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I wanted to wait until the parade to really soak this in.

Yea, this isn't the Red Sox first rodeo. Yea this isn't even close to Boston's first championship. This is the 11th time in 16 years we've revved the Duck Boats, and rolled them down Boylston, then up Tremont past City Hall Plaza.

But, I'll tell you this... IT. WILL. NEVER. GET. OLD.

NEVER!!!

I'm watching fans flood the sidewalks, and continue along the route to try and get multiple glances at the most dominant single season Boston Sports team... EVER. You have kids missing school. College kids skipping lectures, if they weren't already cancelled by their professor who's also attending. Nine -to-Fivers using their lunch break to breathe in autumn air and cigar smoke. The helicopter camera literally just panned across a building under construction with guys on site draping crudely spray painted tarps congratulating the team. This city will and forever will be a baseball town. And for 2018 this town is the top of the Baseball World.

The Red Sox from Opening day to the knee buckling slider to Manny Machado winning Game 5 and the World Series never disappointed.

I've never fell so in love with a team. Staying up late for extra inning games in mid-July. Following games on my phone if I didn't have a TV or laptop to watch. And when I attended live games - begging and pleading with whomever I went with to stay for innings 1-9 (special thanks to my mom and girlfriend who stayed on two separate times for a Xander Bogaerts grand-slam walkoff and a come-from-behind walkoff against the Yankees). Every moment about this team - regular and post season - was captivating.

Game 5 started off hot. A Benintendi single, right into a MVP earning two run homer by late season addition Steve Pearce. By the end of the first inning (2-1 BOS), everyone on the field, and in the dugout knew this series was not getting back to Boston. David Price continued to prove his new narrative of a worthy playoff pitcher by going 7 strong inning striking out 5, allowing 1 run(which occurred in the first inning) on 3 hits. Price kept the game even keeled without getting much help from the bats until the 6th, that's when we were all reminded of the force that is Mookie Betts.

After being silenced for what was almost the entirety of the road games, Mookie took a pitch from Kershaw deep to centerfield giving the Sox a 2 run spread on the Dodgers. It grew from there with a solo homer by Martinez and another by Pearce to put the score well out of reach at 5-1.

But let's return back to Mookie. The guy who is all but officially named AL MVP did not have an MVP caliber post season. Going 0-13 on the road during the world series before that homerun, and eventually finishing 1-15. Batting only .210 with 4RBI you can't help but think how few games the Sox would have lost this post season with him playing how he did during his regular season.

However, the benefit to Mookie's post season drought was that this team really got to shine. Like I've stated in a previous blog, the Red Sox always get that unlikely hero in the post season. But this year it seemed every guy who was not named Mookie, JD, Sale, or Kimbrel stepped up for the role. Nunez in game one, Eovaldi pitching his arm into oblivion (despite in vain), Moreland cutting the impregnable 4-0 Dodger deficit, Kelly and Briaser displaying perfection all three series, and Steve Pearce's MVP candidacy platform in the final two games. As Mookie said in his post-game following the series win, "the guys, they picked up all the slack I left", and that's why this series was over before it began. The Red Sox were not the first to 20, 30, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 wins because of a couple arms and two MVP candidates. They hit 108 wins in the regular season because of the collection of 25 men dawning those red stitched "B" hats. Those 25 are the reason this franchise went out there in the post season and stepped on two 100 win team's necks, and then routed the 2x NL Champs to claim a fourth title in 14 years.

The series ended just as every super hero movie pumped out of Hollywood does. After striking out the first two Dodgers, Chris Sale squared up against the man the nation, not just Red Sox Nation, came to hate: Manny Machado. It was quick. And it embarrassed. A back foot slider for strike three toppling the ankle hunter in a whiff that made Los Angeles look like the windy city. Game over. Series over. Season over.

No more wins to add to Alex Cora's wall. No more games to be played at Fenway. No more enjoyable late nights (definitely not counting studying as enjoyable) for me in 2018. No more baseball until pitchers and catchers make their way down to Fort Meyers. The 2018 season is now over, but it ended in the most perfect way - with the Commissioner's Trophy held high above a Red Sox team I came to love.

[anythingbute-blog]

WS Game Two: Half-Way There

David.

Bleeping.

Price.

No, no, no. That was in no way negative. We are now in the era of "Playoff Price" rolling off the tongue dripping in positive connotation.

Absolute and complete dominance from 24 up on the hill. Now, I need you, the reader to stay seated while I read you this stat line from Game 2. It is for your own safety, health, and well-being.

David Price was coming out of the bullpen for Tampa in 2018 for their World Series run. He saw 3.1 inning, let up 2 runs on 2 hits, and one of those hits was a moonshot by Eric Brunlett of the Phillies.

Price stepped back up on the brightest and biggest stage in Baseball again for the first time in 10 years. And he looked nothing like that Rookie reliever. 6 innings-pitched while giving up no more than two runs. Within those 6 frames of great pitching, David had 5 Ks on 3 hits and 3 walks. Compared to who was thought to be our ace, Chris Sale, David Price absolutely outshined and out performed. He gave the bullpen an easier job for not just game two, but for the rest of the series as well. Cora only had to turn to two relievers - Joe Kelly and Nate Eovaldi - and then the closer. Each having to only throw one inning each that were as quick as can be. By Price going the distance and keeping the Dodgers at bay means more to this bullpen than you might think.

We now have the entire bullpen fresh for game three having had a day of rest for travel. Had Cora needed to dip into the reserves, the bullpen would have had to work harder leading to either longer appearances, or more guys being used. Now we have a ready-to-go Joe Kelly, and possibly saved Eovaldi for a game 4 start.

Basically what I'm saying is... THE RED SOX PITCHERS ARE ROLLING.

The bats once again came alive but in a different fashion than game one. Game one was in your face, we can outhit your Cy Young pitcher and early at that. Game two was more strategic. The Beantown Boys were playing chess while the Dodgers were playing checkers. Two outs with Bogarts in scoring position? Kinsler finds the gap and its 1-0. Two outs and no one... NOBODY, on base? Christian Vazquez singles. Mookie with a simple single to the outfield. Benintendi draws a walk in an at-bat that felt like two years long giving me 5 heart attacks and loads them up. Steve Pearce takes a fourth ball to bring in the guy who got the 5th inning rally going Christian Vazquez and the Sox take the lead 3-2. All. On. Two. Outs. But they were not done! A two out line-drive single to rightfield brings in another run and the Sox have now put 6 men on base and score two of those guys, all with two outs.

This is the most disciplined team I have ever watched. To any kid wanting to make it far playing this sport, watch how this team works counts and picks out balls to hit and where to hit. They put the ball in the outfield, not far, but it spots that puts them on base while moving runners safely. They are not all going for launch angle, they are not all 60 homerun hitters. They are gamers. Put anyone in that lineup in a two out situation, and I feel somewhat comfortable. That's Tom Brady down in the Fourth stuff, but with an entire roster.

Final: 4-2 Red Sox

[anythingbute-blog]

One down, Three to Go

Let’s get this over with now. Manny Machado is a goddamn problem. I don’t like the fact we boo the hell out of him just have him smack around 3 RBIs. 

Okay, on to the good stuff.

THE RED SOX ARE THREE WINS AWAY FROM A WORLD SERIES TITLE AND A PARADE THROUGH THE STREETS OF BOSTON.

How’d we get it done you ask? Well on the backs of our bullpen and Edwardo Nunez.

You heard that right. The same bullpen everyone said would be the Red Sox downfall in the post season, continues to dazzle. And the guy who is barely trusted in the field gave us an insurmountable lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chris Sale had a lackluster start in a game advertised as the pitching matchup of all pitching matchups (aside from the ALCS game one being called the “pitching matchup of all pitching matchups).But lucky for Sale, Kershaw was back to his regular ole playoff self. Both pitcher didn’t go past the fourth. Both pitchers allowed 3 runs. The only difference was Sale had 7 Ks on 5 hits, while Kershaw had 5 Ks (two of those being Ian Kinsler) on 7 hits. Pretty similar starts that ended up putting much pressure on the bullpen.

The bullpen was once again lights out besides a hairy relief job by Barnes, where he only allowed one run in the 5th. Joe Kelly continues to absolutely dominate - striking out two and retiring the side. And finally we get a Kimbrel appearance that doesn’t end with a spike in defibrillator purchases.

The Red Sox bats against a likely HOF ace ultimately shocked me once again. Mookie right away got things going with a single and very lucky stolen bag, Beni (who went 4-5 with 1 RBI and 3 Runs) brought in Mookie on a single hit to right field, and followed up with JD Martinez line drive single bringing around Beni. 

That timely hitting in the first inning is what it will take to sweep, yes SWEEP, the Dodgers. 

It felt as though every inning the Red Sox were creating opportunities at the plate to score. By the 8th inning the Sox were faced with a 5-4 lead and with how Kimbrel has been you never know if that enough. So in steps Nunez.

Cora said he had intentionally not started the usual go-to right-handed batter in a lefty match-up, because of this situation. The skip who continues to flex his baseball IQ knew Roberts would go Lefty-Righty-Lefty-Righty and back to a lefty with the bullpen hoping to get Cora to sub Devers out and get Nunez with a Righty pitcher. Cora didn’t take the bait. 

It wasn’t until the last pitching change, where Roberts tried to take the advantage with lefty-pitcher, Alex Wood, facing lefty-batter Rafael Devers. That’s when Cora decided it was time. He pinch hit the 22-year old birthday boy for the third baseman vet, Nunez. The rest will go down in World Series history. 

A game winning by the least likeliest of hero’s seems to be a common motif for the last 4 Red Sox World Series. Steven Drew in 2013 with a 3-run homerun. A break out performance by Mike Lowel hitting .400 and scoring 6. And Mark Belhorn hitting a game tying 2-run homerun in 2004.

The World Series continually gives Boston players a chance of redemption with the fans, and Nunez has become the new focal point of this pattern.

Game 1: 8-4 Red Sox

[anythingbute-blog]

World Series Preview

Ladies, and Gentleman. Red Sox fans of all kind.

Get your buckets of ice and champaign bottles prepped. The 2018, 108 win, AL East and AL Champs Boston Red Sox are in the World Series.

This is their first time in 5 years making it to the Fall Classic. Fourth time in 14 years. And 14th time in team history.

The Patriots may very well have taken New England by storm this century with their 5 tittles in  7 Super Bowl appearances while running the gauntlet that is the NFL. But, Boston IS and for every WILL BE a baseball town.

Beantown's Boy's of October will be squaring off against the Los Angelas Dodgers for the first time in the World Series. The Red Sox finised a solid 17 games ahead of the Dodgers for regular season records (Only counting the first 162 games and not the Divisional tiebreaker). But, the narrative no longer settles on the regular season. These two teams have fought tooth and nail to get to the final series for the 2018 season, and each wrote different yet equally captivating chapters to their the stories yet to be finished.

LA started things off with a game not part of the Post Season, but also not technically part of the regular season. The Dodgers and Rockies squared off in one of the two Division Tiebreakers that occurred this season, in which the Dodgers took game 163 in order to claim the NL West crown. From there they went on to stun Atalanta and the  Baby Braves with a quick 3-1 series win to move on to the NLCS.

The Sox run so far has had the MLB front office giddy with joy. The first match up was set against the Yankees. Practically markets itself. Each game in the series stealing the spotlight of the divisional round and earning primetime for four staright nights. The Sox made quick and painful work of the Yankees outscoring the pre-season projected AL East Giants 25-14 in 4 games.

The Astros were up next on the Red Sox hitlist. Now this series went completely different than how myself, and many-many other thought it would go. For one, it only went 5 games. The Red Sox dropped game one, and things looked bleak. I had thought Sale would need to get the win for the Sox to keep playoff hopes alive because Price would most likely drop the ball. And boy, I was wrong. Price didn't get the win in game two but appeared in a game where his team won a post-season win for the first time in ten seasons. From game two and on the Sox looked locked in. And even more surprising, Jackie Bradley Junior was locked in hitting three hits, two being homeruns, and bringing in 9 RBIs throughout the course of the series. This evidently got JBJ the ALCS MVP.

But, one more major achievement was again with David Price. The much criticized left-handed hurler got his first post-season win, and did it with probably the best performance on the biggest stage he has ever started in. With the clinching game on the line and battling arguably one of the best post-season pitcher in history, Justin Verlander, David showed up. He threw for 6 innings, struck out 9 (career Post-Season high), walked no one, was hit 3-times, and allowed 0 runs. Talk about getting a monkey off his back - David Price put that species of primate into extinction.

The Dodgers found themselves in a plethora of people's crosshairs thanks to the giant personality of Yasiel Puig who came up big in Game 7 with a lead securing 3-run dinger in the top of the 6th. Hip thrusting, and chest pounding his way around the bases - Puig's flair for drama is only matched by his teammate Manny Machado. Manny stirred the pot against the Brew Crew in the NLCS by not only sliding late and off the bag... and grabbing the leg of Orlando Arcia. And yes, that was all in the same play. But, that wasn't it. The next day in Game 4 Manny clipped the foot of Milwaukee's first-baseman causing both teams to spill onto the field, and getting the quote "One time is an incident. Repeated over and over and over again, it's a dirty play. It's a dirty play by a dirty player.... F@#$ that Motherf@#$er" out of likely NL MVP, Christian Yellich.

Now I'll admit, I wanted to see the Brewers face the Sox mostly because I called them making the World Series back in January in a bet with my roommate. But, an LA-Boston World Series??? I'll take that 9 days-out-of 10. These two cities already have historical basketball beef with the Celtics and Lakers. Can you imagine adding baseball to it. This series very might spill blood, and I'm not talking about in the stands or parking lots between diehard fans. I'm talking bad-blood between Machado and the Sox. I'm talking the atmosphere of post-season Fenway. I'm talking the greatest outfield robbing surefire hits against the NL's cockiest offense. I'm talking Joe Kelly Fight Club squaring off against the equally sociopathic Yasiel Puig. There will be blood, but not after and not before balls out play on both sides.

Game One is Tuesday and we'll see Kershaw square off against Chris Sale. I think we'll see playoff Kershaw once again, he'll go 2 and 2/3 letting up 4 before getting yanked. Sale is going to go 5.1 allowing 2 and sitting down 7. In the end it will be Red Sox 6 - Dodgers 5. And yes, Kimbrel will allow one in the ninth giving me my third heart attack of the post-season.

Sox in 5.

Benintendi wins MVP.

Roll out the Duck Boats, Baby.

[anythingbute-blog]

Not Ideal, But Don’t Panic

Welp. It was not pretty I can assure you that. 

Game One was supposed to be the Sox saving grace if we were to stay beating our chests after emasculating the Yankees in the Bronx Zoo. That did not happen at all.

Sale goes 4IP with 2ER and a whopping 4 walks to his 5 strikeouts. The two earned I can deal with. With this Red Sox lineup they can score 2 easily, and they did. But that is as optimistic as this game was.

Sale had two quick outs to start the second inning, but then the wheels fell off. A walk by Correa, followed up with a hit-by-pitch to Maldonado of all guys, and then another walk for Josh Reddick loads the bases. This inning went from Sale being his dominant self, to “oh dear lord, what is happening”. This all brings up the one guy who you do not want in a bases loaded situation. Scratch that, Springer is a guy you don’t want in any situation. And Georgie did exactly what what makes him so valuable to the Astros and terrifying to the rest of the league. 

An absolute bullet right under the glove of the worse fielder on this team. Mr. Eddy Nunez. I don’t understand how the Sox hit 108 wins with both him and Devers playing third. But I’ll rant about that at a later date.

A single is all it took for the ‘Stros to assert their dominance on this pitching staff. 2-0 after just two innings of what was going to be a decent out for the Conductor, Chis Sale. 

Now Sale was getting squeezed here and there but this game cannot be pinned on the calls behind the plate. They were bad, but this team isn’t made up of a bunch of CC Sabathia’s. You play with the cards you’re delt. Or at least that’s what Porcello preaches.

Benintendi should have never argued that call. Yea it was shit. But that was his third at bat of the night, and a player of his caliber knows how that zone is being worked by this pint in the night. The sox were giving the ump plenty of lip that night and Beni was the last straw. And Cora knew this. Cora being the smart manager he is sacrificed himself to keep a stud player in the game. If he didnt jump out of that dugout and intervene in the shouting match that was about to brew, Beni would have been out of the game. So, instead now we have a ship without a captain all because Benintendi can’t work an at bat. 

Moving forward after that inning where the Sox knotted things up at 2, we get to see ole’ Rec-specs come back on the mound for a second inning. This is a guy where not even 3 weeks ago I was hoping wouldn’t make the 25 man roster for the post season. Boy was I wrong. 

Kelly drills Bregman to start things in the 6th. Absolutely intentional and don’t @ me. I love it. That time out shouldn’t have been taken. It shouldn’t have been granted. And now you get the full effect of the sociopath who is Joe Kelly.

That was about the last good thing that happened in the game before I wanted to drown my sorrows in Sam Adams. 

Kelly allowed an unearned run that ended up being the winner. Without Cora at the helm on the top set, this team was set to lose. The Astros are a team where you need to be perfect in order to beat them. The Sox can be that team, but need the guidance and decision making of Alex Cora. 

The bullpen decisions at the end were head scratchers but make sense. Workman and Hembre aren’t the guys you want in that game scenario, I think Cora had planned them to pitch game one. Think about it. Sale goes 6 like he should. Kelly comes in for the 7th and maybe 8th. Barnes to finish things off and give Kimbrel the night off. They do this and you save Brasier, E-Rod, and Kimbrel for a David Price performance that will most likely need the bullpen.

With Cora trying to get info to the dugout from the club house it’s no wonder this team lost in the fashion they did. But he sacrificed a pawn to get to the king. 

“We lost the match but won the battle” -Conor McGregor

Game one: 7-2 Astros

[anythingbute-blog]

Twas the Night Before Game One

Twas the night before game one. when all through the Town,                                Not a single fan was stirring, not even on Lansdowne;                                          The AL East banner hung above Jersey St. with care,                                          With hope of beating the Yankees once more this year;                                    The players all rested, the rosters all set,                                                              While visions of a three game sweep the Townies will bet;   

We think on Wednesday night when arose such a chatter,                                    We cranked up the volume to see what’s the matter.                                              Off in the Bronx the chants grew to a thunder,                                                        Surely these fans must realize their blunder.                                                          Those Animals cried, “WE WANT BOSTON, WE WANT BOSTON”                      And their arrogance reminded me of their now released Austin.                            We knew in a moment when our manager did wake,                                          He’d find out his opponent and not even quake.                                                  

The rotation all settled, with the batting order on lock;��                                       Alex called out “gather ‘round everyone, even you Brock...                              Batting first we have Mookie, followed by Beni,                                            Clean up is JD, and swinging fourth is Bogie,                                                    In the middle is Pearce, a true Yankee Killer,                                                    After you it will be Nunez right in front of Kinsler.                                              Now, we finish it off with Sandy and Jackie                                                        Then on the mound is Chris Sale pitching healthy;                                          From the crack of the bat, right over the wall,                                                      Let’s runaway! Runaway! Runaway with it all!”   

The team meeting then closed along with the fall night,                                        For next day all of Boston would awake with delight.                                            It has been 14 October’s since we last faced our foes,                                          And both fan bases know how that story goes.                                                But the past is the past, so maybe We’ll wish the yanks luck,

Forget that! Let’s Go Sox, The Yankees still suck!                                                       

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The Conductor gets to climb the hill in game one and I couldn’t be anymore confident. Sale is coming off of plenty of rest having come off the DL on September 11 and throwing rehab starts as the Sox “Opener”. 

The Second half for Chris was tough being shutdown for a bit for shoulder soreness but he still bolstered an impressive 1.55 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 29 inning in the back half of the season. 

Sale will be rolling into the playoffs on a strikeout streak. In the month of September Sale had an 18.00 SO/W compared to his season ratio being 6.97, if that doesn’t make you eager for some Post Season punch outs by the Conductor then you’re watching the wrong sport, buddy.

The Big Man pitching game one at home is a big factor as well. This season when pitching at Fenway, Sale has had a 13.4 SO9 with a 2.11 ERA.

I think it’s fair to say Sale will do some damage Friday night.

[anythingbute-blog]

October Baseball is Finally Here

Grab your hoodies and most definitely a fleece blanket, because playoff  baseball has arrived, bitches. 

At the start of this season everyone and their mother thought these last six Red Sox-Yankee games were going to be 2004-esq. And then when you get Joey Fisticuffs tossing haymakers at a now released Tyler Austin, people were clamoring for ring side seats to what would be a heavy weight battle for the AL East in late September. 

Welp, that didn’t pan out how the Yankees would have liked. But what do we care! 

The Red Sox just coasted for two weeks. The brilliant mind of Alex Cora chose to rest his AL Batting tittle winner, AL MVP front Runner, RF Gold Glove likely Mookie “Date-my-future-Daughter” Betts. He sits a Cy Young Contender on the DL and limits his come back starts when he has slight shoulder soreness. King of the Utility Men, Brock Holt started catching hot and Cora sees this needs to be bottled and saved. The god damn Paw Sox just managed to not get swept by a 100 win team scraping and clawing their way to preserve home field for the Wild Card.

AND NOW WE GET AN EXTRA FIVE DAYS TO REST? 

Robby, Bobert, my Man(ford). Just give us the Commissioner’s trophy and a duck boat parade all ready. 

Wednesday we’ll find out what team and arm the Sox will face in the ALDS. And Friday we get to witness what will hopefully be the continued dominance of the 2018 Boston Red Sox.

[anythingbute-blog]

Tune Out and Appreciate What We’re Seeing

Anyone who follows the Red Sox in Boston most likely listens to the blowhards on the mics for WEEI or the SportsHub. I make this generalization on the Fenway faithful because you’re either 40 years of age and older, or you’re a die-hard and can only consume the highly held product that is Boston Sports. The four major teams in Boston have Napoleonic success since the turn of the millennium, and it keeps growing more difficult to remember what it is like to have a consistently atrocious franchise in the Hub. Yes, we remember the dark days of 2012 with Valentine and the back-to-back season of 2014 and 2015 under Farrell with the Sox. There were the early 2000s where the Garden lost its golden hue. However, if we do look critically at the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and the Celtics there has been continued and sustained success. But, if this is the case why are the airwaves filled with muckraking?

The theme all summer for these stations were the woes of the Bullpen(fair) David Price’s overall struggles(sorta fair), who’s the leader in the club house(wait, what), and baseball’s pace of play(grasping at straws guys, c’mon). Those first two are completely fair, but every time they had terrible arguments. But the cold take of all cold takes by these pessimistic pundits is the fact that the Red Sox fan base should be embarrassed for celebrating 100 wins and breaking the franchise record for wins in a season.

Price is not worth his contract In baseball you pay for what a guy has done. It’s a gamble, simple as that. We took a gamble on a guy who had multiple Cy Young’s which to I guess everyone’s surprise increases his value. Who’da thunk! Now David has not put up Cy Young numbers, and I’m not saying he isn’t living up to those standards. He’s been a number two guy at best. But he’s the number two guy on a 100+ win team. And he’s contributed 16 wins over 30 games pitched with a 4.2 WAR, and a 3.58 ERA over 176 innings pitched. That’s getting the job done. He was our best overall pitcher last year in the playoffs, and probably would have got a win if he wasn’t restricted to the bullpen. By the way he was coming out of the bullpen after sitting on the DL with a shoulder injury for a great portion of the 2017 season right before postseason baseball. Am I worries for him against the Yankees? Of course. But, with him having plenty of rest before his game 2 outing I’m optimistic. Also he’ll hopefully only get one start pending a sweep.

Leadership Vacuum: This 2017 news story for some reason tumbled into the 2018 season. I understand that with the retirement of David Ortiz in 2016 left a clear question of who would step up. But that could be answered pretty fast. Pedroia. He’s the vet guy who’s a non-stop gamer. Well frequent stints on the DL makes it difficult to motivate a team when leading from the rear. 2017 there was no clear leader to the public but most players that season would tell you guys like Betts, and Price would be the heartbeat of the team after the dust had settled on the firing of John Farrell. Brock Holt is on record saying Price would go to war for anyone in that club house and that’s not something a harsh Boston media will report on a guy who alienates them. As 2018 came around this motif of the Red Sox needing someone to right the ship stuck around. However, not as long as WEEI and 98.5 probably would have liked. Cora was the perfect pick by the Dumbrowski and the front office. A younger manager with experience running championship caliber teams. There has not been one single hit-piece regarding team moral this entire season. And that’s a huge, because in the Boston market where theres a single trace of blood, the sharks swarm.

Pace of Play: I only bring this up because this was a news cycle that lasted what felt like a month before and after the All-Star break. Yes, baseball is a slow sport that the general public can’t get behind enough to have games watched repetitively. This was such an easy target for the radio stations to harp on for much longer than they needed.  And I get it. I tuned in everyday, I’m an enabler to the situation. But, the Red Sox were playing amazing baseball for the months of June, July, and August. they could never bear to spend a day, let alone one segment talking about how exciting this team is. The Yankee loving jamoke on the morning show for WEEI had the audacity to bash this team for promoting the #VOTEBENNY campaign, and preferred talking about how the game is too dull. But I digress.

100+ is Overrated: In New England, fan boy journalism is a huge no-no. There is always a negative. Maybe this is a result of years of watching god-awful teams. Maybe myself and the younger generation of Boston sports fans are too soft because all we know are championships. But if living with a Cleveland sports fan has taught me anything, it’s that things can always be worse. I’m not sure where the pessimism may come from in Boston. We are long past th belief in a curse. Babe and his ghost are dead. Steinbrenner and the Evil Empire is dead. I repeat that the Yankees of the Steinbrenner days, and I mean the father, are dead. We are witnessing a team like no other. Not in 70 years has a Red Sox team hit 100 wins. And now we see a franchise record that was set back in 1812. How can you not revel in that? How can you not get chills watching this team knowing damn well how special this group is? That’s what I don’t understand about the guys speaking into the air ways. Sure The Patriots 2007 season seems like a lost cause. But the thing is Boston Sports fans still remember that unforgettable run, without me even needing to state what it was (And if you don’t know you don’t get it). Even with that single loss, we tuned in for 2008, 2009, and so on till 2014, and 2016.

I am not saying the satisfaction of a historical winning record is comparable to a failed playoff run. But, this team is going nowhere. JD opted back in. Price is here for the long haul just to kill the hater, for which there are many, with eventual success. Dave isn’t letting Mookie go anywhere. Beni, and Devers are already proving the older guys they’re here to stay. So, let’s not add extra pressure and be greedy. Enjoy this run. Because it apparently comes around once every 106 years for the Sox. Those world beaters of the regular season will be back again in 2019, and you bet your ass I’ll be tuned in for 2019 WS or bust this fall.