Seeing the Red Sox celebrate in the playoffs is something we're getting used to. (AP Photo)
While most of Red Sox Nation is still basking in the afterglow of the 2007 World Series Championship it’s time to take a step back and review what exactly the 2007 MLB Playoffs meant not only for the team, but also for us as fans. Living in this post-2004 world in which we live in (very Giuliani of me I know) there presents a feeling and a mindset that seems to have affected both the players on the field, and the fans in the stands.
If you look back at the last three playoff runs of the Red Sox (2004, 2005, & 2007) you can begin to see numerous parallels between the 2004 Red Sox team and the 2007 team, and it’s not only because each won the championship. The 2005 Red Sox team was very flawed because of injuries that occurred during the season (Schilling, Varitek), and players that were picked up via Free Agency that didn’t pan out (Clement, Renteria). It’s actually a testament to them that they even made the playoffs (well the deep pockets didn’t hurt either), and a lot of that was due to “clutch” at bats turned around by Ortiz down the stretch run of the season. Either way, the 2005 season was exciting, and making the playoffs is an accomplishment to be proud of, however when you’re starting Matt Clement in Game 1 of the ALDS you’re obviously looking at a flawed team.
A big difference between the 2004 and 2007 teams is how each team made it to the playoffs. The 2004 Red Sox won more games during the regular season (98) then the 2007 squad (95), however they had to fight and claw a lot harder to make it in, and when they did make it, it was as the Wild Card team and not as the AL East Champs. The 2007 team, for all intents and purposes, had it pretty “easy” in the regular season. For all the people out there who say the games in April and May don’t mean anything obviously weren’t paying attention in ‘07. The Red Sox stockpiled an extremely large number of wins over their closest competitor (14.5 over the New York Yankees) which ended up allowing them to be able to better manage minor injuries (Youk, Manny, Crisp) down the stretch run without having to jeopardize their regular season success. It basically served as a cushion for the team allotting them the luxury of resting key cogs down the stretch.
Once both the ’04 and ’07 Red Sox teams made the playoffs you start to see a lot of similarities between them. Both absolutely rolled over the LAnaheim Angels in the ALDS, and both had to make historic comebacks of sorts (obviously 2004 was a little bigger) in the ALCS over very good, capable teams. Lastly both teams absolutely rolled over their NL opponent (This is where the 2007 did a little better job) in the World Series. However, I did mention us fans in the first paragraph, and I’ve only been speaking about the players and teams thus far, so how was this different for us?
The first and foremost difference between the 2004 run and the 2007 run is that we Red Sox fans had no
more extra curricular baggage to deal with, we could just enjoy baseball games, not ghostly apparitions of Babe Ruth. Before when forced to watch a playoff game on FOX we were absolutely inundated with references to curses, 1918, and replays of all past moments when Red Sox teams got close, but no cigar. Because of 2004 that’s all part of the past now, and I say good riddance to bad rubbish. I’ve stated numerous times on SawxBlog that the whole curse thing was a bunch of bulls---, and if anything, I think it should have been called the “Curse of Tom Yawkey”. This racist drunk of an owner was the reason why we had such long droughts and horrible teams, and just because he saved Fenway Park, it doesn’t mean he should be in the HOF, have streets named after him, and still be praised by the current administration…but more on him another time, it’s an easy subject for me to go off on.
So yeah, having the weight of the World Series drought of off Red Sox Nation’s collective shoulders again affected both the players on the field, and that fans in the stands in positive ways. When the Sox were down 3-1 against the Indians I was pissed off as all hell (anyone who saw me after Delcarmen gave up the 3-run homer can attest to that), but I never gave up faith or hope in the team, and neither did the players or fans in general (expect for that rat Dan Shaughnessy who called for both Tito & Theo’s head…what a fair weather, headline stealing, negative twit). That’s one thing 2004 did for us, give us hope even when times were bleak. Plays that always seemed to go against the Red Sox, Lofton being held at third as an example, weren’t happening to the Sox anymore. And even though that’s something on the field, there has to be something to both the fans and players in a park having a certain level of confidence. Red Sox fans now not only trust our players, but also our GM, our front office, and our owners. If we lost Game 5 of the ALCS it would have sucked, but the year would not have been a failure.
Every team and fan’s goal going into a season is to win the World Series, but to say it’s a failure if you don’t is not only unrealistic, but pretty arrogant. This leads me to the inevitable comparison the Red Sox have been getting to the Yankees, both during the playoffs and after. In 2003 the Red Sox were the team everyone was pulling for in the ALCS, and the comeback in 2004 helped to launch that much more national attention from people and the media. On the flip-side this also added a lot of new Red Sox fans to the mix along with some fair weather fans, which is what happened to popular successful sports teams. If you watch Red Sox games when they’re on the road the Sox fans are almost always as loud as the home team fans (much like the Yankee fans on the road), and that along with the Sox recent string of success has bred contempt from fans of teams outside of RSN, and honestly, that’s fine.
The thing that I find/found most interesting is how much all fans (including NYY fans) and media can’t talk about one of the teams without mentioning the other. It’s really fascinating actually. Am I facilitating this by talking about it now? Who knows, maybe I am the snake that’s eating its own tail; however there is no doubt there’s been a shift in power between the two franchises from the past, and it’s in the Red Sox favor. The success makes some Red Sox fans gloat way too much then they should and makes them a lot more hateable, and it also makes some Yankee fans that much extra bitter and resentful. Either way, it’s very interesting to notice, and a little bit of a pain in the ass to tell the truth. I often find myself wishing that the Red Sox could just be a baseball team, and not on of the baseball teams in a “The Rivalry”. The Rivalry may end up being what the true curse for both fans of the Sox and Yanks is, because it honestly does sometimes take away from the baseball a little too much at times.
The only real way to cool it down is for one side to become dominant over the other again, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. The Red Sox are the better organization right now, however to expect that Yankees to roll over and die is more arrogant then anything. You can hope for it as a Sox fan, I just wouldn’t truly expect it.
Looking at the baseball landscape does make you realize that it is a brave new world with what the Red Sox are doing, however one thing we know for sure is that it’ll be an interesting off-season in the land of the AL East, and like it or not, the decisions the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees make ripples throughout baseball, and effect every team and fan of the game. That’s not arrogance, that’s just the truth.
Great piece DMan! I was at Game 1 of the ALDS in Chicago in 2005 with Clemente on the hill and the first inning still stands as my worst personal Red Sox moment. Brutal game. I liked your take on the Rivalry perhaps being the real curse and agree that at times the emotion of it takes away from what is taking place between the lines. But at the end of the day, I still love that cursed rivalry and love the taste of victory!
Posted by: Chris Hixon | November 01, 2007 at 11:59 PM