Cheer up and laugh fans with some Red Sox-themed Letterman Top Ten Lists

Ortiz gets the last laugh on Mr. Yankee Fan.

David Letterman made his love for baseball -- and the Yankees -- very clear during his 33 years as a late-night TV host, with legends from Harmon Killebrew to Bill Veeck to Derek Jeter taking a seat by his desk. He liked to have some fun with the Red Sox, however, and with the Sox currently suffering through one of the worst offensive slumps in team history, Boston fans can all use a laugh.

In honor of Letterman's retirement, here are some of the best Red Sox-related Top 10 lists (and mentions on lists) from the past 15 years:

Feb. 19, 2015 (after Pablo Sandoval reports to his first Boston spring training looking a bit hefty around the middle)

Top Ten Things You Don't Want to Hear From Your $95 Million Baseball Player

10.   "Are you going to finish that?"
9.     "I'm a .294 hitter, and that''s just my cholesterol."
8.     "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks and a hot dog and popcorn and one of those little baseball helmets filled with ice cream."
7.     "Could have sworn the season started in August."
6.     "Can we make it to the seventh-inning brunch."
5.     "I need a few weekends off for Bachelor parties."
4.    "Do the bases have to be so far apart."
3.    "I eat like Babe Ruth, drink like Ruth Bader Ginsburg  

(Letterman joked that this list was "for Boston only; it's being blacked-out everywhere else.)

Oct. 22, 2004 (read by Curt Schilling--this one had to be tough for Dave to swallow)

Top Ten Reasons for the Boston Red Sox Comeback

10.  Unlike the first three games, we didn't leave early to beat the traffic.
9.    We put flu virus in Jeter's Gatorade.
8.    Let's just say Pete Rose made some phone calls for us.
7.    We asked Pokey Reese to be a little less Pokey.
6.    It's not like we haven't won a big game before -- it's just been 86 years.
5.    Honestly, I think we were tired of hearing about the Patriots.
4.    The messages of encouragement Martha [Stewart] sent on prison napkins.
3.    We pretended the baseball was Letterman's head.
2.    What'd you expect -- we have a guy who looks like Jesus!
1.     We got Babe Ruth's ghost a hooker and now everything's cool. 

Summer 2002 (from monologue)

"The Boston Red Sox once again, in order to avoid that costly World Series parade, will have their customary second-half swoon."
(He was right)



July 10, 2002 (a week after Ted Williams' death and the news his son and younger daughter were freezing his body)

Top Ten Little-Known Facts About Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
3. Refuses to recognize Ted Williams as the top cryogenically-frozen ball player of all time.


May 21, 1999

Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Hear From a Fenway Park Hot Dog Vendor

10.  As my own tribute the Boston Tea Party, I spat in the mustard.
9.   These hot dogs are the real green monsters, right?
8.   If you find a Band-Aid in there -- it's mine.
7.   Try my Buckner Special -- one that was between my legs.
6.   See you in Mass. General, jackass.
5.   Hot dogs are a dollar -- backrubs are fifty cents.
4.   The meat for these things came from an MIT science project.
3.   If you eat this thing, your nickname better be "Old Ironsides."
2.   This hot dog wins the World Series of maggots.
1.   Remember:  1 if by salmonella, 2 if by trichinosis.

Record snows have brought seasons of woe for Red Sox

Will it be another cold October?

Ask any Red Sox fan who remembers Jim Rice 3-D Kelloggs cards to name the most excruciating seasons in team history, and chances are two years will immediately come to mind: 1978 and 2003.  

Sure, 1986 was pretty bad too, but that was against the Mets. These things always hurt worse when the Yankees are involved, and in '78 (Bucky Bleeping Dent) and '03 (Aaron Bleeping Boone) that was most definitely the case. 

When the list of record Boston snow falls began popping up on TV and computer screens a few days ago, I couldn't help but notice the top two slots were occupied by storms that took place in those same cringe-inducing years. 

Occupying the top spot is the President's Day weekend storm of Feb. 17 and 18, 2003, when 27. 6 inches hit the Hub over two days. It was a biggie, sure, but with the web warnings we all received for days and the mega-machinery in place to clean it up, it was not crippling for long.

Number two is the 27.1-inch storm which for many New Englanders who remember it will always be the pre-Internet blast against which all others pale by comparison: The Blizzard of '78.

Fenway Chill: Winter '78 (Boston Globe)

Computer satellite forecasting was in its Good Morning America infancy, and most of us (or our parents) were at school or work when this mid-day Monday storm hit on Feb. 6, 1978. Many commuters who tried to get home were left stranded in their cars on Route 128, and kids had two weeks off to play in the streets.

Fenway Chill: October '78 (Associated Press)

In a way, the reaction to the two storms was similar to how Red Sox fans got through the events of those same years. The bitter taste of 1978 took years to get over; it was really not until the April night in 1986 when a young Texan mowed down 20 Mariners that folks at Fenway could smile again.

The events of 2003, in contrast, were quickly forgotten. Within days of Boone's home run Grady Little was out and the Red Sox were in search of a manager and reinforcements to make another push at the Yankees in '04. Soon Terry Francona, Curt Schilling, and Keith Foulke were in the fold and hopes were high again.

Blizzard of Boone: October '03

Lest fans be too worried that another dismal year is in store with a mega snowfall, they can always look at the fifth-biggest storm of all time for solace. 

The date of that one? Feb. 8-9, 2013.

That October turned out pretty OK.

Why Hall of Fame voters got it wrong (again) on Curt Schilling

Schilling & Martinez both belong. (Boston Globe)

Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson were worthy Hall of Fame selections today, each receiving more than 98 percent of the vote, but the man who sparkled alongside each of them on World Series champions got only 39.2 percent -- nowhere near the 75 percent needed for inclusion.

This marked the third year since he became eligible that Curt Schilling has finished well back of the pack, and it has me perplexed. By no means am I implying Schilling is in Johnson or Martinez's class as a pitcher; Johnson is in the pantheon of Tom Seaver and Lefty Grove among all-time greats, while Martinez is the Sandy Koufax of his generation based on his incredible stretch of mid-career domination. At his best, there was none better than Pedro -- maybe ever. 

Still, there are many reasons that the man who made bloody socks famous also deserves Cooperstown inclusion -- especially when one considers the third pitcher who received first-ballot entry this year with 82.5 percent of the vote -- John Smoltz -- is in many ways Schilling's statistical near-twin.

Here are three:

1. Schilling was a top-of-the-rotation starter on three different teams that reached the World Series -- and a three-time champion.

Schill matched the Big Unit in '01.

This is an impressive and very rare trifecta. Schilling went 16-7 in leading the 1993 Phillies to the cusp of a title before Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams imploded against the Blue Jays. In 2001 he was 22-6 and teamed with Diamondbacks "co-ace" Johnson to keep the mighty Yankees from a four-peat, and in 2004 he was 21-6 and clearly the best pitcher (sorry Pedro) on the Red Sox team that finally got it done.

Throw in his solid 15-7 mark in playing second fiddle to Josh Beckett on the '07 Red Sox title-winners, and it's clear this is a guy who not only knew how to win, but how to help teams win.

2. His postseason record is among the best ever -- and he did it over the long haul.

Schilling was bloody good in the postseason.

Schilling has few peers here. He made the playoffs five times, reached the World Series on four occasions, and overall made 19 postseason starts. Over 133.1 innings he was 11-2 with four complete games, two shutouts, a 2.23 ERA, and 0.96 WHIP. He went deep into games on almost every occasion, and shined bright on the biggest stage -- compiling a 2.06 ERA and 0.896 WHIP in 48 World Series innings. In 2001, he and Johnson shared Series MVP honors.

Among all-time postseason leaders, Schilling ranks third in winning percentage (.846), fifth in wins, eighth in both starts and strikeouts (120), and ninth in innings pitched. That's dominance.

3. His regular season stats compare very favorably to others in the Hall of Fame -- including today's first-year inductee Smoltz.

Better than Curt? Only in relief.

Check out Smoltz's stats as a starter. Sure, he's one of only two guys with 200 wins and 150 saves, but that's like saying Joe Torre is the only guy to hit 250 home runs and win multiple World Series as a manager. Smoltz was an All-Star caliber closer for three years, and that's hardly enough of a sample size to warrant Hall of Fame selection. Throw out his 154 saves, and Smoltz and Schilling have VERY similar numbers:

Smoltz:   211-155 (.579), 3.33 ERA, 3084 strikeouts, 1010 walks, 1.176 WHIP 
Postseason:  15-4, 2.67 ERA, 0.941 WHIP
8-time All-Star, 1 twenty-win season, 1 World Series title, 3 times Cy Young Top 5 (1 win)

Schilling:  216-146 (.597). 3.46 ERA, 3116 strikeouts, 711 walks, 1.137 WHIP
Postseason:  11-2, 2.23 ERA, 0.968 WHIP
6-time All-Star, 3 twenty-win seasons, 3 World Series title, 4 times Cy Young Top 5

I'm nor saying Smoltz is not a Hall of Famer, but why is he a first-ballot slam-dunk while Schilling is still on the way outside looking in? Are a couple Rolaids Relief Awards worth more to a candidate's credentials than a couple World Series rings? How about the fact one guy is perceived as a low-key gentleman and the other as a bit of a blowhard? Should that matter? 

Schill as a Phil -- quite the thrill.

Now let's look at another first-ballot guy with Schilling-like stats and multiple world championships -- Catfish Hunter. He won five rings, three with Oakland and two with New York, but his sore arm kept him under 150 innings for the Yankees in '77 and '78. He's clearly in Cooperstown for what he did from 1967-76, and that's fine, but what he did in that stretch and over his career was pretty comparable to Schilling, and he did it in an era dominated by pitching:

Hunter:  224-166 (.574), 3.26 ERA, 2012 strikeouts, 954 walks, 1.134 WHIP
Postseason:  9-6, 3.26 ERA, 1.126 WHIP
8-time All-Star, 5 twenty-win seasons, 5 World Series titles, 4 times Cy Young Top 5 (1 win) 

Again, Hunter was a lovable guy, but was he really that much better than Schilling? Remember, he was winning 20 games a year when that was far more commonplace; he finished in his league's Top 5 in wins five times, just once more than Schilling (both led their league twice). He also played on two of the most dominant teams of the last 40 years -- the 1971-75 Athletics and the 1976-78 Yankees.

The Cat -- better than Curt?

Taking into account that wins on their own often don't measure the full strength of a pitcher, let's take a look at wins above replacement (WAR) -- a measure of how much better or worse a team does with a player compared to the league average performer at the same position (with factors like ballparks also taken into account). The higher the WAR, the more valuable the pitcher. Here's the WAR breakdown for Schilling, Smoltz, and Hunter:

Schilling 80.7 (26th all-time)
Smoltz 69.5 
Hunter 41.4

Try the same thing with Hall of Fame members Don Drysdale and Jim Bunning, and you'll see Schilling compares very favorably to them both in wins, WAR, and postseason performance (Bunning never even pitched in the playoffs). Granted, Drysdale and Bunning are from a different era, but even taking that into account the numbers stack up quite evenly. 

Drysdale -- another in Schilling's class.

Not all sportswriters were Schilling fans, but they clearly respected him when it came to accolades. He never won a Cy Young Award like Smoltz or Hunter, but he finished second in the voting three times (twice to Johnson) and overall had far more Cy Young votes than Smoltz and only a few less than Hunter. In fact, Schilling had more Cy votes than all but 20 pitchers in history (and only one non-winner, Adam Wainwright, is in the Top 20).

That's what makes the current situation so confusing. Hall of Fame voters may not like Schilling's politics. They may not be fans of his business acumen (especially if they live in Rhode Island). They may even think he talks too much. But when it comes to their Hall of Fame votes, it seems they should be able to put that aside and judge the man solely by his numbers and success.

If they do, they will see it is clear that he belongs in Cooperstown.

One of these doesn't belong -- but he should.

Ten years ago today, Cards and the Curse were both put to rest

Red Sox prove Al Gore right.

Excerpted from "Miracle at Fenway"

It is hard to imagine how winning a World Series could be anticlimactic for a team, especially a team that had not won one in 86 years. But that was absolutely the case for the 2004 Red Sox. They had completed the greatest turnaround in sports history and had exorcised the demons of their past all in one week, and nothing they did against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals was going to top it.

Of course if they lost to the Cardinals, well, that might be another story. If they fell short again in the World Series, as they had in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986 – always in seven games – wouldn't Yankee fans still be able to taunt them about 1918? People still remembered the '67 Impossible Dream Red Sox fondly, as well as the '75 team led by rookie phenoms Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. But those teams hadn't gone all the way, so the Red Sox were still thought of as the franchise that couldn't win the big one.

If St. Louis won, this would be Hendu 2.0.

In the end, there would be no need to worry about such possibilities. The 2004 World Series was one of the most one-sided in history.

The Red Sox won four straight games and never trailed for a single inning. St. Louis had a 105-57 record during the regular season, the best in baseball, and had a Hall of Fame manager in Tony LaRussa. They had two 40-homer sluggers in Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds, a deep starting pitching staff with four 15-game winners, and a strong bullpen anchored by closer Jason Isringhausen and his 47 saves. Three Cardinals – center fielder Edmonds, catcher Mike Matheny, and third baseman Scott Rolen (who also hit 34 homers) – won Gold Gloves for their fielding brilliance.

Against the Red Sox, this group looked like the 1962 Mets.

There were two times in four games that the Cardinals had an opportunity to make the 100^th World Series a real contest. In Game 1 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox took a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to another David Ortiz home run, off Woody Williams, and by the end of the third inning had a 7-2 advantage Then St. Louis battled from way back, much as Boston had done in the ALCS opener at Yankee Stadium. They chased Boston starter Tim Wakefield with three fourth-inning runs, and in the sixth tied the game, 7-7, with two more against Bronson Arroyo.

A powerhouse club -- until it counted.

Boston went back ahead, 9-7, in the seventh on RBI singles by Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, but the Cards struck again in the eighth, getting two runs on a pair of errors by Ramirez in left field. They had men on first and second with only one out in a 9-9 game, and the heart of their order coming up in Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds. But just as Curt Schilling was brought to Boston to beat the Yankees, Keith Foulke now did what he had been acquired to do. After intentionally walking Pujols to load the bases, he got Rolen to pop out to third and struck out Edmonds.

In the bottom of the eighth, after an error by usually sure-handed shortstop Edgar Renteria, Mark Bellhorn stepped in – batting under .200 in the postseason, but with home runs in two straight games – and made it three in a row with a two-run blast off Julian Tavarez and the Pesky Pole in right. Foulke set St. Louis down in the ninth, and Boston had dodged a big bullet with an 11-9 win.

When Curt Schilling woke up at sevenon the morning of Game 2, he told reporters after the game, he couldn't walk or even move. “I honest to God didn't think I was going to take the ball today,” he said. “I didn't think I could.”

He did, and what he did with it further sealed his legend.

A champion's salute.

Jason Varitek, perhaps fueled by one of his regular visits to Trutony's Deli in Newton before heading into the ballpark, hit a 400-foot triple to deep center in the first inning to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Schilling made the advantage stand up, throwing six innings of four-hit baseball and allowing just one unearned run. The Sox showed patience at the plate, drawing six walks to go with eight hits, and won, 6-2, to take a 2-0 lead in the Series heading to Missouri for Game 3.

St. Louis was a much friendlier environment for Boston fans than New York. Folks could wear their Red Sox hats and shirts and jackets and not worry about being ridiculed or challenged to a fight. Lynne Smith, known back home as “The Fenway Hat Lady” because she literally wore the ballpark – or a miniature model of it, complete with Green Monster and lights – on her head, was asked numerous times by fans at Busch Stadium to take photos with them, and was happy to oblige.

Suppan's blunder was costly.

The third inning of Game 3 marked the second and last opportunity the Cardinals had to make this a competitive series, and once again they couldn't take advantage. Starter Pedro Martinez, making what would turn out to be his last appearance in a Red Sox uniform, got early support on a Manny Ramirez home run in the first inning, and had a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third. Then St. Louis showed some life. Pitcher Jeff Suppan (yet another former Red Sox faced by Boston in the postseason) managed an infield single, and Edgar Renteria hit a ball to right field that Trot Nixon misplayed into a double.

With men on second and third, and nobody out, the Cardinals had a chance to do some major damage against Martinez, who had already endured some tough moments in the playoffs. When Larry Walker hit a ground ball to second base, Boston's strategy was to concede the run and get the sure out at first base. Bellhorn, playing deep at second for this reason, threw to first to get Walker.

But Suppan, seeming confused, stopped midway to home plate – and then tried to go back to third. David Ortiz, playing first base because of the lack of a designated hitter in the National League ballpark, spotted Suppan in no man's land and gunned the ball across to third baseman Bill Mueller, who tagged Suppan to complete the unusual double play. Pujols grounded out, and the game – and effectively, the series – was over. Martinez wound up pitching seven shutout innings, and Boston won, 4-1.

Pedro did his part...

Derek Lowe, like Martinez a free agent who was unsure if he would be with Boston in 2005, got the start in Game 4. This gave him the unique possibility of winning the deciding game of all three playoff rounds after being demoted from the starting rotation before the postseason. A victory would be the ultimate way of both proving his full worth to the coaching staff and setting himself up for a big payday.

Johnny Damon helped Lowe on his way by homering in the first inning, Boston's fourth straight game scoring in the opening frame. Trot Nixon added a two-run double in the third, one of his three doubles on the night, and the 3-0 lead stood up. Lowe wound up going seven three-hit innings (the exact line turned in by Martinez the day before), and Arroyo, Embree, and Foulke held St. Louis at bay the rest of the contest.

...as did Lowe.

Back in Boston, fans watched or listened to the final innings in living rooms, bars, bedrooms, and anywhere else they could. Parents kept their kids up or woke them for the ninth inning, among them Ken and Shelley Leandre. Their son, Jordan, was the four-year-old cancer survivor who had delighted the crowd with his National Anthem rendition before Game 5 of the ALCS.

“I felt like Jordan had been a good-luck charm,” says Ken Leandre. “He used to sit in front of the TV and point at the screen and say he was 'throwing out magic' and the next thing you know, Manny or Ortiz would hit a home run. We loved that he had something he loved and could have a good feeling about instead of the hospitals and needles.”

Leandre was lucky (again).

The good luck charm within the Red Sox team itself was Johnny Pesky, the shortstop-manager-coach-legend who had been employed by the Boston organization for most of his 65-plus years in baseball. The Sox made sure Johnny got to St. Louis for Game 4, which he watched from the stands with Dr. Charles Steinberg and Pam Ganley Kenn, who helped him with his public appearances and looked at him like a grandfather. When the game moved into the late innings with the Red Sox ahead, the trio got up to make their way down to the visitor's clubhouse at Busch Stadium.

Then, as they were leaving their section, fans began politely clapped for Pesky as they would a war hero. It meant a tremendous amount to him, because in a way he was an old warrior here. After all, it was in this city in 1946 where he had been accused of “holding the ball” and costing the Sox a World Series title. He now felt all was being forgiven.

St.Louis fans gave Pesky his due.

By the ninth inning, Pesky was in a small room off the main visitor's clubhouse watching the last moments of the game unfold on a video monitor. And Keith Foulke, who in 11 games and 14 innings pitched during the postseason allowed just seven hits and one run, was getting the chance he had joked with Francona about back in Yankee Stadium [to get the final out of a big series].

After Pujols singled to lead off the ninth, Foulke retired Rolen and Edmonds. Edgar Renteria stepped in and took the first pitch for ball one. Up in the booth, Joe Castiglione got ready to make his call:

Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it, he under-hands to first...and the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions! For the first time in eighty-six years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship! Can you believe it?

On the field, Jason Varitek leaped into Foulke's arms for a hug. In the visitor's clubhouse, Johnny Pesky stood up, raised his arms in triumph, and hugged Pam Ganley Kenn. “If I was 50 years younger, I'd have probably been jumping up and down like a crazy man,” he said later. When the players made their way into the clubhouse, moments later, Schilling, Millar and others embraced Pesky as well.

A hug for the ages.

Jeff Idelson, president of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was also in the clubhouse – seeking artifacts that fans could enjoy for years to come at Cooperstown. His wish list was to get something from Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez – named MVP of the World Series with a .412 average – Orlando Cabrera, David Ortiz, and Derek Lowe.

“There’s a tempo to it, because you want to let people celebrate,” Idelson explains. “ It’s about understanding people and getting them at the right moment. You don’t want to say something like, “Hey, take that champagne out of your hand and go get this for me.”

Idelson already knew Curt Schilling from when he had visited the museum with his kids, so he went up and asked if he could have the cleats that he had inscribed with “KALS” to raise awareness about Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Schilling said sure.

“Then he said, 'Do you want the sock too' – meaning the bloody sock,” recalls Idelson. “I said sure, we'd love the sock. He didn't have it there, so his in-laws drove it up to the museum a few weeks later.”

Hall of Fame hosiery. 

Next Idelson got a hat from Martinez, and a bat from Ramirez. He asked Cabrera for his glove, and got that too – along with a hug. “Cabrera's whole family was there,” recalls Idelson. He couldn’t believe I was asking him for his glove, and he was so proud. 

"He said it was one of the great moments of his life.”

After thrills, chills, and Schill, Manny's role was no biggie

Wednesday was about everyone -- not Manny.

The way the vitriol has been exploding on sports talk radio the past few days, you would think Manny Ramirez threw a basket of kittens into the Charles River rather than the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday night's Red Sox-Braves game. Talk about the fellowship of the miserable.

As someone who was standing close to the field during Wednesday's 2004 team reunion at Fenway, I can tell you that Ramirez's role during the ceremony was really no big deal. 

Yes, Manny was introduced last. Yes, he threw out the first pitch. But by the time Ramirez emerged from inside the Green Monster (a funny touch in my opinion, not over the top) and sprinted across the field, the crowd was already so pumped up that his "honor" didn't even register much with the masses.

Manny in the Monster -- cute, but not epic.

Once the intros were over and the '04 team huddled around the pitcher's mound back-slapping and hugging each other, it was hard to tell exactly who was throwing out the first pitch anyway. With his ridiculous Mohawk haircut, it's a good bet some people didn't recognize that it was Manny tossing the ball.

Besides, there was no way Ramirez was going to top the powerful events that preceded his entry. Huge ovations had gone up several times already during the festivities: 

• When the 2004 World Series championship banner dropped down over the Green Monster, evoking memories of Opening Day in '05; 
• When the Varitek-A-Rod fight was shown on the Jumbotron (immediately after which Tek emerged from underneath the banner); and 
• When other top-tier heroes like Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, and Tim Wakefield made their walks in from left field.

THIS was epic.

The loudest cheers by far, however, were when Curt Schilling was introduced and strolled slowly across the grass with the help of his son, Gehrig. Schilling has been mute for months as he has battled a serious bout of cancer, and his appearance Wednesday was up in the air until the last moment. Seeing him there, getting a long hug from David Ortiz as his eyes welled up, was the emotional highlight of the night -- hands down.

I also know from a very reputable source that it was Schilling who was initially asked to throw out the first pitch, but he didn't feel strong enough to do so. Granted, I would have picked Pedro or Keith Foulke as a second choice over Manny, but Dr. Charles Steinberg and the event planning committee can't bat 1.000 every time. They were likely so excited that Ramirez, one half of the greatest one-two power punch since Ruth-Gehrig, was finally coming back to Fenway, they wanted fans to share in that excitement.

In the scrum, the first pitch was confusing.

Plus the way Damon jumped out and "cut off" Ramirez's throw before it could reach home plate, it wasn't really much of a pitch anyway. Damon's move was apparently done to rib Manny about the '04 game when Ramirez cut off a Damon throw that looked capable of nabbing a baserunner at home plate, but I didn't get the joke -- and I'm guessing most other fans had no idea what we going on either.

Manny was definitely not a model citizen or teammate during his time playing in Boston. I'm not going to start listing his mistakes here -- we all remember them. Whether or not the apologies he offered up in press conferences this week were sincere is open to speculation; I guess we'll have to wait and see how he conducts himself moving forward. Maybe he'll finally get over to the Jimmy Fund and visit some kids.

But Wednesday night was not about Manny -- it was about a team. A team that pulled off a Miracle at Fenway and ended 86 years of pain. It was about Jimmy Anderson, Pokey Reese, and every other guy who put on a Boston uniform in 2004. All the talk about whether Ramirez deserved to get the focus he did just takes away from the magic of the night.    

Nothing should do that.