THE NEW CURSE

      

On May 15, 2004....I wrote this in my Blog:

WHY CARE ABOUT THE RED SOX??

You know, every year all we hear is about the "Curse Of The Bambino" and how sad the history of the Red Sox is.  HBO even had a documentary about their "long suffering fans".  To be frank, to heck with the Red Sox.  For a team that hasn't won anything in 86 years...they sure do get a lot of TV pub.  I mean, you can't watch Baseball Tonight without a Pete Gammons take about Pedro and the Bunch.  And they get almost as many games as the Yankees on national TV.  But why should I, a non-Red Sox fan, give a crap about that? 

What about the Chicago White Sox?  Those Pale Hose have won TWO World Series in their history [Boston has won 5] with their last title the year BEFORE the Red Sox last title.  So, they've suffered a year longer.  And those White Sox have been in ONE World Series since 1919.....the year they THREW the World Series to the Reds.  No one talks about that curse.  Their last World Series appearance was back in 1959.  That means a 44 year old man has never seen the ChiSox in the World Series.  Granted, you don't see memorable ChiSox hearbreaks like Bucky, Buckner and Boone....but they did have Disco Night.

Oh, and we know about the Cubs.  They haven't won a World Series since 1908.  They haven't even BEEN to the WS since 1945.  But, ask Steve Bartman if those fans are bitter.  This team, though, hasn't had consecutive winning seasons since the early 70s.   What about some teams you don't normally think about when it comes to heartbreak and misery?

How about the Atlanta Braves?  Unlike the Red Sox, these Braves have won 13 straight division titles.  THIRTEEN straight playoff appearances.....and 1 World Series title to show for it.  In fact, THREE times have they seen the team that finished behind them get to the Series ahead of them [Marlins '97 and '03, Mets '00].  Hell, the Florida Marlins....who played their first game in franchise history the season the Braves won their 3rd straight division title....have won TWO World Series rings.  Then, they watch the Arizona Diamondbacks in their 4th season win a title. 

How about the Cleveland Indians?  They haven't won a World Series since 1948, and since then were the punchline of theMLB.  And, you want heartbreak.....how about blowing a 9th inning lead in GAME 7 OF THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!  That happened in 1997.  How about the Philadelphia Phillies?  In 120 years of Phillie baseball...they have one World Series ring.  One.  And, just like the Red Sox, they blew a Game 6 that they had won.  RememberJoe Carter? 

How about the Houston Astros?  They've been around since 1962 and have never won a playoff series.  Ever.  Oh, and neither has the Texas Rangers...and they became a franchise in 1961.  So, 74 seasons of Texas baseball and they have ZERO playoff series wins.  In fact, the Astros have lost 19 of their 25 playoff games.  The Rangers have lost 9 of 10 playoff games in franchise history.  A robust 7-28.

What about the Milwaukee Brewers?  They've had 12 straight losing seasons.   What about the San Francisco Giants?  They've had Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.  And the Giants haven't won a title since moving to the West Coast.  Pssst....they also had the heartbreak of relinquishing a lead late in the WS winning game.   What about the Montreal Expos?  They've only had Randy Johnson, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Vlad Guerrero, Gary Carter, Andres Galaragga and Andre Dawson.  And the season they held the best record in the majors, the strike ended the season.

So while the media believes the Red Sox to be the "loser darlings" every year....find a little space in your heart for some of the other teams who have had travesty filled moments in their histories.

I wasn't hate for Boston as much as it was wondering why other teams don't get the love for being bad, or even worse, that the Red Sox.  So....who is the darlings now??  Well, I'll rank them and add some points in there.

                  

#1a-CHICAGO CUBS.  Let's see.  The Cubs play in a small ancient ball park.  They have those ol' skool uniforms.  And they haven't won a World Series since 1908. That is 97 years to you and me.  Just imagine....imagine...when the Cubs hit that 100th year of not winning the series.  I'll bet they'll be wearing some patches celebrating that 1908 team.  They have a goat curse, Steve Bartman and they have a grounder that rolled between a first baseman's legs [Leon Durham in 1984].  But what puts them numero uno is the fact that they haven't even BEEN to the World Series since 1945.  That means you'd have to be 60 years old to even be alive the last time the Cubs won the NL pennant.  Amazing.

                               

#1b-CHICAGO WHITE SOX.  The other Chicago team is a mere smidge below.  Why?  Well, they haven't won a World Series since 1917 [the year BEFORE the Red Sox last title] and they've only been to one World Series since 1919 [that was in 1959].  And, again, that 1919 team was the one that threw the World Series to the Reds.  "The Curse Of Shoeless Joe" never gets discussed.  Why do these Sox get placed this high?  Well, unlike the Cubs they play in one of the least attractive ballparks and really haven't been close to even getting to the World Series in quite a while.  Not to mention those uniforms in the 1970s get sympathy from me.

                    

#3-CLEVELAND INDIANS.  When they make a movie about how bad your franchise sucks [Major League], you are bad.  The Indians might as well been dirt for 40 years until their resurgance in the mid-1990s.  They haven't won a Series since 1948....but have been to two Series in 1995 and 1997.  In fact that 1997 series they had a 2-1 lead in Game 7 going into the bottom of the ninth against Florida and blew it.  Blew the game...blew the Series.  At least when Bill Buckner blew that grounder, they got to play one more game.  And barely anyone remembers that it was Jose Mesa that gave up that HR to Bobby Bonilla in that 9th.

                             

#4-TEXAS RANGERS.  This is the highest rated franchise that has done nothing.  Nothing.  The Rangers [formerly the Washington Senators] have exactly ONE playoff win in their un-illustrious history.  Just one.  No World Series titles.  No appearances.  This is a team that had Nolan Ryan, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodgriguez and Juan Gonzalez [heck, Ryan, Sosa and Juan were on the 1989 team together].  They played in a minor league park for years and were owned by the current President of the United States.  Not to mention they were the ones that broke the payroll structure in baseball by signing A-Rod to $250M.

                           

#5-SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS.  I normally do not feel sorry for the Giants or their fans.  They have a beautiful ball park.  They have Barry Bonds, who holds the single season HR mark and could soon break Hank Aaron's record.  But, they haven't won a World Series in 47 years of baseball on the left coast.  They lost the 1962 World Series with the winning run on base in the ninth.  They lost the 1989 World Series to Bay Area rivals Oakland in the "Earthquake Series".  They lost the 2002 World Series with a 5-run lead late in Game 6.

                      

#6-HOUSTON ASTROS.  The Astros came around in 1962.  Last year was the first time they won a playoff series.  Ever.  They almost won a second series...leading the Cards 3 games to 2 in the NLCS before bowing out.  Add that to the 1980 NLCS loss when they led games 5 and 6 in the 8th inning.