Micheal Kay is a proponent of the whole "Red Sox fans won't know what to do if they win it all/It would be the worst thing in the world for Boston if they win it all" bullcrap thinking.

Yesterday, he took it one step further and said, "Those people would lose their identity. Their team would go from the lovable losers to just ANY OTHER TEAM."

As I've said before, the man needs help. This guy, who claims to be a neutral fan, despite obvious evidence to the contrary, is SO pissed after the yanks blew that HUGE three-zero lead. He was just going crazy the next day. Finally getting to see this man squirm is so aweome. He just whines and whines. After Game Six, he was just in total shock that the yanks didn't come out bunting against Schilling. He was screaming, "I want a reason why they didn't bunt! Gimme answers! I don't care about sportsmanship, you have to bunt!" I think he knew the series was over at that point. (I heard Torre on the radio yesterday, and when Mike & the Mad Dog asked him about bunting, he mentioned that he thought Schilling was faking the whole thing!) Sid Rosenburg answered similar questions by correctly pointing out that the yanks smacked Schilling around a few days earlier, why change their approach? It's so fun to hear these yankee fans complain about this non-issue, just stretching for answers, saying, "The team a few years ago would exploited Schilling's weakness and bunted all game long." Man, that's just classic. It's like, "Yeah, our old yanks would have found a horseshit way of winning by bunting on a gimpy pitcher!" That must make them feel great about themselves. Don't worry yankee fans, your boys still cheat, you saw that A-Rod karate chop, followed by, "Me? I've done nothing wrong. There must be some mistake!" People say he's not a true yankee; I say there's never been a more perfect fit.

But getting back to Kay. So he thinks the Sox would be just another team. First of all, I wonder which teams he puts in the "special" category. The yanks, because they're god's gift to mankind. The Sox, because they're "lovable losers." And probably the Cubs and White Sox, because they haven't won since before we have. So, okay, how can the yanks become "just another team"? Would they have to do the opposite of winning, like, let's say, blowing a three game lead to the "losers" with the World Series on the line? Hmmm.

But let's look at the Boston Red Sox. Do I root for them because they haven't won in a long time? Had they won in '75, the year I was born, would my dad have just said, "Eh, make the kid a Brewers fan. The Red Sox are just another team now. Forget the fact that our family has rooted for this team for decades."? If they win this World Series, will I say, "Thank god we don't have to go to Fenway any more, and see that stupid, average team with no identity as lovable losers."?

The answers to these ridiculous questions, Mr. Kay, is a resounding "Are you fucking stupid?" I'm already delusional about following the Sox around the country next year, whether they're World Champs or not.

Everyone who's grown up loving the Red Sox will still love the Red Sox next year, no matter what. We'll be there at yankee Stadium, out-yelling the yankee fans. Kay is so scared that we just might be screaming "2000" as well.

I don't even think Kay believes this stuff himself. I think he is in so much agony over just the thought that right now, his team are the losers. The lost to the losers, they're double losers. And the thought that there is now a good chance that the Boston Red Sox are going to be World Champs, and there is nowhere for him to run and hide. He'd have to talk about it on the radio, he'd have to admit it. I don't think he can handle it.

Who's really losing their identity, Michael? Might it actually be the fans who are so used to winning, and so used to having that one rival that they can always make fun of, because they're so insecure with their own pathetic lives, that they've joined up with a "winner" to try to feel special? That's what you should be talking about, Kay, how the yankee fans just might lose their identity. I feel it slipping away, Michael. The New York yanks--just another team.

About the Pedro Martinez pitching in Game 7 thing. Okay, the Fox announcers were saying, "Why waste Pedro, you've got to save him for Game One of the World Series?"

Um, okay, well, how can I explain this? Let's see, well, you know how you (Fox) show us pictures of Babe Ruth, show the Bucky Dent home run, show the Aaron Boome home run, show and the Bill Buckner play, and put up graphics that show "Memorable Red Sox Heartbreaks" and "Game 7 Losses"? Not once but dozens of times throughout the series? Well, you can't show us that, driving it into the audience's head, and then act like we've already won the game in the seventh inning! Stupid pitch-missing, too-many-fans'-faces-showing-between-pitches network. And some kid called up the fan and said that bringing in Pedro was a slap in the face, that we'd already won the game. You know what, fine. To hear you say that you felt that the great yankees had no chance to win in the seventh inning, against the LOSER Red Sox, when the MONEY'S ON THE LINE, when you NEVER lose to us, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, is worth it to me. Sure, you're right, the game was over. Slap in the face. Sorry! Choker.

And one final thing: There seems to be this sentiment going around that the second of Mariano's two blown saves in a row is somehow forgiveable. They say how the rule is stupid, and he shouldn't have been given a blown save. And they say, well he came in and got three outs. (one being the sacrifice fly that tied the game.) It even got to the point where I read a column in the local paper, where the writer said, "Then Mariano blew two saves in a row, though in the second one, he was put in a tough spot."

Beep, beep, beep, back up, here. This is the ultimate in seeing how yankee fans always think they've won, even when they've lost. These people call Mariano Rivera the "greatest relief pitcher of all time." And, unquestionably, the best post-season pithcer that ever was. He comes in the game, with the tying run on third. I don't care about save rules, I don't care how tought the situation is. You brought in the best of all time, with the tying run on third, and he allowed that run to score. Tough spot? Damn right it was a tough spot, that's why you fucking brought him in! HE FAILED. Why can't you admit that? What, sacrifice flies don't fucking count all of a sudden? He needed to not give up a deep fly ball, but he did. Blown fucking save. By the best reliever in history. For the second night in a row. In the most important games of the year. Admit it.

World Series starts tonight, and we're in it. It's been sweet going to Bob's, shopping for AL Champs gear, and seeing and talking all the other Sox fans. And just seeing and talking to and emailing other Sox fans in general, and sharing the happiness. Four more games, everybody.

The quoted statements are by the commenting yankee fan.

"It's kind of sad that a baseball game makies you feel THAT strongly"

I think your comments prove you feel pretty strongly about this as well.

"I know of no one who said "At least we beat the Sox"

But later, you say:

"Last year, ...Yankees fans said "Losing to the Marlins doesn't matter, we won OUR World Series(with the Sox in the ALCS)" "

Those two statements imply the same thing. Had you beat Cleveland in the ALCS, would you have said "At least we beat Cleveland" OR called Cleveland your World Series if it had been a really good series?

"But one series win, does not equal sudden vindication for you, no matter how much you wish it would."

I personally never said that beating the yanks in an ALCS makes up for all the bad things that have happened to us against the yanks over the years. But the fact that we came back from 3-0 down to beat you and go to the World Series is a pretty big deal, considering all the times I've heard the word "choke" from yankee fans. And as far as postseason series' go, it's now 2-1 yanks, and we'll probably be meeting again and again and again. My point being that the current playoff format doesn't really tell the tale of what's gone on over the last 86 years.

"So now you know how Yankee fans think also! The almighty Jere is now a *gasp* MINDREADER!!!! "

It's your big mouths that have been providing me with what you've all been thinking throughout my lifetime. And I listen very closely, as you know if you read my writing.

"cause you do mean about >< to most of us aside from when we're actually y'know, playing you on the field, as opposed to the other way around for you guys."

Then how come on the radio today, I heard a report where every yankee fan they interviewed said they'll be rooting for whoever plays the Red Sox in the World Series? Admit it, you think about us. You're thinkin' about David Ortiz right now, aren't you?

"Of course we want World Series, who doesn't(except apparently you as you're just happy to get past us huh?)"

Something I definitely never said. Okay, I really hate the yanks, and I've said a million times how important it is to me that they lose, no matter who they're playing. I've got no problem saying that, whether yankee fans and other Sox fans think that's stupid or not. I think you may be confused since my initial post after beating the yanks was all about that series, and how awesome it was. But do you think that's the end of my blog? Roll credits because we beat the yanks? We're going to the freakin' World Series! We've got a chance to win it, right now, for the first time in 86 years! This is what we've been waiting for. I always say that I hope I see them win it just once before I die. And we're right there. I promise you, I'll be talking about it plenty, but can you let me celebrate the mega-awesomeness of my team winning the AL, by beating my most hated team, after trailing 3-0, in the house built by the very man the curse is named for? For one day? Anyway, you're last quote then gets cancelled out by your next one:

"when we lost to the Marlins, it wasn't that big of a deal because we'd already won the "big one" by winning the series before"

And finally, I don't remember saying, 'Damn, we've gotta play the Astros or Cards next, and I don't think we can beat either of them. So let's just not even play the Series. We beat the yanks, so that'll be good enough.' But according to you:

"for Sox fans it's OK to be just happy beating the Yankees because you don't think you can beat either Houston or the Cardinals, and here's the real kicker, BEFORE YOU EVEN START PLAYING THEM..."

I'm gonna sum this up now. yankee fans, since '96-ish, say "Win the World Series or the season's a disappointment." And Red Sox fans, well, we've always been very mad at the yanks, after seeing them win so much, while we haven't won in 86 years. They always make fun of us for being very concerned about them, while they act like we don't matter to them. But notice how now that the yanks have not won it all for four years, all their fans try to find something else to be happy about. You can't have it both ways. You can't say anything less than a championship is unacceptable and then say it was a good year when you fail to meet your goal. Even Joe Torre said in 2001, something to the effect of, "We had the lead in the ninth inning of Game Seven with the best closer in baseball on the mound. What more can you ask for?" How about three outs, Joe? A near-win is no win at all when you're the New York yankees. Now here's where you see hypocrisy: We Sox fans can take something out of a near win--like the '75 Series, for example. And here's why that's not hypocrisy: You've won 26 titles, we haven't won one since 1918. That Carlton Fisk homerun--that's all we've got, man. That and a whole lot of other great memories that, great as they are, don't include winning it all. You win three in a row, then lose one, and try to act like you really did win. And now that you've not won for four years running, it just seems like you're starting to look for other positives, which, again, to any other team, would be fine, but please, give it 80, no, let's say 30 years of not winning before you start doing that. Last time I checked, the yankee organization is still officially in "All or Nothing" mode, according to their management, players, and any fan you talk to on the street.

By the way, I thought I told all you yankee fans to shut your mouths....don't make me pull this blog over.

"We had four must-win games and we musted." -Curt Schilling (actually a Late Show writer)

The lies start already, as someone has commented that I said the series was over at 3-0. When did I say that? I was in the stands at game 3, saying that the yanks were wasting all their runs for the rest of the series! Plus, my blog was out of commission at that point, when it was 3-0. And yes, we have a World Series to win, what I wrote last night was specifically referring to getting past the yanks and to all the people who said we couldn't beat them. As for last year, when you said, "At least we beat the Sox," when you lost the WS---that was you being hypocritical, you know it's always been important for us to beat the yanks, whereas you always dismissed us, but then when you lost a WS, you used your victory over us as an excuse to still be happy, when you know that your team's goal is WS win or nothing!

Thanks for skimming,

Jere.

Choke.

To all the people who arrogantly stated that "the series is over" when it was THREE GAMES TO NONE, to Mike Francesa, who said if the series goes back to New York, it would just mean a "delay of the execution", to Michael Kay, who may have recently comitted suicide, to Sterling and Steiner, who just laughed at the thought of us coming back, to the FOX 5 NY news reporters, who, after Game 4, started their newscast by saying, "The yanks let the Sox win one game to get it out of their system on the yanks' road to a championship" with huge overconfident smiles on their faces, to all the radio news people in NY who just KNEW the series was over, and were feeling that whole "I'm better than you because the team that happens to play in MY city is winning" thing, to all the yankee fans who've told me repeatedly, "The Red Sox will NEVER beat the yanks! Never!" (to cover up for their low self-esteem), to all the yankee fans who have driven the word "Choke" in to my head to the point where it became a word associated with the Boston Red Sox, and especially to Derek Jeter, whose intangibles would never, ever allow his team to blow a three to nothing lead in a playoff series, and Mariano Rivera, who keeps blowing saves to the Sox (but they're ALL "flukes," right?):

Your team just committed the biggest choke in the history of sports. Shut your mouth, and tip your caps...to the 2004 American League Champion Boston Red Sox.

Ghosts were running amok in the Big Apple. It didn't look good for the men in gray, but they battled hard. Down, but not out, they needed to win one last fight. Given the choice of what could very well be their doom, they choose that which they think cannot possibly destroy them. But it came in the form of a giant beast, and they had no choice but to give their all, and take the beast down, for the good of all humanity. They had to put the memories of all the other ghosts aside, and win once and for all.

"Nice working with you, Dr. Venkman."

"See you on the other side, Ray."

That's right, I'm speaking of the 1984 film Ghostbusters. But with a keen eye you may have noticed some striking similarities between Venkman, Stantz, Zedemore, and Egon, and our own men in gray, Varitek, Schill, Ramirez, and Ortiz.

We chose the yanks, and they have appeared before us, bigger and badder than we'd known them to be. But we've started a comeback of biblical proportions, and we're just one battle away from making it complete.

I had the time of my life at the Riviera Cafe tonight in Manhattan. Hundreds of Sox fans, in what you'd have thought was the middle of Boston. This is the first step to ending our misery--taking New York. So many yankee fans have already decided that "this is the Sox' year," and that they "want to see the Sox win." Tonight as I walked away from the bar, I shouted, in Winston Zedemore style (after the Ghostbusters save the world, I know, but still...), "I love this town!" That's right, it sounds weird, but at that moment, that piece of New York, small as it may have been, was leasing land to Red Sox Nation, with an option to buy. Two blocks away, where I found a phone to call my parents, I could still hear the screams of joy coming from RSN-NY, and was greeted by fellow nationals with high fives as they passed me on their way out of the Riviera.

A I drove home, I listened to the two sports radio stations. I had strongly hoped that the media would do it's job: Tell the yankee fans that all the right calls were made (ultimately) by the umps, and that they have no right to complain. And they came through. Steve Somers, Joe Beningo, Brandon Tierney, all said the right things. Despite that yankee fans were calling and saying, "What's the difference between what A-Rod did and someone bowling over the catcher at home plate?" Morons. Give it up. He knocked the ball out of Arroyo's glove with a freakin' karate chop. Il-freakin'-legal. I imagined A-Rod telling Torre, "Jeter taught me that move...I guess I just assumed it was allowed." And Bellhorn's home run was a home run. Over the fence. Great job by the umps. I never thought I'd say that.

Beningo also was saying how if the yankees lose game seven, it would be their worst loss in franchise history. He also spoke of how great this would be for us Sox fans. And Mad Dog called up his show on his way home from the Stadium, saying how much we deserve this, and how great it would be. It was a very good night.

On my way home I saw a coyote, or something. I thought it was a fox at first, but the tail was all wrong. I stopped the car in the middle of the road (it was very late) and just stared at this creature as it stood there, twenty feet away, in a big open grassy field. I watched it for a good five minutes, before it finally ran away. But it's 3:30 AM, and I have to work at 8:30, so you'll have to find your own symbolism in that.

See you on the other side, everybody.

While on my way to Fenway for Game 4, I was listening to Curtis Sliwa on 1050, NY's ESPN radio. That's right, the same Curtis Sliwa who hosts a daily right-wing talk radio show and is the head of the "Guardian Angels." For some reason, he was doing sports talk. He's basically a yankee fan who bashes the Red Sox constantly, in a way that New Yorkers probably find charming. (And I'm guessing he was a Mets fan in '69, '73, and '86, if you know what I mean.) Talk about a man NOT after my own heart. Anyway, I listened to him until I was in range of Boston sports talk, as every other station had football on. So a lady called up, a panicking yankee fan she was, and said,"I think Torre should wait to pitch Mussina until game 5, because if we lose today and tomorrow, we have our ace to fall back on." Of course, a team would never do this. You play to win, you don't concede a game. And as it turned out, the yanks were up 3-0 going to Game 4. And Torre did exactly what the lady said. It was Mussina's day, why the hell didn't he pitch him? Go for the kill, Torre, come on! He's been in panick mode basically all season, and he proved he was still there even while leading a series 3-0.

And now he's really got something to panic about.

I guess that's the difference between being a Red Sox and a yankee. Ha! (that's called turning the tables, yankee fans)

I've had a crazy couple of weeks here. My blog is back, fortunately. The colors are all messed up, but I never worried about that anyway.

I'm still thinkin' Steinbrenner sabotaged me.

I was really psyched that all of you were coming here, and then the damn blog disappears. Hopefully, you've all come back. Remember, it wasn't my fault.

So what wonderful things have you missed in the last few days? Well, of the three games at Fenway, guess which one I went to? That's right, 19-8. By the end of that game, sitting in those bleachers, I was thinking about how my throat, blog, car and heart were all in horrible shape. But still, I kept saying, "The yanks are wasting all their runs for the rest of the series." Was I believing myself? I don't know. Down three-zip, I don't know if anyone thought we had a chance. Those bleachers were so empty and quiet by the ninth inning, all we heard was the thumping bass from Avalon, across Lansdowne Street. I'm sure the outfielders could hear it, too. They were probably wondering what the hell was going on. We also ended up moving down lower and were a few feet away from those two blondes from that Red Sox Movie. The shorter, chubbier one was yelling "Let's go Trot, come on Seven!" as Trot batted in the ninth, needing an eleven-run homer to tie things up.

Yeah, that was a rough one. But at least we got to do the "Ke-vin" chant at Brown, as he crapped the bed. I'm trying to think of any thing else that was good from that night...um...nope. But we did see the following celebrities: Jim Leyritz. I said "Leyritz!" He said, "Hey," as he led his prize girlfriend into the park. My buddy Pat was imitating Leyritz talking to her. "I told you to stay at your seat and keep your mouth shut!" She really did look like she didn't want to be there, and like she was recently purchased. We also saw the Fox NFL crew by their rather shoddy-looking trailer. And we saw some New York sports anchors for the network news stations. Oh, and I figured out the name of the guy who sits right behind the plate at Fenway every game: Charles Drinkwater. I noticed last night that the usually subdued Drinkwater finally stood up a few times in extra innings, and once making the "my heart's pounding" gesture. Then tonight, he was up almost the whole game. I guess normally he figures he doesn't need to stand since he's in the front row. Drinkwater. That name cracks me up.

But now, me and the Sox are back!

Two key wins!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Ortiz! Two nights in a row!

Great job by (almost) everybody.

Let's talk Fox. Okay, Jeanie Zelasko was layin' it on a little thick tonight with the whole "the Red Sox have definitely lost already" thing in the pregame tonight. And Tim McCarver continues to screw up inning-ly. Those guys still think that ground rule double hit the top of the wall when the super slo-mo showed us a million times that it didn't. Enough about Fox, you know they're terrible. Tonight was supposed to be a night where I could get stuff done, like write about Fox, but the game went 6 hours and I already need to sleep, so I can't write any more about them. But maybe more will come up.

But about Jeter--he was on his cheap-ass game tonight! The three run double, my god, it was the shortest three run double in history. His classic bloop to right. And the third runner was tagged out, despite McCarver telling us he was safe. The error was great. An easy play. I thought, They can't tell us it wasn't his fault this time! Not on that ball! I was like Quint in Jaws when he got the third barrel on Jaws: "Not with three barrels he can't, not with threeee!" But like Jaws, McCarver came through, with: "The ball hit the grass and the spin changed."(said in whiny McCarver voice.) Ugh. Then there was a bloop he hit that was caught, which McCarver called a line drive. And finaly, more classic Cheater when he sold the call on the Ortiz stolen base attempt. That made me very angry. I was thinking of what I should write on my T-shirt for tomorrow at that point. I came up with something about Jeter and a plane crash, but it was too wordy.

That's what these last two extra inning games have been like. Back and forth between, "What can I write on my shirt for tomorrow that won't get me fired from work?" and "Which Red Sox shirt should I wear tomorrow?" Man, this is crazy. I feel crazy, and I haven't even taken my Dimetapp Grape for Kids yet. We are looking good in this freakin' series!

Did Fox plant those people at Fenway in Game 4--the guy with the bag over his head that said "Who's my daddy?", and the guy with the "I can't believe I fell for it...again" sign? We were down by ONE run when they showed those guys. You put a bag over your head when your team's in last place, not when they're in the playoffs. I hope people yelled at those guys. By the way, great job with "Who's Your Dealer?" tonight!
Speaking of Sheffield, all year I've been waiting for him to cost his team a game because he can'put that left arm above his head. And these last few games he's really missed some he could've gotten to. Like the ground rule double tonight. He could've reached up and caught it, I think. But his arm just can't go up there. Not very valuable if you ask me. And Bernie Williams on the last play of the game--why did he slow up?

It's pouring right now, about an hour north of yankee Stadium, and it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. That would be key.

God, I hate the yankees. You should hear how people are runnin' their mouths around here--from your average "I just jump on the bndwagon at the end of the year" dolts on the street, to the ignorant New York news reporters who are just tickled to be in the same city as the yanks. Go yanks! Yeah! Score another goal! Tomorrow the tone should be a little different, now that they're scared again (or should I say "a-scared", so yankee fans know what I mean?). We need to win this series. We had 'em right where we wanted 'em, (yeah, that's it) thinking we were dead at 3-0. I just kept telling myself, as well as some of the fifteen yankee fans I've counted at work (the number has gone up in the last few weeks, what are the odds?), that it's gonna be that much sweeter when we win. And now we're in the same spot we were in last year. This year it'll go our way. Come on, positive thinking, everybody. Beat NY.

My blog has apparently "fallen victim to a bug" in blogger's system--right in the middle of the ALCS. Hopefully things will be back to normal starting now.