Boston.com reported a story about kids in Denver who requested the name of their little league team be changed from the Red Sox to, well, anything else. In the aftermath of the Rockies demise on the World Series, the lads just cannot stomach the reference to the team that humiliated their hometown club. I certainly feel sorry for the kids. Having rooted for the Phillies as a kid and sitting through the '83 and '93 WS losses, I can relate. Sort of. Things were a little different for me because Philly won in '80. The Rockies still do not have a championship. They have only been around sonce 1998, and tha t is the issue.

See, the Phillies began their franchise in '83. 1883, that is. The were the Philadelphia Quakers until the 1890 season when they became the Phillies. 1980 was their first championship. Do tha math and you see that they had to wait 97 years for a world series title. They were the last non-expansion team to win one. The Rockies have been waiting for nine years. That is, truly, a weekend compared to the wait Phillies fans endured. This is not even mentioning the long wait to repeat that franchises like the Indians and Cubs are enduring. Not only is there no shame in the Rockies not winning the 2007 series, by historical standards they are nearly ready for such an honor. Sure, it would have been grand to have gotten it. No one would begrudge them the early success. But not having gotten it should not be leaving such a bad taste in their mouths.

Also paining me is the idea that, in their fans' eyes, the onus falls on the Red Sox, not the Rockies, for the loss. I am not sure what to take from that. They are not saying that the Sox cheated. They have not even asserted that they played dirty (they most certainly did not) or that they got some sort of preferential treatment (they did not get that, either.) What would the Rockies fans have rathered? A team that rolled over so they could have a title in their team's infancy? There's not honor, or even fun, in that.

Perhaps they should blame the crazy changes in the post season schedule that added to the eight day lay-off they had to sit through. Perhaps they could simply admit that the National League is generally inferior to the American League. Lets look at the last few facts:

World Series matchups:

2000 WS - Yankees 4 games, Mets 1
2001 WS - Diamondbacks 4 games, Yankees 3
2002 WS - Angels 4 games, Giants, 3
2003 WS - Marlins 4 games, Yankees 2
2004 WS - Red Sox 4 games, Cardinals 0
2005 WS - White Sox 4 games,
Astros 0
2006 WS - Cardinals 4 games, Tigers 1

Totals: AL = 22 wins
NL = 16

All-Star Games:

Since 2000, the AL record in All-Star Games is 7-0-1 (There was that tie in 02 then Selig called the game in extra innings.)

Interleague Play:

Play began in 1997. Since then the AL has come out ahead on the deal 6 out of 10 years (I couldn't find the tallies for 2007, but if memory serves, the AL was on top.)

Runs Scored:

NL	AL	YEAR
11,995	12,976	2000
11,013	12,186	2001
10,892	11,516	2002
11,033	11,945	2003
11,358	12,018	2004
10,790	11,535	2005
11,262	12,337	2006
11,114	12,208	2007

Batting Average:

AL	NL	YEAR
.276 (.27565)	.266 (.26586)	2000
.267 (.26687)	.261 (.26137)	2001
.264 (.26378)	.259 (.25915)	2002
.267 (.26728)	.262 (.26152)	2003
.270 (.26991)	.263 (.26258)	2004
.268 (.26763)	.262 (.26166)	2005
.275 (.27481)	.265 (.26451)	2006
.271 (.27053)	.266 (.26591)	2007

Because of the Rockies improable and unsuccessful run to the WS, do the Red Sox now have to address the idea that they are going to be hated like the Yankees? I suppose if the Sox have to have something in common with the Yankees, it might as well be that they're hated. There'll still be one major difference...the Yankees suck!!!

Labels: baseball, Red Sox, Rockies, World Series, Yankers

This entry was posted on Monday, November 05, 2007 at 11/05/2007 03:58:00 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.