The Biggest Choke in the History of Professional Sports
If you have a pulse, you know by now (or will soon) that the Boston Red Sox have managed to do something that no other team in the history of professional baseball (and, to my knowledge, only two other teams in the history of ALL professional sports) have managed to do – which is come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series – this series being the ALCS, meaning that the Sox get a chance to defeat either the Houston Astros or the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
Sweeter still for Sox fans – they did it against their arch-enemy, the dreaded Evil Empire, the New York Yankees.
And because sports (like politics) is a zero-sum game, that means that the 2004 Yankees will bear the rather dubious distinction of being the first team in major league baseball history to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of seven, erasing their 101-win regular season and American League East crown.
In the end, Game 7 was not even close. In fact, it was all-but over after the first inning.
Banned to the basement to “watch” the game on computer (the Mrs. controls the TV in the evening for all but special occasions), I could see after the 1st that this game was going to be over early. The Sox were staked to a 2-0 lead by virtue of a David Ortiz home run (why did the Yankees even bother pitching to this guy after Game 4???) and the “modern day Murderer’s Row” of Jeter, A-Rod and Sheffield went 3-up/3-down in the bottom of the first (a fly-out, a ground-out, and a strikeout – the losers’ trifecta).
Even from the vantage point of relying on ESPN’s running box score to monitor the games’ progress, it was clear that the Yankees were going to end up mailing this one in. A second inning grand-slam by Johnny Damon (he who looks like an extra from “Castaway” and had been about 1-for-150 in the ALCS to this point), on the first pitch offered by 2004 all-star Javier Vasquez (who was brought in because of the seeming ineffectiveness of Yankee starter Kevin Brown – he of punching-a-wall-and-breaking-his-non-pitching-hand-as-his-team-enters-the-stretch-run fame), sealed the deal. I stopped paying attention with 1-out in the top of the second inning. Apparently, I didn’t miss much.
So, why was this “The Greatest Choke” and not “The Greatest Comeback”? Well, let me first say that I mean to take nothing away from what the Red Sox accomplished, which is historic and unprecedented. I also mean to take nothing away from some of the truly heroic performances in this series, particularly that of Curt Schilling – who’s strong 7-innings with a blood-soaked stocking (literally a “Red Sock”) in Game 6 was more than anything else responsible for sweeping the Sox into legend.
All that said the bottom line is that the Yankees had two opportunities to close the deal in the ALCS and blew both of them in pathetic fashion. They were 3-outs away from sweeping the series and the former “Doctor Doom” (Mariano Rivera) blew the save. When given another opportunity in Game 5 to close out the Sox, Tom (“Flash”) Gordon – staked to a 2-run lead – couldn’t get a single out in the eighth inning AND gave up a home run to David Ortiz to lead off the inning (why again did they bother pitching to this guy???), leaving Rivera in the hopeless situation of a 4-3 lead, first-and-third, NO OUTS in the bottom of the eighth. Rivera was unable to keep the runner on third from scoring, and the Sox won both games in extra innings (12 and 14, respectively).
THAT’S why it’s the biggest choke in the history of professional sports. That and the fact that the highest paid offense in baseball history managed a pathetic 13-run output over 4-games, after scoring 19-runs in Game 3, alone.
In case anyone is wondering, being so close to Boston and all, my point of view is this: I LOVE baseball – but am not a fan of any team in particular. That said I sort-of like the Yankees, but I really do NOT like the Red Sox. Believe me, I want to like them – they are after all my adopted home-town team – but I cannot bring myself to. Perhaps it’s that I was brought up by a father who is a hard-wired Yankee fan from his youth – but I doubt it.
No. The fact is that this particular batch of Red Sox (with only Schilling as an exception, in my book) is a wholly unlikable bunch of people. Frankly, they look like a collection of felons, hobos, and crack addicts who don’t even know how to wear their uniforms properly (what is that crap on Manny Ramirez’ helmet, anyway?). Oh well, maybe now that they are going to the World Series, the Red Sox can afford to pay Johnny Damon enough to get a shave and a haircut. Only time will tell.
Part of this is also the average Red Sox fan. The preponderance of “YANKEES SUCK” bumper stickers (hey, if they can put it on their cars, I can put it in my blog), and assorted similar slogans (often involving Jeter, A-Rod and former-Yankee/current-Astro Roger Clemens) really bothers me. I think it shows a level of inferiority complex and other mental illnesses that I’m neither prepared nor equipped to deal with on a daily basis. They too are a very unlikable bunch – but now they have their big win. Let’s see what they do with it. The fact that when I look to the north I see that Boston is not aflame is something that I take as a hopeful sign.
Back to politics tomorrow – when I spell out why I dread the thought of John Forbes Kerry pulling off a similar comeback.
Sweeter still for Sox fans – they did it against their arch-enemy, the dreaded Evil Empire, the New York Yankees.
And because sports (like politics) is a zero-sum game, that means that the 2004 Yankees will bear the rather dubious distinction of being the first team in major league baseball history to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of seven, erasing their 101-win regular season and American League East crown.
In the end, Game 7 was not even close. In fact, it was all-but over after the first inning.
Banned to the basement to “watch” the game on computer (the Mrs. controls the TV in the evening for all but special occasions), I could see after the 1st that this game was going to be over early. The Sox were staked to a 2-0 lead by virtue of a David Ortiz home run (why did the Yankees even bother pitching to this guy after Game 4???) and the “modern day Murderer’s Row” of Jeter, A-Rod and Sheffield went 3-up/3-down in the bottom of the first (a fly-out, a ground-out, and a strikeout – the losers’ trifecta).
Even from the vantage point of relying on ESPN’s running box score to monitor the games’ progress, it was clear that the Yankees were going to end up mailing this one in. A second inning grand-slam by Johnny Damon (he who looks like an extra from “Castaway” and had been about 1-for-150 in the ALCS to this point), on the first pitch offered by 2004 all-star Javier Vasquez (who was brought in because of the seeming ineffectiveness of Yankee starter Kevin Brown – he of punching-a-wall-and-breaking-his-non-pitching-hand-as-his-team-enters-the-stretch-run fame), sealed the deal. I stopped paying attention with 1-out in the top of the second inning. Apparently, I didn’t miss much.
So, why was this “The Greatest Choke” and not “The Greatest Comeback”? Well, let me first say that I mean to take nothing away from what the Red Sox accomplished, which is historic and unprecedented. I also mean to take nothing away from some of the truly heroic performances in this series, particularly that of Curt Schilling – who’s strong 7-innings with a blood-soaked stocking (literally a “Red Sock”) in Game 6 was more than anything else responsible for sweeping the Sox into legend.
All that said the bottom line is that the Yankees had two opportunities to close the deal in the ALCS and blew both of them in pathetic fashion. They were 3-outs away from sweeping the series and the former “Doctor Doom” (Mariano Rivera) blew the save. When given another opportunity in Game 5 to close out the Sox, Tom (“Flash”) Gordon – staked to a 2-run lead – couldn’t get a single out in the eighth inning AND gave up a home run to David Ortiz to lead off the inning (why again did they bother pitching to this guy???), leaving Rivera in the hopeless situation of a 4-3 lead, first-and-third, NO OUTS in the bottom of the eighth. Rivera was unable to keep the runner on third from scoring, and the Sox won both games in extra innings (12 and 14, respectively).
THAT’S why it’s the biggest choke in the history of professional sports. That and the fact that the highest paid offense in baseball history managed a pathetic 13-run output over 4-games, after scoring 19-runs in Game 3, alone.
In case anyone is wondering, being so close to Boston and all, my point of view is this: I LOVE baseball – but am not a fan of any team in particular. That said I sort-of like the Yankees, but I really do NOT like the Red Sox. Believe me, I want to like them – they are after all my adopted home-town team – but I cannot bring myself to. Perhaps it’s that I was brought up by a father who is a hard-wired Yankee fan from his youth – but I doubt it.
No. The fact is that this particular batch of Red Sox (with only Schilling as an exception, in my book) is a wholly unlikable bunch of people. Frankly, they look like a collection of felons, hobos, and crack addicts who don’t even know how to wear their uniforms properly (what is that crap on Manny Ramirez’ helmet, anyway?). Oh well, maybe now that they are going to the World Series, the Red Sox can afford to pay Johnny Damon enough to get a shave and a haircut. Only time will tell.
Part of this is also the average Red Sox fan. The preponderance of “YANKEES SUCK” bumper stickers (hey, if they can put it on their cars, I can put it in my blog), and assorted similar slogans (often involving Jeter, A-Rod and former-Yankee/current-Astro Roger Clemens) really bothers me. I think it shows a level of inferiority complex and other mental illnesses that I’m neither prepared nor equipped to deal with on a daily basis. They too are a very unlikable bunch – but now they have their big win. Let’s see what they do with it. The fact that when I look to the north I see that Boston is not aflame is something that I take as a hopeful sign.
Back to politics tomorrow – when I spell out why I dread the thought of John Forbes Kerry pulling off a similar comeback.
posted by Doc J | 6:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home