Red Sox Reality Check

Those of us old enough to remember the Red Sox prior to 1967 don't have a lot of fond Red Sox memories. I vaguely remember Frank Malzone catching a popup to preserve a no-hitter (some very old synapses, I could be wrong), and listening to Mom's transistor radio under the covers, infuriating her by burning out the batteries. But the real memories come from personal experience, throwing a baseball endlessly against a big rock with a strike zone painted on it, playing catch with Dad (who threw 'the drop'), playing ball throughout elementary school, high school, and a little in college. It all paled by comparison with watching my son's Little League games, or daughters' softball. What makes baseball special is how personal our relationship remains with the game, the shared experience, the closeness we have to the game. We all know how it is to be overpowered at the plate or the frustration of making a bad throw, or dropping that popup. The thrill of victory and ...

Today on sports radio, some of the regulars gave their predictions on how many games the Red Sox would win this season. The consensus seemed to be 90 to 95, with variable belief as to whether the Red Sox would capture the wild card. Last time I checked, the Sox have barely started constructing the newest version of the Big Red Sox Machine, with questions about who will comprise the starting rotation, many of the bullpen roles, and of course the closer. Presumably, the rotation gains stature with the return of Schilling, the addition of Beckett and Papelbon, and the maturation of Arroyo. Wakefield fills out the rotation, presuming that Clement and Wells find greener pastures. Frankly, with the injury histories of the top of the rotation, I'd rather try to find a way to at least keep Clement, with the hope of having five healthy starters all year long. I expect that Foulke will make a satisfactory physical and mental (attitude) recovery, and that we'll see how Tavarez, Timlin, Se...

So loyalists of Red Sox Nation. You are asked to choose, between the incessantly whining scribes (and bloggers) and Manny Ramirez. Here's a sample of the Steve Buckley 'stat line' from the Herald today: "Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are well-practiced in the Manny Ramirez Excuse Industry. No matter what the issue — a questionable hamstring injury, a sick relative, and, now, a desire to stick to some kind of at-home training regimen rather than show up at spring training" Meanwhile, at points unknown, Manny swings the weighted bats, takes some cuts in a phantom cage, and maybe still runs Rocky-like, dragging some used tires behind him. Well, at least he takes some cuts. So, choose your poison, the Knights of the Keyboard, with gerunds, i before e , and the subjunctive case or 435 homers, a career 1.008 OPS, and an annual 40 homers and 120 RBI. Gentlemen and ladies, I rest my case. Alright, so I'm a Manny apologist. Whether a player makes the minimum or 20 m...

The Red Sox granted slugger Manny Ramirez permission to report late to camp, on March 1st. So, he's working out feverishly and doesn't want to break the mood, or maybe he's just getting his hair done. Whatever. Historically, Spring Training has been about 1) getting in some golf, 2) getting a tan, and 3) family time (right). Most of the guys who need to get in shape, e.g. rehab projects, young guns, fringe guys, contract year guys are already in great shape. That would include everyone from Schilling and Foulke, to Youk and Pedroia, and of course, Nixon. Does anybody think that Manny forgot how to hit over the winter? I didn't think so. Does anyone think that team chemistry is that important? The Sox don't need twenty-five choirboys, they need guys who are performing for pride, dollars, or spite, beating out other teams' guys trying to do the same thing. Chemistry IS important. Try living a single day without chemistry. It wouldn't be easy. You'd have to...

From ESPN, Curt Gowdy, one of the signature voices of sports for a generation and a longtime broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox , died Monday at 86 . Nowadays we hear Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy at the microphone, but over the years, it has been so many. In my youth, it was Gowdy, the announcer with a cowboy hat who would seem out of place nowadays with the Red Sox so chic. Later, we listened to Ken Coleman, "and Yastrzemski dives, and makes a TREmendous catch," and of course Ned Martin, who seemed so right and so New England. Gowdy didn't exactly disappear, even making a cameo in the Freddy Prinze, Jr. film Summer Catch, but for the most part, he was a relic from another era. I don't remember him as being a great homer (doesn't that seem to be a qualification for so many broadcasters?), although we celebrate the late Johnny Most as the ultimate homer. With spring training upon us, we look forward to continuity, with Joe and Jerry on the radio, and Don and Jerry on...

A slow news week creates lots of dead air time. So the Red Sox decided to fill that void by proclaiming their eternal devotion to Roger Clemens, and initiated an effort to return the Rocket to his ancestral baseball home. First, let's review Clemens' substantial baseball resume'. He is ninth all-time in wins, has 7 Cy Young awards, an MVP, is fifth among active pitchers in ERA, first among active players in strikeouts and second on the All-time list. He is a consensus first ballot Hall of Famer. But you knew all that. What you need explained is why Roger Clemens must return to the Red Sox? The pundits and fans insist that it completes a baseball life cycle and provides symmetry to the Universe. Somehow, it undoes his bitter departure and provides closure to the Duquette era. It allows him to be the elder statesman of a pitching staff replete with Clemens admirers, Schilling and Beckett, and provides another mentor for Jonathan Papelbon. Please explain to me what returning t...

Feel I'm going back to Massachusetts Something's telling me I must go home And the lights all went out in Massachusetts The day I left her standing on her own Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco Gotta do the things I wanna do And the lights all went out in Massachusetts They brought me back to see my way with you Talk about the life in Massachusetts Speak about the people I have seen And the lights all went out in Massachusetts I will remember Massachusetts I will remember Massachusetts -- Massachusetts, The Bee Gees The Red Sox intend to produce a video to entice Roger Clemens to return to Boston. Well, I'll help, but throwing him the extra money would work better. That's his history. (Opening scene) - The Monolith from 2001, a Space Odyssey . Roger's always been larger than life. Cue the music Sprach Zarathustra (Cut to next scene) - Red Sox legends, Williams smacking his homer into the bullpen on his last at bat, Yaz robbing Tom Tresh on Billy Rohr's no-hi...

In the hilarious rock spoof The School of Rock, Jack Black cons a promoter into entering his school band into the 'Battle of the Bands' because they're dying of stick-it-to-da-man-iosis. Who are the Sox trying to con? Manny won't be confused with an eagle scout, global statesman, or paragon of virtue. I'd guess that most of us Red Sox fans won't be confused with them either. How many of you have ever wished you could tell off your boss, slacked off, or wished that you could be somewhere else doing another job? Probably everyone . Manny isn't a Gold Glove left-fielder, but he's not the worst the Sox ever had either. I'd take Manny over the Golden Boy, media-friendly Gator any day. In eleven full seasons, Ramirez hit less than 30 homers once, and in his five Boston seasons averaged 40 homers and 122 RBI, including a season in which he played only 120 games. His range factor and fielding percentage are marginally below league averages, and checking www....

Tonight's the night we're gonna make it happen Tonight we'll put all other things aside Get in this time and show me some affection We're goin' for those pleasures in the night --I'm So Excited, The Pointer Sisters Maybe baseball suffers from the reflected glory of the National Football League and the Super Bowl. Or we're worn down by the interest engendered by wondering whether Josh Beckett has to get by on three and a half or five million bucks (he settled for something in the middle- about 4,325,000 George Washington portraits). Josh probably never had to take the SATs or the GREs, but hey, I'd be happy to be rich enough to pay somebody to think for me. Did you know that Beckett's never pitched 180 regular season innings? Plus, pretty soon we'll be reveling in medical talk surrounding JB, either his labrum, rotator cuff, or something as mundane as 'blister talk'. Not necessarily a good omen, as the last Blister Boy was Derek 'Late ...

The Big Lie Okay, so the Red Sox continue to attempt to deal Manny Ramirez. Here's their proposal to Cleveland, "Manny for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "They've only asked The California, Los Angeles, Anaheim, once Disneyland Angels for their best two prospects, acceleration of global warming, and the beer concessions for the next three seasons. Okay, Manny, so you want to go to Texas? We want Mark Teixeira, a dictionary, 1 million barrels of oil, and twelve season tickets to Longhorns games. How about the Mets? Well, Pedro doesn't want to come back without a 15% trade kicker, so we'll take Lastings Milledge, Carlos Beltran, and 5 million Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers. Does somebody in the front office have a dartboard with a Manny face on it? Okay, so Manny can be immature, petulant, and something less than Willie Wilson running out ground balls. Maybe Einstein had bad breath, or B.O. or flatulence. He was still Einstein. John H...

I'm told that an Oprahism is the question, "are you better off with him or without him?" Oprah must have stolen this line from numerous MLB general managers, who have asked themselves this question since the days of Hack Wilson and his alcohol-aided runs batted in. For the Sox, Oprah's refrain echoes throughout America's Most Beloved Ballpark . At the top, John Henry must be wondering where his commodity traders' risk management skills went, along with his dough. Regarding Theo, obviously Henry decided that the Sox were better with the Boy Wonder than without. Last year the Sox jettisoned Derek 'the Driller' Lowe, allowed Paydro to follow the money, and followed it up with a pitching staff makeover this season worthy of the Fab Five. We'll presume David Wells will be hitting the road, and for argument's sake, Matt Clement, too, whether fairly or unfairly. I doubt that Wells, just younger than Methusalah, will fetch a lot, but he probably wouldn...