i cant wait for summer...
BOSTON -- There may be only 50 ways to leave your lover, but the Red Sox found 86 ways to "86" an 86-year-old curse.
86 reasons this is now the center of Red Sox Universe: (im not gunna put all of them...these are the really good ones)
No. 86: Total number of runs scored by both teams in the ALCS: 86.
No. 85: Score of the Red Sox's last defeat (when tilting the customary dash into a slash): 19/8, visually close enough to 1918 to give you the shivers.
No. 81: Doug Mientkiewicz. Made the final out of both the pennant-clincher and the World Series-clincher. Not bad for the Red Sox's equivalent of Red Auerbach's victory cigar.
No. 79: Nomar Garciaparra. His former teammates voted him a full playoff share, so they must've thought he had something to do with it.
No. 78: The 36-inch fence in Fenway Park's right-field corner. If it were 37 inches higher, Tony Clark's drive in the ninth inning of ALCS Game 5 would have won the pennant for the Yankees, instead of bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double that reined Ruben Sierra at third.
No. 77: Dave Roberts. Two games. No at-bats. Two game-tying runs.
No. 73: Doug Mirabelli. Catches Tim Wakefield. You should see him eating soup with a fork.
No. 72: Kevin Brown, and that other wall. In three starts against Boston following that sucker punch, Brown allowed 13 runs and 15 hits in four innings.
No. 71: You can't lose them all, either. Favorite anonymous quote -- "If Red Sox fans rooted for gravity, we'd be three inches off the ground."
No. 69: Pokey Reese. Fact: The songwriter of "Hokey-Pokey" passed away in the middle of the World Series.
No. 67: 2,837,304 Red Sox Nationalist ticket holders, representing the first sold-out season in club history. That means the Sox averaged 35,028 in a park with an official capacity of 33,871.
No. 64: Papi Ortiz. When it comes to Red Sox Nation, the Father of his Country.
No. 62: Kevin Youkilis. The Greek God of Walks, even though he isn't (Greek, that is).
No. 60: Ben Affleck. Maybe he could script October.
No. 58: Red Sox basics -- these colors don't run. May have become first team to ever win a World Series without a single stolen base.
No. 53: MLB. All 29 other teams, any of which could have had Manny on waivers.
No. 52: Dan Duquette. Heathcliffe Slocumb for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe. 'Nuff said.
No. 49: "Who's Your Daddy?" Every occasion needs a good rally cry.
No. 46: Webbing of Varitek's mitt. Left a mark on A-Rod's face, and on the Sox.
No. 45: April 24. A 3-2 win in the Bronx while going 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Established these Sox as far more than the traditional boom-or-doom gang.
No. 40: Green lights. Trot Nixon's Game 4 wall-banger on a 3-and-0 pitch was no accident. Sox hit .769 on 3-and-0 pitches all season.
No. 39: Bronson Arroyo. After adopting a new hairstyle, finished the season by winning five in a cornrow.
No. 38: Sixth gear. From beginning of August to end of October, played .726 ball.
No. 37: May 7. Two in the eighth and three in the ninth for a 7-6 win over Kansas City instilled the it's-never-over attitude
No. 35: Bill Mueller. If you're going to have a specialty, blowing Mariano Rivera saves is a good one.
No. 31: Terry Francona. Never afraid to make the tough, unpopular -- but invariably successful -- move.
No. 28: Stephen King. Announced his retirement from writing stories with catastrophic endings, and the Sox followed suit.
No. 26: Phil Jackson. Should've stuck to setting picks for Kobe Bryant, instead of picking the Cards on national TV.
No. 25: St. Louis. Bruins over Blues, Patriots over Rams, Red Sox over Cardinals. You've done more than enough.
No. 23: Cadaver. The one on which doctors experimented before going ahead with the stitch-job on Schilling's tendon. Deserved a playoff share, but the players stiffed him.
No. 22: The black sweatshirt worn by that teen fan to Game 6 in Yankee Stadium. Make it white, and Bellhorn probably doesn't get the reversed homer call, and it all changes.
No. 18: New York Yankees. It would've been historic, anyway. Their 3-0 ALCS jump made it legendary.
No. 17: Trot Nixon. His batting helmet looked like it's been in use since 1918.
No. 14: "Why Not Us?" Sign hung on inside of clubhouse door before Game 4 of the ALCS. Still no answer.
No. 13: Manny Ramirez. Angels catcher Bengie Molina knew how to deal with him, revealing, "The philosophy for how to get him out? Good luck. Go to the next guy."
No. 11: Pedro Martinez. Got his wish. The Yankees did go away.
No. 9: The amazing Keith Foulke. Why amazing? He had 32 saves, despite a 33-day midseason stretch without any.
No. 7: Red Sox Planet. So many people pulling together had to exert a powerful force.
No. 6: Tim Wakefield. The senior Red Sox. Those tears were 10 years, 387 games and hundreds of filed fingernails in the making.
No. 4: Johnny Damon. Long hair and long balls.
No. 3: All the mothers and fathers who taught the children of Red Sox Nation well. Those joyful tears in the eyes of today's youth were genuine.
No. 2: Curt Schilling. Promises are rarely kept so faithfully. He earned that statue -- even if he brought his own chisel.
No. 1: too cheesy :-P if you are a true fan and really care, you can ask me what it is ;)
au revoir <33ED
86 reasons this is now the center of Red Sox Universe: (im not gunna put all of them...these are the really good ones)
No. 86: Total number of runs scored by both teams in the ALCS: 86.
No. 85: Score of the Red Sox's last defeat (when tilting the customary dash into a slash): 19/8, visually close enough to 1918 to give you the shivers.
No. 81: Doug Mientkiewicz. Made the final out of both the pennant-clincher and the World Series-clincher. Not bad for the Red Sox's equivalent of Red Auerbach's victory cigar.
No. 79: Nomar Garciaparra. His former teammates voted him a full playoff share, so they must've thought he had something to do with it.
No. 78: The 36-inch fence in Fenway Park's right-field corner. If it were 37 inches higher, Tony Clark's drive in the ninth inning of ALCS Game 5 would have won the pennant for the Yankees, instead of bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double that reined Ruben Sierra at third.
No. 77: Dave Roberts. Two games. No at-bats. Two game-tying runs.
No. 73: Doug Mirabelli. Catches Tim Wakefield. You should see him eating soup with a fork.
No. 72: Kevin Brown, and that other wall. In three starts against Boston following that sucker punch, Brown allowed 13 runs and 15 hits in four innings.
No. 71: You can't lose them all, either. Favorite anonymous quote -- "If Red Sox fans rooted for gravity, we'd be three inches off the ground."
No. 69: Pokey Reese. Fact: The songwriter of "Hokey-Pokey" passed away in the middle of the World Series.
No. 67: 2,837,304 Red Sox Nationalist ticket holders, representing the first sold-out season in club history. That means the Sox averaged 35,028 in a park with an official capacity of 33,871.
No. 64: Papi Ortiz. When it comes to Red Sox Nation, the Father of his Country.
No. 62: Kevin Youkilis. The Greek God of Walks, even though he isn't (Greek, that is).
No. 60: Ben Affleck. Maybe he could script October.
No. 58: Red Sox basics -- these colors don't run. May have become first team to ever win a World Series without a single stolen base.
No. 53: MLB. All 29 other teams, any of which could have had Manny on waivers.
No. 52: Dan Duquette. Heathcliffe Slocumb for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe. 'Nuff said.
No. 49: "Who's Your Daddy?" Every occasion needs a good rally cry.
No. 46: Webbing of Varitek's mitt. Left a mark on A-Rod's face, and on the Sox.
No. 45: April 24. A 3-2 win in the Bronx while going 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Established these Sox as far more than the traditional boom-or-doom gang.
No. 40: Green lights. Trot Nixon's Game 4 wall-banger on a 3-and-0 pitch was no accident. Sox hit .769 on 3-and-0 pitches all season.
No. 39: Bronson Arroyo. After adopting a new hairstyle, finished the season by winning five in a cornrow.
No. 38: Sixth gear. From beginning of August to end of October, played .726 ball.
No. 37: May 7. Two in the eighth and three in the ninth for a 7-6 win over Kansas City instilled the it's-never-over attitude
No. 35: Bill Mueller. If you're going to have a specialty, blowing Mariano Rivera saves is a good one.
No. 31: Terry Francona. Never afraid to make the tough, unpopular -- but invariably successful -- move.
No. 28: Stephen King. Announced his retirement from writing stories with catastrophic endings, and the Sox followed suit.
No. 26: Phil Jackson. Should've stuck to setting picks for Kobe Bryant, instead of picking the Cards on national TV.
No. 25: St. Louis. Bruins over Blues, Patriots over Rams, Red Sox over Cardinals. You've done more than enough.
No. 23: Cadaver. The one on which doctors experimented before going ahead with the stitch-job on Schilling's tendon. Deserved a playoff share, but the players stiffed him.
No. 22: The black sweatshirt worn by that teen fan to Game 6 in Yankee Stadium. Make it white, and Bellhorn probably doesn't get the reversed homer call, and it all changes.
No. 18: New York Yankees. It would've been historic, anyway. Their 3-0 ALCS jump made it legendary.
No. 17: Trot Nixon. His batting helmet looked like it's been in use since 1918.
No. 14: "Why Not Us?" Sign hung on inside of clubhouse door before Game 4 of the ALCS. Still no answer.
No. 13: Manny Ramirez. Angels catcher Bengie Molina knew how to deal with him, revealing, "The philosophy for how to get him out? Good luck. Go to the next guy."
No. 11: Pedro Martinez. Got his wish. The Yankees did go away.
No. 9: The amazing Keith Foulke. Why amazing? He had 32 saves, despite a 33-day midseason stretch without any.
No. 7: Red Sox Planet. So many people pulling together had to exert a powerful force.
No. 6: Tim Wakefield. The senior Red Sox. Those tears were 10 years, 387 games and hundreds of filed fingernails in the making.
No. 4: Johnny Damon. Long hair and long balls.
No. 3: All the mothers and fathers who taught the children of Red Sox Nation well. Those joyful tears in the eyes of today's youth were genuine.
No. 2: Curt Schilling. Promises are rarely kept so faithfully. He earned that statue -- even if he brought his own chisel.
No. 1: too cheesy :-P if you are a true fan and really care, you can ask me what it is ;)
au revoir <33ED