by Mark Lawrence, Down-Under EditorSydney, Australia—March 12, 2012. FenwayNation’s latest poll asked who should be Opening Day starter – the majority nominating Jon Lester. Our Esteemed Editor noticed that the votes from outside the Continental United States were largely for Josh Beckett – and invited us furriners to explain our reasoning. Naturally, I can only speak for myself and I’m more than happy to share with you the reason behind my poll decision.
I saw the poll and with hardly a moment’s consideration, clicked the mouse over Beckett’s name and went back to my morning coffee. Why Beckett? Simple – he was first on the list.
There it is, Nation – I’ve admitted it. As we approach the new season, I am wracked with utter complacency, lassitude and disinterest in the 2012 Red Sox. Well, what is there – really – to get excited about, anyway? This malaise has been bothering me for a while now – I haven’t seemed able to bounce back from last year’s ignominy at all. And this is the same guy who somehow maintained his passion after the devastating end to the 2003 season and all the minor tragedies since.
But how and why was I able to do that? How did I come back from the dark tragedy of 2003, with even more passion for the Red Sox than ever before? And why am I so indifferent to them now?
After a very long day’s journey into night, I think I’ve figured it out – you see, it’s all about two types of Bad - Bad Luck and Bad Attitude.
If the Red Sox lose out on a chance for the post season due solely to the whims of the Baseball Gods or some sudden, unexpected injury or any other kind of fate beyond their control, then that’s fine by me – I’ll accept the loss, as painful as it is, and simply start planning for next year, my passion still intact.
But, when the Red Sox blow an excellent shot at the post-season through a sorry combination of arrogance, laziness and plain old bad attitude, then maybe I won’t afford them the same level of support that I might’ve in other circumstances.
Simply put, I’m still not over the way my team let me down in 2011 – and until they show us that last year’s disgrace was a once-in-a-lifetime aberration, until they show us that they still care, that they still have that unique passion for the game, well, hell – it’s hard to write anything nice when your heart ain’t in it. I’ve not cobbled together my annual Ortiz-is-gonna-be-great-this-year piece, or one of my patented rose-tinted assessments of Boston’s chances this season – hell, I couldn’t even write a lousy hundred words of respect for Wake or Tek, guys I’ve long admired. And that disappointed me a lot more than you might think. Why couldn’t I do any of this? Well my best guess is that somewhere in my heart I’ve been thinking that if they couldn’t be bothered, then why the hell should I?
Coming out of the chute, we need to see something special from these new 2012 Boston Red Sox – the greatest baseball fans in the world deserve that respect as much as they deserve to have their Faith Restored. Let’s hope that it happens sooner rather than later.