30 days until pitchers and catchers

Bill:
Yeah, I agree the Patriots are awesome, indeed, the most awesomest evah, all I'm saying is I'm really looking forward to Spring and the return of the Red Sox.

 

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Bill:
What's that? A hypothetical question? Ok …

 

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Bill:
So your question is, "If I were given a chance to manipulate historic events, would I willingly sacrifice the Pats 19-0 season in exchange for a guaranteed Red Sox World Series victory in 2008?"

 

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Bill:
In a friggin' hahtbeat.

 

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Bill:
Whoa, calm down, dude.

 

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Bill:
Yes, yes, both are very much possible. And, yes, we fans deserve as much … But you asked the question.

 

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Bill:
And just because you don't like the answer, it doesn't make your question any less hypothetical.

 

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Bill:
No, I'm not going to apologize. Jeez.

 

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Comments

[Roger Goodall]

I hope you are happy that any potential victor has now been eliminated.

You are welcome.

ps. I'd take a Red Sox Championship over the Pats, as well.

[buckner was framed]

Is Bob already tailgating?

[granular_serene]

Philosophical question - is a "guaranteed" victory in any way exciting? If you knew the results of 2004 beforehand, would the season have been all that it was? The glove in the face of A-rod as galvanizing? "Dave Roberts steals second" as heart-stopping? Damon's slam off Vasquez as (this is not an exaggeration) orgasmic? While I had faith all the way, I knew that we were staring humiliating oblivion in the face for four days in October during which I hardly slept and barely worked - had I known that we would win ahead of time, it would still have been a great vindication (and fodder for some SERIOUS bets with Yankee fans oh around game 3 or so), but it would not have been the purest, sweetest victory ever, which thankfully it was. I'm not a fan of football in general (the showboating offends my delicate sensibilities), but if I were considering the hypothetical exchange, that 18-0 superbowl win would have to be pretty amazing to trade the exhilaration of 2004 which came not necessarily entirely from the win, but from the excitement and uncertainty of the journey.

That having been said, another win in 08 would be freakin sweet, and i think the sox are definitely the team to beat.

[Bob]

Buck, I'm currently too full of Saturday's game meats to be tailgating today.

I believe The Gout is imminent.

Creepy and interesting question, BTW, H.B. But would the red Sox season actually be any fun if we knew the ultimate outcome for certain?

[Bob]

Didn't see Granular's post prior to commenting, so pardon the redundancy. Speaking of which, I'm still burping quail.

[Daubie]

h.b. - it's been said before, but i'll say it again: thanks for being spot on with your analysis.

[da kine]

We knew the outcome of 2007 after the first month. After that, it was all over except the crying.

(That second sentence has been stuck in my head for over a week and I've finally gotten the chance to use it, so I'm pretty happy.)

[mikeya2k1]

one or the other?!?! bolderdash!!! in the imortal words of freddy mercury "i want it all, i want it now" god its fgreat to be a new englander

[silverdg]

Man this is a brutal choice to be sure. It may be flirting with heresy but, I'd like to see the Pats go all the way this year for the pure take a flying f at a rolling donut statement to the anti-Belichick faction.

h.b. love the snow in the window!

[h.b]

Remember how much it snowed the winter after the 2004 WS too? Strange coincidence.

[vasoxfan]

So if Romney wins the Rep nomination will that be another indication of the coming RS WS win? If Hillary wins will that be sign the Skankees will win? I just asking. Trying to divinate.

[da kine]

I was driving south of DC and saw a bald eagle holding a snake in its claws (true story). I consulted some old Roman books of prophecy, and it either means the Pats will definitely go 19-0 or the Nationals will finish the year above .500, I'm not sure which; my Latin ain't as good as it used to be.

[yazbread]

I assume that this Superbowl is all but guaranteed thanks to the horse-faced hillbilly. A banged-up Chargers team and then a B-team from the NFC. Inevitable.

[iwikkidhahtthasawx]

Why make a choice when you can have BOTH!

As far as Mitt vs. Hillary, they're both pink hats as far as I'm concerned.

I had my RS cap dry cleaned before the 2007 season, you can bet your red arse I'll be doing it again this year.

[Harwich Rich]

Speaking of Latin,where IS Jason O? He hasn't put in an appearence in quite awhile.

[Scott]

1 down 2 to go. Bring on Mr. "Classy" himself LDT. You won't see a vanilla defensive game plan on Sunday nor will Moss be used as a decoy and blocker either like on Saturday night.

Isn't 2008 supposed to be a "rebuilding" year for the Red Sox? Let all those young players show if they have what it takes for the big leagues? Shoot for a high draft pick?

[Kaz]

Ok, this Patriots-Sox Game Break brought to you by, well, you:

Yesterday morning, Natalie, my Sox employee friend and I had the opportunity to meet up at the Souvenir Store on Yawkey Way to purchase her a jersey and baseball cap. We all showed up at 11 am since the store advertises its "9a-5p, 7 days a week" hours on the website.

Well, posted on the closed and locked door was a piece of paper notifying us of their new hours as of a week prior. We headed off to Starbucks to kill some time and chat. At noon when they opened, we headed back to the store and went straight to the jerseys.

Natalie picked a #33 home jersey and the first one off the rack fit perfectly. Here we are posing for a shot with her new jersey and I'm wearing my Coco KinTee. Just to prove Varitek is the thighs...I mean, guy for her, she also showed off the #33 on the back.

We headed up to the baseball hat section and picked out the pinkest pink hat I'd ever seen. Just kidding, a classic fitted "B" hat to complement the jersey.

All told, the community donated $1350 (after my donation was added in) and so I wrote out a check to Natalie for the remainder of the money. She said thanks again, but that she couldn't accept it and walked right over to the famous Jimmy Fund barrel by the counter and dropped the check in before I could stop her!

Kidding again, she accepted the check, thanked me again, and gave me a hug before we both headed off on our respective errands for the day.

You all made this happen and I was just the facilitator. For that, I'm really grateful to the community. I can also tell you that Natalie was really grateful too. One thing I told Natalie when we were planning out Sunday is that while we also can't do anything to help replace all of her old photos, we can certainly start her new collections. So I'll be sending her copies of the pictures for her to save as well. Thanks, everyone.

[Natalie]

It was a great day. Thanks again to everyone. But jeez Kaz, can't you shrink that awful photo. Blech. I look terrible! But the jersey totally rocks. :)

[meredith]

Wow. Thanks for that wonderful report (and photos), Kaz. What a great community.

[buckner was framed]

great story, Kaz, and thanks again for facilitating. But in keeping with today's theme, maybe Nat would consider adding a Pats #54 to the wardrobe? Show them Londoners what a real football jersey looks like?

[All that is good and right]

Red Sox fans = Yankee fans

same same

'Nough said.

Pompous bastahds both.

[mikeya2k1]

i never typed one handed for a blog before

[mikeya2k1]

Red Sox fans = Yankee fans

same same

'Nough said.

Pompous bastahds both.
yeah but we're cool "pompous bastahds" there not

[Sonoma Sox]

Douchebag alert

Looks like BB is posing as a high & mighty priest these days.

I'm w/ the crowd - there is no either/or. Win it all! Might as well throw in the Celts too.

Nat, glad to see your wardrobe recovery mission - but no teal jersey?

[Kaz]

You look fine, Natalie. Now, me, I coulda at least tucked the front of my shirt in, geez.

Besides, those *are* the shrunken images...my new Powershot S5 IS takes 8 MPxls of photograph now! Why, you could even take that second image and make it into a life-size poster without having to distort the image at all!!...

Gotta run, brb...

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

Thanks for the report, Kaz. And they're nice photos.

As for the possibility of drama when you know the outcome, of course there's drama. Hasn't anyone watched Romeo and Juliet and still been saddened that they both die at the end? Hoped that Macbeth would off his wife this time around?

[pinstripe thunder]

I'm still trying to recover from Friday's discussion of Yankee fans being buried in RS caskets. Is such a thing possible? Like death from Ebola or bird flu, it's too horrible to contemplate. Maybe I should go hang out on the streets outside Yankee Stadium for the next few decades to ensure that, when my time comes, I'm in the hands of a friendly coroner.

Speaking of things too unpleasant to contemplate (no, Roger, I'm not looking at you, though I could be) -- if the Giants beat the Packers only to lose to the Pats in the Super Bowl, this whole sports year will really suck. Praise Allah that the Knicks have absolutely no postseason pretensions whatsoever, so there are no hopes to be dashed there.

You look adorable in your photos, Nat -- `cept for the jersey.

[SoCalBoSoxFan]

I'm a bigger Sox fan than Pats fan. I always have been. From the time I was 10 until I left at 18 I spent every Sunday during ski season at Gunstock. So I never saw much end of the season or post season football. Pats didn't play many post season games back then anyway.

That said, now that the Sox have a couple of WS rings, I would rather see the Pats complete this season undefeated over a guaranteed WS win. I may be a different story if the Pats had lost a game or two during the season.

[wickedBosoxfan]

Nobody is mentioning Terrell Owens Crying like a baby Like Chris Crocker's"Leave Britney Alone " vid

[pinstripe thunder]

Yeah, what was that about? Did he want to join Tony and Jessica for a little threesome action? Nor is anybody mentioning the dreaded Filipino Monkey
-- the troll to end all trolls -- who apparently nearly triggered regional war with Iran with his "I'm coming to you... you will blow up" broadcast. What an anticlimax to an international incident. Gotta love those little blue speedboats, though.

[soxdownunder]

In re T-oh: one of the Giant's (Strahan I think) said that his popcorn could come in useful when he sits down to watch the Championship games next Sunday on the Telly. I laughed.

[David]

I think that 19-0, NBA championship in '08 would be better than a Sox WS in '08.

but it's just hypothetical. :)

[h.b]

I like T.O. Always have. So no negative from me. He probably shouldn't have been on the field, as it was obvious he was far from 100%. But I can't fault him for trying. They had no chance w/o him.

[birthofasoxfan97]

I really expected TO to go off in his old style - he had the crazy eye working overtime the last 1:30 or so of the game. I like him, though - we share initials, which is kinda fun now that he's made them so catchy.

Romo panicked, plain and simple and did anybody see Jerry pacing the sideline? THAT was priceless. He is infinite entertainment.

[Brad]

I need some input. My father and I are Red Sox fans stuck in Colorado. We have planned a trip to Beantown in April, more specifically, the Rangers and Angels series. The thing is, neither one of us have been to the hub and we would like some ideas on where to go and what to do during this once in a lifetime trip for the two of us. Thanks in advance for any and all ideas!

[soxdownunder]

Brad,

I would recommend the Commonwealth Hotel because it is not ridiculously expensive and is a literal stone's throw from Fenway Park. You can even see the Ball Park from the back window!

It is also a short walk from some nice parts of town - you can walk across the ???? Bridge to M.I.T. and then follow the river along 'til you are in the downtown section. You can take a left when you cross the river and get to Harvard (must see). If you walk the other way from the hotel - towards Brookline - you can then walk back in the city direction to come to the very nice Museum of Fine Arts - http://www.mfa.org/ - and then take a circle back through the famous 'fens' to the very appealing private gardens and then the ball park. If 'The Departed' is anything to go by, you might even find yourself a dead body in there somewhere.

Otherwise, the harbour is real nice and 'Little Italy' - near where the notorious 'Bob' works - and, of course, the 'common' all are worth a visit. And the alleged Chinatown too.

There is well worn tourist trail - actually marked on the pavement.

Just find a place to stay and start walking and you will enjoy this cute little provincial city (this is where I duck).

[pinstripe thunder]

SDU thinks any place that doesn't have legal hookers (like Sydney) is provincial.

[soxdownunder]

Is there another definition of provincial?

[Snerdly]

Just as an aside,
Natalie looks pretty good to me...

[Bob]

Snerdly, I met Natalie in person the last home game of the season up in the right field Bud seats.

She's, uh (how to put this delicately), a very pretty woman.

And she loves the Sox.

Good Lord, what more could you ask for.

Brad, click my name and go to my personal email. I'm a blowhard know-it-all, so have plenty of ideas for your Boston trip. (The first of which is, don't ever call it "Beantown.")

[CED]

NEVER WOULD I GIVE UP A PERFECT FOOTBALL SEASON FOR A REPEAT WORLD SERIES! THIS IS HISTORY THAT MAY NEVER BE REPEATED!