Sunday was the first day of practice for Sam's Farm League team. This marks a shift in a baseball experience that had been defined by balls on tees, a strict hour time limit, and no score keeping. While this year there still won't be any scores kept, Farm League is decidedly more intense than what Sam's done previously; after all, this was his first baseball practice, ever.
His coach began the practice by having everyone introduce himself and state who his favorite player is. That caused a bit of a stir, because more than one of the kids said that it was too hard to pick one favorite player. So, the coach relented and everyone felt better about being able to name their three favorite players.
Not surprisingly, most of the kids named the same players: Big Papi, Alex Rodgriguez, Daiske Matsuzaka, etc. When it came time for Sam to answer, he said Big Papi, Dice-K, and Jason Varitek, which was a bit of a surprise. Of course, it also happened to be the same favorite players as the kid who went before him. So, I asked him afterwards why he mentioned Varitek, and he explained that he's always like Jason Varitek, and that he also likes A-Rod and Johnny Damon, because Damon used to be a member of the Red Sox.
I thought Sam's inclusion of Damon on the list was really interesting, since most people in Red Sox Nation have seemed to turn their backs on Damon for precisely the same reason that Sam has decided to embrace him. And I have to admire that innocence. He likes the players he hears about, the players his friends talk about and he hears about on the radio and TV. While he enjoyed the fact that the Sox swept the Yankees in their first series of the season, he's just as happy when A-Rod does well. In other words, he's missing that essential element that defines most Red Sox and Yankees fans: schadenfreude . In other words, while it's good when your team wins, it's better is your team can beat its bitterest rival. It's even better when your team beats its rival while doing something that's remarkable, like hitting four home runs in a row. And better still is when your team can beat its rival while at the same time humiliating a key player, as when the Sox beat Mariano Rivera in the first game of the series.
So I realized over the course of this first Red Sox-Yankees series of the season that shadenfreude is another reason why this project of mine is so difficult. I've spent years not just rooting for the Yankees, but rooting against the Red Sox, as a team and as a group of individuals. While I can see coming around to the point where I can root for some of the Sox as individuals, like Dice-K for instance, I've realized that it will take me longer to actively root against individuals on the Yankees, the ones I've been rooting for for so long. I have to face the fact that a lot of my reactions are so deeply ingrained that they're simply automatic, like when A-Rod his his second home run in the series opener, the one where Coco Crisp went over the wall in his attempt to catch it, and I found myself shouting, "Go, Go!" to the ball.
How does it get to that point?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Yankees vs. Red Sox: Round 1
I spent most of this past week in Vancouver, which is about as far as you can go from New England and still get baseball updates in English. Ironically, while I was in Vancouver for a techno-centric conference, I was busy and couldn’t stay connected enough to the Internet to keep up with what was happening in the world of Major League Baseball. When I found the time at night to turn on the television, the time difference and the fact that I was in Canada meant that baseball updates weren’t that easy to find. I did hear about Dice-K’s heartbreaking loss against the Blue Jays, though; this made the news because the Blue Jays are Canada’s only baseball team.
Allow me to digress for a moment and say that Dice-K’s loss to Toronto made him likeable to me. Over the winter, before I decided to plunge into this ludicrous project, I tried to convince myself that Dice-K wasn’t that big a deal. But that was my way of trying to minimize what I really felt: for all that money, Dice-K should be a Yankee! After all, that’s what the Yankees do, isn’t it? In short, I was jealous. And then, all during Spring Training, I had to deal with the dissection of Dice-K’s every move, including various “news” stories about whether or not the “gyro-ball” is real, new, or just a lot of hype. In other words, I was rooting for Dice-K to fail.
And that reaction wasn’t something that had a lot of cognition or reason behind it; it was just what I felt. But then I reminded myself of what I’m trying to do here, to be able to root for the same team that my children do. And I watched Dice-K’s first game and tried to be objective. To be honest, I don’t know how objective I was. But I do know that I kept my thoughts to myself.
And then Dice-K lost a squeaker to a guy who almost no-hit the Sox. And then Dice-K lost a 2-1 game, even though he had 10 strikeouts. That last game kind of made him a tragic figure in my eyes, and I kind of like that. I mean, I can root for a guy like that, I guess. Now, I recognize that this is not the same as standing up and embracing Manny just for being Manny, but I look at it as a step in the right direction.
But tonight, my newly found and weak convictions face their biggest test, as the Yankees come to Fenway. I suppose it’s a good thing that I haven’t been exposed to any hype this week, because I don’t want the hype to color me more than I’ve chosen to color myself. But I did listen to the radio last night and the predictable predictions from the callers, like the guy who said that Boston’s going to win 57-0 on Saturday. Which I guess could still happen.
But back to Vancouver. That city is in the midst of Stanley Cup Playoff fever, with the Canucks in control in their series with the North Stars. However, I found it interesting that as I was heading to the airport, I heard some of the Vancouver morning DJ’s cautioning everyone that just because the Canucks are up 3 games to 1, there’s still plenty of time for them to blow it.
And then the Canucks went out and lost last night.
It seems that Vancouver hockey fans aren’t all that different from Boston Red Sox fans.
Allow me to digress for a moment and say that Dice-K’s loss to Toronto made him likeable to me. Over the winter, before I decided to plunge into this ludicrous project, I tried to convince myself that Dice-K wasn’t that big a deal. But that was my way of trying to minimize what I really felt: for all that money, Dice-K should be a Yankee! After all, that’s what the Yankees do, isn’t it? In short, I was jealous. And then, all during Spring Training, I had to deal with the dissection of Dice-K’s every move, including various “news” stories about whether or not the “gyro-ball” is real, new, or just a lot of hype. In other words, I was rooting for Dice-K to fail.
And that reaction wasn’t something that had a lot of cognition or reason behind it; it was just what I felt. But then I reminded myself of what I’m trying to do here, to be able to root for the same team that my children do. And I watched Dice-K’s first game and tried to be objective. To be honest, I don’t know how objective I was. But I do know that I kept my thoughts to myself.
And then Dice-K lost a squeaker to a guy who almost no-hit the Sox. And then Dice-K lost a 2-1 game, even though he had 10 strikeouts. That last game kind of made him a tragic figure in my eyes, and I kind of like that. I mean, I can root for a guy like that, I guess. Now, I recognize that this is not the same as standing up and embracing Manny just for being Manny, but I look at it as a step in the right direction.
But tonight, my newly found and weak convictions face their biggest test, as the Yankees come to Fenway. I suppose it’s a good thing that I haven’t been exposed to any hype this week, because I don’t want the hype to color me more than I’ve chosen to color myself. But I did listen to the radio last night and the predictable predictions from the callers, like the guy who said that Boston’s going to win 57-0 on Saturday. Which I guess could still happen.
But back to Vancouver. That city is in the midst of Stanley Cup Playoff fever, with the Canucks in control in their series with the North Stars. However, I found it interesting that as I was heading to the airport, I heard some of the Vancouver morning DJ’s cautioning everyone that just because the Canucks are up 3 games to 1, there’s still plenty of time for them to blow it.
And then the Canucks went out and lost last night.
It seems that Vancouver hockey fans aren’t all that different from Boston Red Sox fans.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Fans, the FAN, and the Easy Way Out
"Hey Dad," Sam said to me the other day out in the yard as he swung a baseball bat. "I'm Dice-K,"
We were outside--cold weather be damned!--taking advantage of the longer days to practice a little bit for the upcoming farm league and t-ball seasons. He was waiting his turn to bat and I was pitching to his younger brother.
"That's great," I said, not bothering to mention that Daisuke Matsuzaka won't be doing a lot of batting this year. But I have to admit that I like it when Sam invokes the names of current baseball players--and other players in other sports, too, mostly Boston or New England-types. I think this role-playing gives him confidence and allows him to be more forgiving of himself when he makes a mistake. If he misses a pitch, well, it was Dice-K's fault, not his. I also like the innocence inherent in the process: no concern at all about past steroid use, out-of-wedlock kids, bad attitudes, trade demands, or bad posses gone wild. Those are what grown-ups have to worry about, and talk about again and again and again, because all-too-often, when we talk about sports, we're talking about social ills and how the whole world's going to hell in a handbasket. And if you don't believe me, just turn on your radio and wait until Jerry from Boston or Markie from Dorcester calls in to tell you how things really work.
Can you tell that I've been listening to a lot of sports talk radio lately?
When I lived in New Jersey, I spent a lot of time listening to WFAN, the huge and powerful all-sports station that's been in the news lately because of what the ignoramus Don Imus said about the Rutgers women's basketball team. At any rate, the biggest show on The FAN is the Mike and the Mad Dog show, featuring Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. I spent many afternoons listening to these guys "debate" the issues with rabid callers who'd stay on hold for hours only to be ridiculed and hung up on if they dared to disagree with the hosts. I'll admit that more than once I picked up the phone to join the conversation when one of them said something that really pissed me off, but I always resisted out of the firm belief that when you actually call into a sports radio show, you've crossed the line that separates fan-who-can-function-in-the-real-world and fanatic.
Recently I've been listening to "Sportsradio 850 WEEI" , which is the Boston-based radio station that broadcasts the Red Sox and, when they're not doing that, hosts a seemingly endless parade of shows where people call in to talk about the Red Sox. Listening to the FAN, I would occasionally feel the impulse to call in and say something. Listening to WEEI, I'm now too terrified to even admit that I do listen to anyone because I might accidentally run into some of the people who regularly call in.
I mention this because the other day I was visiting a former co-worker--and lifelong Sox fan--and I explained how this year I was rooting for the Red Sox.
"Why would you want to do that?" Was his first reaction.
"why would you want to do that?" He asked again, after I told him that I was doing it so that I could root for the same team that my kids do.
His point was that nobody actually likes being a Sox fan, and that 1) choosing to become one reeks of insanity and 2) cheerily skipping down the yellow brick road of lifelong discontent (2004 was three years ago now, you know) is irresponsible parenting.
I also detected a slight tone of revulsion that I, a Yankees Fan, would sully the Sox by rooting for them. Or trying to root for them.
But I believe that that brief exchange was a big step in this project. Up until then, I've been very closed-mouth about this project, and that just won't do. It's easy to root loudly for the Dice-K in my back yard, but I've got to avoid taking the easy way this baseball season.
And who knows, maybe it will lead to eventually picking up the phone?
We were outside--cold weather be damned!--taking advantage of the longer days to practice a little bit for the upcoming farm league and t-ball seasons. He was waiting his turn to bat and I was pitching to his younger brother.
"That's great," I said, not bothering to mention that Daisuke Matsuzaka won't be doing a lot of batting this year. But I have to admit that I like it when Sam invokes the names of current baseball players--and other players in other sports, too, mostly Boston or New England-types. I think this role-playing gives him confidence and allows him to be more forgiving of himself when he makes a mistake. If he misses a pitch, well, it was Dice-K's fault, not his. I also like the innocence inherent in the process: no concern at all about past steroid use, out-of-wedlock kids, bad attitudes, trade demands, or bad posses gone wild. Those are what grown-ups have to worry about, and talk about again and again and again, because all-too-often, when we talk about sports, we're talking about social ills and how the whole world's going to hell in a handbasket. And if you don't believe me, just turn on your radio and wait until Jerry from Boston or Markie from Dorcester calls in to tell you how things really work.
Can you tell that I've been listening to a lot of sports talk radio lately?
When I lived in New Jersey, I spent a lot of time listening to WFAN, the huge and powerful all-sports station that's been in the news lately because of what the ignoramus Don Imus said about the Rutgers women's basketball team. At any rate, the biggest show on The FAN is the Mike and the Mad Dog show, featuring Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. I spent many afternoons listening to these guys "debate" the issues with rabid callers who'd stay on hold for hours only to be ridiculed and hung up on if they dared to disagree with the hosts. I'll admit that more than once I picked up the phone to join the conversation when one of them said something that really pissed me off, but I always resisted out of the firm belief that when you actually call into a sports radio show, you've crossed the line that separates fan-who-can-function-in-the-real-world and fanatic.
Recently I've been listening to "Sportsradio 850 WEEI" , which is the Boston-based radio station that broadcasts the Red Sox and, when they're not doing that, hosts a seemingly endless parade of shows where people call in to talk about the Red Sox. Listening to the FAN, I would occasionally feel the impulse to call in and say something. Listening to WEEI, I'm now too terrified to even admit that I do listen to anyone because I might accidentally run into some of the people who regularly call in.
I mention this because the other day I was visiting a former co-worker--and lifelong Sox fan--and I explained how this year I was rooting for the Red Sox.
"Why would you want to do that?" Was his first reaction.
"why would you want to do that?" He asked again, after I told him that I was doing it so that I could root for the same team that my kids do.
His point was that nobody actually likes being a Sox fan, and that 1) choosing to become one reeks of insanity and 2) cheerily skipping down the yellow brick road of lifelong discontent (2004 was three years ago now, you know) is irresponsible parenting.
I also detected a slight tone of revulsion that I, a Yankees Fan, would sully the Sox by rooting for them. Or trying to root for them.
But I believe that that brief exchange was a big step in this project. Up until then, I've been very closed-mouth about this project, and that just won't do. It's easy to root loudly for the Dice-K in my back yard, but I've got to avoid taking the easy way this baseball season.
And who knows, maybe it will lead to eventually picking up the phone?
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Game Two
I woke up this morning to the sound of hail pelting my roof. Throughout the rest of the day, a cold rain made an unseasonably cold day seem that much was. Not, not seem worse: it made it worse. So, baseball and its association with warm weather and soft summer nights was not on my mind today. Which is just as well, I guess. On Opening Day, the Sox lost 7-1 to the Kansas City Royals. Schilling had his worst outing in 10 years and a couple of base running gaffes acted like salt in the wounds.
I heard the same phrase over and over again yesterday, on talk radio, in the newspaper, and on various websites: "It's only the first game, BUT ..." and then a litany of complaints followed.
It's only the first game, but I don't know if I can take an extended period of negativity. Just think what will happen tomorrow night if Dice-K, the greatest rookie pitcher ever (apparently), gets roughed up.
Tonight they play the Royals again. We'll see what happens.
Sam was nonplussed by the Opening Day loss. "What was the score?" he asked. "Seven to one," I told him. "Oh," was his response.
Sometimes it's good that kids can keep things simple like that.
I heard the same phrase over and over again yesterday, on talk radio, in the newspaper, and on various websites: "It's only the first game, BUT ..." and then a litany of complaints followed.
It's only the first game, but I don't know if I can take an extended period of negativity. Just think what will happen tomorrow night if Dice-K, the greatest rookie pitcher ever (apparently), gets roughed up.
Tonight they play the Royals again. We'll see what happens.
Sam was nonplussed by the Opening Day loss. "What was the score?" he asked. "Seven to one," I told him. "Oh," was his response.
Sometimes it's good that kids can keep things simple like that.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Opening Day
Today is Opening Day, the first day of a 162-game (at least) season, and already I feel like I'm behind. I just found out last night, for instance, that there is a Red Sox Kid Nation, and I haven't even bought a Sox hat for myself, even though I was at a sporting goods store yesterday. Truth be told, however, I don't know if I'm ready to wear a Sox hat. It's on my list of things to do, but I'm not mentally prepared yet.
I suppose that today is also the official opening day of this little experiment of mine, though I hope that people will read the previous entries. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, to be honest, because I don't know how it will all turn out and I don't know how people will react to my attempts to change my stripes. To overcome that, I'll just have to rely on the relentless optimism that always infuses Opening Day.
But I learned this morning that that optimism must be a function of age. I woke up before Sam this morning and got the sports section all ready for him, so that as soon as he came downstairs I could tell him what day it was.
"Look," I said when he woke up. "It's a picture of Curt Schilling. He's pitching today, on Opening Day. It's Opening Day, Sam!"
"Yeah," he said. "I know that." And he calmly turned on Spongebob Squarepants. No special Opening Day routine for that kid, apparently.
I suppose that today is also the official opening day of this little experiment of mine, though I hope that people will read the previous entries. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, to be honest, because I don't know how it will all turn out and I don't know how people will react to my attempts to change my stripes. To overcome that, I'll just have to rely on the relentless optimism that always infuses Opening Day.
But I learned this morning that that optimism must be a function of age. I woke up before Sam this morning and got the sports section all ready for him, so that as soon as he came downstairs I could tell him what day it was.
"Look," I said when he woke up. "It's a picture of Curt Schilling. He's pitching today, on Opening Day. It's Opening Day, Sam!"
"Yeah," he said. "I know that." And he calmly turned on Spongebob Squarepants. No special Opening Day routine for that kid, apparently.
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