It's baseball season

“Not bad!

Super Bowl and World Series, same year, same city.”

“For the understatement of the year: OUCH!

Congrats, Boston and the fans. You earned it. Never, ever did I think the Cards would be swept. Getting beat is always a possibility, but this was the most one-sided series I've seen in a long time.

My "wonderful" Cub fan coworker placed a shop broom on my desk this morning. Let's just say it wasn't well received. Nothing worse than attempted smack by a fan of a team that hasn't been a champion in his lifetime.”

“Congrats to the Red Sox Nation. You waited a long, long time and deserve it. Nobody understands what you went through like a Phillies phan. We waited nearly 100 years and still have only one (1) trophy. (The A's had a bunch, but moved to Kansas City thanks to the Damn Yankees!!!!!)

Oh yeah, the Damn Sox beat the Phillies in 1915. And the Damn Braves beat the A's in 1914. That's back-to-back years of losing to Boston teams.

Funniest sight last night was a pair of fans carrying a banner around the stadium. The banner read, "We forgive you Bill Buckner!"

See Billy, all is forgiven. You can take the bag off your head and hold your head high. Ain't life just the grandest thing?

Congrats again. Now I hate Boston teams again.”

“Just 113 days till pitchers and catchers report for spring training

Please Eddie Wade, hire Jim Leyland!!!!!
last edited: 10/28/04 8:47:39 AM”

“Yea, even as a Cardinal fan, I liked the "We Forgive You" banner. I watched the post-game stuff in a serious fog, but I did appreciate the sheer joy the Sox and their fans were showing.”

“The curse began with selling Babe Ruth and ended with trading Nomar Garciaparra. Whodda thunk it?”

“Hey, did you hear that the Sox voted Nomar a full postseason share?”

“Really? That, to quote Crazy Mike Backpacks, would be pimp!”

“OK, now we have the Cubs as "longest without series win" right? Unless you count the San Francisco Giants, who have never won. Moved here for the '58 season. 47 years, no World Series title.”

“Hey, that's great. Thanks blood.”

“yw...”

“The Cubbies last won the series in 1908 and have not even appeared in the series since 1945. They have gone 96 years without winning the series.

The Giants won the series in 1954 as the NY Giants.

The Phillies came into the National League in 1883 and did not win a series until 1980, but the WS did not start until 1901, so in actuality the Phillies went just 79 years without a win. So we can no longer stake a claim to being the most futile team in baseball.

CUBS WIN; CUBS WIN!”

“Well, thank frickin' God! Maybe, just maybe, I'll stop getting egged. It'll be nice to drive my car with the windows down again.

Thanks Red Sox!”

“Damn Bill, they'll probably put up a bronze statue of you outside Fenway. And you will look positively stunning, bushy mustache, Red Sox uni, leaning over, with the ball bounding behind you. Fathers will proudly tell their kids the story of how this happened during the dreaded CURSE, but now you are forgiven and the legend will endure. All will be well and good in Beantown.

I think I'm gonna cry.”

“I had to hold back a few tears. It's emotional to see a town hope and wish and pray for so many years, coming close so many times, and then finally, finally, winning it all. I also think it is significant that this is the first season that I've actually watched a game in Fenway. The lunar eclipse was significant, because it marked the passing of the Curse. Bye-bye Babe.”

“Didja hear who the Red Sox are playing in their first home series in '05?










THE YANKEES!!!”

“Wow, that will be worth getting a scalped ticket. RED SOX vs yankmees. Good times.”

“I wonder who will be managing the Yank-me's by then ...”

“112 Days”

“107 days until pitchers and catchers report”

“It would be really cool if you opened up this thread and February and every post from the last day of the World Series until then was your countdown.”

“Oops. Guess I screwed that up.”

“The Fightins name Charlie Manuel manager at 4 p.m. today. He has just 106 days to get ready.

The Yank-me's are looking for a new pitching coach. Wonder if it will be Joe Kerrigan ...”

“It is official. Charlie Manuel from Northfork, WV, is the new Phillies manager. Northfork is way down south in coal country for the benefit of those familiar with the North Fork Valley and North Fork Mountain. Not the same place!”

“And Willie Randolph is the new Mutts mangler.

At 106 and counting, the rush is on!”

“And the Stro's made it offical regarding Phil Garner. Now if they can get Beltran drunk and forge his name on a contract.”

“LMAO, do you think it would work?”

“It's about their only chance. Steinbrenner will problably offer him A-Rod money.”

“Did you here the rumour about the Yanks getting Nomar to play 2nd.”

“The Yankees losing the past few years is a bit like a Ford Mustang beating a Ferrari Testarossa in a drag race. Let them get Nomar, he'll only bring the curse of the Bambino and the Billy Goat with him. :-)”

“I thought the Yank's were going to try and get Pedro or was that just false rumors?”

“I heard Steinbrenner was just going to buy the Red Sox and swap the two teams' rosters...”

“LOL @ Bitpusher!”

“Victor Matinez - AL Co-Silver Slugger Award winner!”

“105 days

Welcome to the furnace Charlie Manuel.

Ed Wade is going to sound out Scott Boras about Carlos, but he thinks it would cost so much the Phils would have to unload some salary to get him. The main need here is pitching, both starting and in the bullpen. No telling what that will cost.

Buh-bye Kevin Milwood. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.”

“Do you suppose any of the Diamondbacks even had a chance to say hello to Wally Backman?

I read that Beltran wants a 10 year deal.”

“100 days

Shortest managerial career: Wally "Ish not my fault occifer; I'd dropped my friggin beer!" Backman.”

“Hey, at least he has a perfect 0-0 record!”

“Unbeaten

Never had to pull a pitcher

Never got thrown out of a game by an umpire

"Walk a shtraight line occifer? No problem. Hold my beer. Lesh git thish over with before my wife sheesh me like thish. She'll kill me."”

“93 days.

Phils resign Cory Lidle to a two-year deal. Good!”

“Gigantes signed 37-year-old Omar Vizquel to a 3-year deal. Anybody know anything about this guy?? Somehow I don't think he'll solve our closer issue....”

“86!”

“The Washington Nationals have revived the Senators' hats. The Road cap is blue with the logo outlined in red.

Home cap:

”

“I hope they like playing at RFK. My prediction is that they'll be there a loooooooong time...”

“I once thought that about the Phillies playing at the Vet, but the Vet is solid gone and we have two spiffy new stadiums. I'm heading out Saturday to the Linc in fact.”

“You been keeping up with the D.C. stadium news, geo?”

“How many more days 'till P's and C's report, Geo?! Didja hear we landed a new P?”

“78 as of this morning.

Hmmmm, today the road cap came up in the graphic. Wassup witdat?

I've always felt that DC lost out twice when both Senators teams moved. DC Stadium was a good venue in its day. It hosted football and soccer as well. I saw Pele play there when I was living in Maryland, and a double-header between the Orioles and second Senators. The Sens in that time were a pitiful team of handoffs, but had Frank Howard, Eddie Brinkman, Del Unser, Mike Epstein, and Aurelio Rodriguez. For a time they had Rich Allen's brother Hank. Joe Coleman was their top pitcher, son of the Joe Coleman who pitched for the Philly A's. Catchers were Paul Casanova and Jimmy French. French could not hit his weight, and he was a little guy. But he called a good game and hustled his butt off behind the plate. Ted Williams served his only managerial stint with the Sens and Rangers.

There was a natural rivalry between the O's and Sens, and people would travel the B&W Parkway to see games in the other team's stadium. At the agency I worked for, people would argue incessantly about the merits or lack of merits of their home teams.

DC Stadium is old now, and outdated by far. It will not allow luxury boxes, which is a serious revenue source for teams these days. If a new stadium is not forthcoming at some point, I don't think this team will stay either. The residents of DC have their team, but unlike the past two incarnations, they will have to show they want to keep it. Bonds with a ticket tax, heavy on the luxury boxes, would be the way to go. That way the people who attend games ultimately pay the cost.

DC supports football, hockey, and basketball. But all those sports are played outside the district, in Maryland. If DC doesn't get on the ball, Maryland will ultimately claim the Nats as well. Not a good thing for the district.”