Yet Another Reason the Red Sox Are Awesome

If you don't live in Boston, then it may be difficult to understand how deeply connected a sports team can be with the populace of a geographic region. Read that carefully. Not fans-to-team, but team-to-fans.

I think that most people in Green Bay (football) or Buffalo (hockey) get it. To a lesser extent, there are certainly respectfully dedicated franchises and fans -- the Yankees in New York, the Lakers in Los Angeles, and the Cowboys in Dallas come to mind. I'll add to the list the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus to include collegiate sports.

But even in these cities, there are many people in the area who just don't care about their team.

Not so in Boston.

I postulate that there is no other city in America that is connected to a sports team like Boston is to the Red Sox, and how connected the Red Sox are to Boston. If you were to conduct a random survey here, I'd bet that more than 80% of respondents would say that they are a fan, and better than half could tell you how many games ahead/behind the Red Sox are in the American League East.

Some major league players wither under the intense spotlight of playing for Boston. They find the scrutiny annoying. They want to play, take a paycheck, and go home. You simply can't expect do that here in Boston. Players know and must deal with the fact that the Red Sox are often the lead story in our newspapers and on our television newscasts. For cryin' out loud, even the members of the Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots get it.

Fenway has been sold out for every single game in the last six years. Six years! Even when it's a midweek game and the competition is a crappy bottom-feeding National League team, there are no tickets available.

I humbly offer the following screen shot of the e-mail I received tonight as another example of how connected the Red Sox are to New England. It's like a family. John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Luccino understand. While I don't know these guys personally (obviously, or I'd be able to afford tickets), I'd like to believe that they aren't merely brilliant businessmen but truly comprehend what the Sox mean to the millions of citizens of Red Sox Nation.

They get it. So do all the people in this video clip.

Red Sox

The Red Sox are kicking the Yankees' asses this year, 8-0, and I'm thrilled.

The most recent series is made even sweeter because we beat their best. Wang. Burnett. Sabathia. Our bullpen has been nothing short of a firing squad (and this isn't just my opinion, even the jaded New York press agrees).

Look, part of me wants to wear my PR-guy hat and be diplomatic about this. I swear it to be true. But y'know what? Fuck that. We're 8-0 against the Yankees this year.

I just don't see how we can't win the World Series. We've beaten the living shit out of the second best team in the AL East, which is inarguably the toughest division in all of baseball. Don't even bring up the National League. Yeah, the Dodgers are up eight on San Fran. But that's like when the British kicked the snot out of Argentina in the "war" over the Falkland Islands.

I know it's irrational and somewhat immature to be so ecstatic. But so what? This is me. Allow me this tiny little piece of happiness, would you please?

Winslow Townson/AP

Non-Stop Boston Sports Wicked Pissahness

The Red Sox and Yankees play for four hours and 21 minutes. Extra innings. Then they play for 4:21 again even though it's only nine innings. Then the Celtics and Chicago Bulls wrestle for three hours and 32 minutes, through two overtimes. And all the while Bill Belichick makes moves that will be studied by draftologists for centuries to come. Like the DaVinci Code.

Oh, I almost forgot. We also had to follow the Rangers and the Capitals, and the Devils and Hurricanes because we still don't know who the Bruins are playing in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. There's a good chances the Bruins and Celtics will have another of those Causeway Street twinbills Saturday. The Red Sox will make their first visit to the new Yankee Stadium two days after that.

The Sox go for 11 straight tonight in Cleveland. Tomorrow night it's Celtics-Bulls at the Garden. Thursday it's the Bruins at home in Game 1 (we think), the Celtics in Chicago for Game 6, the first day of Patriots minicamp (welcome, Patrick Chung), and the Sox' first game in St. Pete since Game 7 of the ALCS.

-- Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe

* * * U P D A T E * * *

As of today, April 30, 2009, ESPN is now referring on air to the Washington Nationals as the "Natinals."

Come Back, Tek

Fair warning. This is a post written by a fervent Red Sox fan.

Jason Varitek is perhaps the greatest defensive catcher or all time. Seriously. Nobody disputes that fact ... competitors, fans of every team, sports broadcasters, Hall of Famers, managers, and even fellow catchers. I'm not going to bore you with stats about his defensive prowess, so suffice it to say that a no-hitter is an extremely rare event. He's called the pitches and racked up the most in the history of the game. Equally important, he's a true leader. He will always be there to protect his team mates. Yes, your mind just flashed to Cappy getting into A-Knob's face).

Let me get to the point. This morning I said to a friend of mine "Varitek is kicking himself in the ass with the benefit of hindsight for not agreeing to arbitration. He was stupid for listening to [his agent] Scott Boras and holding out for a long-term deal."

Imagine my glee upon reading the article in today's edition of the Boston Globe. Here are the salient points, quoted and heavily edited into one paragraph.

Varitek requested the meeting [at Jason's home with Red Sox owner John Henry], an unusual development during a negotiating season typically dominated by agents. Boras could not be reached for comment, but it seems highly unlikely he would encourage a client to meet with any team without his presence, particularly at this stage of free agency. Had Varitek accepted [arbitration], he probably would have garnered a one-year deal worth $10 million to $12 million. Given the downturn in the market in the offseason, Varitek seems hard pressed to end up with even a one-year deal approaching anything near $10 million.

Jason is the captain of the Red Sox, an extremely rare honor which he did not seek nor accept willingly. He is the heart and soul of the team, and frankly I would be disgusted and saddened to see him wearing another uniform .... and just downright depressed if he should retire.

Come back, Cappy. Take a two year deal and go to the Hall of Fame wearing a Red Sox uniform.

Congratulations, Pedey!

I thought that the prevailing anti-Boston bias would get Josh Hamilton enough votes, but our very own Dustin Pedroia has been named the American League MVP!