Open Letter From Red Sox Nation

Well, at least for one member of it. Just like any fan, I have no power or control over other fans of my team, so I can only speak for myself. Recently, this "holiday greeting card" was brought to my attention. Take a quick look at it, it only takes a moment.

For most sports fans, the greeting card is probably humorous. And for some reason, the old guy in the chair reminds me of Freddy "Sez" Shuman, the guy who walks around Yankees games with a pot and a spoon. I don't know, maybe cause they're both old?

Anyways, for one friend of mine, who's a Yankees fan, it wasn't all that humorous. And no, I didn't send it to him, I'm a very polite Red Sox fan. He took it as an opportunity to point out what he thought was wrong with Red Sox fans.

According to my friend, it's not that they're cocky, it was because Red Sox fans have a kick-em-while-they're-down mentality. Now I give my friend credit for not claiming he dislikes Red Sox fans because they're cocky. Because that would have been a pretty lame excuse. Yankees fans are notorious for their "confident" and "bold" attitudes themselves. And when a fan base's favorite team does well, I feel as if they kind of have a right to to be a little cocky.

But this "kick-them-while-they're-down-mentality" I found to be especially interesting. Now the Red Sox haven't been all that successful until this decade. And growing up as a Red Sox fan in the early and mid-90's I seem to remember a certain fan base that kicked me while I was down quite a bit.

After all, from 1918 until 2004, there weren't many sports teams as down as the Boston Red Sox. They didn't just lose, they're lost in grandiose fashion. The Red Sox lost back-to-back-to-back-to-back World Series Game Sevens. In fact, every World Series they went to from 1918-2004, they lost in a Game 7, and often in heartbreaking fashion. An example of which would be Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash" pictured below.

I doubt there are many Yankees fans out there who have never uttered the year "1918". When Aaron Boone came to the plate in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, there were grown men dressed in ghost costumes in Yankee Stadium. And when Red Sox fans left the stadium that night, I doubt Yankees fans were all that concerned about kicking them while they were down.

Yankees fans kicked Red Sox fans while they were in the midst of one of the most painful 86 years in any baseball team's history. So it doesn't make sense for them to complain about it now, when they've only been on the other end of it for a few years. In fact, given the manner in which Yankees fans have beat down Red Sox fans for the better part of a century, it shouldn't come as any surprise how much Red Sox fans enjoy turning the tables.

The best piece of advice I can think of for Yankees fans who feel as if they're being kicked while they're down, would be develop a sense of humor. A quirky sense of humor has certainly helped Red Sox fans through quite a bit of heartbreak. You can't let insults towards your team get under your skin. Red Sox fans have been the butt of jokes for a long, long time, so I doubt they're going to let up any time soon.

Can Red Sox fans be dicks? Sure they can, and many Red Sox fans can take things too far. But let's be honest, that behavior is not at all exclusive to Red Sox fans. On behalf of Red Sox fans everywhere, I apologize for any over-the-top rude behavior which they've displayed lately. And in the spirit of the holidays, I extend to fans all over baseball the proverbial olive branch.

Sincerely,

Ethan Michaels

Mitchell Report Damning of Yankees

One important issue to remember, is that this report only sheds light on the use of performance enhancing drugs (PED's) in baseball over the last 20 years. Even so, the report is still rather damning towards the Yankees. Over 15 former and current Yankees were named, including Kevin Brown, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Jason Grimsley, Glenallen Hill, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Josias Manzanillo, Hal Morris, Denny Neagle, Andy Pettitte, Gary Sheffield, Mike Stanton, Ron Villone, Rondell White, and Todd Williams.

Many of those players played key roles in the Yankees dynasty years of last decade. Roger Clemens pitched well with the Yankees during the 1999 and 2000 playoffs, winning two World Series games and a game against the Red Sox in the 1999 ALCS. Clemens is the only Yankees player listed, who is accused of using steroids throughout his entire tenure with the Yankees.

David Justice was traded to the Yankees in June of 2000. He then hit .305/.391/.585 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI in 78 games with the Yankees, to help them win the division over the Red Sox by 2.5 games. Later, Justice would go on to be the 2000 ALCS MVP with the Yankees.

Pettitte was with the Yankees in all four of their dynasty World Series years. He spent most of that time as the Yankees Game 2 starter and was a solid force in the playoffs. Although the Mitchell Report doesn't trace his use of PED's back any further than 2002, he may have been using them earlier.

Chuck Knoblauch hit .375/.500/.563 in the 1998 World Series. He also hit .333/.429/.389 against the Red Sox in the 1999 ALCS, and .313/.353/.563 in that year's World Series. His use of PED's was traced back as early as 2001, although he may have been using them earlier.

The Yankees also got considerable help from PED's when they played the Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS. Both Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte received wins in the series with Jason Giambi hitting two home runs in the deciding Game 7, which went to extra innings. Mitchell claims that all three players had already taken PED's prior to that year.