RIGHT TO THE CHIN

Pedro and Lowe are good for two wins each in a series. And with that offense, I think they've got a shot. Go Sox!

Since my beloved Mariners have an early vacation this year, I'm ultimately rooting for good baseball this October. With that in mind, I can't think of a better World Series match up than the Red Sox and Cubs.

Since you are a Boston fan, I'd be interested in your thoughts on the curse.

i do not believe in the much lauded "curse." harry frazee sold babe ruth and virtually all of the sox best players to finance plays, and it takes a while for an organization to recover. The Red Sox have, historically, built their team around big, dopey right-handed hitters to take advantage of the monster,and have ignored speed, and often pitching, when forming their clubs. they've also made many bad trades, hired lousy managers, and insisted on playing in a horribly liberal state like massachusetts for all these years.
...i could go on forever about them. bottom line: this year they seem different. or maybe it's me.

With all due respect, didn't they seem different in 1986? I just don't see any other explanation for Game 6 than the curse. What about Bucky Dent in '78? Or Carlton Fisk in the '76 Series. We always see that home run in greatest homer lists, but nobedy seems to remeber that it was the Reds winning the title that year. I'm sure there are other instances further back in history. My favorite one in recent memory is when Pedro said he'd bean Babe Ruth in the ass and then went on the DL within the week.

I know I'm kind of hitting it hard, but I assure you I have no bad feelings toward the Red Sox. I've never really rooted for a winner azs my team, but I can't imagine how difficult it must be to cheer for Boston. I still wish them the best, though.

I just don't believe in "curses" of this nature. John McNamara left Buckner in the game because he was a veteran, and McNamara wanted him to be on the field because he thought they had the game in the bag. All throughout that season, Dave Stapleton was put in at first for defense in late innings. He wasn't in game six. Another fact about that inning that's overlooked is that the ball was hit so slowly that a)Mookie would've beat it out anyway, and b)Ray Knight was moving on the pitch, and if Mookie beats it out, Knight scored from second on the play, anyway. If you look at the replay, Buckner is 15+ feet behind the bag at first. He simply didn't have a chance HAD he fielded the ball. Also, the Mets played poorly in that series, and actually should have beaten the Sox in earlier games - as the Mets truly did have the better team in '86. They were never even shut out once all season.

The Sox wouldn't have even BEEN in the series at all if Baylor and Henderson had homered in game 6 of the ALCS to beat the Angels, who TRULY had it in the bag. Now talk about a "curse"...Gene Mauch... Look up the story of his 1964 Phillies team... Weird... Also, Angel reliever Donnie Moore wound up shooting himself and his wife over that game...

I have been a Sox fan my whole life, and I have truly NEVER been more confident than any of their teams than I have this one. Their offense is astounding, and their pitching has been underachieving all year. If they wake up, it's all over.

David Ortiz, 2003 A.L. MVP!