WADE BOGGS & THE BIG F.U.

Wade Boggs was never treated fairly by the Red Sox.  I know, when he left the Sox for the Yankees, and then the Yankees won a championship in 1996, the Red Sox and Red Sox nation were pissed, and I get that totally.  But this is baseball and when it comes to respecting players... it's just gotta be done.  The Yankees don't have any ill will toward guys like Robinson Cano for instance. He went for big money in Seattle, and he hopes to win a championship with them. I mean, he won't, but he hopes to, and the Yankees understood that Cano was looking for more and they weren't willing to give it.  Again, it's business, and that's why Boggs went to New York.  Eventually Boggs won in New York, something he could never do in Boston.  Fans HATE that, and that's just part of being a fan, and how this game works.  Ultimately, it's business.

I've always said that Wade Boggs should have had his number retired by the Red Sox years ago.  And Wade thought so too, but they have this Boston attitude about them, and they hold grudges.  I get it, but they shouldn't.  When Boggs played in Boston, he was a monster there.  I have openly admitted that I loved watching Wade Boggs play as a Yankee fan, but I hated the damage he did against us when the Sox played the Yanks.

Now comes the story that pretty much let's Boggs have the last laugh... and I love this story.  Yahoo Sports writes:

"...there was Boggs on Wednesday, reassembled with members of the 1986 Boston Red Sox team at Fenway Park. The Red Sox were celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the '86 squad that won the AL pennant but famously lost to the New York Mets in the World Series. Boggs was there, as were Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans and many others. Even Bill Buckner.

It was all fun and nostalgia, but then the Internet noticed something peculiar. Boggs was wearing the World Series ring he won with the rival New York Yankees."

Now ultimately, this isn't a big deal, but it is a real dig.  The best part about the Red Sox ceremony was they did the right thing here.  They honored a guy that should have been honored a long time ago with him having #26 retired.

"My number may live up there forever...but you, the great fans of Boston will forever live in my heart." #Boggs26 pic.twitter.com/YYhsLYppz2

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 26, 2016

It had to be done.  And yes, while Yankee fans think this is a huge deal with the ring and all, but I gotta believe Boggs really didn't think much of it.  

Boggs winning a championship with the Yankees was part of his achievements in his career.  He put that ring on the day of the ceremony like he put his socks. It's part of his routine. For ballplayers, it's just business and him winning with the Yankees was just that too.

But we'll all look at that tweeted image of the ring on Boggs finger in Boston and laugh.  Because the rivalry was fierce for a long, long time, and so every time something like this happens... it reminds us of the good old days of baseball between the Yankees and Sox.

This, in my opinion is much ado about nothing... but maybe it was something. Maybe it was Boggs offering his big. F.U. to Red Sox Nation.  Maybe it was him saying, "What the hell took you so long?"

What do you think?