Although the last couple of days have fit the bill, today isn’t much of an example of October’s bright blue weather. Overcast and maybe even a bit of rain are predicted for the day. Clearing but pretty chilly by game time – in the 40’s. So (assuming I haven’t won a raffle for a ticket to watch the game from the Monster Seats) I’ll be just as happy to be watching Game One of the World Series from the comfort of my den. I will be representing, of course, with my black & orange Jack 
As a Red Sox lifer, I am naturally delighted that our boys are still playing this late in October. And I naturally want our boys to prevail over their opponent, the LA Dodgers. But since 2004, when the Red Sox reversed an ancient curse, I don’t quite have the same emotion invested in a World Series win.
Sure, I was happy they won again in 2007. And in 2013. But if they lose this time, I won’t be losing any sleep over it. Which indeed I did in 1967, 1975, and 1986, when the Sox lost all three times in seven game, heartbreaker fashion. In 1967, I wisely decided that I wouldn’t watch a seventh and deciding game in any World Series the Red Sox were playing in. So I didn’t watch that year, or in 1975, or in 1986. In 2004 and 2007, the Red Sox swept in four. In 2013, it took them six games to put the Cardinals away. So it hasn’t been an issue for a while.
This year, if it comes to it, I will probably watch a seventh game.
Hoping they win, but somewhat shrugging it off if they don’t.
There’s shrugging and then there’s shrugging, however.
I would have preferred their opponent to be the Milwaukee Brewers, as I would have been happy enough to see them win. I’ll be less delighted to see the Dodgers triumph. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but for some reason, I feel about the Dodgers almost the same way I feel about the Yankees. Me no like. Maybe if they’d stayed in Brooklyn, rather than decamp in the 1950’s to sunnier, palmier climes…
On top of that, the Dodgers are staying at the Ritz, where they’re crossing a picket line of striking hotel workers.
As scabs, they join the Yankees, who also stayed at the Ritz when they were in town for the division series. On the other hand, when the Houston Astros played Boston in the league championship, they chose not to use their usual hotel (the Sheraton) and stayed instead at a hotel where the workers aren’t on strike. Both teams, of course, lost, but the Yankees really and truly deserved to.
So, given solidarity issues, I’ve gotten another reason not to completely shrug off a Dodgers victory.
I’m guessing that the TV and MLB powers that be are just as happy to have the Dodgers in the mix, rather than the Brewers. As narratives go, there’s these two ancient, storied franchises battling it out. It would have been even better if Frank McCourt (no, not that Frank McCourt; the other Frank McCourt), a Boston boy (unlike the Frank McCourt who was a Limerick boy) still owned the Dodgers. But he sold out a while back. Still, there’s that “storied franchise” thang…
Unlike the Brewers, whose story isn’t so storied – not even 50 years in the making - and who have ratcheted back and forth between being in the American League and the National League.
Anyway, with the Red Sox vs. the Dodgers, they’ve got good story, both from the way back and from the current era.
The way-back story dates from 1916, when the Red Sox (who still had Babe Ruth on board) beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series in five games.
The more recent story is that the Dodger’s manager, Dave Roberts, is a beloved figure in Boston. His famous steal was a catalyst for the Red Sox comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. When the Dodgers are introduced, Roberts will most likely get quite an ovation.
But we don’t like him that much that we want his team to win.
The Red Sox are favored-favored; the Dodgers, because they haven’t won the World Series since 1988, are the sentimental favorites. Or so I’ve heard. Take it from a Red Sox lifer, as droughts go, 30 years is nothing.
Anyway, one of the fun things about having your team in the World Series is that there’s a good buzz in town. And given how small and compact Boston is, it’s hard not to feel that buzz. We’re a sports town in general, and a baseball town in particular. So having the Red Sox make it to the farther reaches of October is a good thing. Buzz, buzz, buzz for the Fall Classic.
I haven’t see a ton of Dodgers fans walking around as yet. But I’ve passed a few of them. Enjoy the weather! It’s not exactly bright Dodger blue. But when your guys are still playing at the end of October, what’s not to like?
Meanwhile, I’ll be in the den, watching our boy of summer be the boys of autumn.
Go, Red Sox!
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