Let's talk baseball. I hate the Red Sox Nation ( or as I have been informed in the last few e-mails from Mr. Murphy, The Mighty Red Sox Nation. I always hear the Dark Vader music in my head when I read or write Mighty Red Sox Nation). No, I hate the Red Sox themselves. Ok I hate the nation too. Let's start with the RSN, Sox fans have always been some of the best, most knowledgeable and die hard baseball fans around. There was a pride in being a Sox fan, with that pride comes respect from other fans. I have no respect for the two yahoos sitting behind home plate last night wearing pink lei's. On the last day of the 1986 season the Yankees were at Fenway, the Sox had already clinched and the only thing to settle that day was the batting title. Wade Boggs led the Al but was sitting out the game with a sore hamstring, in order for second place Don Mattingly to overcome Boggs he would have to go 6 for 6. Yankee skipper Lou Pinella batted Mattingly lead off to try and give him the at bats needed. Donny started off the game with a base hit, second at bat, second hit. His third time to the plate a base on balls and when he grounded out in his fourth plate appearance of the day the Red Sox fans gave him a standing ovation. Those are baseball fans. (Boggs hamstring? In his first at bat in the playoffs he legged out a triple, not bad on a bad hamstring) What changed these fans into the RSN? HBO did a documentary a few years ago called The Course of the Bambino , in it they showed the history of the Red Sox complete with interviews from their fans, some well know like Denis Leary and some just plain and simple baseball fans. It was a fantastic documentary ( they also updated it with the same fans after the 2004 championships, both are worth seeing). So what happened? Why did it become the in thing to be a Sox fan? I hate bandwagon fans, always have, but the Red Sox have gotten the worst of the worst. Not only have they now gotten the band wagon fans they have the Yankee haters ( people that aren't really baseball fans but are tired of only seeing the Yankees on TV when they tune in to see the World Series [ the only baseball games they watch all season] and don't they have that yucky owner George somebody who fires every one?) There is you Red Sox Nation in a nutshell, and the saddest thing is that the smallest part of the nation are the real Sox fans. The ones that deep down in their hearts know that they have become what they hated the most..............Yankee fans. Fans of a team that is willing to go and buy a championship. Nay, Nay you say, let's take a look at a few purchases ( JD Drew, Julio Lugo, Matt Clement, Edgar Renteria, Dice K, Schilling, Gagne et al ) not mention Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett ( yeah I know that these two were traded for but come on Anibal Sanchez for Josh Beckett? Beckett was the MVP of the 2003 World Series, sure Sanchez pitched a no hitter this year but he only had six starts for the Marlins with a 2-1 record when they sent him back to AAA where he ended his season on the DL) That's enough about the RSN let's look at the team itself. Growing up I don't remember hating the Red Sox, didn't like them but still didn't hate them. Players like Yaz, Dwight Evens, Fred Lynn you respected those guys. The playoff game in '78 ( you knew it would be in here somewhere) The last person I wanted to see come to bat was Yastrzemski, I think that it was the longest at bat I had ever seen or so it seemed. So when did I start to hate them? Wade Boggs. There was nothing to like about this guy. "I eat chicken everyday blah blah blah blah", 1986 after game 7 of the World Series, sitting in the dug out crying. Crying! At least Freddie Patek covered his head with a towel when he cried in the dug out 10 years earlier. One of my best memories of the Yankees, July 4, 1983 Boggs takes a third strike to end Dave Righetti's no hitter, worst memory of the Yankees, Wade Boggs riding around on the back of the mounted policeman after World Series. Yankee third baseman, Wade Boggs. I still hate the sound of it. Babe Ruth, Sparky Lyle, Roger Clemens, they all were fine playing for the Sox and then the Yankees. Boggs and Damon, those pinstripes can't cover it, still and always will be Red Sox. As for today's Red Sox, the only player I hate is Manny. I fear Ortiz, I hate Manny...and Schilling with his bloody sock "Oh I'm hurt but I'll still pitch blah blah blah" yeah I hate Schilling too. Let's stick to Manny, he does everything you want him to do at bat. He hits, he hits for power, doesn't chase bad pitches, protects Ortiz in the line up. An absolute fantastic 3-4 combination, so why do I hate him. Because he does everything he shouldn't do and then some. He plays a decent left field in Fenway but get him out of that band box and he is awful, he makes Jim Rice look good( I remember seeing Rice have three balls hit over his head in a game at Yankee Stadium and roll to the wall because he was playing in the same spot in short left that he was used to playing in Boston). Manny stands at home plate admires his home run then walks around the bases (Pete Rose, who I also hate but that is another blog, was faster to first on a base on balls then Manny is after a homer) Fox announcer Tim McCarver, was livid the other night when Manny ended up at first after a ball hit the top of the wall in center field. Manny thinking he had homered was in his trot(?) In the old days according to McCarver earlier in the broadcast, the players policed themselves and this kind of behavior didn't happen. In other words, if Manny did his usual viewing of the homer followed by a few walking steps towards first before he breaks into a trot that can be timed using a calender against McCarver's St. Louis Cardinals of the 60's in his next at bat Bob Gibson would have planted the first pitch in his ribs, ahhh the old days. Two quick stories about Bob Gibson, one from McCarver's book when as a rookie catcher the manager told him to go out to the mound and settle down the great Gibson during a game. McCarver said that Gibson got so mad seeing him come out from behind the plate that he started yelling at him right on the field, after that he was too scared to go out to the mound alone. The other happened this past season on HBO's Bob Costas' On The Record , in a discussion of Barry Bonds and the protective hardware he wore to home plate, Gibson said, I can't say that I would have hit him but I will tell you I would have broken some of that gear he wears. Back to Manny, I get tired of hearing "That's just Manny being Manny" and now that I have written all of this I'm sure that the Red Sox will win tonight behind a stellar night at bat by Manny. I hate the Red Sox!!