Dave Cokin’s Hardcore Baseball: No bets on Bosox

Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been more than a little bit rough on the Cleveland Indians lately. This apparently prompted a note from one of the regular readers of this blog. He wondered if I was going a little over the top in my criticism of the Indians organization due to my possibly being a frustrated fan of the team.

OK, let’s clear that up right away. I’m a native New Englander, and literally a card carrying member of Red Sox Nation. In fact, in the interests of full disclosure, I will readily admit that I have never made a single wager against the Red Sox. Nor will I ever do so.

The Sox are my one passion, and while I handicap them without bias, I have never been able to bring myself to actually make a wager against them. I bet the games I give out to my customers, with that one exception. Fact is, it’s cost me some money as I’m pretty good in terms of having a feel for when things might not go their way.

One of the strongest opinions I can ever recall having was on the playoff series between the Red Sox and Chicago White Sox a few years back. That was the year the Pale Hose won it all, and they met the Bosox in the opening round.

There was almost no doubt in my mind the Red Sox would get swept in the series. The Chisox were the better team, while the Red Sox were pretty beat up at the end of the regular season and were literally limping into the playoffs.

So I gave out the White Sox in the series as a big recommendation, and also urged clients to take the odds on them scoring the sweep. It turned out to be a snap of a series, but there was no profit in it for me as I refused to make the bet myself.

I realize that may seem like a silly stance. It’s not like the money has any feelings, and passing on what was clearly a great spot is undoubtedly dumb. Nevertheless, it would still mean pulling against my one favorite team, and I just won’t do that.

And it should be noted that while I’m also a fan of the Bruins, Celtics and Patriots, I have never had any problem wagering against those teams when the situation calls for it. The Red Sox are the one exception.

Also, despite my detesting the Yankees, which is basically automatic for any Red Sox fan, I will happily bet on the Yanks when I think they’re right. But I’ll admit I enjoy it more when I cash a ticket against them.

As for the Cleveland Indians, they’re just another team to me. The fact I’ve been ripping them on a pretty frequent basis, both here and on my show, is based solely on my opinion of the organization. And as the Indians continue to stumble along at the bottom of the AL Central, it’s sure looking as though the negative viewpoints expressed are more than justified.