2007 World Champions!

Susan:
Congratulations to the Best Team in Baseball!

 

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Tara:
Congratulations to MVP Mike Lowell.

 

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Susan:
Congratulations to soon to be named Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia, soon to be named AL Cy Young winnah Josh Becket, and soon-to-named 1^st Gold Glovah Kevin Youkilis.

 

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Tara:
And congratulations to us!

 

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Susan/Circle:
The greatest fans in all of sport!

 

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Let's face it, no productive work will take place today … …

Doug:
Holy shit when the Red Sox get into the World Series, they don't just win, they friggin' Blitzkrieg.

 

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Mike:
"Shredding their National League rivals like so many cardboard cutouts."

 

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Al:
Yeah, there's sweeps and then there's outscoring an opponent 29-10 and only trailing the opponent by a grand total of 3 innings out of 36.

 

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Mike:
So you think the Rockies are wondering why their personal savior let them down in their hour of need?

 

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Doug:
I can just see it:

The Rockies:
"Jesus, why have your forsaken us?"

J.C.:
"Are you kidding me? I taught you fools how to fish, now I have to teach you how to pitch and hit too? And you call yourselves 'fundamentalists'? Maybe, my children, a little more work on OBP and little less prayer, know what I'm sayin'?"

 

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Another World Series victory, can you believe it? …

Bill:
Bob Ryan has it right: "2004 was an exorcism. 2007 is an exclamation point."

 

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Steve:
And don't forget Ryan's advice: "Go ahead. Call up the Yankee fan in your life. Be as obnoxious as you want to be."

 

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Bill:
All in good time. For the moment, I think we can let them just stew in their own self-inflicted misery a bit.

 

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Somewhere in Manhattan …

Marty in his penthouse lair:
Noooooooooooooo!!!!

 

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Comments

[Jeffrey]

Thanks H.B.

Thanks Red Sox for another great year.

For me, 2004 was great, but 2007 is so much sweeter, because this team is put together to just get better.

In 2004 we had Mueller, Millar, Petey, Damon, Nixon. We knew they were close to the prime of their careers.

In 2007 we have Jacoby, Dustin, Youk, Beckett, Lester, Delcarmen, Paps, and Matususaka. I am excited about the foreseeable future!!!

Thanks all!!!

[Harwich Rich]

Relax,retool,and recharge hb-you deserve it :)

[yazbread]

At some point, I will go back and read my own posts from the entire season. I know in August and September I had absolutely no faith in the team. I'll probably burn in Hell. So be it. My definition of Hell is no access to MLB INDemand.

I am not jaded, but there is a big difference between '04 and '07. In 2004, the entire family was emotionally spent at the end of the Series. It was debilitating. This year, we were even-keeled. My wife and daughter went off to bed around 10 since they were both hitting the road early. I had an early start but watched till the end - I passed on the alcohol though (in 2004 I was blotto). That must be a sign of old age. I guess WS victories are like your first beer, girlfriend, ..... what follows will never capture the magic of that first encounter.

Many thanks HB for the entire season. My day does not begin until I read the strip. Likewise to all the posters - Soxaholix and the commentaries are perhaps the only light-hearted reading I do throughout the year. It definitely adds a certain charm to my obsession with the team.

Hot stove league is in the future so I will refrain from long thoughts. But unlike 2004, I don't see much dismantling. I hope Lowell stays, Schilling is a .500 pitcher from here on out, so I assume the team will not overpay. I hope ARod goes to the Cubs to dwell in NL obscurity. I hope Manny is here in the Spring - his free-spirit is a large part of the team and his production should remain at this year's level.

The only thing that remains is to figure out how much I am going to shell out on WS clothing, etc.

[maggietozier]

Oh no. Not the Citgo sign h. b. Every day when I come here the Citgo sign warms my heart because it was the thing I used to orient myself in the city so I could find my way home when I first moved there. It was the beacon then and it still is even all the way out here in RSN South.

Thanks for a great season.

[Jeffrey]

I'm not getting much work done today. Just cruising the web for great stories and pictures.

Here's something that should make everyone smile, Daisuke Matsuzaka has more post season RBIs than A-Rod. Now that's funny.

Please don't sign A-Rod (Is there an online petition somewhere we can sign to show our anti-support to an A-Rod signing?)

[stratomaticboy]

Thanks for the laughs through another memorable season h.b.......enjoy your well-earned rest in the off-season! 2007 will be a MUST ORDER from Strat-O-Matic when it comes out next winter!

[Evan]

What a team. What a season. It's been great coming here and feeling at home all season long. Have a great friggin off-season guys... we deserve it.

[Bob]

Ug, back at work.

I must follow others lead in thanking H.B. for a marvelous year of strips.

What we affectionately call "a creepy site" just happens to be where we start and end our day.

It just wouldn't be the same without The Soxaholix; H.B., the characters, and you always hilarious, almost-always intelligent commenters. Even you horribly-depressed Skank fans.

I've made real friends on this site. And for that, H.B., you deserve far more than mere thanks.

Give me a hug, ya big lug.

[h.b.]

I really appreciate all your kind words today.

We've got a nice little thing going here with the comments and the community around the site and the Sox.

Even the "bigBri" type of moments have been enjoyable (in hindsight, very distant hindsight, of course).

[professional hitter]

What a year. Congrats to Mikey Lowell for being a stalwart at 3rd and here's hopes that A-Rod launches his 800th home run off the catwalk in Tropicana Field while wearing a D Rays uni. Please go away, you douche.

My buddy is a sports editor and Sox fan who unfortunately had to work last night. I called to lobby for the "Fuck Yeah!" headline last night and even offered assistance in his job hunt. No luck.

Thanks for everything h.b. Great year. I'm so damn happy.

[pinstripe thunder]

As you said yesterday, h.b., "to everything there is a season." Amen to that. And congratulations. You guys earned it. I can't sincerely say that I'm happy for the Red Sox, but I am happy for all of you.

At least A-Rod is leaving. In baseball, as in life, we find our consolations where we can.

See you next year. In case you were musing about leaving on a high note, h.b., don't even think it.

Guess it's time for me to delivery my obligatory line --

Wait 'til next year.

Peace out.

PT

[Soulie]

As everyone has said, thanks for hosting our little slice of Red Sox Nation, H.B. I rarely post, but read every day.

Maybe I didn't get the same dose of 2004 kool-aid everyone else did. I was total white knuckle, fear and loathing through games 2,3 and 4, not to mention the ALCS. It wasn't throw up blood '04 stuff, but I sort of did the reverse Millar. "Don't let us lose tonight, because Beckett is due for a rough outing, and Schilling is 41, and anything can happen in a game 7."

Regardless, this one was better because my Mom and I got to go to a WS game, and she was over at the house for last night. Champagne tastes better with good company.

[mancityheel]

Thanks for the entertainment and insight all year--soxaholix is now an essential part of the Red Sox fan's experience.

Now watch this (my 3 month old celebrating the title!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgXUdj3B5dY

[miketc]

va sox fan's comment (re: this sounding like the academy awards) brings up yet another annoyance about the Fox broadcast:

Why did they steal Oscar music coming in & out of commercials? Did anyone else notice that? We're in route to win the world series & Fox is playing the score used to get Richard Gere or Sean Penn to shut the fuck up.

[Devine]

Mike H...I've also had a couple of smiles with fellow Sox fans in NY, so it's nice as well as nasty, but isn't it nice to shove it down the haters' throats with a smile?

h.b., always good work, thank you for your efforts through the years (can you believe it's been this long?).

[yazbread]

When the Rockies closed to within one last night, this is what I was thinking:

1. Crap, they might win game 4.
2. Beckett is due for a loss.
3. Schilling can't work miracles every outing.
4. Matsuzaka is due for an implosion.

This is the marking of a true Sox fan - always ready for the supreme disappointment. It is the way I was raised. (When Vinatieri kicked the FG to win the Pat's first SB, I was screaming at the Pats for leaving what I thought was 1 second on the clock - more than enough time to run a kickoff back.)

I tracked the game on SOSH and a poster mentioned that it was worth checking out NYYfans.com. Boy, those MFY fans turned on ARod pretty quickly. Lots of hatred - obviously some selection bias at work, but hatred none the less.

[Bob]

Mancityheel, that section that starts around 1:43 is priceless.

Cute kid, BTW. Unlike most babies, doesn't resemble Winston Churchill.

[Monty in CA]

Im so glad we won but so glad its over. I kept thinking no sweat, we lose and all we gotta do is win 1 of 3. Easy.
But my fingernails might all be gone if it kept going.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[BlueStatah]

All I can do is echo the others, h.b., in sending along my heartiest congratulations and thanks on a job superlatively done.

This is the best blog on the Web, not just for Sawx ruminations, but for insightful commentary (in both the strip and readers' responses) on the human condition, of which Sawx fandom is a significant part. I've been a Sawx fan (a clipping from "fanatic," and in my teaching days I ALWAYS used "Sawx fan" as an example of that phenomenon in word change) since 1946, and it doesn't get any better than this.

Thanks to you, h.b., and thanks to all of you.

[Aaron]

For all those suffering nightmares of Slappy in a Sox uni, relax! They're not going to blow up the payroll and shell out 30+ million per year for the privelege of destroying team chemistry (not to mention that they'd have to let the World Series MVP go in order to sign him.)

Plus, I can't imagine that A-Rod, even as self-absorbed as he is, could fail to notice that Sox fans loathe him over all others. If he thinks Yankee fans were nasty to him every time he failed in the clutch, what does he think would happen to him here?

Nah, he'll end up playing for the Angels or Dodgers, earning $35 mil for a fanbase that shows up two innings late and leaves two innings early to every home game. He'll have all the strippers and wannabe actresses he can possibly date, and no expectations whatsoever that he earn his salary in the postseason.

In other words, Slappy Heaven.

[jen in HI]

simply awesome. What a wonderful feeling. What a wonderful day. Thanks to you h.b. for all of your hard work and for creating a space where sox fans from all over get to celebrate, complain, analyze, and predict together. Natalie, Kaz, lc, bob, sdu - I love reading what you have to say. Thanks to all of you.
Wow. What a great season.

[granular_serene]

First off, nice work Sox. This is a team to remember.

Second, nice work Soxaholix. Reading made this season that much better, from the mother's day miracle to that sweet sweet comeback (oh, and the ws too).

Third, I think this ws victory has proven something to rsn : we can finally be normal baseball fans. If Manny had busted out his 'end of the world' comment in '04, I would have lost my shit. This year, I shared his nonchalance. I think we're inching ever closer to the way psychologically well adjusted fans approach the game. I just hope it doesn't slip into apathy...

[buckner was framed]

// Daisuke Matsuzaka has more post season RBIs than A-Rod. //

THAT made my offseason (so far)

[h.b.]

My gut says the front office will at least inquire about A-Rod with Boras. And if the price is within their overall budget (what $170-180 mil team payroll for 08?), they'll do it.

[Jackie]

Fantastic year, fantastic strips, fantastic comments, fantastic everything.

Still laughing about the "piss clam chowdah and crap baked beans" comment. :D

[NolaSox]

It was me and the dog left awake at the end of the game. He got some really bigs hugs, champagne spilled on his big old Mastiff/Rottweiler noggin, and a midnight celebratory walk. I snuck in to take pics of my sleeping kids with their caps to document the occasion.

The A-Rod press release in the middle of the game last night and his no-show to accept the Hank Aaron award exemplify why I never want that clubhouse chancre in a Red Sox uniform.

[Kaz]

Agreed, h.b. We're probably going to lose Schilling. We're definitely going to lose Gagne and Clement. That's 13+6+9.5 = 28.5 million off the books to start with. We add A-Rod at around 25-30$ million and monetarily we're on the exact same page. Lowell is already currently $9M/yr. We'll likely get him for similar money. We package up Lugo with someone and send them off to some NL team and put A-Rod back at SS. It's totally not off our radar and all we have to do is let go of Schilling (aging 0.500 pitcher these days) to do it.

If we do it, I'm not surprised.

If we don't, I'm not surprised.

It would take some crazy maneuvering this offseason to surprise me.

[soxdownunder]

In re thanks: ditto all of the above, HB. You have a number of fans down here.

Sorry about the Beroca, Bob: it should not be far away now.

4 weeks ago, Mrs SDU went on the interwebs and bought me a bat signed by most (not quite all) of the significant players on the 2007 Red Sox; it must be worth a mozza now! God bless them all.

Sign Mikey, please, NOW.

Give Oki more money, just because ...

delirious and hungover downunder

[Scott]

Can I eat my cake now? Manny is the best. When he talks to the media, which is rare, he is off the unintentional comedy scale.

A great win and what a great ride thru the playoffs. Despite not being in Denver to witness it in person I am happy they closed it out last night. My liver has taken a beating. I have put on 10 lbs and scared away a woman I was dating after Schilling lost to the Indians. Most people from outside RSN do not even begin to understand.

Thanks h.b. for all you hard work. And thanks to all the witty posters here. I enjoy reading the comments everyday.

[Chip]

Congrats h.b., a couple things...Manny probably does not make the catch in the ninth that Jacoby did, and did Boras somehow get wind of a Lowell MVP vote after his home run? And then pre-empt a Lowell love-fest and contract talk by dangling A-Rod? My guess is the Sox will prefer to pay A-Rod $32M a year instead of Manny $20M & Lowell $12M, once the champagne has been cleaned up.

[uksock]

I must also say thanks H B, this is the one red sox site I always make sure I visit and love the strips and comments. Last night was awesome, made staying up until 4.30 am to watch them clinch more than worth it, was shitting it until that magical third strike though! 2004 was a great team but there's so much more you feel this team can achieve in the future.

[soxdownunder]

Four year old sox fan with two WS in his lifetime:
http://picasaweb.google.com/soxdownunder/WorldChampionSock/photo#5126860456992389874

At least he has Collingwood to keep things real.

[Son of Hamulack]

Weird thing for me is I was already starting to think Hot Stove after the Sox pulled out Game 3 in a dramatic fashion. For me, that was the critical game. They had to take one at Coors field and with Lester in Game 4 I didn't feel confident about that and you don't want to have to rely on Beckett to be the hero again.

I was just amazed to see how great baseball could be. That was no punk-ass collapse. That was great play from the Rockies in and amazing play from the entire Red Sox team over two great games. Lowell with an amazing slide at home. Manny the night before with a great slide for him. Great catches on a deep warning track. Lugo with some amazing catches. Ellsbury and Pedroia getting on base virtually every single at bat. The Rockies continually hitting the long ball. And Bobby Kielty! Those two games were everything a world series was meant to be.

Now I hate to play into A-Rod's hands by upstaging the Sox win, but I was honestly thinking about this before last night. It's going to be really hard for Theo to pass on A-Rod. At $30 million A-Rod is a great value for guaranteed offensive production. You've got Manny leaving or traded (where I don't know, but he seems checked out and after this post-season I'm finally convinced his defense and base running take a serious notch out of his offense). Who knows how long Ortiz's knees will fare post surgery and for how long. Lowell's a great gamer but the team needs somebody who can put up 35+ home runs year after year.

That said, A-Rod's FU to the Red Sox, to the league and Hank effin Aaron! Wow. Say it was Scott Boras, but if you're A-Rod, you have to know how that's going to come off. I think Peter Gammons has already left Theo a VM saying the Hot Stove concerts are off if A-Rod gets signed. I see Theo announcing an incentive-laden 3-35 or 4-40 for Lowell the week before Christmas tickets go on sale a la Varitek.

Meanwhile I'm not sure which image I love more... Grady Little being stuck with A-Rod or A-Rod and Lou Pinella butting heads every day.

[yazbread]

Ease up on the Manny criticism. All will be well next year - I am personally buying him a helmet chin strap for Christmas so he can run the bases with greater ease.

[SinKC]

Congrats to the Sox and the Soxaholix.

Much change here in the heartland, but that's a topic for another day.

[buckner was framed]

and remember, folks, McBlather had it right: The team that leads off its World Series with a home run wins more times than the team that walks ;-)

[COD]

Schilling has posted his post Word Series thoughts at
http://tinyurl.com/257cpm

[Bob]

Great pic, SDU!

[Sonoma Sox]

HB - fantastic season once again...although today's board sounds a little like 38pitches - it's well deserved. Always steering the emotional dinghy straight.
Congrats to all - the smiling won't stop - my office isn't sure if I'm still drunk.

Looking forward to the new look as much as next season.

[NolaSox]

Since SDU shared his adorable Sox fan, I thought I would share my son with two WS wins in his lifetime, my daughter with her first, and dog wondering what the hell I was doing to him.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lala527/SoxWin?authkey=rUq3Si6bBPQ

[tessie]

Gotta get home and buy a video tape (yes, they still make them) so I can record the parade from NESN tomorrow. To all of you lucky stiffs who will be there, have a great time and be careful!

[susie markes]

I agree. 100%
I think this was an awesome season for the sox and i think this win was bitter sweet and in a sense a little more satisfying then the sweep in 2004.
The red sox came to play this time. they had me on end there against the indians but dont they always do that to us! Red sox came back and dominated though thats for sure. I think the players were full of allstar players from rameriz ortiz varitek and the great shilling along with some amazing young rookies jacoby ellsbury and the amazing JOSH BECKETT wowiee what a time and an awesome defeat! GO SOX!! I know i made my obnoxious call to all the yankee fans i know!

[Natalie]

Nola and SDU- gorgeous kids... so fun to see the next generation, and glad it no longer seems like potential child abuse to raise your kid a Sox fan. :)

[soxdownunder]

Nola - v. nice!
Thanks Nat but he's a total rat bag!!

[COD]

My 13 year old son has seen 4 WS wins by his teams. (He is also a Marlins fan).

He has no idea of how I suffered. Neither my father nor my grandfather lived to see it.

[Jim in Denver]

COD, you have it exactly right. My two daughters, 8 & 10, are now officially spoiled. We try to tell them about our pain, but it comes out sounding like, ``In my day, the snow was 10 feet high ...''

I sent the lovelies to school this morning with the admonition to avoid rubbing the poor Rockies' fans noses in it. Poor deluded bastards thought their team could actually hang with the Sawx.

[soxdownunder]

we used to live in shoebox in middle of road but you try telling young people that and they won't believe you

[Primitive Screwhead]

I'd never thought I 'd see one World Series victory, never mind 2!

Hats off to the Red Sox for wining it all again & to HB for absoulutly nailing what it's like to be fan of the Olde Town Team!

GO SOX!!!!

[Rob in CT]

Late to the party, but would be un-RSN like not to add my accolades to the 2007 WS Champs and to you, hb, for a heck of a ride throughout the season. Thanks for everything!

SDU & Nola - GREAT pics. The Nation is in good hands into the future. THanks too for everyone's alternating insightful, cumudgeonly, and oft times downright laugh out loud funny commentary. Very proud memebr of the Soxaholix community today and always.

Best wishes to all for a great offseason and Hot Stove. Looking forward to continued coverage here at the site.

Uh, when's Truck Day again?

[Vivo]

And now as we gather together
In these seasons of inclement weather
Let us toast our dear Sox
Who've defeated the Rox
They're our team and there isn't one better.

P.S.: Many thanks h.b.- terrific every day.