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9 Responses to “Jay Payton, Our Hero; O’s Sweep the Sox!”

1. Heathir says:
   

   May 14th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

   So I was there, with two bandwagon Red Sox fans in tow. The one knows the game of baseball well, but is so bandwagon it is sickening. After not being able to identifying any Red Sox player outside of Papi and Manny during batting practice, not knowing what position Dice K played, and asking why everyone booed when Youkilis was up to bat… She swears up and down that when she got into baseball and year or so ago, she just decided to like the Red Sox, I think I got into her head a little bit when I told her being bandwagon doesn’t mean you necessarily woke up one day and decided to like whatever team was winning, but rather feeding into whoever is the media’s current love and that it’s easy to start liking a team that’s one two championships in the last three years. She’s a sweet kid, other than the Red Sox issue.

   But the game was aaaa-mazing. The place was electric during the 7th inning. Brian’s at bat was tense and then Payton hitting the granny… and everything happened that inning with 2 outs. And I was happy with Danny’s performance… not his best stuff at all, but kept us in the game, didn’t walk, and didn’t freak out when things got rough. Oh and the four double plays, oh yeah!

   Sweeeeep!

2. J says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 12:53 am

   The main issue I had with this game is the Manny double play. It was a sweet grab and a hell of a throw, but what was Huff doing? He was just trotting back to first and got out by a mile! He should have at least glanced over his shoulder, saw the throw, and tried to slide or something. So either he was oblivious to the throw or just stopped trying. Both reflect poorly on him. In the long run it didn’t matter so oh well.

   I am digging the Sherill hat bill thing by the way. It shows some good team spirit and is pretty funny. I like how the team is bonding and having fun. The both the newbies and the old-timers have some good chemistry. Always makes things more interesting to watch.

3. gerry says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 2:24 am

   No one thought the Orioles would take 2 of 2 games, or that Becket would have a hard time. Congrats to a team which is rebuilding well, and rebuilding its fan base with solid baseball.

   I do take exception to a Baltimore fan calling the Red Sox, of all teams, the evil empire. That is ludicrous, even irresponsible. Point that finger where it belongs.

   All A.L. East teams, in fact all of baseball, have been penalized by the profligate spending and win at any cost policies of the Yankees. It hasn’t been the Sox holding down the Birds. Most teams, including the Red Sox, had to hock their family heirlooms to attempt parity.

   How you can call a team Evil, with role models like Mayor Casey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Manny being Manny, Mikey Lowell, Youk, Papi and Pedroia, is a shocker. These are good guys on and off the field, who finally managed to beat the arrogant Yankees, and then beat ‘em again.

   Red Sox Nation is much like Orioles Nation, both fairly small market teams (Boston is about 800,000) compared to NY, L.A., etc. Both cities draw students and hi-tech workers who stay for a while and return home as committed fans because of the intense local experience. Both have great parks downtown. Boston lives and breathes baseball, and fans are generally knowledgeable. Some can be obnoxious and mean-spirited, but I have met this in a dozen ball parks, perhaps more so from parents in little league and pony league.

   Please consider not only the disparity between the NYY and Sox payrolls, consider also who today’s Red Sox are . . . mostly younger, lower paid, largely home grown, like Papelbon, Delcarmen, Hansen, Aardsma, Lester, Buccholz, Masterson, Pauley, Hansack, Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Crisp, Cash, Cora, Casey, Lowrie, Moss, VanEvery, Thurston, Carter (that’s 21).

   Most of the veteran support for this group comes from six (6) grizzled, face of the franchise players like Veritek (36), Wakefield (41), Timlin (42), Schill (42), Manny (36), Papi (33), all brought aboard years ago to beat the NYY Evil Empire. And they did it, reversed the curse, and finally created some parity in the league.

   You can argue, rightly, that Becket and Lowell, Daisuke and Oki, and Drew were recent and costly pickups. But to get Becket and Lowell we gave up alot . . . including Hanley Ramirez from our AAA, who is more A-Rod than A-Rod. Take a look at HIS new Florida contract. (Please note that the NNY outbid us for A-Rod too).

   For Daisuke and Oki we wound up having to outbid the NYY just for the right to negotiate. The salaries for these sophomores are very reasonable for their talent. JDDrew gets one of the largest paychecks on the team, and we hope he will play to capacity this year, and being a good old Georgia and FSU boy, he will.

   On the other hand, we kept our young players and our money, passing on Santana . . . and on Bedard, Haren, Blanton and others. The Sox youth movement may be under the radar, but it is real.

   If you watched these latest games, you saw Buchholz, Aardsma, Hansen, MDC pitch, and saw Ellsbury and Crisp make things happen, and van Every get his fist MLB hit. It’s a new, different, exciting team who just got beat by a team that is playing better.

   The Sox are not poor, but they are not spending anywhere near the NYY and other teams. Bostonians are ecstatic about the Sox, but they aren’t doing graffiti at Camden Yard. The Sox have so much depth from the minors that they might repeat without a big free agent or trade move, but that isn’t a bad thing.

   When the O’s were doing great, I remember Boston fans urging them on, and loving Baltimore stars. Don’t you know that most Bostonians love Baltimore, with its gorgeous old row houses with famous marble stairs, its similar seafood, maritime, cultural and medical histories. So why do you assign the rightful mantle of the arrogant NYY and the cheerful Steinbrenners to the Red Sox, who are only recently re-establishing themselves after decades of struggle. It doesn’t seem valid.

4. Anthony Amobi says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 8:41 am

   Gerry, Gerry, Gerry, I dub the Red Sox the Evil Empire 1A sort of as a running joke. It’s only a game and an entertainment diversion - calm down.

   No one ever said that the Boston Red Sox were ever holding down the O’s, in fact, Baltimore’s problems have been pretty much their own doing.

   Keep in mind, in spite of the Red Sox having great home grown players and young talent; you cannot dispute this point — the Boston Red Sox are doing mighty well at the gate, have the interest of the nation & eecked their way into pop culture, and it’s been good for both business and the sport.

   The Boston Red Sox are a huge business, so let’s not also forget that. I don’t hate them in anyway, shape or form, in fact, they do almost everything right in terms of building a team and a brand name. A lot of teams can learn a thing or two from your ownership.

   Lest we forget, they have a huge payroll and a fanatical fanbase, much like the Yankees. Otherwise than that, they are a perfectly fine team.

   I have met many fine Red Sox fans, and I admire your passion for the game; however, it is just that a game and a means of escapism for me and perhaps most fans — it’s nothing more than that.

   Let’s just chill out and just enjoy baseball.

5. Anthony Amobi says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 8:45 am

   Heathir, so I wanted to go, but I had to work. I got home around the sixth inning and once I saw Lester weaken & the Boston bullpen come into the game, the Orioles had a chance to come back.

   The Payton homer was incredible and I literally jumped up for joy — something I have not done during an Oriole game for a long time.

   It’s been good to see more orange and black at the Yard and the fans get into it again. We more than likely will finish under .500 and the roster won’t be the same in August, but it’s been real fun so far.

   Finally, this team is likable and is starting to connect with fans and it’s something that’s been missing for a long time.

6. Peter C. says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 10:00 am

   Personally, I hate Boston. Have since even before I was a Baltimore fan. They pass themselves off as saviours or opposite of the evil NY team, when they are in fact a carbon copy.

   Their field in Boston stinks, they have the highest ticket prices, and they are in the top 3 in merchandise sales nationwide (along with Yankees and Cubs). I despise NY, but I love seeing boston burn.

   Too bad, the city itself is nice and I like Aerosmith, but their sports teams (including the NFL cheaters) can go to hell.

7. J says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 10:29 am

   A couple points, Gerry. I’m not trying to stir up an argument or say I hate Red Sox fans… I just don’t agree with some of your points.

   As far as payrolls go:
   - Yankees ‘08 payroll: $209,081,579 (1st in the league)
   - Red Sox ‘08 payroll: $133,440,037 (4th in the league)
   - O’s ‘08 payroll: $67,196,248 (22nd in the league)
   Enough said.

   As for the fan base… Boston has the entire region of New England. Baltimore has half of Maryland. We have Philly directly north and DC directly south. There’s also Pittsburgh dominating most of western MD. Not to mention all the transplants in the DC area who support some other team. Baltimore is about as small market as you can get.

   O’s fans resent Yanks and Sox fans alike for the impending invasion of Camden Yards during their series here. Imagine being outnumbered and booed in your home stadium. This has been happening for every yanks/sox series for about the last 5+ years (probably longer). Also, imagine going to downtown Boston and having local merchants offering special deals to opposing fans and not the home fans. Walk over to Harbor Place that’s what you’ll find. I’m not saying this is the Sox or Yanks fans’ fault, but you can imagine how it would create some resentment among the locals.

   I have a great deal of respect for true Boston fans (read: fans before 2004). It’s the bandwagoners I can’t stand. There’s nothing I hate more than a Marylander born and raised who roots for the Yankees or Red Sox for no particular reason. It’s mostly people who have never lived in or around Boston who are the bandwagoners. It used to be only the NY caps you saw everywhere, but now you see a ton of the B’s as well. It’s just as trendy to like Boston now as it was to like New York 5-6 years ago. Frankly, I feel sorry for true Sox fans. If the O’s suddenly won the World Series (HA!) then I would resent anyone who didn’t stick around the last decade of loosing. So root on true Sox fans, but be aware that O’s fans and Sox fans aren’t all hunky-dory.

8. J says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 10:37 am

   Also, be aware that Maryland sports fans in general have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to media attention and national respect. We have an inferiority complex and tend to be a little scrappy with opposing fans.

   Some examples:
   - Yankees/Red Sox vs. Orioles
   - Duke basketball vs. Terp basketball
   - Cowboys vs. Redskins
   - Steelers vs. Ravens
   - Capitals being reassigned to the southeast division and loosing their rivalries with the other Patrick Division teams.

9. Anthony Amobi says:
   

   May 15th, 2008 at 6:07 pm

   Well done, J. I don’t think I could add any more. I think the Red Sox have the aura of being cool and the players more personable than the corporate Yankees, but nevertheless, Boston has an undeniable advantage — money, and lots of it.

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