Wow, was that most monumental Choke ever?

[Geoff]

^ File under: Be Careful What You Wish For.

This was exactly the same thought I had an hour after the game ended on Wednesday -- it'll be easier to get tickets to Fenway again. Maybe they'll start giving away free batting helmets to kids like they used to. Then again, I backed off the cliff when I realized that that probably meant our record was 62-100.

I used to go to Red Sox games as a little kid (pre-1967) when 62-100 would be considered a good year. I don't need a Yankees-fan sense of entitlement to get me to the ballpark. Sadly, the Red Sox and Patriots have attracted that kind of fan. The Bruins and Celtics went through enough tough times to mostly chase them away.

I've been to Pawtucket more than Fenway the last few years. I don't see the value in spending 2x face value at Stubhub for a crap grandstand seat.

 

[snowmonster]

I hear ya. Sounds like your a masochist like me too. Being a fan means sticking with a team during the very lean years because you pin your hopes that eventually things will turn around and all this suffering will be redeemed in one glorious championship season. It's suffering through the bad years that make the glory run so much sweeter. I've always loved the Celtics but I haven't been to the Garden since KG came to town. Not that I don't like the guy. I do. It's partly because I'm a cheapskate and can't get the $10 tickets they used to sell. Like at Fenway, I've been priced out by the suits and the people who just want to be seen in there.

I'm tired of going to Fenway and sitting next to a guest to whom I have to explain the rules of the game (sample questions: What do R H E stand for? Why don't they have cheerleaders? How do we start the wave?). Recently, someone called me to ask me for tickets to a game. I said something along the lines of "gee, I never knew you were a baseball fan?" He replied along the lines of "I am not but it's a status thing. I want to tell people here that I saw a game at Fenway Park." I guess it's folks like that that allow the Sox to sign the Crawfords of the world. But, I'm also tired of getting priced out of the Park by these glory-seeking upstarts.

Sorry for the rant but these past three days have been rough on me. I don't think I've been this pissed off since Aaron Boone -- and I love it.

 

[Black Phantom]

I hear ya. Sounds like your a masochist like me too. Being a fan means sticking with a team during the very lean years because you pin your hopes that eventually things will turn around and all this suffering will be redeemed in one glorious championship season. It's suffering through the bad years that make the glory run so much sweeter. I've always loved the Celtics but I haven't been to the Garden since KG came to town. Not that I don't like the guy. I do. It's partly because I'm a cheapskate and can't get the $10 tickets they used to sell. Like at Fenway, I've been priced out by the suits and the people who just want to be seen in there.

I'm tired of going to Fenway and sitting next to a guest to whom I have to explain the rules of the game (sample questions: What do R H E stand for? Why don't they have cheerleaders? How do we start the wave?). Recently, someone called me to ask me for tickets to a game. I said something along the lines of "gee, I never knew you were a baseball fan?" He replied along the lines of "I am not but it's a status thing. I want to tell people here that I saw a game at Fenway Park." I guess it's folks like that that allow the Sox to sign the Crawfords of the world. But, I'm also tired of getting priced out of the Park by these glory-seeking upstarts.

Sorry for the rant but these past three days have been rough on me. I don't think I've been this pissed off since Aaron Boone -- and I love it.

You have essentially hit the nail on the head. I really don't care to go to Fenway at all anymore, even for free.

Like Geoff said, the Sox are a business. Last year they felt the impact or potential scare of TV revenue declining. I think they have super-saturated the market.

John Henry gives me the creeps.

How did Liverpool do today?

 

[snowmonster]

John Henry gives me the creeps.

How old's the wife again? If I see the phrase "May-December" romance used again, I'll throw up on my shoes.

How did Liverpool do today?

Liverpool beat Everton. I'm a Man U fan so I say eff the Reds.

 

[Black Phantom]

How old's the wife again? If I see the phrase "May-December" romance used again, I'll throw up on my shoes.

Liverpool beat Everton. I'm a Man U fan so I say eff the Reds.

Henry heads to hospital after yacht mishap

Red Sox owner John Henry suffered what club officials called a “minor accident” aboard his 164-foot luxury yacht, Iroquois, last night and was seen disembarking in a neck brace to meet an ambulance shortly after his final meeting with former Sox manager Terry Francona.

Henry was seen walking on his own power after falling on the ship, witnesses, Red Sox [team stats] officials and a first responder told the Herald last night.

Henry missed last night’s press conference on Francona’s departure, and the Red Sox confirmed he was taken to the hospital.

Henry suffered the injury in a fall on the Iroquois, a first-responder told the Herald. The majority Red Sox owner was put on a stretcher at about 5:50 p.m. and taken away by ambulance. The yacht, said to cost $32 million, is at the wharf behind the Boston Harbor Hotel.

“He walked down the gangplank and he pretty much walked on his own and he was then taken off on a stretcher,” said Steven Olanoff, a witness and member of the Boston Harbor Sailing Club. He said Henry was wearing a neck brace at the time.

Cliff Corrall of Long Island told the Herald the ambulance showed up about 15 minutes before the boat showed up at its slip. “There was a bunch of people waiting,” he said. “A bunch of guys in suits. There wasn’t a flurry of activity.”

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1370101&position=1

 

[bigbog]

....... And for god's sake Theo NO MORE BIG free agent deals....you've proven to be very inept at spending BOAT loads of money on guys who can't step it up and help the team WIN!......

Agreed....Epstein's anal signing and trading blunders leaving them with a ragtag cast of starters around a few good ones = as you get older...Red Sox season endings like this just keep accumulating....:lol: ,,but I think it starts down in their hitting-heavy minor league coaching. New York has the older guys coaching pitchers...and Tampa Bay, I bet, is accumulating the pitching experience as well.of late.
Think they used Pappelbon for too many innings over the season...and didn't integrate another. He's not a Riviera.
Think Tito showed his burning out by not getting several more of the younger guys into starting roles in way more games ...instead of using them as late-inning replacements...just to hit once and play a couple of innings when ahead....
Again....this type of ending, as you accumulate more years....really gets old.
$.01

 

[snowmonster]

^ I call BS on this. I think John Henry did not have the stones to face up to the media and take questions about Francona.

My conspiracy theory goes something like this: John Henry is a stat geek. Remember Theo was brought in because he was a Moneyball man. Ultimately, Grady Little lost his job because he was a seat of the pants manager and not a stats guy. The main question in the managerial interview process centered on whether the candidate would have pulled out Pedro in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Apparently, the answer was yes based on the pitch count. Tito nailed it. However, over the years, Francona became less of a stat head and more of a players' manager. Rumor mill has it that Henry was the one who wanted Tito out more than anybody else. I think it's believable. If they really wanted Tito back, they would have picked up the option a long time ago. Tito was managing for his job far earlier than this September. That's my story.