Baseball Playoffs - NLCS and ALCS

[badams52]

curses smurses I always say.

Last year, the Angels were supposedly a cursed team because their stadium was built on an ancient Native American burial site. They won the series, so you won't hear anything about their "curse" unless they go on a long drought whereby in 25 years or so the curse will resurface.

The Chicago Black Hawks were cursed in 1927 by the head coach who was fired saying they would never win the Stanley Cup. He was proven wrong eventually.

While I don't believe in curses, I do believe that if you believe in curses, then you will find a way to curse yourself. For example, if you think you're cursed and will never again win a championship, then when you play, you play with fear and aprehension, thereby making it harder to overcome the curse and thus create situations whereby it will look like you are cursed.

[The Emperor Fabulous]

You know what scares me?

The Red Sox haven't won the series as long as my grandmother has been alive...and she's been a lifelong Sox fan...how much does that suck...

[Kull]

Even if you do believe in curses, it's clear this game doesn't qualify. There were no funny bounces, catastrophic errors, or weird sequence of "seeing-eye" hits. The Red Sox lost this game - lost this series - because their manager is "C" quality at best, and gutless to boot. Strong statement? Read on.

Anyone who's watched the Sox this year knows that Pedro ALWAYS tires in the late innings. His pitch count was over 100 at the start of the 8th inning, and that means the tank was almost empty. He is not the same pitcher he was 4 years ago, and no longer can work out of late inning jams. This information is widely known, so Grady's decision to stick with Pedro was - and no other word fits - purely delusional.

But the comment after the game that "Pedro was better than anyone we had in the bullpen" gives us a glimpse into what was really happening inside the mind of the Sox Skipper. That statement would have been perfectly true if uttered at almost any point in the season, but the fact is that the sequence of Embry-Timlin-Williamson had PROVEN itself effective in EVERY series victory against the Yankees. And they weren't just "getting the job done" either. All three looked overpowering, almost Rivera-like, in the process. So his comment is clearly a flat out lie....but it does provide a clue about the TRUE nature of the manager's thought process at that intense and climactic moment of the ballgame.

Let's be clear. Grady knows all about the history of this team, and in particular is well aware of the grilling MacNamara received after replacing Clemens in the '86 series. The interesting point about that little bit of history is that to this day, both men dispute whether Clemens really asked out of the game. And now suddenly, here's Grady Little, faced with almost the identical quandary. I'd be willing to bet that his thought process went something like this:

"If I replace Pedro and the bullpen blows this game, I'll never be forgiven. But if I go to the mound and PUBLICLY ask Pedro if he can handle it - and he says "Yes" in full view of the whole world - well, at least if he fails they can't put ALL the blame on my shoulders"

How sad. What might be THE mentally-strongest Red Sox team in baseball history was saddled with a nice-guy manager who couldn't handle the same pressure his team thrived under.

Here's one final thought for the curse-believers: If the teams had swapped managers before the series - or even just for this game - do you honestly believe a Grady Little-led Yankees team would be on it's way to the World Series right now?

[GePap]

NO, but of course the notion of a Yankee team under the ownership of Steinnbrenner with a manager like Grady is an impossibility.

This is not a curse at work..the bambino never cursed the Red Soxs. No, this is history at work folk: something hasto ecxist for all the nuts to use as proof of the end of the world. The Bosoxs just have the terrible luck of ebing that harbinger of the Apocalypse.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Guynemer
The odds of that happening-- 1 in 16, or 6.125%.

I've never been one to believe in curses. Until now.

I don't see why 1 in 16 is anything to get creeped out over. While against the odds, these aren't astronomical numbers.

Curses don't exist, but self-fulfilling prophecies do, and that's probably what happened to both the Cubs and BoSox this year more than anything else. When people are constantly yammering about curses, just one thing going wrong can spark a chain reaction of second-guessing and nervous gaffes that lead to total disaster.

[Sikander]

I was cheering for Boston early in the series, until the ugliness at Fenway. Then I remembered that I have always hated Boston, and why. My sympathy for the Bosox overcame my natural dislike of Boston until Pedro threw at someone's head, and all that crap started. Now Pedro & company have paid the price, along with millions of more or less innocent people. Better luck next year.

p.s. If anyone wants a quick laugh, I'm a Detroit Tigers fan. Don't laugh too hard though, at least they've managed to win two World Series since I started following them.

[Drake Tungsten]

p.s. If anyone wants a quick laugh, I'm a Detroit Tigers fan.

Please know that all Royals fans appreciate you and your easy to beat team.

[Rex Little]

Ming--you work in advertising, right? There's got to be a way to feature Grady Little and that Cubs fan together in a spot. Maybe for life insurance, or one of those Southwest Airline "Wanna get away?" ads.

[Drake Tungsten]

Why'd you have to bump this thread? This year's baseball postseason is dead to me and I don't wish to be reminded of it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

GREAT game last night .

Pierre is an awesome player. Glad to see a team built on speed and small ball. It's definetly much more exciting than 'wait for a HR' style.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Rex Little
Ming--you work in advertising, right? There's got to be a way to feature Grady Little and that Cubs fan together in a spot. Maybe for life insurance, or one of those Southwest Airline "Wanna get away?" ads.

[reismark]

Originally posted by Rex Little
Ming--you work in advertising, right? There's got to be a way to feature Grady Little and that Cubs fan together in a spot. Maybe for life insurance, or one of those Southwest Airline "Wanna get away?" ads.

Do 'em separately - no need to get 'em together. It would be classic