Today’s Sports Radio storyline has been Bill Buckner.

Yesterday’s Opening Day ceremonies in which Buckner was warmly and enthusiastically greeted by the Fenway Park crowd has dominated the discussions. Many have noted that Buckner received cheers during the 1990 Opening Day introductions, and even for the 1987 season. The notion of forgiveness seems a little overblown.

Yet it continues. Today on the WBZ 5:30 news, Jon Keller and Dan Roche are going to debate this topic on the air, after the two of them sparred via their blogs earlier today.

It started when Keller said that not all fans, including himself, are ready to forgive and forget.

Roche responded by telling Keller that he needed to Get Over It.

That brought a response and charges by Keller of “playground rhetoric” from Roche in his response.

Put me in Roche’s camp for this one…

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

21 thoughts on “Keller vs Roche”

  1. Bruce:

    You have got to be kidding me. Those preaching forgiveness of Bill Buchner has gotten me to the point that I am sicken and nausiated by it. Let us not forget what that man did. He let the damn ball go through his legs allowing a defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory and depressing an entire region. Was it just a game as he says it was…sure. If that is the case then why did he have such disdain for the Boston fans after HIS error?

    I have no idea why Boston’s professional sports fans have gotten so soft. They are willing to shower warm fuzzies on anything now-a-days. Perhaps the Red Sox should have Yankee appreciation night to thank the now cuddly Bombers for the years of rivalry. How about we bring back McDirty and McNasty and let the new age Celtic fans smoother them with love and kumbayas. Instead of booing Les Habitants when the playoffs finally stat, perhaps we should have them over for Timmy’s and a few Molsons…while reminiscing about how great the Guys all were. Heck, next thing you are going to tell me is the Jets don’t suck.

    Where is the passion Boston used to be known for? Professional Sports in Boston are not about forgiveness, absolution and atonement. unless the player does it themselves (see Steve Grogan). The fact that Buchner left Boston with a bad taste in his mouth is his problem not the fans. His anger has always been misplaced. He never ever got mad at himself for making that error. He never publicly said I messed up, I was paid a lot of money to play baseball and I made the error, thereby robbing the fans of the championship. It was always “the fans did not appreciate the good things I did, for they only saw the one gaffe”. For that he was a goat for 20 years and to fans like me forever. The Sox ownership should be run out of town on a rail for bringing this guy back and celebrating him…lets remember what he was a 5 team mercenary, who chased dollars from the highest bidder for 20 years, selling himself as a professional. He had no honor then, and his self esteem now is dependent on adoration from from revisionist thinking fans. Pffffft.

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  2. Bruce will get back to you in a few days. Hes off in his BMW driving to fenway to hobnob with all the other yuppie F$#%kers who pay outrages look-at me dollars, to sit in seats that were empty only a few years ago.

    Hes not on the same planet as you or I.

    Awesome post Late to Dinner!!

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    1. No, I won’t be going to Fenway at all this season. Only went once last season. No BMW either. Sorry to disappoint.

      To be clear, I’m not preaching forgiveness of Bill Buckner, I’m more in the camp of moving on. The 1986 World Series will always suck, but I don’t need to sit here 21+ years later still mad at the guy. I’m done with him. It was a silly thing to have him throw out the first pitch, it was purely a move meant to garner emotion and attention, which it certainly did. There’s no adoration nor bitterness from me here towards Buckner.

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  3. The thing with Buckner is that he had to shoulder an inordinate amount of the blame for that loss. The game was already tied at the time he made the error, so it wasn’t like it was a three run error. He wasn’t the only one to screw up in that inning. And the Sox blew a three run lead in Game 7 too.

    Was it Asante Samuels’s fault that the Pats lost the Super Bowl? Buckner’s error was like Asante’s muff of that interception – just one error/poor performance among many.

    Things with Buckner reached such a ridiculous point that something had to be done to end this. It was so over the top that it reflected more on Boston fans than on Bucker, as this whole episode made us look too bloodthirsty and vindictive.

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  4. Keller wakes up 20 minutes before his little ditty each morning on WBZ radio and surfs the Internet for his ‘topic.’ Drudge or TMZ…doesn’t matter. His is not real work, but then again no one in media does ‘real’ work. But in this case, Keller has managed to look stupider than he already does. Buckner has lived for DECADES with personal pain brought about by–GASP!!!–the MEDIA. They are the villains here, as Buckner pointed out. Generally the media comprise Wal-Mart door greeters who ‘got lucky.’ You see so many gray-hairs in media because none of them are talented enough to do anything else. Their idea of a ‘career change’ is for a newspaper hack to stomp on over and get a radio gig; or a TV sports media hack to waddle on over to radio and be a co-host; or a newspaper hack slithering over to TV to ‘give it a whirl.’ Universally, it’s gray-hairs playing this inane game.

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  5. Chris you miss the point. The whole hating Bill Buchner thing was never about the media. It was and to me still is about a guy who never ever looked the fans in the face and took responsibility for his mess up. He has not lived for DECADES with personal pain. He has lived for DECADES with personal shame. That is he is unwilling to accept that he was the one at fault. For that I hope there is a pleasantly place in hell for him. And an equally pink place for those new fans that buying into redemption tour 2008. Bring back the passion and hatred. Its like we are becoming Dodger fans. What’s next pink tofu at the park?

    To Newton, Samuel should have been shot and in my opinion escaped blame. However, the blame in that game clearly rests on the offensive coaching staff that refused to go no huddle hurry up to counter the rushing ends… tire them out with quick slants and screens in a no huddle and the rush (as seen in the Pats second to last drive) disappears. But Samuel deserves blame, he screwed up and cost them the game directly, now that he is an enemy traitor…let him have his tongue slammed in a door, over, and over, and over, and over again.

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  6. Bruce is right on.

    1. Buckner was TRADED to Boston (not a free agent chasing dollars).

    2. He could barely walk due to leg injuries in ’86. He played through the pain and drove in 105 RBI. Meanwhile, potbellied, beer swilling slobs say they can’t “forgive” him for an error.

    3. Bill Buckner was a key reason the Red Sox made the World Series in he first place. He was gutsy and never offered any excuses.

    He made an error because he had virtually no mobility (due to injuries) and should not have been in the game in the late innings.

    You larda$$es have never been in the arena but you sit on your abundant derriers and submit idiotic posts about a courageous and talented Red Sox hero.

    John Keller is a lazy effeminate washed up hack who needs to get the Lobel treatment soon.

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  8. Calvin Schiraldi, Rich Gedman, John McNamara,and Bob Stanley all contributed more to that loss than Buckner by a wide margin. But revisionist pink hat flunkies like late to dinner don’t remember every at bat from that game. We do, that’s why your argument and anger are misplaced and wrong, and that’s why your armchair analysis on all things sports falls woefully short. Go look at the tape again and post a mea culpa rebuttal comment.Don’t bring up the Patriots either, you probably can’t name the starters, never mind the roster.

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  9. Ahhh the apologists are out in force. It wasn’t his fault he was injured and playing first base that late in the game, let’s blame Johnny Mac for not having a defensive replacement in the game at that point. Dave Stapleton, he’s our man, where was he, on the can? Its all hindsight and revisionist thinking. Buchner had no problem fielding the position all game. Why is it so difficult to accept the guy made a mistake, one that he should be vilified for making for the rest of his life. Its not that complicated. He fields the ball the game is over. Everything that happens after should never have happened. Yeah I must be some non fan because I was only 19 at the time and can’t possibly remember punching the wall of the college rec room where I was watching the game and vowing then to never ever forgive Buchner. Did he have a good year for the Sox, sure. Did we expect more from him absolutely. The thing is he would have been forgiven had he acknowledged his mistake to the fans and taken responsibility. Boston fans used to be fickle. We wanted our heros to be honest and forthright. This guy denies and blames us for his shortcomings and you all want to say all is forgive because he had 106 RBI’s. No can do.

    As for Corner Blitz’s post, son I am sure I can talk Pats with the best of them…oh wait I have for a long time in different forums. But that is not real relevant. I find it utter laughable that any real Sox fan would want to place any blame on Schiraldi, Gedman or Stanley. None would have had to have been called on to succeed had Buchner not screwed up in the first place. As for blaming Johnny Mac, I find that argument to be as useless and ill informed as the morons who blame Joe Morgan for leaving Pedro in. Both managers went with their “stars” when the game was on the line. Both were victims of their stars inexcusable choke under pressure. Enable the behavior all you want. Those of us with two eyes and to make up our own minds know who was at fault and why they should be hated forever. Buchner should never be welcomed back to Boston and embraced. It is an utter disgrace. Although not as big of one as NESN bumping the Sox to NESN2 tonight for a Bruins playoff game no one will watch.

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    1. First, the name is Buckner, not Buchner.

      Second, Schiraldi and Stanley had already blown a 3-0 lead. The game was tied at 3-3 when Buckner’s error occurred.

      Third, you are an idiot.

      We all acknowledge that Buck made an error. For that he does not owe cowards like you and Jonny Keller an apology.

      Orlando Cepdeda sold drugs, Rich Gale exposed himself at a reststop, Dick Drago was a deadbeat dad, Wil Codero beat his wife — these acts require apologies.

      Giving 100% in a game and making an error doers not. Does Jim Burton owe us an apology? Tim Wakefield? Mike Torrez? John Pesky?

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    2. Is this a joke? “morons who blame Joe Morgan for leaving Pedro in”. Do you even watch the games?

      You’re an abject failure as a fan.

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  10. You know who I think ought to be vilified? People who post things like “Bring back the passion and hatred” without stopping and thinking to themselves, “I should just leave that out because it really does make me look like a sad, pathetic little man. As does my utter inability to spell ‘Buckner’ correctly.”

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  11. None would have had to have been called on to succeed had Buchner not screwed up in the first place.

    late for dinner, you should not be allowed to post anymore after that statement.

    John MacNamara screwed up because with a late lead he put Stapleton in EVERY OTHER TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS. Games 1, 5, 6, and 7 of the ALCS. Games 1,2, and 5 in the WS. Why did he think it necessary every other time, even in games that were not close, but in the most important game of the season he does something different?

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  12. Late to Dinner, after reading your ridiculous defense and numerous factual errors(Morgan leaving Pedro in?) you’ve also been handed your lunch.Numerous other forums are filled with idiots such as you who don’t understand football also, so don’t bring up the Patriots again EVER. We have forgotten more than you will ever hope to know.

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  13. Why is it so difficult to accept the guy made a mistake, one that he should be vilified for making for the rest of his life. Its not that complicated. He fields the ball the game is over.

    The game was tied when he made his error. The game would not have been over.

    Do us all a favor and get sterilized so your ignorance doesn’t spread.

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  14. As for blaming Johnny Mac, I find that argument to be as useless and ill informed as the morons who blame Joe Morgan for leaving Pedro in. Both managers went with their “stars” when the game was on the line.
    “Joe Morgan”! Late to dinner you give trolls (and morons) a bad name. If I had a dollar for every brain you didn’t have I’d have $1.

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  15. Late to Dinner was “Late to the Spelling Bee” as well. Who is the “Booch-ner” guy with the bad glove that deserves to live in hell?

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  17. I haev to agree with Late to Dinenr he was too busy with Pac Man Fever to work on his groun balls the frist thing they teach you in little lege is PUT YOUR GLOVE ON THE GROUND Buchner didn’t and because of that I didn’t dip my wick until I was 28 I was so traumatized

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  18. latte to diner:

    “McNasty’s” partner was “McFilthy.” “McDirty” is what you do in the bathroom of a popular fast-food joint.

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