My Red Sox Prime Nine

For as long as I can remember, I have been a Boston Red Sox fan. I am loyal to my hometown Buccos but the Red Sox have always had my heart. I know it is not fair to have two favorite teams in the same sport but I like to categorize them as my realistic favorite (Boston) and my hopeful favorite (Pirates). Plus, they beat the Pirates in the first modern World Series in 1903. Now I don't want to hear any of that bandwagon crap. Trust me, I was loyal long before they reversed the curse in '04. I liked them when they stunk too. I have decided to give some reasons for my loyalty to the boys from Bean Town. So here it is, I gave you a list of things I hate, here is the list of things I love... about the SOX!

1. First and foremost, Fenway Park. If you know anything about baseball, then you know it is the best place in the world to watch baseball. Well, either there or Wrigley, but the Cubbies have gone even longer than the Sox did without a title. The Sox have played in the same building since 1912. Fenway actually opened the same week the Titanic sank. You just can't beat the cozy feel of the park. They have the manual scoreboard, the green monster, Pesky's pole... You just have to love it.


2. The 2004 postseason. The band of idiots came back from a 3 games to none deficit to knock off the Evil Empire. It had Big Papi's walk-offs, Schill's bloody sock, and Damon's grand slam. Then came the sweep of the Cards in the Series. I was 21 years old at the time and I promise you that I cried when they broke the curse.

3. Manny. Love him or hate him, you must respect him. Manny Ramirez, despite his quirks, is one of the best right handed hitters of this era. The guy is an RBI machine. And not to mention an absolute monster in the postseason.

4. Tessie. Popular broadway song that was adopted by the team's "Royal Rooters" in 1903. They changed the words to fit the team and sang it as a rallying cry. Dropkick Murphy's re-made it in '04 into a hard Irish rock tune and its just plain bad ass.

5. Ted Williams. Teddy Ballgame, The Splendid Splinter, or the greatest hitter who ever lived. All of those names apply. Plus he was a war hero. What's not to love?

6. Carlton Fisk's homer in the 1975 Series. Bottom of the 12th inning to win game 6. Fisk famously waving for the ball to curl around the foul pole as he galloped to first. It's timeless.

7. Bill Buckner. The infamous grounder between the legs. This was the epitome of Red Sox heartbreak. This famous error, along with the Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone (who share the same middle name in Boston) were tests of our will. That was the Sox, they broke your heart, but you love them anyway.

8. Hating the Yankees. This is so easy to start with, but when you are a Sox fan, there is a whole other level of hate. Playing these clowns 19 times a year and then in the postseason is the best, and at times the worst, part of being a Red Sox fan. It's the best rivalry in sports!

9. Being hated in return. It's not a rivalry if they don't hate you back. It adds so much to the game and the cometativeness. Pirate fans have no idea what this feels like because the Bucs are not relevant enough to be hated.

So many other things contribute to my love of the Sox, or at least things I love about them. Young Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Pedro throwing Don Zimmer to the ground (man, that was funny), Jimmie Foxx, Yaz, Juan Marichal, Jim Rice, Mo Vaughn, Nomaaaaahhhh, Lester's no-no, Tek giving A-Rod a facial, Papi's walk-offs, Damon when he still looked like a caveman, Freddy Lynn, the Spaceman, the triangle in centerfield, Pedroia the Destroyah, D-Lowe's perfecto, Wakefield's knuck, Sweet Caroline, and the fact that I can still cheer for them after June, unlike the Pirates.

This Kid Needs Help

There is no way in the world Sid Crosby should ever have more goals than assists. This guy is a playmaker first, goal scorer second. And he can set up all the scoring chances in the world, but his ability is wasted without a winger to bury it. Throwing every mucker and grinder we have on his line and hoping he will turn them into Jari Kurri is not the answer for the Kid. Aside from one brief stint with Marian Hossa, he's never had a goal scoring wing. We've seen has-beens like Ziggy Palffy, Mark Recchi, and Miro Satan sent out there, as well as countless no-names like Tomas Surovy, Andy Hilbert, and Michele Ouellet. Even some of our Pittsburgh favorites like Colby, Bugsy, and Christensen weren't the right fit. So it begs the question, how long do we let this go on? Ray Shero, whom I think has done a phenominal job as our general manager, has failed to do one thing in his tenure, and its a pretty big thing. Get the best all-around player in hockey a long-term scoring linemate. I am not saying the guys we have aren't serviceable, I'm just saying Dupuis and Kunitz arent Kovalchuk or Gaborik. I'm talking about 40 goal scoring snipers who can use Sid's feeds to pop a few water bottles. And please don't try to use Mario's wingers as examples. Yes, Lemieux got Robbie Brown 49 goals, but defenses were a bit different twenty years ago. And trust me Sid is almost, if not just, as good a passer and creator as Mario. If you don't believe that just wait until he finally gets a sniper to feed. And by finally, I mean hopefully. As much as I hate to say it, I think to get this done we are going to have to dangle some big bait to get the catch we want. That bait just might end up being Geno. Think about it. Staalsy is a perfectly capable second line center. In fact, Pittsburgh is about the only place in the league where he isn't a top two center. I just don't see the point of having three great centers and bum wingers playing with each of them. There are plenty of teams in this league who would happily give up a winger like Dany Heatley or Corey Perry to get one of the best centers in the league. Now before you start throwing a fit, I know Geno is a better hockey player than any of these guys. But the best player in a trade is not always the best part of a trade. If Corey Perry gets more points on Sid's line than Geno does in Anaheim, then Perry is the better part of the trade. Now you may say trade Staal instead of Geno so I will tell you why that is a horrible idea. First, money plain and simple. Plus Staal is only 21 and is becoming a force on the ice. And most importantly European players are eccentric and Canadian players are grounded. Remember when Jagr decided he didn't care who he played for as long as it was near a beach? European stars are too unpredictable.

We have only seen glimpses of Sid's potential as a playmaker in his short time with Hossa, and we have seen how good he is when he decides to do it on his own. But obviously teams like the Devils and Caps have figured out ways to neutralize him enough to beat the Pens. They can do this because they know no one else on the ice at the time can beat them single-handedly the way the Wizard of Cros can. We are 0-8 against those two clubs, one or both of whom we will see in the playoffs. I think something needs to be done sooner than later in order for us to stay atop the league. Obviously Jersey and Washington have figured something out about us and it's our turn to counter-punch. So come on Shero, show some cojones and make a blockbuster deal for someone... anyone! Trade Fedotenko for that dryer in Sid's basement, he can probably bank 20 to 30 goals off it. I'm telling you, if this move is ever made, we will get those Lemieux and Gretzky-esque numbers we all know the Kid is capable of. Can we please get our Maverick a good wing man?