I dvr’d a "classic baseball" game off of NESN today while I was at work, and as I’m typing this, I’m watching it. Sox at Yanks, April 24, 2004. This is the team the Red Sox fielded that May afternoon:
- LF: Gabe Kapler
- CF: Johnny Damon
- RF: Kevin Millar
- 3B: Bill Mueller
- SS: Pokey Reese
- 2B: Mark Bellhorn
- 1B: David Ortiz
- C: Jason Varitek
- P: Bronson Arroyo
- DH: Manny Ramirez
Trot and Nomar were on the DL. I’m watching this game and trying to remember how I felt about the team at the particular time. Suffice it to say, that in watching this game (even though the Sox ended up winning it in extra innings), it’s amazing that this is the team that went to the World Series.
Yeah, Schilling, Martinez and Foulke…I know. But this team did NOT look like World Series material at this point. (And who are all these guys with short hair? Bronson, Manny, Millar, Bellhorn, what the heck is that?) It’s interesting to watch this game and realize they hadn’t "clicked" yet. (Although, I should point out that this game I’m watching was the second of 3 against the Yankees…and the Red Sox swept this series.)
They don’t look terrible…they just dont look like a World Series team. Ah, and the Yankees just made 2 errors and the fans at Yankee Stadium are booing Kevin Brown. Hope he got used to that.
(
Edited to add a cute piece of trivia for Red Sox fans…this is the game that Jerry and Don stood up during the game, and Manny immediately got a hit…so they stood up for the rest of the game, and continued to stand up for rallies during the rest of the season. Just another in a long line of reasons why the Nation loves their Rem Dawg and Announcer boy!)
How the heck did I forget that Travis Lee was on the Yankees? Must have been one of those episodes I blocked out of my mind because I didn’t want it to be true.
One thing I am remembering as I watch this, is how much we loved these guys. I’ve always "loved" the Red Sox, but during the 2004 season, my friends and I, on more than one occasion, would turn to each other and say, "I love these guys, I really LOVE them".
Kevin Brown just hit Gabe Kapler. 2 errors and a hit batsman. Oh Yankee Stadium is loving him right now. And Jerry Remy just mentioned what we Red Sox fans complain about a lot…he pointed out that whenever Torre or Stottlemyre go to the mound, the entire infield joins them. Drives me crazy.
Six out of the ten guys I’ve listed above are no longer with the team. And there is a chance that two out of the four guys left might not be with the team come Spring Training. This has not gone unnoticed by me. And although I’m all for changes…this makes me pretty sad.