Free Republic

Bill Buckner, the longtime major leaguer whose error in the 1986 World Series for years lived in Red Sox infamy, died Monday. "After battling the disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family," his family said in a statement. "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." He was 69. Buckner played 22 seasons in the majors, was an All-Star once and...

It's not quite Michael Dukakis on a tank, but John Kerry does look out of place in his flat-billed baseball cap. In the run-up to election day, the senator has seized on the victory of the New York Times-owned Red Sox as a symbol of his campaign. "I've been rooting for this day since I was a kid," Mr. Kerry said Wednesday night. "This Red Sox team came back against all odds and showed America what heart is. In 2004,the Red Sox are America's team." --snip-- You would think Mr. Kerry actually watched the games, given the emotional investment he...

Game Time: 8:05 pm EDT TV: FOX Pitching Matchup: C. Schilling vs. M. Mussina Aaron Boone ended the Boston Red Sox's season last year with a walk-off home run for the New York Yankees in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7 of the American League championship series. An intriguing and eventful offseason and 19 more heated and sometimes bloody meetings have brought the Red Sox and Yankees together yet again, with another World Series trip on the line. The highly anticipated rematch for the American League title begins Tuesday, with every indication that baseball's most bitter rivalry...

So, just why is it that the 2004 Red Sox are so much better equipped to silence the "1918" chants than their immediate predecessors? What is the reason, as Kevin Millar said last weekend, repeating a commonly held belief in the Sox clubhouse, that no one wants to play this team in October?

<p>ATLANTA -- When Manny Ramirez was asked about seeming to take it upon himself to replace "Cowboy Up" with a new Red Sox slogan -- "This is the year" -- he put it pretty bluntly. "This has to be the year," he said with a smile. "There won't be anybody left [afterward]."</p>

Pedro vs Roger. Two of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game. Fenway Park is rocking. Electricity is in the air. Here we go...

<p>Granted, there is upheaval in the world and there are battles where a great deal is at stake -- life itself. All the more precious, then, the minor skirmishes on the home front that mean a great deal in a small way and remind us of how lucky we are to feel innocent hatreds, from summer to summer, at the ballpark.</p>

Have You Heard The New Bill Buckner Joke? by Jeff Kallman "Mookie," the voice hailed the New York Mets' first base coach, "what do you say you hit me a few grounders?"Forgive Mookie Wilson if at first he had to retrieve his jaw from the Shea Stadium grass, before flashing his familiar, almost satchelmouthed grin. Not everyone gets the honour of hearing the newest Bill Buckner joke, especially when it's cracked by Bill Buckner himself. And especially when he cracks it at the bloody crossroads where Buckner and Wilson collided too profoundly to leave each other strangers.It was almost sixteen...