Time Out for Sports Talk: Sox Lack the Horses, but the Belmont Doesn’t
Todd: The Red Sox’ latest lose-10/win-7/lose-3 stretch feels more like a Six Flags ride than a contending ball club, and I think I finally figured out the root of the problem. The Sox and Toronto Blue Jays are going through an extended version of the movie ‘Freaky Friday’ (rather appropriate that this epiphany struck me today).
It began last year when Boston surprised us all with their last-to-first championship finish, while the Jays, expected by more than a few ‘experts’ to win or at least contend in the 2013 AL East race after bringing in several big-name/big-contract veteran players, struggled right out of the gate and were never a factor.
Fast-forward to now and the Sox appear to look like the playing-the-kids/team in transition many thought they’d be a year ago, and Toronto—coming into 2014 with subzero expectations—are off to a fast start, their starting rotation improbably led by Mark ‘Ponce De Leon’ Buehrle.
Regarding the Sox, I never thought I’d be pining for the likes of Bob Zupcic, Randy Kutcher and Phil Plantier (or even Lucy, Frieda and Violet). But the offensive production from these Red Sox outfielders currently ranks among the worst in history, so much so that career infielder/part-time TV detective Brock Holt has been given an outfielder’s glove in an attempt to keep his hot bat in the lineup when Mike Napoli gets activated from the disabled list this weekend.
Then there’s the quick promotion of second-baseman-now-being-turned-outfielder Mookie (never thought as a Sox fan I’d enjoy hearing the name ‘Mookie’) Betts from Portland to Pawtucket. Sorry if you missed the Mookie Betts era Mike, but after posting a .994 OPS in 54 games with the Sea Dogs, it’s apparent this is not your typical 21-year old ballplayer. To paraphrase Sox radio man Joe Castiglione, can you believe that the Red Sox might have two 21-year old superstars-in-the-making who could both make an impact in Boston this year?
In case you were wondering, Betts is six days younger than wonderkid Xander Bogaerts; both were born in October of 1992. MLB’s regular season didn’t end until early October, so it’s conceivable that Zupcic and Plantier were patrolling the Sox outfield at the same time Bogaerts and Betts arrived (and yes, all of this serves as a reminder that we are OLD!). In perhaps an odd coincidence, the 1992 Blue Jays won the World Series while the Red Sox finished dead last.
Few other quick thoughts: RIP Don Zimmer, former Red Sox manager and baseball lifer who passed away at the age of 83. The first three things that popped into my head about Zimmer were “No! No! No!/Go! Go! Go!” from the ’75 World Series; his managing of the 1978 Sox that won 99 games and blew a 14 ½ game lead to the Yankees (Bobby Sprowl?); and him serving as Yankees bench coach to Joe Torre in 2003 when Pedro grabbed his large melon of a head and tossed him to the ground during that year’s ALCS.
Funniest story I read about Zimmer this week (only funny because the sting of 1978 has faded away) was that when he served on Billy Martin’s coaching staff with the Yankees in the early 1980’s he was renting Bucky Bleeping Dent’s house, which had a photo of Dent that Fenway pop-up in every room. If Sox fans rooted for Zimmer to be banished to Hades after the ’78 season, it sounds like he actually was.
Speaking of 1978, there was another great rivalry taking place that year, but not on the baseball diamond. Affirmed and Alydar were a pair of three-year colts that competed in each leg of that year’s Triple Crown races. Affirmed defeated Alydar by 1 ½ lengths in the Kentucky Derby, by a neck in the Preakness Stakes and by a mere nose in the Belmont Stakes in what may very well have been one of the greatest horse races of all time, given what was at stake (pun not intended). I highly recommend watching the Belmont on YouTube if you’ve never seen it.
Since that race, thirteen horses have won the Derby and Preakness and have entered the Belmont with a chance to replicate Affirmed’s efforts. The latest is California Chrome, who shares Affirmed’s chestnut coloring and will be racing out of the second post late tomorrow afternoon along with ten other competitors. Twelve furlongs (that’s 1.5 miles to you and me) separate CC from becoming just the twelfth horse to win the Triple Crown, a sporting event well worth your time commitment because cooking a three-minute egg would actually take longer.
Mike: Yes, cooking a 3-minute egg does take longer than the Belmont Stakes, but at least with the egg, you're spared a 6-hour pregame show. Seriously, this thing could be done in a commercial break, and yet the networks expect people to watch hours of this crap? It's worse than the Super Bowl, and that's saying something!
So, as you can probably guess, I don't have a lot invested in the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown. I might watch it if I'm near a TV when it's on, But, I'm not really going to make a big effort to watch it. After all, I won't have any money on the outcome, and isn't betting the real point of horse racing?
Speaking of events that I really don't care all that much about, apparently the soccer World Cup is happening next month. Once again, this is a huge event with a lot of hype that I really don't see the point to. I know that it's huge around the world, and getting bigger here, but try as I might, I just can't seem to care about it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've watched just enough soccer to know I don't like to watch it, so why should I watch the World Cup? Just because it's big in Spain doesn't mean I need to care about it.
Now on to something that I do care about, the Red Sox. Not that I want to care about them this season, but I can't help myself.
This has been a tough year for the Sox, their outfield is historically bad and they've struggled in a bunch of other areas and it looks like they might have a long way to go to turn it around, but you know what, I'd still rather watch bad Red Sox baseball rather than a World Cup game.
Sorry if I seem grumpy today, I guess I'm just not feeling well. I took a walk today, and it must have been warmer than I'm used to and I am getting some cramps in my legs. Maybe I should just take a lesson from LeBron James and have my coworkers carry my away from my desk and I can finish the day sitting on the couch in the lobby while they work!
Sounds like a plan!
Our next LIVE show is Monday, June 23 from 8-9pm. You can post your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #TOSTjune23 or call in at (617)484-2443.
More From 92 Moose
