Ok, I have been pretty lazy the past week in writing posts and I am working on some right now but I thought I had to weigh in with my two cents on the ownership of the The Ball That Broke The Curse. As you Red Sox fans now, Doug Mientkiewicz ended up in possession of the ball and never reliquinshed it after the game to the Red Sox. The Sox ownership has made a big stink as to who is the rightful owner of the ball. The Red Sox contend they are the rightful owners of the ball because Mientkiewicz at the time was an employee.I think this whole thing is a crock. First off, whether or not he is the rightful owner of the ball doesnt even matter; Red Sox Nation deserves to have the ball. Mientkiewicz has said previously that he does not want to profit from the sale of the ball. When he agreed to “lend” the ball to the Red Sox for a year, he wanted to make sure the fans could see the ball. Also to be noted, all proceeds from anything the ball does goes to the Red Sox Foundation. So if your going to make that agreement with the Red Sox, why not just give them the ball. Dude, you played with the Sox for 4 months. Do you even know the significance of the ball? Every member of Red Sox Nation, except those over age 86 in 2004, have waited an entire lifetime to see the Red Sox win a World Series.
Since the game has to end on an out, obviously there is no fan involvement as to who is the rightful owner in this equation. Which means no one had to go swimming for it like they do for each Barry Bonds homerun. Another arguement I would like to present is what if someone other than Doug “Part-time 1B” Mientkiewicz had caught the ball. What if the game had ended on a strikeout. Would Jason Varitek have made the fuss that Mientkiewicz is? My answer to that would have to be no. Why you ask. Jason Varitek is the heart and soul of the Red Sox organization. Sure we think of Jonny “Caveman” Damon, Nomar “Mia Hamm” Garciaparra, Pedro “Practical Jokester” Martinez, Tim “Knuckleball” Wakefield, David “Big Papi”Ortiz and Manny “Do I really want to be traded” Ramirez as the faces of the Red Sox..Other than Varitek, Wakefield has the longest tenure of any Sox player. So why is Mientkiewicz making the stink about the ball. He’s got a World Series Ring for being a part time player in the stretch run plus he got a nice share of the World Series Money….I mean the overspending Mets thought he was a valuable commodity and overpayed him like they tend to do with most people. Doug, do you really need the ball? Do you want to be remembered as the guy who caught the final out of the 2004 World Series? Or do you want to be remembered as Doug Mientkiewicz the baseball player?
Its up to you Mr Mientkiewicz to do the right thing…The ball is now in your court……….
