Actually I'm not a baseball fan. I'm a football fan and loving Liverpool FC. I know the boss John W. Henry is also the boss of Boston Red Sox. So I wanna know something about this baseball team. Could anybody tell me some?
Actually I'm not a baseball fan. I'm a football fan and loving Liverpool FC. I know the boss John W. Henry is also the boss of Boston Red Sox. So I wanna know something about this baseball team. Could anybody tell me some?
They're in the same division as the New York Yankees (american league east) and have been for over 100 years. Until the league expansion in... the 1980s? 90s?, the worse record between these two teams did not get into the playoffs, despite often having a better record than most other teams in baseball, high enough to have won any other division. With a 6-month, 162-game season at stake, this led to feelings of resentment, mostly in Boston among Red Sox fans due to the Yankees' higher salary and thus higher degree of success, and is part of the reason for the bitter rivalry between the two teams. They had not won a world series (the highest championship) since 1918, until 2004, and this was called the Curse of the Bambino, supposedly Babe Ruth's curse on the Sox for having traded him to the Yankees. Their stadium, Fenway Park, is among the oldest in baseball - especially now that the old Yankee Stadium has been demolished and a new one built.
This year they have the third best record in baseball and were supposed to be the american league contender, vs. the Philadelphia Phillies in the national league. The Phillies are beastly and will probably win the NL championship and the world series too. In the AL the Yankees are a few games ahead of the Sox and look to be the better team. But I might be biased, I'm a Yankees fan
That what you were looking for?
Renamed the thread. Misleading title.
As of yesterday the Red Sox moved into First place in the AL East
If anyone is in Boston I would highly recommend seeing a Red Sox game. I saw two games there 5 years ago during a baseball tour and it was an amazing experience. Of course it was helped greatly when in one of the games David Ortiz hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. The place went absolutely bonkers.
Gotta be said if any Liverpool fans are worried about Henry then you need not worry, the guy pretty much turned the Red Sox around, has tastefully (from what i've seen) renovated Fenway Park into a first class facility (albeit a tight one, Fenway is a pretty petite ballpark compared to say Yankee Stadium) & helped them build a steady system through clever aquisitions, timely trade moves & a smart as hell GM. That's all coming from a Yankees fan so you know it's not bullshit, the guy knows how to get results & retain a reverence for the past while moving forward, granted it's not as easy to replicate that in Football (much different culture of transfers etc) but he definately has his head screwed on right.
Koodledrum - Balnazzar EU - 85 Priest - Retired.
Not a huge baseball fan. But I gotta say the Redsox 2004 alcs and world series is the most remarkable thing I have ever seen in all my years watching sports. Down 0-3 to the Yanks(with one of those games losing 19-8) they came back and won 4 straight sweeping the Cardinals for the World series.
Then of course they won it all in 2006. So you are good hands with Henry.
and like skippy said, If you are ever in Boston, make a point to go to a game. Fenway is a pretty special place.
Last edited by kunah; 2011-07-10 at 05:36 AM.
Operation Red Wing
Just FYI the seats are a bit smaller compared to the newer stadiums.
i thought Henry was more in favour of renovating Anfield as opposed to moving?
The seating issue, christ knows, the only thing i can think of is that it would be for H&S reasons, although from what i've seen of the place there's no direct reason for it. As for the seats, i can't say anything i've been in 1 ballpark and well, that place was built for total comfort, there are seats in that place bigger than the ones i've got at home (fuckin should be at the prices they charge!), but when your stadium is what 95 years old you kinda have to make do with what you have.
Koodledrum - Balnazzar EU - 85 Priest - Retired.
I dont know what to think, they're still debating whether the reduced cost of renovating Anfield would advantage us more than building a whole new stadium. Judging by how they're handling the transfers ( everything behind closed doors sort of stuff) you can't really say anything about Liverpool right now, over the past 2 months we've been linked to almost 70 players (we've signed 2 players by now and it turns out that only one of the 70 was actually on Dalglish's shortlist while the other signing was completely unexpected). But anyways, after reading all this stuff here about Henry + interviews on the internet I'm convinced that whatever he chooses to do will benefit the club.
If actions speak louder than words
I'll be the most deafening noise you've heard.
I'll be that ringing in your ears
That will stick around for years.
That's just normal transfer shite though, ever summer you'll see clubs linked to everyone & their budgie as a transfer target before they sign anyone - just part of the game as i see it. The thing with Henry is that he's a very shrewd guy, we're talking about someone who basically took Boston from being a poor second place in baseball terms to kicking the Yankee's ass at their own game, but in a much more efficient & sensible way. For years we'd really just grab the top guys knowing "hey, we're the New York Yankees, if that doesn't make you want to join us we'll bust out the chequebook & change your mind!" - the Red Sox changed their general manager to someone much more interested in analysing the players instead of saying "that guy had a killer season last year, we'll try & get him". That's not to say the Red Sox haven't broke the bank on players (they have signed a number of big money players) but at the same time they looked more into building a team around their surroundings.
Like i said, he's someone who's more interested in building a 5 year team than pulling a Chelski/Man Shiekhty and expect to win it all with 1 roll of the dice, that team might not win the premiership in the first season, but within 5 years there's a strong possibility. On top of that, he's used to running a franchise with a MASSIVE history in a setting which most consider sacred, he turned the Red Sox from a cursed team to World Series winners while renovating Fenway to being a place where they have the modern amenities in a 95 year old stadium. Anfield doesn't look to be in that bad nick and could probably be renovated within reason - problem is finding the balance between adding seats & keeping character or trying to emulate bigger "nicer" stadia - lets face it, you could add 15,000 seats without turning it into Liverpool's Wembley!
Koodledrum - Balnazzar EU - 85 Priest - Retired.
If recent history is any indicator, Henry will keep them in Anfield. There was always talk about moving the Sox out of Fenway to a new
stadium further out where there is more space. But he opted for upgrading Fenway and adding more seats. I believe that he understands the
emotional attachment people have to thier teams. Whenever I go to fenway, I am thinking how my great great grandfather used to walk around these stands a few generations ago. That tradition matters a lot to RedSox fans and that team would not be the same without the Fenway. I wonder how much the Yankee fans like thier new park. The new stadium is probably beautiful but the old Yankee statium was hallowed grounds.
I can't believe that Anfield cannot be upgraded to add more seats and amenities to save the tradition.
Last edited by kunah; 2011-07-11 at 04:59 PM.
Operation Red Wing
There are Yankee fans who won't step foot inside New Yankee Stadium, a lot of them are angry that more wasn't done to bring The Stadium up to spec, it's no secret a lot of them are very vocal about it and continue to be today. But the truth is the Steinbrenners looked at the viability of bringing it into this era and the part that has made people so angry is that they took the economic route out as opposed to Henry who is content to keep Fenway rolling regardless of the cost because of what it means. I think the biggest stinger is that they tore Yankee Stadium down in its entirity - i think they would have been less disagreeable if they'd left SOMETHING, i mean way to look at it is if a martian landed in New York right now with no knowledge they would never know that one of the most famous venues in world sport had been there.
Koodledrum - Balnazzar EU - 85 Priest - Retired.
Yeah,, been to NY many times but the timing was never right to attend a Yankees game at Yankee stadium.. And it was on my bucket list. I guess its all about money.
But I think the Liverpool fans should not worry too much.
From Anfield wiki.
The acquisition of Liverpool by Fenway Sports Group in October 2010 put into question whether Liverpool would leave Anfield. In February 2011 the new club owner, John W. Henry, stated he had a preference for remaining at Anfield and expanding the capacity. After attending a number of games at Anfield, Henry stated that "the Kop is unrivalled", adding "it would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere
Operation Red Wing
I never got to NY before they closed Yankee Stadium (although did make it before they demolished it) but the new place is much better than any stadium i've been in here (and that includes all four of Scotland's major stadiums - Ibrox, Parkhead, Hampden & Murrayfield) but it was very "sterile" when i was there in 09, will need a few years of bedding in.
Koodledrum - Balnazzar EU - 85 Priest - Retired.