Photo I took of Josh Beckett on Opening Day this year.
Okay so here’s the deal: The next entry to go up will be the weekly live chat entry.   I’ve received more than a couple of email messages today asking if we were still live chatting and the answer, unless something totally unexpected comes up, is absolutely yes.
I wasn’t sure how folks would react. Watching Yankees/Sox games on any day can be painful but it usually is so after a loss like last night’s. But people specifically asking if we were doing it tells me that it’s a good idea.
So, yet again, I lay down guidelines for those who don’t often stop by:
The way it is set up is that you have to be approved to comment without being moderated – you make your first comment, I approve it and you’re good. We’ve had much luck, so far, without the invasion of trolls but a Yankees game, after last night’s debacle and with Josh Beckett on the mound, will most likely bring out some asses, so if I think you aren’t legit you won’t get approved until you can prove you are (in most cases I’ll probably approve you and then immediately ban you if you turn out to be trolling).
Venting is always welcome and some times even encouraged but I will not put up with personal attacks on the players (or other members of chat). Jonathan Papelbon is not a “dick” because he blew a save. JD Drew is not an “asshole” because you think he isn’t passionate enough about the game. You don’t have to be all rah-rahing, I get that these games can be like hitting your head against a brick wall, but the tone of the live chats has been about supporting not only the team, but the fans who still root for them even when it looks bad. There are plenty of places to piss and moan about the current state of the Sox. We try (and I say try because it isn’t always easy) to accentuate the positive around here. If you start bitching just to bring everyone else down (a great example is someone asking me how I could be happy with all the home runs last night when they “lost the damn game so they are meaningless”) you won’t find yourself here long. We find the positives where we can. Most of the people in the live chats are very realistic about the game and the team they just choose to not dwell. Again, a certain amount of venting is acceptable and even expected. Nastiness and negativity is not. If you feel like being with a group of people online where you can complain about every move Terry Francona makes, every pitch David Ortiz misses or every bad pitch the bullpen throws, you might want to reconsider joining us tonight.
My promise for the regulars is it will be a chat where we can vent our frustrations, engage in some fun conversation and cheer on our team without concern for being ridiculed or annoyed (hopefully!).
The Sox are four for four when we live chat. Josh Beckett wouldn’t dare mess up our record. I hope folks decide to join us tonight – we’re a great little support group!
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