Red Sox Fan Anyone?

I was Glad to see the Red Sox in the World Series and Win it a couple of yrs. back. Main issue is they now lost most of the Good players that helped get them there. Why??? I was a Huge fan of Johnny Daman when they had him.

i do not hate them nor love them.

I am neutral. I am not a fan of the Red Sox but I don't hate them either.

Why Bill Buckner isn't to blame for the Red Sox World Series... We all remember back to that nightmare of a game. That slow ground ball dribbling it’s way to the Red Sox first baseman, ready to smear its way into history. Even those of us born after ’86 remember the game winning hit. Why? Because it’s probably the most overplayed play in baseball history, which has been plastered into our minds as the epitome of the curse. Because of the media’s need to find someone to blame and because we simply accept it, Bill Buckner has become a popular scapegoat for the Red Sox. If you chose to open your eyes though, you will find that Buckner was only the climax of the mistakes made in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. These are the reasons you can’t blame Bill Buckner for losing the ’86 World Series. One of the biggest reasons was manager John McNamara’s incredible incompetence in managing the team. Roger Clemens, the starting pitcher in game 6, had pitched a flawless four innings, striking out six batters in the first three innings and keeping them scoreless through the fourth. The Mets were able to get aboard in the fifth with two RBI singles. Clemens was able to hold on and pitch a scoreless sixth inning, with the Sox up 3-2. With Clemens dominating the Mets, McNamara has someone pinch hit for him in the seventh. It was only the seventh inning with a 3-2 lead and McNamara pulls his red hot pitcher? Oh it gets better. When it’s Clemens turn to hit, there was a man on second in scoring position. McNamara must decide between two players on his bench to pinch hit for Clemens; Mike Greenwell or Don Baylor. Greenwell was a rookie that year while Baylor was a former MVP with 31 home runs that year off the bench. Tough decision. McNamara went with Greenwell, who struck out. The worst decision that McNamara made that night ended up costing him the game, and possibly the World Series. In almost every close game during the regular season McNamara would replace Buckner late in the game with Dave Stapleton. But yet in the most important game of McNamara’s life he left Buckner in the game. The worst part of it is that Buckner was injured. Throughout the game you can here Joe Garagiola, the NBC commentator, make multiple references to Buckner’s sore legs and why he shouldn’t be in the game. A perfect example that Buckner shouldn’t have been in the games was the play. Watching the replay from behind Buckner, you can seem him making his way towards the slow ground ball and his stride is anything but natural. His legs look stiff, and it’s almost painful to watch as he makes his way to first. Buckner just happened to be the end to all the horrible mistakes that night. When he made the error at first, the tying run had already come through a few minutes before, which is important to remember. Buckner making that play would not have won them the World Series. It wouldn’t have even won them game six, and that’s because of the atrocious playing by his teammates. Also when he missed the play at first, the winning run was already on second base, and he was not there because of Buckner. Even if he had made it, it would not have won them the game. At least it would have given them a chance in the 11th inning you say? With the way the rest of the team was playing I don’t think there was much of a chance of that happening. In the bottom of the 7th inning McNamara put Calvin Schiraldi in relief for Clemens. Bad choice. With a 3-2 Sox advantage in the bottom of eighth Schiraldi let off a sacrifice fly that tied the game. In the bottom of the 10th with the Sox up 5-3 Schiraldi managed to get the first two batters with fly outs. The Red Sox were one out from winning their first world series since 1918. One out. Then the rally started. Two Mets players singled off of Schiraldi to break the game wide open. Schiraldi managed to work the count to 0-2 on Ray Knight. The sox were one strike away. Knight hit a single off a pitch on the inside of the plate, bringing in Gary Carter at third. McNamara made one good decision and replaced Schiraldi on the mound with Bob Stanley who had saved a team high 16 games. The tying run was now on third and the winning run on first. Stanley again managed to get down to one strike away, and then something happened that no one saw coming. Stanley and Golden Glove catcher Rich Gedman got their signs mixed up. Gedman expected a pitch outside while Stanley’s pitch was tight inside, just out of Gedman’s grasp. As the ball rolled to the backstop the tying run came home. The Red Sox, in disbelief, continued to pitch to Mookie Wilson. Here are Vin Scully’s, the NBC play-by-play commentator, exact words of what happened next. “So the winning run is at second base, with two outs, three and two to Mookie Wilson. A little roller up along first... behind the [first-base] bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight... and the Mets win it!” The reason for the Red Sox’s collapse is obviously a breakdown in the pitching and really had nothing to do with Buckner. The number one reason that you can’t blame Bill Buckner for losing the World Series, is because it was only game six. Let’s face it; if the Red Sox wanted to win the Series, they could have, in game 7. With the Red Sox with the lead McNamara again went to Schiraldi for relief (I think we are all still trying to figure out why), and again he got shelled. Because of poor starting pitching, and poor relief the Red Sox lost the game and the hope of taking home their first championship in years. Looking back on it now I’m glad that Buckner missed the ball. Because his glove missed the ball by a few inches, I was able to live history in the 2004 World Series. It couldn’t work out any better that I witnessed the Sox breaking the curse. I realized the Mets can have ’86, we have ’04.