If you're reading this, that means the world didn't end, as some predicted it would, when the Boston Red Sox finally won their elusive World Series. It's been two days since Keith Foulke finished off the Cardinals, which set off the biggest party in Boston, since well, the Boston Tea Party.
The Red Sox Nation (and I'm talking about the permanent residents, not the illegal immigrants who joined after they found out the Sox came back from three down to beat the Yankees) has every reason to be delirious now. Never before has a group of supporters been so identifiable with the fortunes of its franchise. These fans have lived and died with every single pitch for the past 86 years. They deserve the right to celebrate; the curse has been reversed, hasn't it?
All along, the players said they didn't care about any curses. After the game, Cro-Magnon/outfielder Johnny Damon said the players weren't concerned with a hex because
one of us were even born in 1918."" This statement is misleading because judging by his looks, Damon was actually born sometime during the Cretaceous Period, but it is, in fact, true. The players come and go, but the fan base stays the same. If anyone was afflicted, it was the supporters.
Now that 86 years of waiting have come to an end, it begs the question: What now, Beantown?
You can be sure of one thing: The last thing they want is another curse. Yet, that's just what Red Sox management has got a-brewin'. The brain trust that brought the title back to Boston is led by boy wonder Theo Epstein. (Did you ever notice how dopey this guy would be if he used his full first name? Theodore Epstein. He sounds like he should be the general manager of a chess club, not the savior of New England.) Anyway, the Red Sox front office has a decision in front of it that could either pave the way for years of success or plunge them back into the grips of a new curse.
The decision I'm talking about is whether or not to re-sign Pedro Martinez. There is no way Epstein is going to deconstruct this team simply because they've achieved their goal, but Pedro's contract is up, and apparently the money he wants may be more than the Sox are willing to give.
Pedro has been the face of the Red Sox and has dominated baseball for the past eight years. But he's 33 now, he can't pitch much more than six innings and once he hits 100 pitches, you might as well have Peter Fonda on the mound because Pedro isn't getting any more outs.
So it is that Martinez may be allowed to leave Boston on the heels of this massive triumph. I, for one, think this is a terrible, terrible idea, and let me tell you why.
If Pedro is cut loose, Boston is just damning itself to another 86 years of misery. By letting Pedro move to another team (say, for example, the Yankees), Epstein and Co. are risking the wrath of the baseball gods once more. Red Sox fans stuck around for 86 years, but I'm not sure they'll wait until 2090 for another sip from the championship chalice. But they'll have no choice if Pedro goes and leaves a curse (we'll tentatively call it the ""Jerry Curl Curse,"") in his wake.
Joe is a sophomore planning to major in journalism. He can be reached at jphasler@wisc.edu.
