Evans Clinchy and Red Sox Nation have pushed me to my limit and as a lifelong, proud Yankees fan, it is my moral duty to defend the pride of the Yankees organization and its fans around the world.
I mean, come on, don't you all have anything better to do than to sit around thinking of new ways to bash a Hall of Fame-bound manager, some of the game's greatest (and also Hall of Fame-bound) players, and a payroll that is less than eight Eric Gagne salaries more than that of the Red Sox?
Is Red Sox Nation even about the Red Sox anymore? First of all, don't start a Yankee-hating column making fun of one of the most successful managers in the history of the game. If you have to do it, save it for the end so that those of us who are not members of Red Sox Nation can hope to take you seriously for at least a little while.
Overrated figurehead? Claiming that Torre had nothing to do with the decade-long success of this team is an insult to Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and any other great manager who has led a team with league-leading players.
Torre had to deal with Gary Sheffield's whining just as Francona deals with Manny's laziness: The best teams need the best managers and the best players.
These payroll/All-Star arguments are just getting old. You have your big-money, 40-plus aged, umpteen-time All-Star pitcher (Schilling) and we have ours (Clemens). You have your home-grown, superstar closer (Papelbon) and we have ours (Rivera). You have the second-most intimidating hitter in the game (Ortiz) and we have the first-most intimidating hitter in the game (A-Rod).
The list goes on and on (except we have Joba, and you don't). The point is that just like the Yankees, the Red Sox are a big - no, huge - money team. It comes with success: The Red Sox are an awesome ballclub, they draw 81 sellout crowds every season, and they can afford to tack on that extra 23 million dollars to their 2007 payroll.
Maybe a few years ago you could have made a point with the money argument but not anymore. Now, the Red Sox are about as far from being a low-budget team as Washington Heights-born Manny Ramirez is from achieving his boyhood dream of wearing Pinstripes.
Mr. Clinchy said something about Torre drawing off-the-field distractions. As a member of Red Sox Nation, you don't actually understand what off-the-field distractions are.
Oh my. The Boston Herald printed a headline expressing anxiety that the Yankees were closing the gap in the AL East. Gosh, I hope this does not affect Ortiz's game.
Have you ever seen a NY Post or Daily News headline?! The New York sports media practically brought Alex Rodriguez - who Mr. Clinchy himself dubbed "the best player in baseball" - to his knees!
Quite a far cry from the apologist NESN, whose talking heads couldn't stop announcing how much they didn't care about losing the division to the Yankees in one of the biggest second-half collapses in baseball history. They even put up a graphic comparing their own collapse to the 2006 Tigers' collapse, drawing the conclusion that because the Tigers were terrible in September but then made the World Series, that must be what the Red Sox are going to do!
That's some off-the-field distraction alright. My point with all this is that every team needs fans (except the Devil Rays, who really need fans), and part of the fan base for a successful team will naturally be members of an enemy-hating bandwagon.
It's not a bad thing; more fans make the game more exciting. But be fans, not haters. Love the Red Sox (did I just say that?) and hate the Yankees, but put the Red Sox first. Be about the Red Sox, not about the Yankees. Rather than "Papelbon is better than Rivera," try saying something like "You're right; Rivera is the greatest closer ever. Papelbon is solid, but time will tell before I can make this ridiculous and unfounded judgment call."
Or, instead of "Jeter is the face of everything I hate about the Yankees," try "Jeter's demeanor and game-play really demonstrate why he is the current captain of the most successful franchise in the history of sports. I root for the Red Sox, but I respect Jeter for being the face of such a great organization."
I'm telling you, you'll feel a lot better. And also, be afraid; it's going to be a fun October.
