Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Bush years were kind to Red Sox fans



Barack Obama is taking the oath of office in a matter of hours.
It is a time for renewal, hope for some, resignation for others but undeniably a time for great change.

As a Red Sox fan, let's hope two things remain from the Bush years:

1. Great luck for the Red Sox.
2. Rotten luck for the Yankees.

Massachusetts clearly isn't Bush country. He never came close to winning Massachusetts. And being from Massachusetts is such poison in the Republican Party that Mitt Romney had to distance himself from the Bay State and talk like he was a Michigan boy.

And yet an unprecedented amount of joy happened to Red Sox Nation and uncharacteristic failures befell upon the Yankee Empire that took some (if not all) of the sting of the last 8 years.

In Bush's 8 years:

- The Red Sox won Two World Series.
- The Yankees won no World Series.

That should be enough... but it gets better.

- The Red Sox would be the first team to ever come back from a 3-0 hole in a best of 7 series.
- The team that blew the 3-0 hole to the Red Sox was the Yankees.
- The Yankees would out bid the Red Sox for Alex Rodriguez... only to see A-Rod become a Hindenberg-esque flop in four straight post seasons.

Then there is the Angels factor.

- The Red Sox would win 2 Division Series against the Angels on walk off hits... one a homer by David Ortiz and the other a single by Jed Lowrie.
- The Angels would stun the Yankees twice in the Division Series... first in 2002 and then in 2005.

Then the Mariano Factor

- Mariano Rivera would blow two series where he was three outs from clinching.
- One of those series was the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox.

Then the pick ups.

- In the Bush years, the Red Sox picked up two World Series MVPs (Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell) two ALCS MVPs (David Ortiz and Josh Beckett), a classic Yankee killer (Curt Schilling) and an idiot in his prime (Johnny Damon.)
- In the Bush years the Yankees picked up a slew of post season flop artists (A-Rod, Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez, Randy Johnson) and an idiot in decline (Johnny Damon.

More?

- The Red Sox won a best of 5 series where they were down 0-2 with three heart stopping games against the A's.
- The Yankees lost to a badly outmanned Tigers team.
- The Red Sox won another series when they were down 3-1, this time to an Indians team where they had to beat the eventual Cy Young winner on the road.
- The Yankees lost a best of 5 series because their star reliever got covered in bugs.
- The Red Sox won a game when they were down 7-0 and facing elimination.
- The Yankees missed the playoffs with a $200 million payroll.


So do well, President Obama.
Guide this country through troubled waters.

But that karma from the Bush years concerning the Red Sox?
Don't change THAT, OK?

Now go take that Oath of Office!

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately, while Obama is a Sox fan, he prefers the pale hose. Then again Bush was a Rangers fan so maybe there isn't a strong connection.

    As an Indians fan it is nice to be able to say that the Tribe has as many championships this century as the Yankees.

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