https://www.boston.com/sports/boston...er-of-the-year
Good for him. I never lose interest in those who once played for teams I follow, and these days, for better or worse, there are more and more of them.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston...er-of-the-year
Good for him. I never lose interest in those who once played for teams I follow, and these days, for better or worse, there are more and more of them.
"Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they're starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question -- like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight." --Kevin Durant on players' lack of effort in regular season games.
Congrats to Bard. I agree. I always pull for the former Sox players. Except when they are competing against us , of course. I don't get it when people say , " I root for the team , not the players." The players ARE the team. Very few of them play their whole careers for the same team. That's the way the game is today. But if a player has contributed to the Red Sox success , I will always appreciate it. Good job , Daniel Bard.
Yup. It is. I rooted for all those guys. Ellsbury as well, and many others. Even Roger ... sort of. I really don't understand the animosity fans have against former players on their team. (Let's hope fans don't embarrass themselves by turning on Mookie.). It seems to be worse in basketball: I'm a Clippers fan and I find the hatred of players like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul--players who put the team on the map-- truly staggering.
Last edited by jad; 10-25-2020 at 08:21 PM.
"Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they're starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question -- like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight." --Kevin Durant on players' lack of effort in regular season games.
I don't hate or love ex-Sox players.
Sometimes, I think the fixation some people have over them is a little overboard- both good and bad.
I rarely want to get an ex-Sox player back, but it's not out of any dislike due to them leaving, even if by choice.
One case that really bugged me was the Masterson love affair.
For the most part, especially in the last 15-20 years, the players who have left us were for a good reason and it worked out well, for us.
Sox 4 Ever
I usually don't root for former Sox players, but it is impossible not to root for Daniel Bard. I agree the Sox have usually let guys go for good reasons, and certainly that is true of Bard. But the Sox were also the ones who messed up his head big time--he was a terrific reliever before they made him a starter. To be honest, it's nothing short of amazing that somehow he won that mental battle and made it all the way back.
I don't root for Mookie, but cannot help but admire the way he plays the game. I think the Dodgers real postseason star is that shortstop, but Mookie just brings so much to a game. If he just gets on base, he's trouble. If he's playing right field, he is about as good as there is at helping get the pitcher out of trouble. And most days he is trouble at the plate. If anything, he seems even more enthusiastic than he was in Boston.
I was a pretty big Ellsbury fan, but completely agreed with getting him go to the Yankees for that insane salary and loved that he never really earned it.
Never rooted for Manny Ramirez after he left.
But I definitely root for the Dodgers manager for that one great, great stolen base in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS.
There were multiple reports at the time that Bard asked to become a starter; the Red sox did not have to acquiesce to that request, but it sure didn't seem at the time that they went to him and told him he was going to become one.
And he was already showing signs of losing it in September 2011. He blew multiple games that month. In 11 games and 11 innings, he went 0-3 with 3 blown saves and a 10.64 ERA, walking more batters that one month than he had the rest of the season combined. Now, whether that was due to overwork (he ended up pitching in 70 games that year, losing it or some combination of the two we will never know, but it was awful and contributed a lot to the Sox collapse that season.
The Yankees could go 0-162 and it wouldn't be enough
Amazing story. How many guys have come back to pitch at that high a level after such a long layoff from the major leagues (7 years since his last appearance in 2013, and 9 since he was last any good in 2011)? My guess is not many. Congrats to him.