Arrggg...

welcome to red sox frustration....

Wait, I'm confused. Why are you rooting for the Red Sox? Just because you hate the Yankees, or is there some other reason?

Don't hate the playar...

Baseball history requires that the AL east end up this way. The baseball gods require that the Red Sox lose.

I think the problem with the Sox is that they don't play well together, they have very good players but just can't string it together for a season. The Yankees on the other hand, while they have very good players as well, have this knack for winning. They expect it. George requires it. Winning is an attitude. The Yankees expect it, the Red Sox expect to lose. History, to the detriment of some, but the glory of others, repeats itself.

Ah, glory...

Since the baseball gods require that the Red Sox lose, you might as well start rooting for the Devil Rays, because they're the only other team in the division who have even the remotest chance of catching the Yankees (and, while it is only a very slim remote chance, at least the Rays aren't cursed).

Although their stadium certainly is.

Naw Mesh, I think that kid was the son of one of the writers for the old tv show "Branded", and He lives in North Hollywood on Radford, near the In-and-Out Burger...

DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS, LARRY?!

THIS is what happens, Larry! This is what happens!

Who's stadium? The Devil Rays? Tropicana Field isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

Yes, yes it is. Having endured a few ballgames there, I feel I can say this with authority. It feels shockingly like watching a ballgame inside a giant can of baked beans. I like the little beach thing going on in left field, but overall Tampa/St. Pete desperately needs a stadium with a gulf view. Or at least a sky view.

Do you realize just how horrible it would be going to afternoon games in an outdoor stadium? Football is ok because it's only a 16 game season and it's starting to cool down, but outdoor baseball in the middle of the hottest part of the rainy season is just plain psycho.

Kudos for the Big Lebowski ref there...

Having watched almost every BoSox game this summer I can honestly say that Terry Francona is a moron. The guy has no business coaching a contending team. None whatsoever. That, plus they really need to get rid of Nomar and put Pokey back at short. Trade Nomar away...get some more good pitching.

If the Sox ever get a good (as in Joe Torre or Dusty Baker good) manager, watch out.

Kathryn, you conveniently forget that I, too, am a proud Florida native. The humidity is our greatest asset: it toughens us natives, makes us stoic in the face of misery, in much the same way that Minnesotans harden themselves against winter. Can you imagine the home field advantage an outdoor stadium would provide? The Yankees (players and fans alike) would simply die. Just drop right there on the field. Don't think for a minute that this wasn't a factor in the Marlins' world series triumph, even as late as October. An outdoor stadium in Florida is an intimidating matter, striking fear into the hearts of visitors and carpetbaggers. Who is intimidated by a giant bean can?

Ok, maybe I have a soft spot in my heart for Tropicana Field, because of the part that it plays in Lightning history. I still don't think it's a particularly bad stadium though, and with the way that people whine about it's lack of cushiness now, if they were playing outside, nobody would go.

I think people might go -- consider Pro Player Park in Miami -- but I understand having a soft spot for a less-than-perfect stadium. It's not the worst park in the majors (been to Montreal lately?). And just so you know, my favorite Lightning venue was Expo Hall, on the state fairgrounds. I remember attending the State Fair and hearing the crowd going nuts...

I never saw the Lightning play at the fair grounds, that was back when I couldn't afford sporting events.

I'm tired of people using the stadium as the reason that they don't go to Rays games, because the stadium was good enough to set the NHL playoff attendance record back in '96. People should just admit that they don't go to games because the team sucks and not blame the building.

I don't go to games because I live in Chattanooga. But I agree: You go to ballgames for the game, not the stadium. I suppose atmosphere is a crucial factor as well, but a good team (and the Rays are, at the least, an interesting team) should sway attendance.

You have an excuse not to go to games. It's the people who call into the sports radio station and whine about the stadium and whine about how it's soooo hard to get to it (which is just plain dumb) that bug me. The Rays have some exciting young players, so it's worth it to go to games now--I don't even like baseball very much, but with the way they've been playing they're worth watching.

Hey, a crappy stadium is a freaking crappy stadium. Look, it is about the games, but baseball is more than just a game in this country, is a glorious INSTITUTION with years of tradition. If you're gonna start a new baseball team, you have the responsibility of stepping up and providing a stadium with an aesthetic and aura befitting our national passtime.

I have the same problem with ugly church buildings.

And by the way, the greatest stadium in the US is old Tiger Stadium, and its not even being used anymore, its depressing. Just ask DP, and he's been to a ton more stadiums than I have. Just going there takes you back in time...