Newz Forum: BASEBALL: Foulke Heroes

On an eve when the moon passed through the shadow of the earth, the Red Sox emerged from the shadow of the Curse...

Finally. The Boston Red Sox are finally World Champions, and everything in the world is right again. They are heroes to anyone who's ever suffered, anyone who's ever fought the good fight and lived to tell. They are the quintessence of unity, the epitome of perseverance, bastions of faith, living, walking proof of the American Dream. They are - unequivocally - America's Team, men who transcend the confines of Sport. And on an improbable night in St. Louis, a country of baseball fans and non-fans alike became a Nation...

After eight straight wins, momentum never seemed so momentous. The story of the 2004 Boston Red Sox reads not as a narrative but as an epic of legendary proportions. It's about an Empire's demise and a Nation's rise. It's about being ice cool and red hot. It's about breaking every rule and doing everything right. It's about rewriting history, reversing a curse and defying destiny. It's about shifting into the highest gear, hitting cruise control and never looking back. And as the Red Sox drive off into the sunset, the sun never shone so brightly over one Nation, under God, indivisible, with idiocy and justice for all...

If only for a moment, I thought I was a Cardinals fan. I felt their pain. It was a feeling I knew all too well and had learned to accept if not masochistically embrace. I was, after all, a Red Sox fan. If unparalleled success was "what it means to be a Yankee," unmitigated failure was the legacy of the Hometown Team...

This was our history. This was our curse. This was our fate. Winning had always been an unattainable ideal, an entity more elusive than the meaning of life, a notion rarely imagined and never fully fathomed. It was not to be, not in my grandfather's lifetime, not in my father's lifetime, and certainly not in mine...

Why should this team be any different? Why should my generation, my Red Sox Nation, taste the glory that had eluded so many of my predecessors, those who stood as the true foundation of Red Sox fandom. But as our newly crowned World Champions celebrated on the mound for the first time in 86 years, I found my answer in a rhetorical question that just so happened to be the rallying cry of the World Champions: Why Not Us?

If the Yankees are the Cowboys of baseball, then the 2004 Red Sox are the 1981 49ers. In January of 1982, San Francisco arrived in the NFC Championship, both figuratively and literally. As the story goes, the Niners trailed by six in the waning moments of the game. Less than ninety seconds separated Tom Landry and the hated Cowboys from another conference title. But two guys named Joe and Dwight had other plans, connecting on "the Catch" to complete a miraculous comeback of their own. Just like that, the Dallas Dynasty began to crumble, as another, equally potent reign began. And if history has its way, this is only the beginning for the Boston Red Sox...

Congrats to the BoSox fans, now it's time to start rooting for the cubbies...

Can a dynasty be acheived? will they retain Pedro? Or will he go home to his Daddy?

Red Soxs did fantastic and they could do well for a few years to come yet!

Originally posted by Gibbs Baby!!!
will they retain Pedro? Or will he go home to his Daddy?

I dont think Pedro will end up on the Yankees.

It looks like Varitek will be retained, no matter what the cost. He is their undeniable leader and arguably their best player. Cabrera could go, as they'll be reluctant to give him anything more than a 2-year deal because their top prospect, Hanley Ramirez, also plays short and should be ready in two years, possibly even next spring.

As far as pitching, it looks like Lowe or Martinez will be retained. Lowe figures to get some pretty hefty offers given his age and his ridiculous post-season that Boston would be unlikely to match. Brad Radke and maybe even Matt Morris could replace him.

As far as Pedro, he wants to stay in Boston. He said that if he leaves, it'll be because Boston didn't step up to the plate. He was quoted yesterday as saying that he wouldn't go to New York, but we all know that it's still a viable possibility. Personally, I think they'll find a way to keep him. But if he did leave, it'd be in his best interest to go to the National League (lower pitch counts) and/or somewhere with warm weather, which would serve his fragile shoulder well enough. LA? Anaheim?

As far as a dynasty, who knows, but it's pretty clear that Boston will be contending for years to come. And without the curse aka "a city of negative energy" breathing down their neck, maybe they'll even win the division one of these years.

as much as i enjoyed seeing boston break the curse, as a whole i was very dissapointed in the world series, st louis folded, and went cold at the wrong time, boston stayed hot even overcoming the 4 errors 2 games in a row, i would have really enjoyed seeing a well played series which i feel that this one was not

Agreed. Beyond the great storylines, the actual baseball played was subpar. Game one was fun although error-ridden, and game two through four were all about Schilling, Pedro and Lowe. Their miscues in games one and two aside, the Red Sox played well throughout, but the Cards just didn't show up. The Series itself reminded me of when the Yanks trounced the Padres, Braves and Mets (12-1 in all) from '98 to '00. By the time they won their fourth championship in five years at the conclusion of the Mets Series, I think even New Yorkers were bored with it all.