I hate how the media pumps out so much misinformation in general. But it's especially hard when it's yankee media feeding all of the New York area fake facts about the Red Sox. Tomorrow I'll be watching the Sox vs. the yanks on the Hell No! network, and I'll report back here afterwards with all the lies that Michael Kay and company spew out there. I should watch with the sound down, but I feel I have to let Sox fans know just what the yankee people are saying about us.
I also notice that sometimes some reporter will give an opinion, and then I'll hear others say the same thing, as if it's their own opinion. A perfect example is how I heard Francesa on the Fan say the absolutely ridiculous statement, "...with Quantrill and Gordon in the bullpen, the yankee starters only need to go six innings...". He said it a couple of times, and then I read some article on MSNBC.com (written by some guy completely caught up in the media-invented A-Rod fever right after the trade), and the guy said the EXACT same thing. You could say anything on the radio and someone somewhere will repeat it as if: A. they thought of it and B. it were absolute fact.

But my favorite example is the following:
Last season, I saw this thing on the internet. (There's a link to it on

dirtdogs

if it's still there). It was some lame joke making the rounds saying,"Hey Red Sox fans, tired of losing? Become a yankee fan! Just fill out this questionnaire!"
And it lists all the horrible moments in Red Sox history, and asks you which is your least favorite, etc., and tells you how you can join the club of yankee fans. Needless to say, it was really stupid. Of course, there were some factual mistakes, including saying that the famous Johnny Pesky holding the ball play took place in the 1948 World Series, instead of '46. Now some people may say, "So what, so they were off by two years." Well, I thought even yankee fans can tell you the years the Sox have been in the World Series, but I guess not. I don't know, to me it's a pretty major mistake if you know anything about baseball history.
But here's the point: Within days of receiving this forward, I heard yankee announcer Bobby Murcer talking about that play during a Red Sox-yankees game. And guess what year he said the play took place in.... yup, 1948. I don't know about you, but this left no doubt in my mind that he had read the same thing had, only instead of noticing the mistake, took it as fact and USED IT ON THE AIR. You'd think this ex-player would know a little about baseball history, OR would have brushed up on his facts before game time, OR would've had the sense to not be repeating something to the entire New York area something he read on an INTERNET FORWARD.
He may as well have come out and said, "I've got to run home right after this broadcast because I'm anxiously awaiting a check for $4,000,000 to arrive in my mail. You see, I helped the president of Zaire with his bank account that he couldn't open without MY help, and in return for my services, he's giving me a huge cash reward. Boy am I lucky!"
So tomorrow I'll get to hear Kay making huge generalizations about Sox fans... I can't wait. Ugh.

Who do yankee fans have to cheer for? I mean really cheer for from the heart? Hardly anybody. Maybe Posada, Rivera, and Bernie. But that's it.
Jeter? Well the 14 year old girls are still screaming for him, but most yankee fans now know he's just not that good.
Giambi? He replaced their boy Tino, and now that the world knows he's on 'roids, I think he's gonna hear some boos in the Bronx. (Especially when his average drops below the Mendoza.) The pitching staff? Besides Mussina and Rivera, they're all new. And what's with the New York media raving about Gordon and Quantrill? And saying that with those two, the starters only need to go six innings? I thought George just got those guys because they're ex-Sox, not because they're any good.
Who else? 2nd base, um, they got nobody there....
Matsui? I don't think they're sold on him, let alone connected to the guy in any way.
Sheffield and A-Rod? Remember I said hearts not wallets.
The point is, all their beloved are gone: Pettitte, O'Neill, Brosius, Wells. Oh I forgot about Kenny Lofton--yeah he'll be a fan favorite.

Now look at our guys:
Tek-awesome dude, best catcher we've seen in years, able to handle the best staff in baseball, HUSTLES.
Millar-To quote Bill Hicks, "That's the dude!"
Pokey Reese-alright, we haven't seen him yet, but my dad has already given him the honorary "And a little child shall lead them" tag. (Previously held by Jody Reed, Luis Rivera, Jeff Frye, among others).
Nomar!-c'mon.
Bill Mueller-comes out of nowhere to win the batting title, 100% effort guy. (And his and Trot's Jesusness nicely compliment the Satanic hijinks of Millar & Co.
Manny-we don't all see eye to eye with Manny, but you gotta admit he's a fun-lovin' guy.
JC, I mean JD- Another all-around goofy, awesome guy.
Trot-his hat's almost as dirty as mine.
Ortizzle- what else can I say? Not apple sox, not barbecue sox...
Kapler-took less to stay with us.
Pedro-again, c'mon.
Schill- already determined to bring us what we want for him, the team and US.
Lowe-this guy got us out of Oakland alive.
Timlin-turned down the yanks.
Wake-he better get the biggest standing O of them all on Opening Day.
The Professor and Mary-Ann.

This team rules.

I know what a yankee fan would say about this. And I don't care.

Today was the warmest day of the year so far in New England (60 degrees). And despite what MLB tells me, I DO live in New England. But I can't get NESN because I'm in Fairfield county, the ONE county in New England deemed outside of NESN's territory--but that's another post that would be long enough to possibly shut down the internet. Anyway, of all the cheesy phrases that get thrown around way too much, that "Spring is in the air" one really does affect me. Well, I guess all the weather ones do. But if you're a baseball fan, you know about that special feeling you get on that first springlike day, when just stepping outside, you can smell the house you grew up in and you can hear Ken Coleman's scratchy voice in your head. And you know that this year, without a doubt, is THE year. You know that you said that last year, but this year, this is the one. Why else would it be so warm today? Who wants to play catch?

One of the biggest outright lies about New York baseball fans is that "you're either a Met fan or a yankee fan--and there's no 'in between'!!!" I hear that a lot from "fans" interviewed on the news around playoff time. They say it with such certainty, almost as if they completely forgot that a few years earlier, they were rooting for the opposite of the team they're rooting for now. So maybe they mean that everyone in New York is either a Met or yankee fan AT ANY GIVEN TIME. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say, "You're either a Met fan or a yankee fan, but don't worry, there's a huge, gaping 'in between.'"
I call it the little brother syndrome. Well, I do now I guess. The fans of the traditional teams in New York--Giants, Knicks, yanks (I never followed hockey, so this may not be true for that)--treat the newer teams like a younger sibling. They pick on 'em relentlessly. They call 'em names. They treat 'em like less of a person. But every once in a while, that little kid surprises big bro', and does good for himself. And when that happens, the big guy, says, "Hey, good for the kid. I'm not doin' so hot right now, so this is perfect, I'll root for him until I'm back on top." (This isn't true of all fans, I have yankee fan friends who rooted for the Sox against the Mets in '86 because they hated the Mets that much.)I wonder if this is true of all cities with multiple teams in a sport.
Anyway, in baseball, it works the other way around, too. A lot of Met fans right now are feeling the need to join their older bro', becasue beating them just isn't happening. Again, not all Met fans, but a lot. Since I live in SW Connecticut, I listen to the FAN out of NYC a lot. And a recurring theme amongst the callers is: "I'm a Mets fan, but I'm also a fan of good baseball so I'd rather go watch the yanks play." Ugggggh. As a Sox fan, this makes me want to puke blood, as a friend of mine has been known to say. These people should just buy a yankee hat and climb aboard----oh, wait, the ticket sales are soaring in the Bronx...who do you think those people are? They're people who jumped on the Mets bandwagon in '69 or '73 or '86 or '99, and now they're realizing that they're a few miles away from a winner, which is what they signed up for in the first place. This is the difference between Mets fans and Red Sox fans: We want to beat the yankees, they want to BE the yankees. Seriously, Met fans who call up the FAN will say "I'm a Met fan since '73...." Why don't you just say your name is Bandwagoner from Flushing? And then these yankee fans "lining up to get tickets" when they got A-Rod. This one woman called the station giddy over the fact that she got a bunch of single seats to yankee games. She couldn't get more than 1 ticket to each game, so she'd have to go alone every time, but hey she gets to see her beloved (but only beloved after they get a big star player) yanks. Hey lady, I got FOUR tickets to a Sox-yanks game at YOUR stadium 3 months ago--WHEN THEY WENT ON SALE.
That's a tell-tale sign in my eyes, that they win the division that many years in a row, but it takes signing the so-called best player in the game to get anybody to show up. Pathetic.

The Sox magic number to finish the season ahead of the yanks currently stands at 163.
That's right, any combination of a mere 163 Red Sox wins and yankee losses, and we've got 'em beat. (162 clinches a tie.)