Thank You, 2007 Boston Red Sox

[TheKilo]

Thank you, Red Sox, for providing all of us with months of entertainment. Even when you were going through your rough stretches, you were playing .500 baseball. That's the hallmark of an excellent team.

 

Thank you for winning the AL East for the first time since 1995.

 

Thank you for ending the one last glimmering hope of superiority that Yankee fans could try to hold over our heads. News flash guys, we now have an AL East crown since the last time you've won it, in addition to our World Series.

 

A big thank you to the front office for assembling the team that did it. Criticism was thrown towards the front office all year, even when the Sox continued to be the best team in baseball. Thank you for showing guts in dealing prospects to strengthen the team and taking risks on foreign players to help the club win.

 

Thank you Theo Epstein, who is criticized more unfairly more than any other individual in the Sox organization not named Terry Francona.

 

Thank you Terry Francona, for becoming the first Red Sox manager to lead the Sox to the playoffs on three separate occasions, and once again proving it is a marathon and not a sprint.

 

Thank you John Farrell, for your work in organizing the best pitching staff in all of baseball, and for teaching all of us what the Okie-Dokie truly is.

 

Thank you Josh Beckett, for being the rock and the ace of the staff all year long. You will be rewarded handsomely with a Cy Young, and hopefully with another World Series ring.

 

Thank you Curt Schilling, for proving that you may just still have enough left in the tank to lead us to victory. For my money, you're still probably the best big game pitcher in baseball.

 

Thank you Daisuke Matsuzaka, for showcasing your talents in a pressure packed environment all season long. Thank you for showing mettle and toughness when we needed it the most. during the clinching game.

 

Thank you Tim Wakefield, for providing the Sox with 16 wins and doing it with the class that has defined your career.

 

Thank you Julian Tavarez for being the reliable fifth starter you were for 2/3 of the season. You far exceeded everyone's expectations and became one of the most likeable players on the team, one year removed from being one of the most hated.

 

Thank you Jon Lester, for showing us what courage truly is and by offering some well needed perspective in our lives. While Sox fans can be rabid and irrational at times, you have shown us all along that it's still just a game.

 

Thank you Kason Gabbard, for filling in when you had to and pitching much better than anyone could have hoped. We hope nothing but the best for you in Texas.

 

Thank you JC Romero and Joel Piniero. We hardly knew ye, but we wish you great success in the National League. Hopefully the Phillies make it in and we can see Romero and his 1.95 AL WHIP in the World Series.

 

Thank you Devern Hansack and Brendan Donnelly for your contributions to the 2007 campaign.

 

Thank you Bryan Corey for doing a tremendous job as a September call up, sporting a sub-2 ERA and providing rest for some of the bigger bullpen arms.

 

Thank you Javier Lopez for being the guy we could count on to get a big double play. Thanks for proving a lot of Sox fans wrong when we didn't think much of your acquisition last year.

 

Thank you Clay Buchholz, for showing us the value of developing good young players, and for providing me the best basbeall thrill of my life when you no-hit the Orioles on September 1st.

 

Thank you Manny Delcarmen, for proving in the later part of 2007 that you could be trusted to get big outs late in games for the bullpen. Here's to you for making the necessary adjustments to be a potentially dominant back end of the bullpen arm.

 

Thank you Kyle Snyder, for showing us how to not take talent for granted. A former high draft pick. you should the value of perseverance and dedication to land yourself on this team this year, and you acquitted yourself very well.

 

Thank you Mike Timlin, for proving us all wrong on your road to 1,000 appearances. You have big outs and big pitches left in that arm, and we look forward to seeing them in October.

 

Thank you Hideki Okajima, for emerging as "the hero in the dark" all season long. It was your brilliance over the course of the season that has enabled the Sox to keep Papelbon fresh, and by all accounts you have gotten healthy as well. Hero in the dark no longer, here's to big things in October.

 

Thank you Eric Gagne, for showing us how valuable Hideki Okajima was. I trust that Gagne will make the adjustments he has to, and he will play a big part in October one way or another.

 

Thank you Jonathan Papelbon, for assuming the closer's role once more. It was the part you were born to play, and I shudder to think where we would be without you closing down games late. Here's to your dumb hick nature, and your undying passion for playing baseball.

[TheKilo]

Thank you Royce Clayton, Jeff Bailey, and David Murphy, for everything you brought to the Sox in 2007.

 

Thank you Brandon Moss for showing once again how important it is to develop prospects within your own system. You had an excellent year in 2007 and we look to see even more improvements as the years go on.

 

Thank you Kevin Cash, for being a more than adequate caddy to Tim Wakefield when Doug Mirabelli went out with injury. Even though you have a reputation as strictly a defensive catcher, the way you handled the knuckleball in Mirabelli's absence was an asset to the team.

 

Thank you Bobby Kielty, for coming to the Sox and being the RH bat off the bench we so desperately needed. That you for producing and taking some of the pressure off of the other outfielders on the team, JD Drew in particular.

 

Thank you Jacoby Ellsbury, for providing the spark this team sorely needed as it lumbered into September. Your speed on the base paths, excellent defensive plays, and surprising power have Red Sox Nation eagerly awaiting the 2008 season, when we can watch you play over the course 162 games.

 

Thank you Doug Mirabelli, for once again showing how important it is for a pitcher to feel comfortable with their catcher. Tim Wakefield owes a large portion of his success this year to your work behind the plate.

 

Thank you Wily Mo Pena, although your tenure in Boston ended, we thank you for the mammoth home runs you hit, and the game you won for us in Baltimore back in April. We also thank you for being one of the more positive influences in the clubhouse even though you weren't playing as much.

 

Thank you Eric Hinske, for showing us that you love to play in Boston. We can see that you're just ecstatic to be here and willing to accept a limited role to be a part of a winner. That's a consummate team player. We also thank you for the faceplant against Detroit.

 

Thank you Alex Cora, for an unreal offensive April that enabled the Sox to get out to such a fast start.

 

Thank you Jason Varitek, for having the pitcher's complete turst in you. Thank you for all of the preparation you do before the games that allow the pitching staff to succeed at the level they have all year. I'm feeling good right now, so I'll spare you and ignore the offense.

 

Thank you Kevin Youkilis, for providing Gold Glove caliber defense at first base and a fantastic offensive first half. I'd recommend shaving the goatee, however.

 

Thank you Dustin Pedroia, for proving all those who doubted you wrong and those who had faith in you look like geniuses. Thank you for exceptional offensive and defensive play, and if people knew what they were doing they'd vote you as ROY.

 

Thank you Julio Lugo, for the Mother's Day reaching on error miracle (kidding). Thank you for being a true professional even though most people called for your head in June. Thank you for an excellent offensive second half. We look forward to an Orlando Cabrera type postseason from you.

 

Thank you Mike Lowell, for being the team's MVP. I know Ortiz is the logical choice, but I think you provided the most to the team this year. Your leadership in the clubhouse has been well documented, and I personally hope to see you in Boston next year.

 

Thank you Manny Ramirez, for even in a down year you can still provide us with awe-inspiring moments from the best RHH of our generation. A healthy Manny in October can only mean good things for the Red Sox.

 

Thank you Coco Crisp, for providing the Red Sox with Gold Glove caliber defense in center field. I was wrong calling for you to sit in May. Your glove has been invaluable to the Sox this year, but more importantly, you're my girlfriend's favorite player and the reason she started watching the Sox games with me.

 

Thank you JD Drew, for not quitting on the team or yourself, even though you haven't had the year you've imagined. A lesser man would have quit when confronted with the things you have gone through this year, but you didn't. You're providing the offense we wanted from you all year in September, and we look for you to have a monster October.

 

And speaking of October, thank you Senor Octubre for doing everything you do for this team. Mammoth home runs, bear hugs, being the leader in the clubhouse you are, thank you David Ortiz for having your best offensive season even though you haven't been healthy for a good chunk of the year. Thank you for being the face of the Red Sox. Thank you for what you have done in Octobers past, and what you will hopefully do in October this year.

[TheKilo]

And lastly, I just want to thank all you guys here at TalkSox for providing me with lots of entertainment and lively baseball discussion all year long.

 

I look forward to discussing the playoffs with all of you (yeah, even you Jacko and Gom), and I hope we all witness the second World Series title for the Boston Red Sox in the last four seasons.

 

Thanks guys, and let's get those last 11 wins.

[User Name]

As much as I hated this year's team at times, they did well. Congrats everyone.

[Thumper]

It's been a great year. Sure the team had its blunders, its mistakes, and its issues, but dammit they pulled it off and hold first place all the way through and now we're in the playoffs.

 

And despite it all I couldn't have asked for a better season. Not just for the Sox but baseball in general, so many records were made and broken this season it was purely amazing to witness it all.

 

But back to the Sox,

 

THANK YOU!

[See Red]

It was a fun regular season -- the lows weren't nearly as bad as everybody here made them out to be and the highs sure were a lot of fun. I'm glad the Yankees stormed back and gave this team something to play for down the stretch, because I think coasting to the finish line would've hurt the team in the playoffs.

 

So begins a whole new season. I think we're as equipped to do it as anyone.

[RobZombie]

Thank them if they win it all.

 

If they are out in three no one will care that they won the division.

 

Also no one in New York will care that they finished second if they win it all.

[TheKilo]

Thank them if they win it all.

 

If they are out in three no one will care that they won the division.

 

Also no one in New York will care that they finished second if they win it all.

 

See, this is where I disagree with you.

 

If a team like the Cardinals can win 83 games and then ride three weeks of hot baseball to the title, it seems to me that winning the WS is more luck than anything else.

 

Don't get me wrong, I want the WS title too. But there's something to be said about being the better team for 162 games.

 

The last bastion of Yankee "superiority" has fallen. That's huge and this is a huge accomplishment.

[Gom]

The last bastion of Yankee "superiority" has fallen. That's huge and this is a huge accomplishment.

We'll see if there is a parade in Manhattan if the superiority has fallen, and how far.

[DrewDaGreat]

f***in right. Congrats to the '07 Sox!

[BSN07]

Great regular season with ups and downs laughs and tears, now lets put all the regular season stuff behind us and lets get it going in the Play Offs!

[.406]

Nice to have the division, but if we get our s*** kicked in against the Halos all it for nothing.

[Quinny]

Thank you and congratulations to the 2007 Boston Red Sox!

You guys definetely deserve this.

[TheKilo]

Bump.

[YanksHater213]

thanks boys

 

it was a wild ride but we all stuck through it and i couldnt be more happy right nwo

 

i just enjoyed a lot of beer and acuban cigar but its been a wile ride and tonight was rewardiung

[Ray10]

Thanks Red Sox for a great season and for giving us another World Series Title. For some reason this one feels better too see than it did in 04.

[TedWilliams101]

I hated Drew for most of this season, I hated Lugo for most of this season. I absolutely loathed Gagne for his implosion, I complained about Theo, Tito, the FO, and many others, but despite all of that, they ALL came through when it mattered and won us a World Championship!!!

 

SO THANK YOU RED SOX!!! Thank you Drew, I am sorry I quit on you. Thank you Lugo, sorry too. Thank you Theo, Tito, and the entire organization for all your hard work to put together this team and keep them winning and bring us another Championship. You were right the whole time.

 

THANK YOU RED SOX NATION. Thank you fans who supported this team through better or worse, thank you fans who complained about everything (...me)(We are all human), Thank you everyone.

[toledosoxfan]

Thank you for providing us fans with great baseball all year and to take our minds away from life's everyday problems.

 

Thank you for being such class acts all season, and for not packing it in again, just like in 2004, in the ALCS. You guys were always business like all season when it mattered the most.

 

Thank you for giving us fans who cannot be at Fenway always a great showing on the road. I will never forget the only game I got to see this year in Cleveland w/ Lester's first start.

 

Thank you Manny Ramirez for making us all laugh and subsequently leading the Sox on a 7-game winning streak. Now the pundits can't criticize you anymore, there's 2 WS rings in your ears now, big man.

 

And finally, thank you to the FO for yielding a competitive team yet again. We are set for the future and hopefully we will see many more games in late October. This will never get old.

[jmcc]

Thank you for a great season Sox.