Curse of the Bambino is done

“Bye-bye curse

By Kevin Mulligan

mulligk@phillynews.com


THIS DIDN’T GET much play, didn’t make “SportsCenter” or anything, but me thinks it’s big, big news, even outside of Fenway Park.
The Curse of the Bambino is o-v-e-r for the Boston Red Sox.

As reported by the Boston Globe, it ended Tuesday in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Manny Ramirez foul ball that sliced in front of the “Pesky Pole” in rightfield.

The moon was three-quarters full. The Yankees were en route to a 22-0 loss vs. Cleveland, the worst defeat in club history.

Ramirez, we think, unknowingly broke the curse that has haunted Boston since Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1919.

According to the Globe, 16-year-old Lee Gavin stood up in Section 9, Box 95, Row AA, hoping to catch the Ramirez ball. He raised his arms and — smash, right in the face, gashing his lip and sending his two front teeth flying as a pool of blood formed at his feet. His teeth were retrieved and someone gave him the baseball as

security escorted him to a waiting ambulance.

Gavin, as fate would have it, lives in “a rambling farmhouse” on Dutton Road in Sudbury, Mass., that — we can’t make this up — is the house where The Babe lived!

We think the Curse left Fenway forever as Gavin was taken to the hospital.

See you in the World Series, Red Sox.”

“wow, that is bizarre.”

“Being a Yankee Fan, and loathing the Bosox, I would have to say, it's about GD time.”

“Weird.”

“"Being a Yankee Fan, and loathing the Bosox, I would have to say, it's about GD time."
BackSlacker

Hate to pop your bubble, but if you're a Yank-mes fan, it isn't good.”

“The NYY still have a great team, and it's been a great season to watch baseball. I've endured all the sh*tty teams of the 80's and early 90's. I'm glad we have a penant race. Hope to see you in the ALCS!”

“You won't see me in the ACLS, or the NCLS for that matter. I'm in Philly where the Phutiles will be getting early tee times.”

“Oh...Ok Hit'um straight.”

“as a true yankee fan I only like 2 teams

The Yankee's

and anyone that beats the Blowsox.

Anyhow.......as the bear always says...it ain't over till it's over”

“As a BoSox fan, I don't know... It could be the ghost of Ruth enacting revenge for the kid's family painting his old house some awful shade of pink or something.”

“Maybe the curse is being listed because the ghost of Ted William's head is getting into the act?”

“SE, have you heard about the condition of Ted's skull? It wasn't frozen properly, hasn't been maintained, and has split open because of problems. Jeez, just bury it with the rest of him! It's disgusting!”

“It disgusts me too. When I was a kid, about the age of 10-11, he was my hero. I still have his clippings in a scrapbook somewhere. The greatest hitter who ever lived, in my opinion. Lost 5 years in his prime because he served in both WW2 and Korea.”

“I was a little worried about the Dodgers. They gave the Cardinals a difficult time but the cardinals took the series in the end. Preview of the chanmpion Series? Gonna be an interesting one. Baseball is pretty exciting this year.”

“Source: The Boston Globe

Flip a penny, reverse the Curse
Sox vendors say 1918 coin is talisman

By Paysha Stockton, Globe Correspondent | September 6, 2004

Could the Curse finally be broken?

Flip a penny, reverse the Curse
Sox vendors say 1918 coin is talisman
By Paysha Stockton, Globe Correspondent | September 6, 2004

Could the Curse finally be broken?

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Joseph Coen, a 28-year-old beer seller at Fenway Park, believes it is.

Coen and John Redding, a fellow brewmeister, received what they interpret as an irrefutable sign yesterday, just before the Red Sox took on the Texas Rangers: a 1918 penny stuck to the counter of their Heineken and Miller beer stand.

They don't know who planted the coin, alongside a few others, in a patch of sticky beer on the counter of the right field concourse stand.

But its meaning is undeniable, they say: Every fan knows 1918 was the last year the Sox won the World Series, the year before George Herman ''Babe" Ruth was sold to the evil Yankees, reputedly unleashing the legendary Curse of the Bambino.

''Everyone gets it," said Coen of the penny's significance.

The good-luck penny is now taped to the stand's beer fridge, where the men plan to display it for the rest of the season. ''If you're a Red Sox fan and you've been around for this long, you get it."

In fact, the penny is the latest in a series of encouraging signs, said Coen, of Milton. ''It goes around with the other crazy stuff that was going on this year."

The Sox have won 81 games this season and lost 54. With 27 left to play, they're leading the wild-card race, and winning it would take them to the American League playoffs. Yesterday they beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5.

Rumors, superstition, and unbridled hope abound amongst vendors and fans at the park, Coen said. And signals that the team's sixth World Series win could be imminent just keep coming.

For example, Gabe Kapler and Johnny Damon sometimes stand together in the outfield, Coen said. Their numbers: 19 and 18.

Then there was the teenager struck by a foul ball last Tuesday. His address: Ruth's old house in Sudbury.

The 16-year-old boy had his two front teeth knocked out, and some fans now wonder whether his sacrifice could have lifted the Curse. Especially after the Yankees suffered their worst-ever loss that same night, under a nearly full moon.

''This is the year," Coen confirmed. ''This is just another sign."

Redding, who freed the 1918 penny from the sticky beer yesterday morning, agreed. This is the year Sox fans will finally be rewarded for their thankless loyalty and devotion, he said.

''I believe," said Redding, 34, of Brighton. ''I've been believing for the past 34 years."”

“Forgive the dueling sentencing on the first few lines of the above. Sometimes it's hard to edit in TT's small small boxes.”

“For example, Gabe Kapler and Johnny Damon sometimes stand together in the outfield, Coen said. Their numbers: 19 and 18.

You've got to be kidding right? If the Sox win, it's because they have a solid pitching staff, and great offence, not all this bullsh*t. Take SOME credit!”

“Oh, lighten up.”

“I am light Artex, after all, it is just a game. Some of those "signs" are really far fetched. It remindes me of some obscure stats like, Johnny Damon hits .436 with RISP on a Tues. day game following a loss the previous night to LHP from the American league West. It cracks me up.”

“Yeah, it is pretty humorous. I take it all tongue and cheek, but one never knows what goes on "the other side". If the BoSox keep up their level of play and the Yankme's pitching doesn't imporve, Boston will win the World Series. They're just looking fantastic lately.”

“You mean they only have to get by the Yankees? There's that word "assume" again. I want the Sox to win as much as anyone, but IF they get by the Yankees there will be other teams to deal with. Hardly a done deal.”

“Well, yeah, of course that's true. But you have to admit, all eyes will be on the Red Sox/Yankees series, if it does come down to that. That's what most fans of either team is anticipating and focusing on.”

“Actually I wrote that as much for me to read it as anyone else. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment at this early stage.”

“Manny, Pedro, Johnny, David, and company. Ya' gotta love these guys. Let's hope they overtake the YankMees and continue on from there.
Oh, and , go Royals!”

“Go Twins...and any small market.”

“The Yankees are unbeatable -- especially vs the Red Sox in games that actually matter. You'll see...”

“And if the Yank-mes don't win, they'll smash their hands to smithereens, so there!”

“Have you seen the t-shirts that depict Johnny Damon in his most Jesus-looking hairiness? Underneath his picture is the letters, WWJDD? (What would Johnny Damon Do?)”

“I think bad management and ownership (and at times racist ownership/management) has been the Sox curse. I'm hoping that now that the Yawkey's and their designates are gone, that the Red Sox can start a new era. Harry Frazee who sold Ruth was owner from 1917 - 1923. The Yawkey's (including the trust) owned the team for most of the drought (1933-2002, to be exact). That leaves just the 10 years Robert Quinn owned the team (1923-1933) unaccounted for. Under Tom Yawkey, they were the last team to hire a black player - passing on Frankie Robinson (after being pressured into giving him a try out) and many others they had a shot at. It took them 12 years after Robinson's tryout to hire a black player and even afterwards, they always seemed eager to unload their black talent (Cecil Cooper, Bob Watson and Reggie Smith were examples, but Mo Vaughn, Luis Tiant, Ellis Burks, George Scott, Jim Rice and others had a hard time) although I remember the patience they showed with the Oil Can. I also remember the night the ball rolled through Rick Burleson's legs. I was already pissed that they were playing him, injured and obviously sub-par - while Bob Watson - healthy and able sat in the dug out. The management deserved to see that World Series slip from their grasp - the players and the fans didn't.

I'm not saying they didn't foolishly let go of some white talent (Sox fans all have our lists, but Sparky Lyle was one who bugged me no end).

You can't build the best team by caring what color your starters are. The Celtics have gotten heat for playing teams that are whiter than other teams, but I think they (or at least Red and his disciples) looked for a certain style of ball player. The same attitude that led them to hire the first black man in the NBA, and the first black coach in the NBA (Bill Russell on both occaisions) led them to build one of the whitest teams in the NBA during the Larry Bird era.

I was saying all this to someone who told me there is a book about it, "Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston" - and I might read it someday, but as a kid who loved the Sox in the days of Radatz and who found true boy sport's fan ecstacy with the Impossible Dream of 1967, and enduring the agony of three game seventh game world Series losses - it might be too painful a read.”

“Rick Burleson or Bill Buckner???

Both the Phillies and the A's came late to the desegregation table. I think Connie Mack passed on Willie Mays, and the Phillies were about the most racist team in baseball when Jackie Robinson broke in. The manager at the time was a guy named Ben Chapman, and he used to hurl racist invective from the dugout whenever Robinson came to the plate. Chapman was replaced by Eddie Sawyer in 1949, but some of the players carried on the tradition. The 1950 Whiz Kids had not a black player on the team.

It was not until the mid-1950s that the color barrier began to fall., and even then the Phils and A's were still mostly lily white.”

“I'm beginning to believe.... The sox are getting hot, when it counts!!!! But september ain't over yet.....”

“Ooops I might Bucky boy (actually I liked him).”

“Poor Bucky, that's now what he's famous for.

BTW did you hear he attempted suicided the day after the Mets won the series. He jumped in front of a subway train.”

“Amazingly, the subway went right between his legs.”

“Alright. Seriously. Enough already. Won't you guys just give it a rest and leave me the #&%!$ alone?! I mean, give me a frickin break, would ya? It could have happened to anyone. You don't see me making fun of you guys because... because.. well, you don't see me making fun of you guys. Again, give me a frickin' break.”

“Alright. Seriously. Enough already. Won't you guys just give it a rest and leave me the #&%!$ alone?! I mean, give me a frickin break, would ya? It could have happened to anyone. You don't see me making fun of you guys because... because.. well, you don't see me making fun of you guys. Again, give me a frickin' break."
Bill Buckner

brilliant”

“If the curse of the Bambino is finished, Buckner's timing sucks!”

“What? What'd I do now? Now my alleged bad timing is going to make the curse live on? Yeah, great. Thanks a lot guys. Just keep picking on me, it's sooooooo easy to do, isn't it?”

“No no Bucky, if you were playing after the curse was lifted, you'd have caught the ball. That's the point; it wasn't you missing the ball. It was the curse.”