Here's Why Nobody Likes Red Sox Fans

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

From the "Sports Guy's" column today. Bill Simmons is a fan of the Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots and, well, would be a fan of the Bruins except that I think he is feuding with the NHL currently.

From his col:

All right, I can't resist ...

ECKSTEIN!!! MIENTKIEWICZ!!! It's the American League Championship Series, tonight on Fox!!!

Followed by:

SPIEZIO! PIERZYNSKI!!!! It's the American League Championship Series, tonight on Fox!

I think his point, here, is that this is a series (Angels / Twins) that nobody wants to watch, because a team with "tradition" isn't involved. That, and even though the Twins put something like 4 guys in the all-star game, they don't possibly have the "star power" of the good ol' Red Sox.

You know what's played out, though? The Twins have won two World Series in the last 15 years (or whatever it is) and have legitimate highlights. EVERY FUCKING TIME someone tries to get weepy over a Red Sox game, it is Carlton Fisk winning... a game six! What the hell is that? When I was four or five, I honestly thought that home run ended the series. It was ingrained into me via east-coast bias (and I grew up in the east) what an important and dramatic shot that was. It wasn't. It was meaningless. The Reds went out and kick the crap out of the Red Sox the next game. The Twins have gotten it done without half as many advantages as Boston.

Furthermore, I find it a bit difficult to slag the Twins for having "MIENTKIEWICZ!!!" as their first baseman (the dig being that, haha, here's a team that has a defensive guy playing first rather than a .330 / 50 / 140 type player) when they opened things up with Daubach and Clark. Jesus. And seeing how the A's chudded around trying to field pop-ups in the Metrodome, I'd argue that having a guy who can handle himself defensively on that team *is* a nice advantage.


Lastly, because I do not feel like starting a new thread: nice job pitching to Bonds last night, Atlanta. Apparently a guy who hit SEVENTY-THREE home runs in a season is not enough evidence that just possibly you pitch around him at all costs in a decisive game. How many would it have taken? How many home runs would Barry Bonds have had to hit for the Braves to give him nothing but garbage? 75? 80? 95? If he had hit 99 home runs would they have asked somebody else to beat them?

The Braves *and* Yankees out of the post-season? Baseball just became watchable again.