Boston Red Sox!?! (Hope, Detroit: moving to, pay, sell)

[shellys]

I have to ask what the volvo line is. I am born and raised in Maine and I have never heard of it.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

It's going to be a great series I think--I hope!! The Rockies have been playing outstanding ball and it's hard NOT to like them and appreciate what they've done. I hope the Sox are IN the game--if they are and they stay that way, this could be a lot of gritting your teeth, holding your breath, crossing your fingers---well, you get what I'm saying!

Regardless of whether the Sox show up for this series or not---we're the American League Champs!!!

(I've got today and tomorrow to stay light-hearted about this series....I'll start the nail-biting Wednesday!! )

I agree that it's hard not to like the Rockies. They're an appealing underdog story. And it's nice just to be in the World Series. Yes, once it starts I'll be on edge just as much as ever with things like this, and I'll be disappointed if they lose, but it's great just being there. Yet again, the significance of '04 makes itself felt. It's a lot easier just to enjoy this whole experience, wherever it leads, now that the desperation about whether we'll EVER get to see a world championship is gone.

Really, really, really sweet to have had MFY out of the playoffs so quickly as well, and I'd say nice too that the Sox never had to play them. I don't have any kind of feeling at all that it would have been that much better to get to the Series by knocking off MFY. It's the effect of '04 yet again. Knock off MFY? Been there, done that, in the sweetest way possible for a Sox fan. Now I'm just as happy not to have seen that team, or listened ad nauseum to all the hype about them, for more than a quick few first-round games. It's just been NICE not to have them around.

What a season this has been. But then, tomorrow the nerves get fired up all over again.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

My Red Sox in the World Series again! Oh My

That's something else really nice about this: seeing them back there so soon. Used to be it was about one pennant a decade. Then they went 18 years after '86 before they were back in the Series again. And now . . . just three short years later. Aaaaah, life is good.

[ogre]

Time for the synapses to start sparking. You never know how these things will turn out.

There's a company called WhatIfSports that does statistical studies of various sports, and runs computer simulations of hypothetical scenarios, based on statistics for various teams and athletes. They ran 10,000 simulations of a best-of-seven series between the Sox and the Rockies, and had the Rockies winning the series 52 percent of the time. The most frequent scenario had the Rockies winning in seven games.

But then, I've been reading the analyses and predictions by a bunch of sportswriters, and they're leaning heavily toward the Sox. Somewhere around 1/4 to 1/3 of them picked the Rockies, and those who did all predicted a long series--six or seven games. Of the substantial majority who are picking the Sox, most predicted a six-game series, while a couple said seven, and a fair number thought it would be over in five.

And then there's Vegas. They've got the Sox as 2-1 favorites.

So, even the experts can't agree. One article I read listed five advantages each team has in this series. The first advantage described for the Sox was, "They are the better team." Does that guarantee victory? Not on your life. There's too much uncertainty. You never know who will get hot at the right time, who will slump at the wrong time, whether the ball will land just within or just outside of a fielder's reach. As one sportswriter put it, trying to predict the outcome of a postseason series is "a fool's errand."

That's why those synapses are already starting to fire. Eeeeech, I don't know if I can take this!

[dmyankee]

Originally Posted by ciardasuly

I am not sure where you are from K-Luv but I, as a Boston born Maine transplant currently working for three months in the Midwest, will clarify a few things.

1) New England is a region of six small states and we share a sub-culture. From Boston to the tippety top of Maine is about 8 hours. Some states are about as big as that.

2) A large percentage of Maine's population was born in Massachusetts. We are not going to lose interest in our team because we move a few hours up the coast. Also, some of my peers have parents born in Massachusetts and team loyalties can go down in family.

3) As a New Englander working in the Midwest, I have to laugh at your comment about supporting college football. LAME!!!! I can't understand this fascination with watching a bunch of college kids.

4) GO RED SOX!!!!!

Great post!

As native New Englanders, it is our God given right to cheer on and criticize the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins!

The Denver Rattlesnakes, or what ever they are called, are just somebody's pathetic attempt to make some western boondocks feel metropolitan.

The only reason college ball is big in the South and Midwest is the fact it gets lonely on the farm (ranch.) The expansion franchises in all professional sports are a joke.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Ok. MLB.com has caught me up to speed!

Hi Elcarim. From various posts of yours I've seen at the Maine forum, I gather that you're working out your move to Maine . . . or at least have that goal in mind. I don't think people here are likely to insisit that you keep up with all of this before you even arrive in Maine.

However . . . if you want to get a jump start on developing a feel for something that is important to a lot of people up this way, please do stay with this thread, watch the World Series, and soak it up. You'll get that first taste of something you'll get in full courses once you're in Maine.

Up in New England, the Sox are part of the hum of life. There are those who feel a sense of having a real relationship with the team. Most of the time, the Sox are like a longtime friend, steady and reliable, a part of everyday life, sometimes in the background, but always there for you. In seasons like this year's, when you get swept up in the excitement as the Sox roll their way into the World Series, then it becomes a passionate love affair, with all of the possibility that fiery romance holds for the sweetest pleasure or the most heart-crushing disappointment.

I wouldn't really expect you to truly understand all of this without being in New England for a while, but, if you're finding all the talk on this thread intriguing, there's no better way to get an inkling of what it's about than to keep up with this thread and follow the Series. If you're inclined to do so, you should get a taste of something that really is a part of life in the area you want to call home. Enjoy.

[Elcarim]

Thanks Ogre! And yes, as soon as the house sells, we are headed up!! We are (DH is) a HUGE baseball fan, and has grown up with the Houston Astros. He will always love his 'Stros, even when we move he'll have some loyalty to his "home team", but he will also want to get actively involved with the Sox. He loves going to the games, and I've developed a love for the game since we got together, though I'm not as dependent on it as he is.

And yes, this is as good a time as any to get to know and love the Red Sox. I was watching as they won their last world series and cried right along with them, so you could say I've already gotten a bit of a head start. I think it was a phenominal turn around for the team to break out of the mold of that so-called "curse" they were under for so many years.

I will be watching through this series and will be routing for our NEW home team!

I need to get on Ebay and buy me a jersey or some cozy Sox socks or something!!

[mollysmiles]

I'm thinking they really, really need to work off the energy of that Fenway crowd tonight and tomorrow. If they can win those two at home games, and go out to the Rockies home turf with two under the belt, the Rockies, if they win their three at home, still won't have enough of a leg up to win the Series, forcing a return to Fenway. Ogre I know you see what I'm getting at here. The Sox just usually play so well at home with the crowd.

That being said, the Rockies have an outstanding team. It's going to be a great series to watch. I want the BoSox to win, really really and that's what I'll be hoping for, but I'm just happy to be back in that Series so soon! Francona has been remarkable for that team. He's amazing in working with all those different, strong personalities and bringing out their strengths. And Ellsbury!! That kid is something else....I love to see him on that field!!

First pitch at 8

[BacktoNE]

How cool is it that Jon Lester is going to start Game 4? He survives cancer, pitches a no-hitter earlier in the season and now he gets to be a starter in the World Series!!

Sure hope his parents can be there again. His mom will be freaking out the entire game and his dad will cry. So cute...

Can't wait 'til 7 PM (8 ET).

[7th generation]

Hope and pray the Sox beat up on the Rox!!


Oooh ohhh....just went to the Colorado forum in the Denver sub and boy are they dissing us!! Unite Maine CDers and defend our Sox!!! Of course I had to post my thoughts in their thread...~he~he.