Bob Lobel: Being a Fan Again

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

I almost forgot what it was like to just be a fan.

No work issues, no interview issues, no controversy, no worrying about your hair being combed, or having a tie to match the shirt or whatever. That's what this World Series meant to me. 

Being a fan again with no external pressures of your home town team winning or losing, or finding a spot on the parade route for the live telecast. I wanted the Indians to win. I have Ohio roots and Ohio friends. No doubt that Chicago was a better and deeper team. Not better managed, but all the other stuff. 

And, getting out of Chicago, with the home town adoration and pressure, allowed the Cubs to be the Cubs. It’s the same principle in place for 7th games of Stanley Cups: You don’t want to play they at home because of the fan expectations. Much easier to win those big games on the road.

Bob Lobel: Tito and Theo

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

It was November 2003, and Grady Little was still manager of the Boston Red Sox, but not for long.

Aaron Boone had barely crossed home plate, but John Henry wanted to fire Little before he left Yankee Stadium. 

He was talked out of it by Larry Lucchino, which was probably not a bad idea at the moment.  Meanwhile. Terry Francona and his son, Nick, were visiting Georgetown University for their baseball dinner. 

Nick was a left handed pitcher and the Hoyas were recruiting him for the next season. Nick Barnicle, the son of former Globe columnist and current MSNBC star Mike Barnicle, was already playing for Georgetown which is why, obviously, they also were at that baseball dinner. 

Grady Little was still the manager of the Red Sox, but not for long. 

Bob Lobel: Why I'm Rooting Against the Cubs

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

The line "why can't we get players like that?” is getting annoying.

Can't believe I just said that. 

It's great now and then (thanks  to Dan Shaughnessy!), but enough is enough! This weekend, even Adam Vinatieri got into the conversation! That one seems to hurt more than most, but we are not here to talk about that. 

Is Cleveland Finally Getting Its Due? The Numbers Say Not Yet

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Cleveland went 52 years without a major sports championship, but is now on the cusp of, perhaps, winning two titles in the same year. With the Indians capturing the ALCS last night, they will open the World Series the same night the Cavaliers will raise their championship banner, next Tuesday.

Cleveland's past futility was on full display in the ESPN 30 for 30 "Believeland," which debuted just before the Cavs won the 2016 NBA Finals. The film not only listed the town's numerous on-field heartbreaks (of which there are many), but also the off-field issues that have shaped the psyche of Cleveland fandom. The Browns skipping town and "The Decision" were chief among them, obviously.

But now that Cleveland may be ready to win two titles in one year, a feat that only rival Pittsburgh has achieved in the last decade, is the math finally catching up? Well, sort of, but as you'll see, Cleveland will need far more success just to reach the average performance of a major sports market over the past 50+ years.

Listed below are the 19 other American markets with three or more professional sports teams, and all of their titles since 1964 (the last Cleveland championship before this year). We've then broken it down and listed an "average titles per team" figure for each market over that time span, and averaged out what a given market could have expected to win since 1964.

All this to give you an idea of how far below the mean Cleveland was/is.

Bob Lobel: Times are Changing for Broadcasting and Baseball

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

What does "trending now" really mean? 

I realize the obvious, but it is so overused that anything "trending now" was probably "trending now" eight hours before. Clearly, some radio management person thought it brought a sense of immediacy that life itself could never match. 

Getting this off the mind is a space for movie reviews. There are three things I really would have wanted to do on television other than sit down at the anchor desk. Don’t get me wrong, I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to scratch out a career, but I still am left wanting, and it looks like it's going to stay that way.     

Bob Lobel: Beware the Price of Winning, Cubs Fans

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Stop Cubs, before you ruin everything you have worked so hard for over the last century!  

You're going to tell me that you are desperate to win it all. I'm telling you, it will be like being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no water to drink. You're going to come back with the logic that saltwater will be just fine. 

Ok, go for it, but I'm here to tell you that, if your dreams of a Chicago Cubs world championship come true, EVERYTHING will change! 

And not necessarily for the better. 

Lobel's Question of the Week: The Best Owner in Boston Sports

Every week, legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel wants to hear your opinion on a sports question he's been thinking about.

You could make a case that, since the turn of the millennium, Boston has been blessed with the two best owners in major American professional sports.

Since purchasing the New England Patriots in 1994, Robert Kraft has seen his team appear in seven Super Bowls, winning four. Things have been especially great since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick teamed up, as the Pats have the league's highest winning percentage since 2001 (Brady's first year as a starter), a league-high 12 division titles, league-high four Super Bowl wins and league-high six conference championships.

Yes, the last 14 years have been very kind to Kraft and his club.

2014 MLB Postseason Recap: Bumgarner Ushers in a Giants Dynasty

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Tim Hudson became the oldest starting pitcher in World Series Game 7 history when he took the mound on Wednesday night, but another Giants’ starter quickly overshadowed his accomplishment.

A performance for the ages by Madison Bumgarner capped a memorable postseason run for the San Francisco Giants. Bumgarner, the NLCS and World Series MVP, led the Giants to their third title in the last 5 years. This unique five-year up-and-down run alternating between winning a championship and missing the playoffs has never been matched in professional sports. The Giants, it would seem, have established a new kind of dynasty. 

I Tried Baseball, I Really Did

Apparently, these guys won the World Series last night.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, apparently an epic Game 7 of the World Series took place last night. I was, embarrassingly and honestly, completely unaware of that until I saw somebody post about it on Twitter as I was getting off work around 6 pm yesterday.

After work I had a flag football game that my team, also embarrassingly and honestly, lost by 35 points, but when I got home I decided I was going to give this supposedly awesome game a chance.

A little background on my relationship with baseball: I never liked baseball, despite it being one of my better sports. I would always bat third or fourth on my Little League teams (I was the fat kid with enough weight to hit for power) and I did enjoy trips to the batting cages. But playing the actual game? Ugh.

I remember one time the kids on my team got mad at me because I snuck a Gameboy into the dugout and played Pokemon while waiting for my turn to bat. I don't know what they were so mad about, it's not like we had any strategy to discuss (Don't worry guys, I will try to hit the ball, not let the ball go through my legs on defense and throw to first), and I found the concept of supporting my teammates in this largely individual sport to be pretty pointless.

Just What Happened to the Red Sox? From Worst to First and Back Again

Manager John Farrell transformed the Red Sox from a last place team to a World Series champion in his first season at the helm, but year two hasn't been nearly as magical.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Heading into Wednesday night, the Red Sox had lost four games in a row, and seven of their last eight, to drop to a season-worst 12-games below .500. The last-place team in the American League East avoided their 52nd loss of the season in yet another one-run game Wednesday when Brock Holt delivered his first walk-off hit of his young career.

Mike Carp would follow those heroics with a 10th-inning walk off Thursday night against Chicago, but the Red Sox are still sitting in last place, 9.5 games out in the American League East, and eight games out of the Wild Card, heading into this weekend's All Star break.

Catching Up With Bob Lobel: Are the Red Sox Done at the All Star Break?

On this week's edition of "Catching Up With Bob Lobel," host Joe Parello and sportscasting legend Bob Lobel discuss the slide of the Boston Red Sox. Was 2013's World Series win the ultimate sports fluke, or is this young group better than it's showing this season?

Plus, is it time for Boston to do something drastic and begin a complete roster transformation? All this, and more, on this week's "Catching Up With Bob Lobel."

Oh Hey, I Have a World Series Ring Now

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

The Red Sox had a luncheon for front office staff. There were close to 150 there, as an estimate, and each and every one received a World Series ring. 

Not an knock off, but a real one, just like the players, with their name on it. A most generous offering by the organization for a championship that Larry Lucchino called the most important and meaningful of the three.  

Clearly the connection with the Boston Marathon bombings and the city’s healing process, coupled with the team success was as rewarding a combination as it gets. Needless to say, by looking at the photograph, they really went all out, giving the three individuals who share the public address announcing at Fenway rings of their own.  

I can say this with a straight face and total honesty: When it comes to yours truly, never has anyone received so much for so little. There is nothing else to say other than I am totally grateful to the organization. This would never have happened six or so years ago when was doing Channel 4 stuff.  Not possible and a certain conflict of interest. 

Bob Lobel: Replay Isn't Solving All of Baseball's Problems

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

Despite the weather issues, daylight saving time offers real hope that better days are ahead.   

What I cannot understand, for the life of me, is the logic that Major League Baseball exhibits when putting its schedule together. By my count, they have scheduled 15 games at Fenway in April after last year's 19. They may be unaware, but global warming has not penetrated the outdoor arenas just yet.

Fenway Park in April is still cold. Fenway Park in other months is not. 

Bob Lobel: Spring Brings New Expectations for the Sox

 By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

After endless days and nights filled with snow, cold and frozen pipes, I can only offer the following: When you walk into a room and it is full of horse s—t and smells like horse s—t, look long and hard for the pony. 

A simple remedy to keep in mind until spring shows up. And it will. Always has. Just like the Red Sox showing up for spring training. A year makes quite a difference. Last year, the spring training Sox walked into that room and smelled all the horse s—t that was left behind, then found the pony. 

Clearly, the best things are surprises that you least expect. Thank you Boston Red Sox for that surprise last year. Now, go do it again! Not such an easy task when there are expectations complicating matters. Expectations always complicate things for the simple reason they inevitably out pace reality. Don’t expect a full blow race horse when all you need is a pony. 

Bob Lobel: Is Boston the Luckiest Sports Town in America?

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

 The last New England Patriot to wear number 12 before Tom Brady was another Tom. 

Tom Jansen, backup quarterback, started one game and played in seven. There will be no others, in case you might have wondered. Unless, of course, they change the rules and give #12 to everybody after it's revealed that it contains magical powers of some sort.

No, these power comes from within. 

There is a better chance that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will run against each other in a future presidential election before we see the likes of either one on the football field again. How do you get better than that? Is Robert Kraft the luckiest person on the planet that the late Dick Rayburn spoke up in a draft room, somewhere, and told whomever was in charge of pulling rabbits out of hats to take the kid from Michigan, cause “you never know.” 

Bob Lobel: Baseball Hoping David Ortiz is Clean This Time Around

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

Editor's Note: Bob wanted it to be known that the point of his blog this week was not to assert that David Ortiz is using any type of performance enhancing drug, but rather to explain that Major League Baseball is hoping Ortiz is clean, given the backlash from the steroid era. The original blog title has been changed.

Remember when a Red Sox player interrupted manager Tito Francona’s press conference to complain about an official scorer’s ruling that took an RBI away from him, by calling a hit an error? 

It was rude, childish and selfish behavior, all done with no regard for public opinion.

David Ortiz wanted that RBI.  

Catching Up With Bob Lobel: Champion Red Sox Were a Team of Destiny

On this week's edition of "Catching Up With Bob Lobel" legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel and host Joe Parello take their best stab at putting Boston's memorable World Series run into historical context. Where does this team rank among the all time great squads in Boston sports history? Has a Red Sox club ever captured the hearts of Boston like this one?

Plus, will we ever see a team like this again? All that, and more, on this week's edition of "Catching Up With Bob Lobel."

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Bob Lobel: Red Sox on Verge of Redemption

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

So here we are, on the precipice of the ultimate sports prize. 

Not just any World Series title, but one that comes after a season of disaster: A fired manager, plunging TV ratings, the appearance of empty seats, blah, blah blah…

Oh, and chicken and beer. 

Bob Lobel: Push-Gate, Brady Looking Mortal and the Sox in the Series

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

It was a lousy way to lose a football game. 

A rule no one knew existed will likely become the least called penalty in the history of the NFL. I'm betting it will never be called again. Not because it will be removed from the book, but simply because the circumstances surrounding its use will not soon be forgotten. 

"Push-gate" will rival the Tuck Rule for its unique quality, being that nobody outside of those wearing striped shirts ever heard of it. Whether it should have been called or not isn’t the question. Really, the question that needs attention is, “who is the person wearing number 12 with the name Brady on the back?" 

Bob Lobel: Boston's Columbus Weekend Miracles

 

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

DEATH, TAXES, BRADY AND ORTIZ!! 

Credit that line to Richard Johnson, the curator of the amazing Sports Museum at the Boston Garden. I say amazing because it is, and it justifiably represents the best of the best in our best sports location in the nation. How can we not brag after 10/13 in 2013? If the weekend hadn’t already been named after Christopher Columbus, then David Ortiz or Tom Brady would surely be placed in nomination.