Historic Boston: Things to Do on the 4th
Photo of the day, July 3, 2009: After Hours
Four on the Fourth: Be Safe Tonight
Coming from someone who liberally threw around the "traitor" and "judas" labels, among others, Bostonist should probably be the last one to talk about how much of a raw deal Mr. Damon got from the crowd last night. But when you hear that one of the most beloved players on your team decided to sign with the enemy, of course there will be a knee-jerk reaction. Of course you'll call home names—and probably names worse than "Judas", "Benedict Arnold", "Demon", etc. There'd probably be an f-bomb thrown in there somewhere, but Bostonist digresses.
The facts stand as such - Johnny Damon, no matter who he plays for, helped the Redsox win. He was consistent, cheerful, the frontlines against the volatile Boston media, played through pain, gave the team another character to identify with, and most of all he was a catalyst on the team that won this city a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.
Yeah, bros, he totally "sucks", doesn't he?
Johnny came out in the first, tipped his helmet to the crowd, the team, and Tito Francona, showing an abundance of class. It might be painful and somewhat heartbreaking but Bostonist would have shown the respect to that Yankee player.
Bostonist hates the Yankees as much as the next guy. Actually let's clarify that - Bostonist hates the Yankee uniform. There's actually an amount of respect held for some of the bombers - Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, and yes, even Derek Jeter. Those guys in particular are class acts and winners. Giambi and Sheff are cheaters, and Jorge Posada looks like Rizzo the Rat. So don't get us wrong, there *is* contempt.
The one mistake you can hold over Johnny Damon's head? The fact that he said he could never play for the New York Yankees. Let us remind you though, that Mr. Damon was never, ever, known for his prowess with stringing words together that either made sense or were in good form. So because of that, you would think that these true idiots would have found a soft spot in their hearts for Johnny. It's too bad there's no spell check equivalent for when you're making signs on bedsheets with sharpies.
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Meh. The guy made a decision based on money to come to the Sox, played his ass off for 4 years, then chased the money again to the Yankees. He didn't show any particular loyalty to the Sox (granted, doing that got Arroyo screwed), no reason to treat him as anything other than a Yankee. And Yankees get booed in Fenway, plain and simple.
Meh. The guy made a decision based on money to come to the Sox, played his ass off for 4 years, then chased the money again to the Yankees. He didn't show any particular loyalty to the Sox (granted, doing that got Arroyo screwed), no reason to treat him as anything other than a Yankee. And Yankees get booed in Fenway, plain and simple.
No, no idea why that double-posted. Only clicked submit once.
actually i think those idiots with the sheets are making a double entendre
I was at this game, and I will say that I booed the ever-living crap out of him, and proudly. Not just because he said he'd never go play for the Yankees, but because of the way he left. He talked shit about the team and the way it's run, he talked about every Red Sox development in the offseason, he just kept talking. He needs to learn to shut up. He talked himself into believing that he was going to get cheered last night, and there was never any chance of that.
I was also at the game in which Orlando Cabrera made his triumphant return. He's my favorite player currently playing. How odd, for a diehard Red Sox fan like myself to have a favorite player on another team, but his play here converted me like it was nobody's business. He wanted to stay; said as much, and then shut up when he left.
And then there's Pedro. I would kill to go to whatever of that three-game series he pitches, but he will get the loudest applause for an opposing team member that Fenway Park has ever seen. He, too, shut up. And he said he would never play for the Yankees and STUCK TO HIS WORD. Damon's word is worth nothing, and you could see last night that he realized he was in the wrong dugout.
It seems someone needs a refresher on free-agency. Damon most likely said he wouldn't go to the Yankees to drive up their price. Pedro took the best deal, and if the Yanks had offered him a sweeter deal than the Mets. Guess what? You'd probably be booing another one of your 2004 heroes. (By the way, he openly recruited Varitek, and had a few choice words for Sox management et al. on the way out.)
Like Johnny said, maybe, just maybe, you should look at how your team's management handles things.