers and
ask questions like:.."Maybe we do need a new third base coach" or
"maybe. just maybe. Tito is making some bad field decisions"
*Is it in Theo we trust, or in Theo we go bust?
*When will the Sox Brass role out the "well we had too many injuries this
year" spin?
Well, I am one fan that blames management for all the team's issues this year.
From treating some of the team's premier All Stars like crap when the season
was just getting underway. For letting things get way out of hand with the Nomar
deal and mostly for not taking any action as we all watch this 2004 Sox team
wallow in mediocrity this year. Maybe the "no sense of urgency" attitude
has come down from management and onto the field, and that is what we are seeing
played out this year.
Waiting for the REAL 2004 Red Sox
If
you were to ask me today what my take is on the 2004 Red Sox, I would probably
tell you the same thing I was thinking during spring training. This team has
a lot of potential; we will have to see how the season plays out. Here it is
after the All Star break and I am still waiting and thinking this team will
kick it in gear soon, we haven't seen the "real" 2004 edition—right?
While I wait for the 2004 Red Sox to get into gear, I have been thinking:
*Did the "A-Rod near deal" and the "here, you take Manny"
fiasco REALLY screw up the psyche of this team?..Not just Nomah and Manny. but
do the players really have a commitment or respect for management knowing
that management can (in such a public way) put you up for trade regardless of
what you have done for this team in previous years? Nomar deserved more respect
than that. And maybe what we are seeing in Manny this year is, as my teenagers
would say, a "WHATEVER!" attitude.
* This team has a lot of good baseball players, one of the better pitching duos
in the league, a couple of home run and RBI leaders, a relief pitcher who can
get the job done most of the time. Millions and millions of dollars spent on
the team that will take us to glory in 2004—..WHATS THE PROBLEM?
*What's up with the fans who are anti-Nomar?? I don't get it
*How come the players look just as happy when they lose as when they win games?
*Why does this team seem so lazy? No spirit? (Mueller's walk off against the
Yankees an exception)
*Are the Millar bashers now in hiding?
*Am I just being a picky type, but do any other MLB teams have players with
large hair?
*Theo is very young
* What the hell is Tito chewing??
*Do other teams players take days off during important games?
I ponder these questions and thoughts as I wait for the 2004 team to kick in
to gear. As the season gets deeper and if the Sox can't find that momentum,
I have to believe that the moves, or lack of moves, made by upper management
early in the season had a much more profound effect on this team than anyone
would have thought.
Whatever!