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For those not chasing a ring, an offseason of soul searching begins

Sporting News, The, Oct 11, 2004 by Todd Jones

Another season has come and gone for all but eight teams. It's just starting for them. For the rest of us, it's wait 'til next year--again.

As players look back on the season, their perspective depends largely on where they are in their careers. Young players think, "Whew, I made it through my first year. I've got plenty of years to play and go to the playoffs. My team loves me, the fans love me because I'm young, and this is all so new to me. If I can walk out there and not embarrass myself, the fans will cut me slack." The middle-aged player is starting to realize what's going on around him. The game has started to slow down for him, and he can look up from his own career to lend a helping hand to guys who have had tough streaks or bad years. These middle-aged players make the most money, so the most is expected of them. Fans, the front office and the media have turned up the heat all season on them, and depending on individual or team success, they're happy or sad. Unfair or not, these guys feel the frustration and the brunt of the media scrutiny for the successes or failures of their teams. A whole team--and a city's expectations--are built around these guys.

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As for us older guys, if you're not in the playoffs, it hits you harder and harder every year, right between the eyes. You have wasted another year of your career. Yeah, you had fun. Yeah, the guys are great. Yes, you played a kids' game for money. But if you don't make the playoffs, you look back and think about what you could have done to help the team. You think it's all your fault, and you can't help but dwell on what could have been. As you get older, you wonder how many more seasons you have left.

As for this season, we're left to predicting the postseason winners. You know how I am about predictions: I'm bad at them. In fact, no one is good at them. But if it's my job to create some water cooler chatter, here's my one prediction: As an alumnus of the 2003 Red Sox and having had my heart ripped out by Aaron Boone, I say the Red Sox will win the World Series. They have the best team, period.

The gut-wrenching thing about the Red Sox is they traded their most beloved player and then the team took off and started winning. So it looks as if the Red Sox are better off without Nomar Garciaparra. Is that possible? Talk about good theater: They could hold the biggest of all ring ceremonies in Fenway Park, but they'll have to mail Nomar's ring to him and say thanks for eight great years. Man, talk about ripping your heart out. Only Red Sox fans would have to suffer that.

E-mail Todd Jones, a reliever for the Phillies, at tjonews.com.

For those not chasing a ring, an offseason of soul searching begins

Sporting News, The, Oct 11, 2004 by Todd Jones

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