Curt's Bonus, Heyman's Summation




(dinner's on the guy on the right, even though neither of them will ever have to pay for a meal in Boston again, etc.)

The NY Times' Tyler Kepner reports that in winning the World Series, Boston's Curt Schilling will receive a $2 million bonus as per the terms of the contract extension he negotiated with the Red Sox last winter.

Still no word on whether or not God was voted a full playoff share.

Newsday's Jon Heyman, usually a fave whipping boy around these parts, does a nice job of giving credit where due in Thursday's paper.

This Red Sox team deserves its rings as much as any championship team ever. With the weight of the all-time sports jinx, they played as carefree as could be on the biggest stage. This was a true 25-man effort . . . well actually 26, counting Dr. Bill Morgan, who deserved honorary Series MVP for the way he sewed the sheath in Curt Schilling's ankle tendon back together.

As thrilled as they are in Kenmore Square and Harvard Yard, that's how anguished they're feeling on George Steinbrenner Way in Tampa, where Steinbrenner and his baseball people better not spend time going over each and every mistake from last winter (it would take too long).

Letting Schilling get away to Boston leaps to mind. Less obvious is the Yankees playing with fire by employing no less than five ex-Cubs (Tom Gordon, Tanyon Sturtze, Miguel Cairo, Jon Lieber, Felix Heredia), perhaps foolishly trumping Boston's historically bad karma.

Much to George Steinbrenner's dismay, everything the Yankees do took a hit all at once. It had to hurt when Many Ramirez and Pedro Martinez performed the first-ever celebratory braid bump in the winning dugout during Game 3. If this postseason has proved one thing, it's that the razor and hair clippers don't make the ballplayer.

Except for an early bout of fumble fingers, the Red Sox dominated the Cardinals. If anyone acted paranoid or panicky, it was them. After Game 3, when reality had set in, Tony La Russa empowered clubhouse attendants to act like bouncers, keeping the media out until MLB's director of security, Kevin Hallinan, demanded entrance.

But enough space wasted on the team that didn't show. This is the Red Sox's hour. Finally, after 85 pennantless years (mathematically speaking, it's actually an 85-season hex, not 86), it is their well-deserved turn.

This team did something Yaz, Rice, Lynn, Fisk and Teddy Ballgame never did, and they did it with attitude. The Yankees publicized their 60-something comeback wins, none of which is worth a darn now. As it turned out, these disheveled Red Sox are the only ones to perpetrate a comeback of any note. They came back from 3-0 down, and from 85-0 down.

Those, my friend, are Ruthian feats.

Posted: Thu - October 28, 2004 at 01:03 AM      

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