...but the Braves aren't out of it yet. Even if they don't make it, it will be nice to know that sweeping the SF Giants in the last week of August won't make it any easier for them.

Fuck you.

I get that. But celebrating the misery of Red Sox Nation when the face of the franchise and one of the prized rookies are in the hospital with (presumably) non-sports related ailments isn't great form.

you can take as much fun in the Red Sox losing as you wish. go for it. however...I would suggest that your delight is just misplaced jealousy. believe me, I know...I've felt it for the yankees, and it feels pretty crumby after a while.

one of the best things about rooting for the Sox is that you actually have a team to root for...year in and year out for a long time now. 75% of the teams in MLB are terrible, have a lousy fan base and don't spend enough money to keep their teams competitive. I'm happy for detroit...I really am...but how miserable to be a tigers fan for the last decade. worse...it could hardly have beeem worth it. but the Sox are a different story...they're competitive always. I wish they could be more competitive sometimes...but pushing against yankees money is nigh impossible...

but I would rather have a team that shows up year in and year out to keep summer interesting than know by May that your team stinks yet again.

I know MLB is becoming more competitive, and I support that...but it will be different teams every few years that are in a pennant race. except for the Red Sox and yankees who will always be there.

Rp

I've been a longtime reader of Salon and, even though I'm a sports fan somewhat, this is the first time I've read King Kaufman (always slightly irritated by the "King" moniker). Well, it's the last time I'll read it too. What's the point of bashing the Red Sox, kick a dead dog when it's down? The Red Sox, if fact, add somethng sports cities could use more of: a fan base with a true love of the game, an understanding and appreciation of the nuances of the game that goes beyond the beer-soaked moronic camaraderie of the "our team won," "we kicked butt" variety that passes for most sports enthusiasm in most other places.

Dancing on the Braves' grave may not be widespread or high-profile, but many of us are doing it all the same. I'm no Mets fan -- the furthest thing from it, in fact -- but thank GOD someone is finally going to knock off the Braves. It's sad that such a bland team has won its division more or less by default for so long. Let's bring back the Braves I knew from my adolescence: perennial stinkers.

to be thought of the same way everyone thinks of Yankee fans, maybe they should have tried being in any manner distinct from them the past 2 years. Nothing like a World Series title to turn the long suffering into the pathologically insufferable.

Oh, come off it, Red Sox fans. You know damn well that if it were the Yankees who were plummeting down the standings, injuries or not, you'd be beside yourselves with glee. Spare us your sanctimony.

Let's see - David Ortiz hospitalized with an irregular heart beat. Rookie pitcher Jon Lester is being tested for cancer. Seems like a great day to trash the Sox for taking a nose dive in the standings. Pure class King.

Red Sox fans come out of the woodwork and illustrate exactly why it's so much fun to watch their team collapse.

...and I find many of their fans profoundly insular and arrogant. But the mere fact that a sports franchise, it's fan base, and it's stadium have become a singular cultural entity says a lot about what's right about the Sox. Can you image if every MLB franchise had the "flair" of the Devil Rays or the Royals?

I also think that the "health" qualifier came far too late in the article. If Ortiz's problems are indeed serious and ongoing, then this season's Red Sox story may be one of tragedy, not comedy.

Sorry King,

I would similarly enjoy it, but now, I only think of Ortiz and how the losing really isn't even an issue for them right now.

Ortiz is hands down the most fun guy in the league to see come to the plate. His ailment isn't a hamstring or even concussions, but something that could be life threatening.

When I think Red Sox, I more worry about if he'll play again or be alright in general. The fact that they are playing baseball (or losing) seems secondary.

These Red sox fans writing in are just a bunch of world class whiners, unlike several that I know who are taking the Sox implosion in stride and realizing it's part of the deal with the devil they made to break the curse in the first place. what we are seeing from these idiots is the bitterness of people who thought everything would be glorious after winning the world series. Instead, they now have to deal with the fact that their team is no longer special, just another high-salary team worthy of resentment.

There are few things in sports more enjoyable to watch than an old fashioned implosion, and this is a doozy. And please, cut it out with the nonsense about Big Papi, one thing has nothing to do with the other.

That yes, indeed, this smacks of jealousy. In the Midwest city where I now live, it's considered a successful night at the ball park when about 1/3 of the seats are full. That is not loyalty. Yes, the local team sucks, but when the Red Sox suck, that does not diminish the love and loyalty of their fans. Now THAT'S baseball!

Summer is dwindling, the days are shorter, there is a certain crispness in the air, and I know that most likely, my favorite team is about to shit the bed. This has been the natural cycle of my life, having grown up a devoted Red Sox fan. Some may scoff at this, but I don't care. You see, for me, the personal enjoyment of rooting for this team doesn't stem from how many titles they win, but rather, the pure fun of watching them play, rooting for them to succeed, keeping sports radio on the dial in my car so that I can hear every moment, every crack of bat against ball, every thunderous roar from Fenway.

So, ditto to Rp's jealousy comment, and ditto to jackburden's most eloquent statement of greivance.

Oh, and get well soon, Big Papi! Go Sox!