In the last couple of weeks, I've thought a lot about how I interact with the Red Sox as a fan. For example, I think that there's going to be a lot of turnover next year regarding players that I mostly like: Nate Eovaldi, JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts can all either leave or opt out after the last out of the 2022 season. Rafael Devers wants to be paid like a super star and there's a realistic chance that the Sox won't do it. I think that Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox owenrship have a new philosophy since they traded Mookie, in that every player is replaceable. I'm not arguing (here at least) that the Sox are cheap; but I think that the philosophy that Bloom brought with him from Tampa is that players are fungible and that a team does not have to be married to ball players just because he has been with the organization for x amount of years.
Essentially this boils down to "rooting for laundry", as Jerry Seinfeld eloquently put it back in the 1990s. And to steal another Seinfeldism, "not that there's anything wrong with that".
And I thought about that this week when Durran and Houck decided that "they do anything to help the team win", except, of course get a COVID-19 shot so that they're able to play ballgames in Toronto. When you root for laundry, do you have to root for these two players too? Their decision is actively hurting the team, but when they get back stateside, the front of their jerseys will still say "Red Sox" or "Boston" on them, so if you're a laundry rooter and in order to be consistent, you kind of have to cheer for these guys when they're playing, right? And honestly, I'm not playing gotcha here, I'm trying to figure out where the line is. Chris Nilan was public enemy number one at the old Garden but when he put on the spoked B, all was forgotten and fans loved him. Despite his idiocy in Cleveland, people loved Kyrie until they didn't.
I think that I'm a person who ultimately roots for the player, which is probably why, for me, the jury is still out on Bloom (despite some really good moves) and why I'm having a hard time connecting with this team. Growing up, I liked that Dwight Evans and Jim Rice and Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens were around for 10+ seasons. Carly Yastrzemski played in Boston for 23 years. Ted Williams played in four different decades. David Ortiz was here for a long time. Pedro, Nomar and Manny weren't here as long; but it sure did seem like it. And when those guys left, there wasn't much left in the tank. Baseball is a different game, you're seemingly "with" these guys every day for seven months (eight if you're lucky). When you have to watch shitheads day after day it sucks, but when you watch players you really like, it's a lot of fun.
There's a contingent on this board that's bought into the Bloom philosophy and that's great, no judgement at all from me, and are probably enjoying this season a lot more than other people (including me) are. I don't know why I'm fighting this way of thinking, but I guess it feels like I'm at a party that's ending prematurely and everyone's leaving and I'm not quite sure why. Other than, "well they're the Red Sox, dummy", why should I get invested in a team that's going to be fundamentally different next year? And the year after that. And the year after that.
I'm interested in what others have to say.
Essentially this boils down to "rooting for laundry", as Jerry Seinfeld eloquently put it back in the 1990s. And to steal another Seinfeldism, "not that there's anything wrong with that".
And I thought about that this week when Durran and Houck decided that "they do anything to help the team win", except, of course get a COVID-19 shot so that they're able to play ballgames in Toronto. When you root for laundry, do you have to root for these two players too? Their decision is actively hurting the team, but when they get back stateside, the front of their jerseys will still say "Red Sox" or "Boston" on them, so if you're a laundry rooter and in order to be consistent, you kind of have to cheer for these guys when they're playing, right? And honestly, I'm not playing gotcha here, I'm trying to figure out where the line is. Chris Nilan was public enemy number one at the old Garden but when he put on the spoked B, all was forgotten and fans loved him. Despite his idiocy in Cleveland, people loved Kyrie until they didn't.
I think that I'm a person who ultimately roots for the player, which is probably why, for me, the jury is still out on Bloom (despite some really good moves) and why I'm having a hard time connecting with this team. Growing up, I liked that Dwight Evans and Jim Rice and Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens were around for 10+ seasons. Carly Yastrzemski played in Boston for 23 years. Ted Williams played in four different decades. David Ortiz was here for a long time. Pedro, Nomar and Manny weren't here as long; but it sure did seem like it. And when those guys left, there wasn't much left in the tank. Baseball is a different game, you're seemingly "with" these guys every day for seven months (eight if you're lucky). When you have to watch shitheads day after day it sucks, but when you watch players you really like, it's a lot of fun.
There's a contingent on this board that's bought into the Bloom philosophy and that's great, no judgement at all from me, and are probably enjoying this season a lot more than other people (including me) are. I don't know why I'm fighting this way of thinking, but I guess it feels like I'm at a party that's ending prematurely and everyone's leaving and I'm not quite sure why. Other than, "well they're the Red Sox, dummy", why should I get invested in a team that's going to be fundamentally different next year? And the year after that. And the year after that.
I'm interested in what others have to say.