October 27th, 2007 → 1:17 pm @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
It was mid-September when I first pointed out that fans were booing Drew unfairly; he responded by going on a mini-tear for the rest of the month. He’s only heated up since then. In the last five games—the three elimination matches with Cleveland and the first two games of the Series—Drew has gone 9-for-17 with 8 RBIs, 5 runs, two doubles, and a homer. (That’s good for a line of .529 BA, .579 OBP, .842 SLG, 1.421 OPS.) And a good number of those hits have been important ones. There was, of course, the dagger through the heart grand slam against the Indians. There was also his line drive single into right field in Game Two which was the first hit of the game for the Sox and also set up the game’s first run.
And yet…and yet. Despite optimistic articles proclaiming Drew a fan-favorite, he was greeted was as many muffled boos as anything else during Game 1; his hits, meanwhile, seemed to inspire confusion as much as anything. (Slate’s John Swansburg noticed much the same thing during Game 2, which he happened to witness from the vantage point of my seats along the first-base line.) I obviously love the Red Sox; I also love Boston. Sox fans, however…well, let’s just say I don’t always love them quite so much.
Post Categories: 2007 World Series & J.D. Drew & Red Sox Fans
fminutillo
17 years ago
I predicted Drew would be the Series MVP, and if he has two good games and drives in some runs out there in the land of the National League, I just might be proven right… instead of a bag of hot air.
And it could happen.
Shalomar
17 years ago
It’s exasperating that many, not all (an important distinction), Sox fans continue to boo Drew and Gagne. Don’t they recognize that cheering translates to confidence which translates to better performances? I theorize that some of the dolt fans have already made up their mind that Drew and Gagne suck, and thus to cheer them would be acknowledging they prejudged them. For all the braggadacio about being intelligent baseball fans, the Sox dolts often ignore the vagaries of the game. And I guess pigheadedness outweighs a desire to win the series.
Youk suddenly at short? C’mon, that’s a 3 error disaster waiting to happen. You cannot do that to your pitcher and defense, its TOO radical. If its a close game, he’ll be up in a key pinch hit spot.
Brickskop.Com » The JD Drew files: Fenway Fans Fail in Fall
17 years ago
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today on The JD Drew files: Fenway Fans Fail in FallHere’s a quick excerpt […]
Andrew
17 years ago
*off topic here, but I didn’t know you were writing FOB pieces for Wired these days. Or maybe this has been going on for a while, and I haven’t taken notic. Either way- I couldn’t agree with you more in re:Google… & J.D.D. for that matter.
Andrew
17 years ago
please excuse the grammar.
Mr. Furious
17 years ago
Perfectly put, Seth. I’ve always thought the Sox crowd picks favorites and goats and sets them in stone. Youk or Trot can do no wrong, while Drew will never be embraced.
You could argue he had the biggest, most imortant clutch hit of the whole season, and it merely buys him a stay…
ntpopo
17 years ago
Couldn’t agree more, Seth. Players feed off crowd energy, and boos are an indication that the fans expect, perhaps even want (subconsciously, I guess), a player to fail. It has always driven me nuts as a Boston sports fan, and whenever I’ve said something about it people told me I should move to St. Louis and root for the Cards. Pretty funny zinger, actually, but I’m glad someone else with a bigger mouthpiece than me weighed in on the same page.