Sox Sluggers Swing for Charity

Here are two items both reflecting the social conscience of Red Sox big hitters, past and present.

Tonight, as I’ve mentioned previously, is the Taste of Roslindale, sponsored by Roslindale Village Main Street. As part of the event, Sophia’s Grotto will auction off a dinner for 4 with former Red Sox MVP Mo Vaughn. I know Sophia’s will do a great job feeding Vaughn and the other guests. Monies raised will go to The Jason Roberts Challenger League, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Tickets for the event, which will be held at the Annunciation Church are $40 and can be purchased at the door.

Meanwhile, the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is auctioning off a king size bed owned by David and Tiffany Ortiz. Those interested can place bids until September 30 and find more information at this link.

Local Pols Show Up for McCain

John McCain just spoke at Faneuil Hall along with supporters Henry Kissinger and R. James Woolsey. (I’ll have more on the substance of the event later.) But two local politicians showed up, both of them Brighton Democrats — or ex-Brighton Democrats –Jerry McDermott, formerly a member of the Boston City Council, and Brian Golden, formerly the neighborhood’s state representative. Golden is a military attorney, having served in Iraq monitoring prison conditions, and McDermott was the closest thing to a hawk you could find on the 5th Floor. Neither man currently resides in Boston. Golden currently works for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. McDermott heads up Habitat for Humanity’s South Shore operation.

Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Champions

Shortly after Jonathan Papelbon threw his last strike last night, I was startled by a series of loud noises. I rushed to my front porch to see bright fire works going off over Metropolitan Hill in Roslindale. Boston basked in the elation of the Red Sox’s second world championship in four years.

Now, three years removed from the first victory of the Red Sox in 86 years and five from the first Patriots Super Bowl championship ever, I’ve rethought that concept that became so intertwined with Red Sox Nation; that is, the notion of “The Curse of The Babe.”

In taking the very long view of Red Sox history, I’ve come to the conclusion that there was no curse at all.

It is true that the team lost the best years of productivity of Ted Williams, who gave up the best time of his professional life to serve his country. If not for the years he devoted to military service, the stacked Red Sox team of the 1940s would likely have won a World Series.

After that, the culprit has to be bad management. During the 1950s and much of the 1960s, the team was shamefully slow to seek out and play African American players. During the 1970s, the ownership bungled away a club that lives in my imagination as one of the best ever, Rice, Lynn, Fisk, Evans, Yaz. But not enough pitching.

More recently, the Yawkey ownership just didn’t have the chops or the smarts to build a modern club.

That changed with the current ownership group. And while they’ll be sure to make mistakes, at least they’re doing everything they can to operate at the top echelons of their game.

The competition with the uber-intense and professional Patriots organization will only drive the Sox to further heights. One reason Danny Ainge tried so hard to get Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for The Boston Celtics is to remain relevant in a town whose sports teams are top notch.

No, it wasn’t a curse. And it isn’t a blessing today. It’s innovative leadership and sound management.

Giuliani: A Red Sox Fan?

I was at the Boston press conference where Rudy Giuliani announced his support for the Boston Red Sox. To me, Giuliani’s enough of a fan that he must actually have come up with the rationale on his own; that is, that he supports the American League team. He probably said that because he’s familiar with the Red Sox. I know, for instance, that back when the Yankees used to make it into the World Series, I was much more knowledgeable about their players than those of, say, the Arizona Diamondbacks. But that didn’t mean I “rooted” for them.

Personally, I don’t really support the old saw I root for the Red Sox and whoever is playing the Yankees. I root for the Red Sox, and when they’re done, which is not now thankfully, I watch the Patriots. Giuliani’s answer was so silly that it actually had to come out of his own head. The problem could have been corrected if the Giuliani people had had media staff on hand a little earlier in the day. While most reporters won’t provide full disclosure on what their interest is, my old press staff probably would have been able to discern that the t.v. people in Boston would be pretty interested in the World Series. Giuliani’s press people rolled in with him on the plane, which I think prevented them from anticipating adequately the public mood.

Giuliani also entered a subject that has been of great interest to me over the years, Romney’s contributions to the local Republican Party. No one living Republican is more responsible for the resurgence of the state GOP in the 1990s, who helped grow it along the lines of Ray Shamie than Joe Malone. Malone’s endorsement of Giuliani said a lot in that regard, particularly his decision to stand next to Paul Cellucci, whom he battled in 1998. Giuliiani then pushed things a bit too far when he boasted that he was replaced by a Republican.

My New York Sun news story gets into the reasons why.

New Hampshire Primary and World Series

Attention Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here’s a potentially profitable idea for you.

The best investment any political candidate could make right now would to buy local time on Fox-25, the Murdoch-owned station that has the New England broadcast rights to the Boston Red Sox-Colorado Rockies World Series.

Never before has the New Hampshire primary so close to a Red Sox World Series appearance. The first two games will have huge viewership throughout the Granite State. If candidates want to make sure that New Hamsphire voters get their message, there’s no better buy than Red Sox time.