ONE AND DONE!
A few reasons why the Sox failed to repeat as champions




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
October 8, 2005

The Mighty Casey would understand. As in Mudville there is no joy in Boston for the Red Sox have struck out. The 2004 World champions will not get the chance to raise another banner to open the 2006 season at home. They ran into buzz saw by the name of the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox eliminated the champs in front of the Red Sox Nation 5-3 to win their of the American League Divisional Series three games to none.

So what were the differences between last year and this year? First of all the passion that had driven the Red Sox and their fans for the past 86 years was put to rest in last year’s American League Championship Series. The Red Sox who were tired of coming in second place, year after year, to the Yankees, tired of hearing “1918-1918-1918,” and tired of succumbing to the so-called “Curse of the Bambino” exorcized all of that by beating the Yankees at Yankee Stadium to go to the World Series. They did it in dramatic fashion by coming back from being down three games to none to win the final four games and the series from their hated rivals.

For 86 years the Red Sox and their nation had their rivals and fans to the south to feed off of. Hate and contempt are powerful motivators. For most of the 20th century the Boston Red Sox were slapped around by the Yankees and boy did they and their fans hear about it. Always the bridesmaid, but never the bride was their lot in baseball. The Red Sox, before their magical season last year, had last won a baseball title in 1918. That year Babe Ruth pitched for them only giving up two earned runs in 17 innings of work. In 1919 the Red Sox missed the World Series and on January 5, 1920 its cash strapped owner, Harry Frazee, sold the Babe to Col. Jake Ruppert and the New York Yankees for $125,000. The money was allegedly used by Frazee to bankroll a play he was producing by the name of “No, No Nanette!” It was one of the biggest baseball blunders in history. In the four years Ruth played for the Sox he pitched to a 78-40 record and Boston had won World Series titles in 1915-16, 1918. In 1919 Ruth hit .322 with 29 home runs, which was more than every other franchise did as a team.

After the sale of Ruth to the Yankees the Boston Red Sox never again, in the 20th Century, tasted champagne after a World Series appearance. The “Curse of the Bambino” arose to haunt the Red Sox and their fans. In the meantime, the New York Yankees went from also-rans to baseball powerhouses.

In 1921 the Yankees made their first World Series appearance against their city rivals the New York Giants. The Yanks lost that series five games to three, but a new trend was born. The Yankees lost again to the Giants in the 1922 World Series, but in 1923 after a brand new Yankee Stadium was opened the Yankees raised their first World Series banner. The Yankees finally ousted the Giants as the Kings of New York by taking the series four games to two. The Yankees never lost another World Series to that team.

With the coming of Babe Ruth the Yankees had finally arrived. From 1920 until present the Yankees have won 26 World Series championships, 39 American League Championships and have made 45 post-season appearances. No other team in baseball history comes close to those numbers. No wonder the Bronx Bombers are so universally loved by their fans and hated by their opponents. Everyone gets extra enjoyment out of beating the damn Yankees.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox floundered in the sea of success. Oh sure, they made it to the World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986, but just when it seemed they were on the brink of making it over the top something quirky always happened. Bill Buckner and Bucky Dent, two names that always raise the ire of a devoted Red Sox fan, are prime examples of the ill-fortune that always seemed to follow Boston into the post-season. The Red Sox were like a teasing Siren to their fans. They would always give them hope, but then, carve their hearts out with another gut-wrenching loss. It was even worse when those losses were to the Yankees.

No situation in the long, storied rivalry between the Yankees and Sox was more evident than Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. This series had had it all. Confrontations, brawls and words were being littered all over the diamond. It was another classic series between these two adversaries. It was akin to a classic heavyweight fight where there was no defense just two teams just whaling away on each other. It came down to the last man standing.

In Game 7 with the Sox leading 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning then manager Grady Little made a tremendous mistake by leaving his ace Pedro Martinez in the game. Martinez had pitched brilliantly, but the Yankees were starting to get to him. Martinez told Little he was fine and Little left him in the game. The Yankees went on to score three times to tie the score 5-5. The game finally came down to two-game ALCS winner Tim Wakefield and light hitting Yankees’ third baseman Aaron Boone. Wakefield threw his wiffle knuckleball, which stayed out over the plate and Boone deposited into the left field stands for a walk-off home run. The Yankees went on to the World Series and the Red Sox, as usual, went home.

However, out of the ashes of those playoffs a new Red Sox Phoenix was born. The Sox acquired Curt Schilling, who quickly became a leader in the clubhouse. Johnny Damon anointed his teammates “a bunch of idiots,” and the new Boston rallying cry was “Why not us?” The Sox and Yankees trudged through the 2004 campaign with the Yankees winning their 7th straight division title and Boston coming in as the wildcard entry. The scene was set for another confrontation between professional sports two greatest rivals. The Sox, although entering the playoffs as the wildcard, played brilliantly. They swept the always tough Anaheim Angels in the ALDS and waited for the one team they wanted most. The Yankees dispatched the Minnesota Twins in their half of the ALDS 3-1 to set up the series with Boston.

The Red Sox were favored due in large part to their better pitching. But, it was the Yankees who muscled up taking the first three games of the series. In Game 3 the Yankees knocked in 19 runs on 22 hits and were looking like the Bronx Bombers of yesteryear. What was thought to be an offensive juggernaut was in reality an aberration. In Game 4 with the Yankees ahead 4-3 going into the 9th inning closer Mariano Rivera entered the game to close the door on the Sox season. Rivera hiccupped and walked lead off batter Kevin Millar. Pinch runner Dave Roberts came in to run for Millar and promptly stole second base on Rivera. Third baseman Bill Mueller singled to score Roberts and tie the score at four. The damage was done. Although the Yankees resisted, the Sox scored twice in the bottom of the 12th inning to win 6-4.

The steal by Roberts energized the Sox who also won the next three games to win the ALCS four games to three. They celebrated joyfully on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium. Boston had done the unimaginable. They were the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. A large dent (no pun intended) was put into the “Curse of the Bambino.” Only one obstacle remained.

The Red Sox rolled through the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals by sweeping them in four games. The winner of the series was never in doubt. The Boys from Beantown had finally done what Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Johnny Pesky and Carl Yastremski couldn’t do. They won a ring.

But, with winning a ring the Sox also lost some things. They lost their ever burning desire for a world series victory. What had been unattainable for 86 years was finally theirs. They would no longer have to endure the loser’s mantle. They had broken the “Curse” forever. Anything that happened from that point on couldn’t be blamed on Babe Ruth or the New York Yankees. It was like a volcano whose lava keeps pushing against the surface of the earth, finally blowing through in a spectacular fire show. Once the lava cools and the pressure is off there is no more pent up energy to leap forth. The same thing happened to the Red Sox. They went from “what about us,” to “so what’s next?”

The 2005 edition of the Boston Red Sox weren’t the lovable bunch of idiots everyone had pulled for last year. They were now the defending champions with a big target on their backs. Now they were the hunted. Everybody played them just a little bit harder than before and it showed. The Red Sox vulnerabilities, like the Yankees, were more exposed and teams exploited them. The pitching was no longer there and they had to rely all to often on their offense to get them over the top in games. Once that offense met really good pitching as in the case of the Chicago White Sox the deposed world champions folded up like a bunch of nomad tents. They had run out of comebacks. It is always easier to win a title than to defend one. That’s why it changes hands so often.

Only time will tell if this season was a bump in the road of success, or has a new, long dry spell been started? With no curse, no Babe Ruth and no 1918 the Red Sox and their fans have to search for new villains. The new season is only 4-1/2 months away and a new chapter will begin. It’ll be interesting to see how the Sox write it.


PLAY BALL!


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