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Interview With Dan Shaughnessy

Aired October 08, 2003 - 14:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, boys and girls, let's cowboy up and talk about the greatest rivalry in the world of sports. I am of course talking about the Red Sox and the Yankees. "Boston Globe" sports writer Dan Shaughnessy, he's got to be seeing a little red right now or hoping to. He's written a book that you've heard about, "The Curse of the Bambino." We can talk about that curse in just a few moments. He's in that wicked metropolis of New York, which I guess you do grudgingly, right, Dan?
DAN SHAUGHNESSY, AUTHOR: Yes, we are forced to come down here for the games.

O'BRIEN: Forced. Forced to come. All right, first of all, I've been reading your columns and you're strangely optimistic this year and that in and of itself can hex the Red Sox as we know. You talk about gold dust being sprinkled on this team. Are they for real this year?

SHAUGHNESSY: Well they certainly -- they played the Yankees to a standstill during the season. It was nine wins for the Red Sox, 10 for the Yankees. They have one of the greatest offensive machines in the history of baseball. They have a lot of things going for them.

And they have this good karma, this momentum going for them which they bring into the series. So in those areas, yes, this is certainly something they can pull off.

O'BRIEN: They have history as an awful lot of baggage here. Going back to this aforementioned Curse of the Bambino, 1920, Babe Ruth sold to the Yankees for 120 grand. Finances, all that stuff we all know. Of course, curses aren't really for real, are they?

SHAUGHNESSY: Well, it's like anything in religion or superstition. If you believe it's true, it's true. There's a line in "Bull Durham" they talk about that.

So if it's in your mind that this is true, sure. It's a way of explaining the unexplainable which when you deal with the Red Sox history, since the transaction was made in 1920, the Yankees have won 26 world champions, the Red Sox zero. And the Red Sox have not only failed to win, they've come close to winning. They've been in the seventh game of the World Series and lost four times. Lost a couple one-game playoffs. And have had folds down the stretch.

Each year the Sox fans come back to the well, say this is the year and that's how they feel right now. O'BRIEN: I think that's what makes a Red Sox fan unusual. They always take you to the brink and that makes it all the more poignant, doesn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: I know you put in your time in Boston so you're very familiar with Red Sox nation. And, yes. That's very much -- they're part of the fabric of life in New England. It's the whole seasonal thing, the change of the seasons in the fall, the Sox fall and you talk about them all winter, spring, hope springs eternal. And then you go through this great summer where the team is hot and you come back to the fall. That's where they are now and they haven't fallen yet.

O'BRIEN: They haven't yet you said.

SHAUGHNESSY: They may not this time. That's how Sox fans go, this is the year. It's the sporting equivalent of Lucy pulling that football away from Charlie Brown.

O'BRIEN: Yes, there you go. This particular team you say when you look at it, position by position, it's fairly evenly matched against the Yankees. But, you know, playing the Yankees is always a different thing for the Red Sox, isn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: There's some things going against Boston here. The Yankees have tremendous starting pitching, they have a four-man rotation, which is second to none. They've got a great closer in Mariano Rivera. They're well rested. They've got a homefield advantage here. So there's a lot of things going for the Yanks.

The Sox on the other hand have thrown off incredible challenges. They were down 0-2 to the Oakland A's. Won three of the most dramatic games I've ever seen on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. But they're depleted right now as they come into this thing. They don't come in at full strength.

O'BRIEN: Speaking of that we can show that terrible, dreadful collision. Johnny Damon. What's the story on him?

SHAUGHNESSY: That's one of the worst baseball collisions I've ever seen. Probably the worst. You knew right away that Johnny Damon got the worst of it. He went off the field on a stretcher in an ambulance. And he was at Mass (ph) General, he was looked at.

I don't think you'll see him in the first two games. I'm not aware after that. But it wouldn't surprise me if he was out of the whole series. But if he does come back, it will be a very dramatic event for the Red Sox and their fans.

O'BRIEN: It will be a big setback. Let's talk about the rivalry going to a different level this year. Up in the higher echelons, the CEO of the Red Sox, calling Yankees the Evil Empire. It was -- it kind of got nastier than normal this year, didn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: It sure did. There was back and forth trying to say Jose Contreras, the Cuban right-hander who was a free agent. Both teams were very interested in his services. The Yankees outbid the Red Sox at which point Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino referred to them as an Evil Empire.

Seemed like a harmless enough comment at the time. George Steinbrenner absolutely exploded over this. It was as if his house had been broken into. And came back with guns blazing and ridiculed Larry Lucchino and said a lot of nasty things about him to the point where The commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, asked the two of them to knock it off or told the tow of them to knock it off.

So that stuff has sort of quieted down. There were deals this summer where both teams were going after the same pitchers (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to strengthen themselves. And the both made you know things to beef up their teams.

But they were competing with each other at the time. They always look at what the other team is doing when they make moves.

O'BRIEN: And finally how many times have you heard the two words Bucky Dent since you're been on the air?

SHAUGHNESSY: That's something they throw at them. I'm sure when hey go to the field tonight with Sox in there they will see signs about 1918, maybe some Bucky Dent signs. You know, Bucky's a great guy and in Boston he has another middle name.

O'BRIEN: Dan Shaughnessy. Enjoy the games. We'll check in with you later. Game three could be the game of the century, Fenway, Clemens v. Martinez. I'll call you up later and try to score some duckets, maybe. We'll see.

SHAUGHNESSY: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Dan Shaughnessy, always a pleasure to talk with you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And that middle name?

O'BRIEN: We can't say that. It's a family show.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 8, 2003 - 14:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, boys and girls, let's cowboy up and talk about the greatest rivalry in the world of sports. I am of course talking about the Red Sox and the Yankees. "Boston Globe" sports writer Dan Shaughnessy, he's got to be seeing a little red right now or hoping to. He's written a book that you've heard about, "The Curse of the Bambino." We can talk about that curse in just a few moments. He's in that wicked metropolis of New York, which I guess you do grudgingly, right, Dan?
DAN SHAUGHNESSY, AUTHOR: Yes, we are forced to come down here for the games.

O'BRIEN: Forced. Forced to come. All right, first of all, I've been reading your columns and you're strangely optimistic this year and that in and of itself can hex the Red Sox as we know. You talk about gold dust being sprinkled on this team. Are they for real this year?

SHAUGHNESSY: Well they certainly -- they played the Yankees to a standstill during the season. It was nine wins for the Red Sox, 10 for the Yankees. They have one of the greatest offensive machines in the history of baseball. They have a lot of things going for them.

And they have this good karma, this momentum going for them which they bring into the series. So in those areas, yes, this is certainly something they can pull off.

O'BRIEN: They have history as an awful lot of baggage here. Going back to this aforementioned Curse of the Bambino, 1920, Babe Ruth sold to the Yankees for 120 grand. Finances, all that stuff we all know. Of course, curses aren't really for real, are they?

SHAUGHNESSY: Well, it's like anything in religion or superstition. If you believe it's true, it's true. There's a line in "Bull Durham" they talk about that.

So if it's in your mind that this is true, sure. It's a way of explaining the unexplainable which when you deal with the Red Sox history, since the transaction was made in 1920, the Yankees have won 26 world champions, the Red Sox zero. And the Red Sox have not only failed to win, they've come close to winning. They've been in the seventh game of the World Series and lost four times. Lost a couple one-game playoffs. And have had folds down the stretch.

Each year the Sox fans come back to the well, say this is the year and that's how they feel right now. O'BRIEN: I think that's what makes a Red Sox fan unusual. They always take you to the brink and that makes it all the more poignant, doesn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: I know you put in your time in Boston so you're very familiar with Red Sox nation. And, yes. That's very much -- they're part of the fabric of life in New England. It's the whole seasonal thing, the change of the seasons in the fall, the Sox fall and you talk about them all winter, spring, hope springs eternal. And then you go through this great summer where the team is hot and you come back to the fall. That's where they are now and they haven't fallen yet.

O'BRIEN: They haven't yet you said.

SHAUGHNESSY: They may not this time. That's how Sox fans go, this is the year. It's the sporting equivalent of Lucy pulling that football away from Charlie Brown.

O'BRIEN: Yes, there you go. This particular team you say when you look at it, position by position, it's fairly evenly matched against the Yankees. But, you know, playing the Yankees is always a different thing for the Red Sox, isn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: There's some things going against Boston here. The Yankees have tremendous starting pitching, they have a four-man rotation, which is second to none. They've got a great closer in Mariano Rivera. They're well rested. They've got a homefield advantage here. So there's a lot of things going for the Yanks.

The Sox on the other hand have thrown off incredible challenges. They were down 0-2 to the Oakland A's. Won three of the most dramatic games I've ever seen on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. But they're depleted right now as they come into this thing. They don't come in at full strength.

O'BRIEN: Speaking of that we can show that terrible, dreadful collision. Johnny Damon. What's the story on him?

SHAUGHNESSY: That's one of the worst baseball collisions I've ever seen. Probably the worst. You knew right away that Johnny Damon got the worst of it. He went off the field on a stretcher in an ambulance. And he was at Mass (ph) General, he was looked at.

I don't think you'll see him in the first two games. I'm not aware after that. But it wouldn't surprise me if he was out of the whole series. But if he does come back, it will be a very dramatic event for the Red Sox and their fans.

O'BRIEN: It will be a big setback. Let's talk about the rivalry going to a different level this year. Up in the higher echelons, the CEO of the Red Sox, calling Yankees the Evil Empire. It was -- it kind of got nastier than normal this year, didn't it?

SHAUGHNESSY: It sure did. There was back and forth trying to say Jose Contreras, the Cuban right-hander who was a free agent. Both teams were very interested in his services. The Yankees outbid the Red Sox at which point Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino referred to them as an Evil Empire.

Seemed like a harmless enough comment at the time. George Steinbrenner absolutely exploded over this. It was as if his house had been broken into. And came back with guns blazing and ridiculed Larry Lucchino and said a lot of nasty things about him to the point where The commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, asked the two of them to knock it off or told the tow of them to knock it off.

So that stuff has sort of quieted down. There were deals this summer where both teams were going after the same pitchers (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to strengthen themselves. And the both made you know things to beef up their teams.

But they were competing with each other at the time. They always look at what the other team is doing when they make moves.

O'BRIEN: And finally how many times have you heard the two words Bucky Dent since you're been on the air?

SHAUGHNESSY: That's something they throw at them. I'm sure when hey go to the field tonight with Sox in there they will see signs about 1918, maybe some Bucky Dent signs. You know, Bucky's a great guy and in Boston he has another middle name.

O'BRIEN: Dan Shaughnessy. Enjoy the games. We'll check in with you later. Game three could be the game of the century, Fenway, Clemens v. Martinez. I'll call you up later and try to score some duckets, maybe. We'll see.

SHAUGHNESSY: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Dan Shaughnessy, always a pleasure to talk with you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And that middle name?

O'BRIEN: We can't say that. It's a family show.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com