Who should we be picking in this upcoming World Series?
Another retrospective on the 2004 Red Sox? Really?!
This was the understandable reaction when Netflix announced it would be rolling out a three-part look back at one of sports' greatest comebacks. Sure, it was going to be 20th anniversary of the Sox' momentous championship season. But enough was a enough, right?
Nope. It turns out we did need more. At least this one more.
So, why was Colin Barnicle's documentary - "The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox" - the right three hours at the right time? The answer is actually not anything the project had in its crosshairs when celebrating that Sox season.
As with any good doc, the insight into the information is delivered in fine fashion. There are plenty of "I didn't know that" moments strewn throughout the project.
- The Grady Little drama.
- Assistant GM Jed Hoyer getting food poisoning from the Thanksgiving Dinner at Curt Schilling's house. (Although it was curious why nobody else got sick.)
- Supposed Yankees-owned microphones placed in the ceiling of the Red Sox' clubhouse.
- Pedro Martinez's story-telling.
- And, perhaps most striking, the uneasiness that came with Nomar Garciaparra's final months in Boston.
There are a lot of layers peeled back which simply hadn't been explored in previous explorations of the events. This was in large part to the star of the show, Theo Epstein, along with just enough unfiltered recollections by the likes of Terry Francona, Kevin Millar, David Ortiz, John Henry, Tom Werner, Hoyer, Schilling, Pedro and Little.
But the true explanation for why this was the right project at the right time was because of what it reminded us: Despair, desperation and, ultimately, the unbridled desire to deliver was the best.
So, where did it all go?
Through all the chaos that came with the hiring of a 28-year-old general manager, creatively building a team that could immediately live on the World Series' doorstep, all the while managing some of the game's largest and most unique personalities on the way to the breaking of this 85-year-old curse this is the one lingering query that stuck once the credits started rolling.
There was that ownership group that was going to do absolutely whatever it took to compete George Steinbrenner and the rest of baseball's big boys. The willingness to lean on superstars while filtering in a smart collection of 30-something, secure-in-themselves complementary parts. An overt competitiveness that didn't lean on sound bytes but could be felt through Larry Lucchino radio call-ins or Epstein's actions.
All of it was on display in this documentary. All of it was a reminder of how things have changed.
As the images were strewn throughout the three hours, this was what was the most striking. It was the drive. It was the fans. It was the motivation. This was life with the Red Sox back then. Now? It's just different. Anybody who soaked in this doc should admit to that reality.
Some of the foundation for that success 20 years ago can still be found in this iteration of the franchise. Henry and Co. are still trying to decipher trends, as was the case when trying to lure Billy Beane away from Oakland. And the front office is prioritizing uncovering the analytics that truly paint the proper picture when chasing success. Back then it was OBP. Now it's xWOBA. Different collection of letters, same idea.
But it's hard to ignore the difference in tone from when this ownership was perceived as the Alex Rodriguez-chasing saviors, to modern day. There was no semblance of leaning on 30-to-1 odds to win a World Series when concocting a plan. There WAS the do-whatever-it-takes offseason mentality, as was evident in the Keith Foulke-Schilling-ARod winter of 2003. And there were certainly no hint that attendance numbers and interest needed to be propped up by bobblehead nights.
It was a different time with a different sports and entertainment landscape. All understood. That, however, doesn't mean that feeling rekindled by this project should be ignored. That's how good it was, and that's how good it can be.
It's the blueprint. The blueprint for success. The blueprint for making people care. The blueprint for fun.
That was what this documentary truly delivered.