Red Sox Failures: Solution.
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1 - The 1946 World Series - Sorry, you're wrong. Johnny Peksy wasn't late with his throw - it came to him off line from outfielder Leon Culberson, and in the time it took Pesky to turn, correct, and throw to home it was too late to stop the speeding Slaughter, who was already running before the ball was hit. |
2 - The 1967 World Series - Nice try, but not this one. The Sox had the lead, and an injured (ankle) Buckner would have never had to make the play if the Yankees hadn't broken the 3-3 tie with "three straight two-out singles off Calvin Schiraldi and a wild pitch by Bob Stanley". (BTW: True Sox fans are probably upset that Bob Stanley was later named to the Red Sox Hall of Fame.) |
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3 - The 2003 American League Championship - Nope. Aaron Boone would probably never had his game-winning chance if Red Sox General Manager Grady Little had done his job and pulled Pedro Martinez from the game - instead of letting Pedro's ego and eye on making history get the better of both of them. |
4 - The 2013 World Series - Bingo! You're correct! How Jim Joyce could have called obstruction against a prostrate Middlebrooks is beyond me: Midelebrooks indeed put his legs up after missing the ball, but put them back down once (he realized?) Allen Craig was advancing to Home Plate. Had Middlebrooks attempted to stand up anytime during the play an obstruction call would almost certainly have been justified. However, Allen Craig tripping and then falling on Middlebrooks' posterior hardly constitutes a "delay" in the game's progress by Middlebrooks - as defined in Section 2.00 of MLB's Official Rules - rather, it's a lack of coordination by Craig, possibly brought on by the excitement of the moment. The only way Middlebrooks could have avoided the "Obstruction" call by Joyce was to instantly and completely vanish after missing a bad throw by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. If the Red Sox ultimately lose the 2013 Championship history - and thousands of Red Sox fans around the world - will point back to Jim Joyce's bad call as the turning point: And, unlike Pesky, Buckner, and Wakefield, he probably won't be vindicated by history. |