Who Cares?

The haters have raised a question, and as the principal author of this blog, I feel an obligation to my readers – a responsibility at least to address the question, even if I can’t fully answer it. I’ve been posting about the ALCS, as I’ve rewatched games 5 through 7. And for those with a short memory, those were the three games where the Sox staved off elimination, outscored the Indians 30-5, won the American League pennant, and earned the right to face the red hot Rockies in the World Series. After I gave the Indians credit for a much closer and more competitive ALCS than the scores would indicate, the haters have asked this question – Who cares? And as I think about it, this is a question worth considering. Who does care?

First of all, who cares that the Yankees left the post-season again, with little more than a whimper? Who cares that since 2004, when they had the Sox down three games to zero in the ALCS, they have won a grand total of four post-season games. That’s only double the number of MVP awards they’ve managed somehow to win in that same time. Two MVPs and four post season games. Who cares that the Yankees are the only team in the history of major league baseball, in the hundred plus years of post-season play, to ever lose a series after leading three games to Zero? Not even the Cubs or the Phillies ever managed that. But really, who cares? And who cares that since that epic collapse, they have barely showed up in a single October? I mean they managed to win a couple games from the Angels, making the 2005 ALDS respectable, but in the two most recent years, they won a single game each year, and then folded up their tents, so they could get ready for spring training. And who cares that they haven’t won the series since twenty-zero? Who cares that we haven’t had to see Johnny Damon wearing pinstripes, with his cheesy new look, jumping around the infield, celebrating with A-Rod? Actually, that’s probably something that everyone does care about. Probably most people in America, and certainly everyone in Japan, is glad they haven’t had to watch A-Rod celebrating anything other than a meaningless walk-off home run in May. It’s one thing to watch a guy like Derek Jeter celebrate a championship, but A-Rod? Spare me. So anyway, except for the A-Rod thing, who care that the Yankees have sucked in all these recent Octobers?

And on the other hand, who cares that the Sox have swept the last two series they’ve played in? Who cares that they’ve won the last seven elimination games they’ve faced? Who cares that Josh Beckett is practically unhittable in October? Or that Pedroia and Ellsbury, a couple rookies (In fact, Ellsbury wasn’t even officially a rookie. He had so few at-bats in 2007 that he will be a rookie next year, in 2008.) went seven for ten in Game Three of the series? Or who cares that Jonathan Papelbon appeared in seven post-season games, pitched over ten innings, and had an ERA of zero point zero (0.00). For those who do care, that ERA means that he gave up zero runs, no runs, in all of the post-season. The Sox called on Pap to close seven games, and he never gave up a run. Who cares about that? By the way, these guys that I’ve mentioned, including Beckett and Pap, they’re all in their twenties. A couple aren’t even shaving yet. Who cares about that? Who cares that Manny Ramirez is now, as I write, the career post-season home run leader? I know the haters don’t care about that, because they really love to hate on Manny. He disrespects the game; he doesn’t play it right; he only gets all those assists because the monster is so shallow in Fenway. Except that in the history of major league baseball (there’s that phrase again), he is seventh all-time in RBI-to-at-bat ratio. Only six guys in the history of major league baseball (there it is again), guys like Williams, and Ruth, and Greenberg, and Gehrig, had more RBIs per at-bat. So who cares if Manny stands in the box and admires his home runs? Ten years from now some guy will take out a sharpie and autograph his bat before he rounds the bases.

Anyways, it’s only a game. So who really cares if the Sox are the only team to repeat as champions in the new millennium? Who outside of RedSox Nation, that is.