Thursday, August 23, 2012

A Yankees fan defends the Red Sox (really!)

Make no mistake about it, I am taking great happiness in seeing the Boston Red Sox season disintegrating in a sizzling pit of dysfunction.

That being said, their players are getting hosed today.

Apparently, only four current players went to team icon Johnny Pesky's funeral, something for which they rightly should be criticized. Joe Fitzgerald of the Boston Herald does so here.

After Tuesday’s magnificent pre-game tribute, including the thrilling playing of taps, and the lump-in-the-throat spectacle of 40 players wearing No. 6, busloads of this town’s big-leaguers showing up for a last goodbye was a fastball down the pike, ripe for blasting, a can’t-miss moment.
All they had to do was show up.

What a shame they didn’t, not for Johnny, but for them.

But the Herald's Inside Track column, a collection of Boston-area gossip that I have gotten my fair share of entertainment from when the paper was more-readily available in my workplace, chose to take it one step further.

By contrast, that same night, nearly the entire team turned out for pitcher Josh Beckett’s annual Beckett Bowl and country music show at Lucky Strike Lanes and the House of Blues.
Just like those spoiled, chicken-and-beer Red Sox, right? Going out and having a good time on the day of a beloved man's funeral. But while I'm sure a good time was had by most, if not all, there's one thing the writers didn't mention ...

... Beckett Bowl is a charity event.

Boston Sports Media Watch does a little better.
Making matters worse was the entire team made it to Josh Beckett’s charity bowling event later that night.
There are lots of things the players could have done to compound the error of not going to Pesky's funeral. They could have randomly gone and tied one on. They could have held another whine-fest about Bobby Valentine, this time in public. They could have blown off a charity event planned months in advance, something like ... Beckett Bowl.

But actually going to a charity event does not make the original screw-up worse.

You have the lily. There's no need to gild it.

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