Saturday, January 28, 2006
The Position has been Filled.
In a press release, Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro explained:
"In Andy Marte, we are acquiring a right-handed power hitter who is also a good defensive third baseman. Not only is third base a position of need in our organization, but it is one of the more difficult positions to acquire a player of Andy's caliber and skill set via trade or free agency."
I for one am looking forward to seeing this kid when he finally hits the big leagues - find out if he ends up worth all the fuss.
Meanwhile, although Crisp looks to replace Johnny on the field and in the lineup, the big picture nets us Coco for Edgah. By the numbers these players are similar in caliber, but strikingly different in character. Hopes are high that Coco has more of the emotional make-up required to play in the fishbowl we call Fenway. In other words, he seems to have social skills and a personality.
Friday, January 27, 2006
On a Personal Note...
Also: My niece is fifteen months old today... Which means so is the red sox championship. Amidst our recent struggles - the FO drama, issues of all kinds on the rubber last season, our current wide-open vacancy in center field, the media creating problems instead of just reporting on them, and other teams' FO's trying to steal us blind while we're in desperation mode - still there is a certain peace which cannot be disturbed here in red sox nation. Two years ago, an off-season like this would have been hell. This year we just roll our eyes as we anxiously await those two lovely words "play ball!"
Thursday, January 26, 2006
The Future is Bright
Differences in philosophy caused theo to walk, or so the FO says, and maybe I'm the only one who believes them. When theo made his statement in November about not being able to do the job because his heart was not in it, many people could not understand. We needed someone to blame, and Lucchino made an easy scapegoat (along with chb, but we'd want him burned at the stake anyway, I imagine.) It's not money, so it must be a personal rift/power struggle between the prodigy and his mentor, right? Now that theo's back, despite John Henry's statements, most people believe Lucchino has lost his veto power, thinking theo would only come back with autonomy.
Some people are in it for the power and the money, and that's it. While we might admire these people's accomplishments, they aren't exactly the type you'd pick for the godparent of your child, right? (in fact I think we call these people "sell-outs") The one thing we've all liked about theo since day one is the sense that he is not about that. Despite his assertion that to become the GM he had to give up being a fan, we all know where his heart is, and knowing he truly wants the best for the ballclub helps us in red sox nation to let go a little bit and trust.
The thought that theo could not believe in the direction of the organization really disturbed me. It pretty much wiped my faith in the organization away. It almost made me believe these ridiculous skank-taunts that we wouldn't see another ring for another eighty-six years. Loyal readers of reb sox would be right to assume that my recent leave-of-absence was partially due to apathy and loss of faith. My approach to this off-season has been cowardly, with hands over my eyes like a little girl at a horror movie/ boy at a chick flick saying "let me know when the bloody killings/gross kissing (sell-off of our best prospects) is over."
The statement of "we now have a shared vision," the concept of our brass being on the same page, the mention of spirited discussions and healthy debates... hey maybe you all see this as smoothing things over for the press. I don't. My heart healed and my trust was restored when I read these words. Mistakes will be made by the best of teams, but no organization can reach their potential without sharing the same goal and agreeing on the avenues to acheive that goal. With a shared vision, there "ain't no mountain high enough" to keep our team healthy and competitive for years to come - and really, what more can a fan ask?
For Your Amusement (Warning: Explicit Content)
Sunday, January 22, 2006
On Their Way to the Big Dance
I'm now watching the NFC game, and Carolina is getting run all over. That's a surprise to me; I thought they were going to be really tough. There is plenty of time left in this game, but the Seahawks are not letting them get anywhere.
Fans of the Seahawks and Steelers are ecstatic, I'm sure, and for good reason- Both teams played as if they deserve to go to the Superbowl. Winning the turnover ratio helped them both out, too. Pretty hard to win a playoff game with turnovers, as we Patriots fans felt last week. Jake Delhomme will be seeing defensive backs in his sleep tonight, you can be sure.
Friday, January 20, 2006
At Least I Can Breathe Again
For over a month I found myself sans internet access, and truthfully so wrapped up in physically moving my belongings to a new little niche in the world... Well I had almost forgotten the joys of the internet, and I dive back into the digital world without even knowing where to start. Boy did I pick a time to take a break, eh? I hardly recognize our boys in red. I had to make a diagram of our new roster, and this is where I realized that our third outfielder is this guy:
(the one on the left, my friends. If it were the one on the right- well then we'd REALLY be in trouble.)
Cute, Jewish, and Cornhusker he may be, but Adam Stern needs a year in Pawtucket. The outfield situation scared me so much when I first looked last week, I crawled right back in my hole as if I were some kind of weather-predicting oversized rodent from Pennsylvania. (zoology majors, feel free to correct me here- I have absolutely no idea if those wascily vermin are rodents or what, and that's just the type of useless information I like to stay informed on.)
Anyway, even from my dark hole, I could hear the roars and cheers and banging of cymbals in celebration as I caught a glimpse of Boston's wonderboy gracing a much happier headline than the last time he made breaking news. Across the table, my friend Mike noticed a light beginning to dance in my eyes. Immediately I open my new phone to see if the news had hit the ESPN ticker yet - Nope, the news was indeed that fresh. Forty minutes later I was home, typing madly onto my blogger dashboard even before making time to say goodbye to my friend. Never mind that I was supposed to already be in Westport to meet another friend... Theo has returned and so must I.
Truthfully, the timing could not have been better. I've been meaning to write, but to write I have to research (or babble, as I'm doing now) and material just seems so hard to find when you've been out of the loop. I ought to have given my boys in blue one last blog... Alas, I missed my chance, and the very next day I knew my sporting world had finally gone over-the-edge haywire as I found myself rooting FOR the terrible towel-heads. (And I will reluctantly continue to do so, JessieE; tell Perry. Maybe the third time's the charm for those guys.) Now that Eric Mangini has gone gan-GREEN, I'm officially confused and nervous about the off-season situations of both of my teams, and the return of our dear theo is a dearly-needed shot of adrenaline for our hopes here at reb sox.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Returns
