Letter to the Editor: Dear Theo...

Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
October 9, 2011 Sunday

An open letter to Theo Epstein, general manager of the Boston Red Sox:

Thank you.

I am a middle-aged Red Sox fan. Until 2004, that was an honorable thing.It meant hoping and yearning for the prize that was always snatched away at the last moment. To be sure, fans in other places have lived by the slogan of "Wait 'til next year."But Wrigleans and their ilk are rarely teased with success.

There was a benefit to all this.Boston, being a good Catholic town, knows in its heart that suffering is redemptive.So, this periodic ritual meant that each member of Red Sox Nation had one foot in the door to eternal paradise, while smug Yankees fans were fittingly situated further South.

Don't get me wrong.I loved the turn of events in 2004, when belief in a benevolent deity was confirmed.2007 was icing on the cake.

But those victories were transformative.The pity and compassion bestowed on us by others was replaced with envy. More important, our young children, who have been told the stories, know only the sweetness, not the heartache. They could therefore root for the Sox, but until Sept. 28 could not be truefans.Their mettle has never been gauged.Their faith never tested.

Frankly, I don't know how you did it.The Sox in Baltimore, one strike from victory; the Rays in Tampa, one strike from defeat.The turnaround was stunning. Now my sons and I have a chance to bond as we were meant to:in commiseration.

So, thank you for whatever you did to restore the natural order of things.

Just one thing.I appreciate that something dramatic was needed to reset reality, but makingme actually want the Yanks to win: That was harsh.

Stephen L. Sepinuck

Spokane